Several years ago I had my first real case as an intern fresh out of school.  The man came to the office I was working at literally hunched over and inching forward though our door.  He was clearly in tremendous pain and could barely move.

An MRI confirmed that he had a disc herniation at three levels of his lumbar spine.  They looked like a little stair case on the MRI each one getting progressively worse.  His medical doctor told him his only hope to be cured of this pain was a triple lumbar fusion.  This is a procedure in which they basically add bone and make it so there is no movement in the areas fused.  These surgeries have a shockingly low success rate, down in the 20% range.

The doctor I was interning with told him to forget about the surgery.  He also told him he would need to treat him 2-3 times a week for as long as it took to get better.  We also applied traction and on occasional some electrical muscle stimulation.  And so it began.

It was a grueling process to be sure but over the course of 3 months his lower back pain and leg pain subsided.  He regained normal range of motion and was, as far as anyone could tell, back to himself. I still remember the last day I treated him.  He walked through the door of the office and threw his hands up in a “viola!” motion and said how good he felt.  The doctor I was interning with said “Now don’t think your going to go chopping wood all day or go for a 5 mile hike.”  He was telling him that yes you are doing much better but don’t forget you still need to be mindful of your body.

The point of this story is that he could have had the surgery and spent those 3 month (or more) recovering from it but with conservative chiropractic treatment he was able to heal naturally without even drugs, other than the occasional Advil.

I’ve not yet seen a case as bad as his in 7 years of practice but I have treated hundreds of herniated discs.  If you have back pain associated with herniated discs or degenerative disc disease in the neck or lower back you owe it to yourself to explore chiropractic to treat it. It could end up being the best decision you ever make.

Call either of our offices to set up an appointment or just walk in.  We can help get you back to being your best.

Glenwood City 715-265-7500

4 Corners 715-246-7500

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