Retract Your Herniated Discs With Chiropractic
By Chris Brown
Herniated discs can be extremely painful and limiting, and can carry frustratingly long recovery times. Mainstream medical procedures often either utilize the wait-and-see approach or invasive spinal surgery. For those who want to avoid the extreme choices of either doing nothing or undergoing the knife, chiropractic may offer a solution. Not only can chiropractic reduce inflammation and pain from herniated discs, but a recent study has shown that it could actually fix the root-cause of herniations in some cases.
Herniated Disc Retractions
A herniated disc occurs when the interior of the disc tears through its exterior. They are most often caused by age-related wear or by lifting too much weight with your back. Herniated discs can cause painful inflammation in the spine and affect other areas of the body if the nerves that run through the backbone are impacted. Particularly, neurological or sensory deficits commonly occur from a herniation which affects the spinal cord. Typically, the pain eventually reduces on its own, although sometimes surgery is required to remove the protruding part of the disc. Disc retraction, where the protruding part of the disc retrudes into its shell, fixing the herniation, has been known to occur spontaneously. In fact, studies have estimated that some degree of spontaneous disc retraction occurs in 35-63 percent of cases. However, in these cases it is very much up to chance whether simple rest cures this disease. Waiting around with a painful disc in the hopes that it will resolve itself can be a demoralizing experience for sufferers. Luckily, chiropractic potentially offers a non-surgical method of actively correcting a herniated disc.
Chiropractic Facilitates Herniated Disc Retractions
While chiropractic is beneficial for reducing herniated disc pain, a recent 2021 published case study suggests that it may be able to facilitate disc retraction and permanent healing. In the case of a 34-year-old woman with a lumbar disc herniation, retraction occurred following spinal manipulation treatment and acupuncture. While her results may have been caused by a case of spontaneous disc retraction, her lower back pain had persisted for seven years (only recently becoming severe) prior to the treatment.
The study concludes that a combination of chiropractic spinal manipulation alongside acupuncture is an effective treatment for resolving a herniated disc. Additionally, chiropractic manipulation is much safer than alternate, more invasive treatments such as surgery. Not to mention, the reduced period of neurological deficits, in cases where the spinal cord is affected, minimizes the likelihood that deficits lead to permanent impairment.
To speed recovery and support long-term healing of a herniated disc, stop by The Joint Chiropractic for a hassle-free, walk-in session today. There is no reason to suffer needlessly when The Joint offers affordable adjustments without insurance. By optimizing spinal alignment and removing disfunctions caused by a herniated disc, The Joint's doctors can get you moving about in no time. And, with more than 600 clinics nationwide, immediate relief is never far away.
To learn more about your health, wellness and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Houston, Tex.