Johnson Chiropractic cares for
Richmond neck pain patients due to cervical spine disc
herniations that cause arm pain radiculopathy. Non-surgical care
of arm pain radiculopathy eases Richmond neck pain and arm pain
non-surgically.
CERVICAL RADICULOPATHY
In setting up a treatment plan for for
cervical spine-related arm pain (aka cervical
radiculopathy), research guidelines report conservative
management as a first-line treatment option over surgery.
Clinically, cervical radiculopathy can pose as numbness, paresthesia, motor
change, reflex change and/or sensory change. Researchers have been collaborating
to set guidelines for its non-surgical management and treatment
at different stages of pain including acute, subacute, and
chronic. (1) Johnson Chiropractic considers such guidelines in planning non-surgical treatment
for our Richmond chiropractic patients.
GUIDELINES FOR TREATING CERVICAL DISC HERNIATIONS
In writing 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 phases, 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 alleviates the
pain were beneficial. For subacute cervical
radiculopathy, enhanced specific exercises, supervised motor
control motions and/or mobilization may be incorporated. In the
chronic phase, patients may benefit 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 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 – reported motor deficits before treatment. (3) A
spine surgeon presented 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, rendering surgery needless.
The researcher acknowledged that more research was accessible
on the decrease
of lumbar disc herniations seen on MRI by 34.7% to 95% over 6 to 17 months
and total resorption of the disc in 43% to 75% yet contended
that cervical disc herniations were likely to act the same way. (4) Like the author,
Johnson Chiropractic holds out hope for our cervical disc herniation and cervical
radiculopathy patients that surgery may not be required. Our
conservative Richmond chiropractic treatment may
well help in relieving the symptoms and pain.
CONTACT Johnson Chiropractic
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.
Schedule your Richmond chiropractic
appointment now. Cervical radiculopathy and cervical disc
herniation sufferers find a pain-relieving partner at our
clinic.