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Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka Cares for Cervical Disc Herniations and Related Radiculopathy

Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka treats Sitka neck pain patients due to cervical spine disc herniations that cause arm pain radiculopathy. Non-surgical care of arm pain radiculopathy eases Sitka neck pain and arm pain non-surgically.

CERVICAL RADICULOPATHY

In setting up a treatment plan for for cervical spine-related arm pain known as cervical radiculopathy, research guidelines report 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) Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka uses such guidelines in planning non-surgical treatment for our Sitka chiropractic patients.

GUIDELINES FOR TREATING CERVICAL DISC HERNIATIONS

In presenting the non-surgical guidelines, researchers explained the risk-benefit ratio for surgical treatment of cervical radiculopathy as less favorable than for non-surgical, conservative care. When studying the care of cervical radiculopathy through its stages, the non-surgical interventions’ guidelines shift from acute/more passive care to more active, individualized, self-managed care in the chronic phase. Specifically, for the acute stage, multimodal management involving spinal manipulation, patient education, exercise, and positioning that eases the pain were valuable. For subacute cervical radiculopathy, enhanced specific exercises, supervised motor control motions and/or mobilization may be added. In the chronic phase, patients may profit from general aerobic exercise and strength training, postural instruction, and ergonomic assessment of job-related activities, general aerobic exercise and strength training, postural instruction, and ergonomic assessment of job-related activities may be added}29}. (2) We know that our neck and arm pain patients are ready for activities like this that get them back 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 before treatment. (3) A spine surgeon described a case report of a patient who was ready to undergo cervical spine discectomy/fusion surgery for a C4-C5 disc herniation whose disc resorbed on a confirming repeat MRI, making surgery needless. The researcher acknowledged that more research was available on lumbar disc herniations’ decreasing as seen on MRI by 34.7% to 95% over 6 to 17 months and total resorption of the disc in 43% to 75% yet postulated that cervical disc herniations were apt to act the same way. (4) Like the author, Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka holds out hope for our cervical disc herniation and cervical radiculopathy patients that surgery may not be required. Our conservative Sitka chiropractic treatment may well help healing.

CONTACT Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka

Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Umar Ellahie on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he illustrates cervical radiculopathy and its relieving care with The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.

Schedule your Sitka chiropractic appointment now. Cervical radiculopathy and cervical disc herniation sufferers have a pain-relieving partner at our chiropractic practice.

Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka uses the Cox® Technic spinal manipulation to treat cervical radiculopathy and avert surgery.  
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"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."