“Seeing is believing.” Ever heard
that saying before? Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries bets you have. Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries understands
that Manchester back pain patients many times wish to see the cause of their pain. (They already believe
their pain!) Currently, imaging does
not always fulfill a patient’s desire to see the cause
if it is because of an issue like chemical
irritation when disc material leaks out to a nerve root, so imaging
can only go so far in meeting a patient’s desire to see what’s
going on. But Manchester back pain patients can believe that
their Manchester chiropractor will thoroughly tell
them the cause of their pain…and set a treatment plan to alleviate
that pain.
THE GOOD OF IMAGING
Today’s imaging recommendations
seem to be all about decreasing imaging exposure and
cost. The concern of radiation exposure is being dealt with by carefully examining low back pain patients for more specific indications,
reducing radiation dose and performing more MRI
than CT. These changes in turn reduce the cost of
imaging. (1) Recommendations today are to no do imaging for 6-8 weeks of conservative treatment. Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries has followed the Cox Technic System of Spinal Pain Management which recommends holding off on imaging (in the absence of "red flags" which a thorough clinical examination finds) for 30 days during which time 50% improvement is sought. If 30 days pass without such improvement, imaging is ordered. These are positive situations for
Manchester back pain patients and their healthcare providers like your
Manchester chiropractor typically.
BACK PAIN SUFFERERS WANT TO “SEE”
Other times (and Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries totally understands
this!) patients want to “see” their diagnosis. Words and descriptions and
drawings are one thing while imaging is much more personal.
When it comes to non-specific back pain, there is an extra
layer of curiosity as it’s “non-specific” and doesn’t
always have an obvious cause for the pain. The
public and patients believe imaging helps determine the back
pain condition. They are not alone as some healthcare professionals do, too. (2)
That’s probably why patients and their healthcare
providers want MRI and xrays.
MEDICINE AND SPINAL IMAGING
Interestingly, for years, medicine downplayed the concept
of imaging for spine problems. Today, medicine becomes more
and more interested in it. For cervical spine myelopathy, for instance,
treating physicians depend on imaging to ascertain its
severity. Particularly, a set
of researchers looked at the possibility of
how imaging helped see the relationship between lumbopelvic
alignment and cervical alignment and resulting cervical spine
myelopathy severity. (3) Imaging has its positives. Your Manchester
back pain specialist at Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries wants to be sure imaging is positively
contributory to the treatment plan for our back pain patients’ ultimate
recovery and pain relief. We know that “seeing is believing” and
respect what imaging brings to the treatment plan when necessary.
CONTACT Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries
Listen to this PODCAST
with Dr. Dan Clark on The Back
Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he describes how
valuable imaging can be for a patient’s treatment plan and final
outcome of care.
Schedule your Manchester chiropractic appointment at
Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries to more fully comprehend your back pain and
its relieving treatment plan whether you can see the cause or
not because you definitely already believe you
have pain. Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries believes in its relief. You can, too.