Gormish Chiropractic & Rehabilitation cares for
Carrolltown neck pain patients with cervical spine disc
herniations that cause arm pain radiculopathy. Non-surgical care
of arm pain radiculopathy helps Carrolltown neck pain and arm pain sufferers experience
some relief without surgery.
CERVICAL RADICULOPATHY
In managing for
cervical spine-related arm pain (aka cervical
radiculopathy), research guidelines state conservative
management as a first-line treatment option over surgery.
Clinically, cervical radiculopathy can present as motor
change, paresthesia, reflex change, numbness and/or sensory change. Researchers have been collaborating
to establish guidelines for its non-surgical management and treatment
at various stages of pain including acute, subacute, and
chronic. (1) Gormish Chiropractic & Rehabilitation uses such guidelines in planning non-surgical treatment
for our Carrolltown chiropractic patients.
GUIDELINES FOR TREATING CERVICAL DISC HERNIATIONS
In presenting the non-surgical
guidelines, researchers described the risk-benefit ratio for
surgical treatment of cervical radiculopathy as less favorable
than for non-surgical, conservative care. In looking at
care of cervical radiculopathy through its stages, the
non-surgical interventions’ guidelines shift from more passive care in the acute phase to more active, individualized, self-managed
care in the chronic phase. Specifically, for the acute
stage, multimodal management including spinal manipulation, patient
education, exercise, and positioning that eases the
pain were beneficial. For subacute cervical
radiculopathy, increased specific exercises, supervised motor
control motions and/or mobilization may be added. For chronic pain, general aerobic exercise and
strength training, postural instruction, and ergonomic assessment of
job-related activities may be added}29}. (2) We find
that our neck and arm pain patients appreciate activities
like this that allow them to return to doing what
they want to do.
TIME AND THE CERVICAL DISC HERNIATION
Overall, in one systematic review study, 56.4%
of degenerative cervical radiculopathy patients - 39.1% of conservatively
treated patients and 60.5% of surgically treated patients – said
they had motor deficits prior to treatment. (3) A
spine surgeon presented a case report of a patient headed for cervical spine discectomy/fusion surgery
for a C4-C5 disc herniation whose repeated MRI showed that the disc had resorbed, rendering surgery unnecessary.
The researcher conceded that more research was available
on the decrease
of lumbar disc herniations seen on MRI by 34.7% to 95% over 6 to 17 months
and total resolution of the disc in 43% to 75% yet postulated
that cervical disc herniations were likely to do
the same. (4) Like the author,
Gormish Chiropractic & Rehabilitation holds out hope for our cervical disc herniation and cervical
radiculopathy patients that surgery may not be required. Our
conservative Carrolltown chiropractic treatment may
well help healing.
CONTACT Gormish Chiropractic & Rehabilitation
Listen to this PODCAST
with Dr. Umar Ellahie on The
Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he
describes cervical radiculopathy and its relieving care with
The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.
Make your Carrolltown chiropractic
appointment soon. Cervical radiculopathy and cervical disc
herniation sufferers have a pain-relieving partner at our
clinic.