Lighthouse Chiropractic provides natural relief for those suffering from Herniated Discs

One of the mot painful causes of lower back pain occurs when the Spinal Discs in the Lumbar area become " Herniated". A herniated disc happens when the soft inner nucleus of the disc pushes out into the cartilaginous part of the disc, this creates a varying degree of "bulging " in the disc and can create pressure on the spinal nerves.  This "bulging" causes pressure of the nerve roots and often the spinal cord itself! OUCH! The results can be pain in the lower back as well as numbness, tingling or weakness in the legs and Buttocks. DOUBLE OUCH!

Medical Doctors tend to treat acutely herniated discs with oral steroids and injections of cortisone, both of which have very limited success rates and adverse side effects. Recently, however a major study published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiologic Therapeutics has found that both chronic and acute herniated discs can be effectively treated with chiropractic adjustments.

The year long study followed 148 patients whose lumbar herniation had been confirmed by MRI scan. All patients suffered from a form of back pain, sciatica or radiating leg symptoms and 79 of them had experienced these symptoms without noticeable relief for over three months. The patients in the study were treated with chiropractic adjustments appropriate for their individual cases, characterized by the researchers as "high Velocity", low-amplitude spinal manipulation" This is the way Dr Crowe adjusts the spine in his office!

Throughout the study, the patients were examined by doctors at two weeks, one month, three months, six months and one year.  were also asked to self assess the success of the treatments at those points, rating their condition on a scale of "much worse, worse, slightly worse, no change, slightly better, better and much better." The results were surprising, especially because the typical clinical expectation is that ONLY 36% of lumbar herniated disc patients will show improvement after two weeks of "medical treatment".

However, among the patients who received chiropractic adjustments in this study, 69% reported significant improvement in both mobility and pain reduction after only two weeks. That is nearly double the results with a fraction, and I mean FRACTION of the cost of medical treatment.

At one month, that number increased, with 79.6% reporting conditions of better or much better. At Three months 90.5% had reported significant improvements. Interestingly, the chiropractic care in the study ended at the three-month mark, but assessments at six month and one year points found that 88% reported that their condition was still improved. 

The authors of the study reported no adverse side effects and concluded that a large percentage of patients with acute and chronic lumbar disc herniation could be improved by chiropractic care.

These research numbers come as no surprise to Escanaba Doctor of Chiropractic Dr Paul Crowe, He has been successfully treating herniated discs and resulting back pain for several years. At the same time, it is awesome to see scientific research bearing out to what Doctors of Chiropratic have known for a very long time: A drug and surgery free approach that treats the whole patient and helps bodies heal themselves is superior to masking the symptoms with painkillers or relying on dangerous steroids or epidural injections.