Back pain can be frustrating. Patients hurt and don’t know why.
Tests show findings that don’t match the symptoms. Back pain is baffling, but
not usually for your New Roads chiropractic physician who is rarely
confused by back pain and its iterations. New Roads Chiropractic Center is well equipped to
examine, diagnose and treat your back pain for relief.
So how can back pain be puzzling? MRIs and images may be
misleading.
MRIs of astronauts may look well hydrated. Yet, the
astronaut has pain due to swelling of the disc. (1) That just goes to show that
the back pain specialist must do the clinical examination and know the patient well
to correlate the symptoms to the image!
MRIs of average back pain sufferers may show a disc
herniation on one side while the clinical pain symptoms are on the other side!
The left leg may be painful, but the MRI shows the disc bulge on the right. As
a matter of fact 11.2% of MRIs don’t agree with clinical findings. (2)
A study of patients visiting an emergency room for pain even
tells emergency room physicians to order no diagnostic tests in patients
without “red flags” (indicators of more serious conditions). In those patients, a “focused history and
examination in conjunction with diagnostic laboratory tests and imaging” are
appropriate. Such a process would ferret out if there is a herniated disc or
spinal infection or other such issue. (3) That’s the approach New Roads Chiropractic Center
takes with every New Roads back pain and neck pain patient who comes
to the clinic. Your New Roads chiropractic physician does all the
clinical tests to figure out what the real source of pain is and only orders
tests if truly needed.
76% of MRI images of people without any pain show disc
herniations. (4)
Diagnosing the level of a disc herniation is most accurately
found by where the pain travels. The pain path is called a dermatome. (5) So your New Roads chiropractor will ask you where your pain is during
the examination.
So what solves the puzzle of back pain? The clinical
examination. You and New Roads Chiropractic Center
work together from examination to treatment plan execution for your customized
New Roads back pain relief.
Just know that your New Roads chiropractor is well
trained to determine if you need any additional imaging…and when. Contact
New Roads Chiropractic Center for your New Roads chiropractic examination and treatment
plan today.
"This information and website content is not intended to diagnose, guarantee results, or recommend specific treatment or activity. It is designed to educate and inform only. Please consult your physician for a thorough examination leading to a diagnosis and well-planned treatment strategy. See more details on the
DISCLAIMER page. Content is reviewed by
Dr. James M. Cox I."