Herniated Lumbar Disc: Conservative Care or Surgery?

Welcome to Chi-research.

A weekly publication by ProCredits reviewing current research associated with the Chiropractic profession. In this week’s article, we are reviewing a 2021 paper from the Global Spine Journal evaluating the success vs failure of conservative and surgical treatment in the herniated lumbar disc population.

Herniated Lumbar Disc

Low back pain is thought to affect more than 80% of people at some point during their lifetime making it one of the most prevalent medical conditions worldwide and accounts for the greatest source of years lived with disability in the US. The costs associated with treating low back pain are estimated to be greater than $100 billion annually and be increasing faster than overall US health care costs. There are numerous causes of low back pain including herniated intervertebral disc disorders which affect an estimated 2-3% of the population at any given time.

This study looked at two separate treatments for disc herniations; conservative treatment, which consisted of Chiropractic, analgesic medications, steroid injections, and physical therapy versus lumbar surgery (microdiscectomy).

Out of 277,941 patients with lumbar intervertebral disc herniations, 269,713 were successfully managed with nonoperative treatments. That’s 97%! Furthermore, a cost analysis indicated that patients who failed nonoperative treatments billed for nearly double ($1718/patient) compared to patients who were successfully treated ($906/patient).

This article highlights the importance of being able to diagnose and treat lumbar disc herniations in the Chiropractic office. Over 50% of the conservative treatments included Physical Therapy with Chiropractic, therefore having an active care protocol to treat herniated discs is a must!

ProCredits offers hundreds of continuing education courses, many designed to develop the Chiropractor’s skill in evaluating, treating, and managing low back disorders including herniated discs.  Check out some of these courses below.

Evaluation and Management of Low Back Disorders Level 1

Evaluation and Management of Low Back Disorders Level 2

Evaluation and Management of Low Back Disorders Level 3

Essentials of Lumbar Spine Rehab: Flexion vs Extension vs Neutral Spine

Chi-research by ProCredits

The herniated lumbar disc is for this week, learn more next week! Stay tuned for more insights and updates on chiropractic continuing education through Chi-research, your weekly publication by ProCredits. Join us every week as we delve deeper into the latest research and developments in chiropractic care.

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References

1.        Lilly DT, Davison MA, Eldridge CM, et al. An Assessment of Nonoperative Management Strategies in a Herniated Lumbar Disc Population: Successes Versus Failures. Global Spine Journal. 2021;11(7):1054-1063. doi:10.1177/2192568220936217