Richmond Chiropractic Care for Thoracic Disc Herniation
The thoracic spine, the middle section of your spine, gets ignored. “Mid back pain” does not easily come out of your mouth in quite the same way as “neck pain” and “back pain” or “arm pain” and “leg pain”. But the thoracic spine can have pain of its own. A thoracic disc herniation may be related to seemingly unrelated conditions like irritable bowel syndrome, constipation, painful or frequent urination. Johnson Chiropractic does talk about the thoracic spine and its mid-back pain. Johnson Chiropractic gently treats the thoracic spine’s mid-back pain to effectively ease it.
THORACIC DISC HERNIATION
The rate of thoracic disc herniation in asymptomatic people is 11-37%. It is not as infrequent as we think. Two studies reported abdominal wall bulges: A patient later found to have a thoracic disc herniation at T11-12 on MRI imaging presented with a lateral abdominal wall bulge that shrank 8 months later as the disc herniation healed. (1) Another two similar cases with herniations at T12-L1 and T10-11 and T11-12 had paresis of the abdominis muscle. After conservative treatment, muscle strength returned to normal in 3 to 6 months. (2) Symptoms of thoracic disc herniation can range from abdominal pain, constipation, urinary incontinence, anesthesia or lack of anal reflex, bowel dysfunction, nausea, to irritable bowel among other issues. (3) A couple other studies report on the incidence of gastrointestinal and gastrourinary issues with thoracic disc herniations. In a study of 100 patients with thoracic disc herniation, 95% had one or more digestive-urologic symptoms, but only 3% had the diagnosis of thoracic disc protrusion. 70.76% of thoracic disc herniations occurred below the T7 level. Most were central herniations (65.25%). 85% of thoracic disc herniation patients with abdominal pain had a positive DN4 test for neuropathic pain compared with only 8% in the control group. 77% of the patients had abdominal pain (and 16.88% of them had gone through a surgery to relieve the pain to find that they still have the same pain after surgery). 90% of thoracic disc pain patients report back pain, 43% report pubic pain, 35% report genital area pain, 66% have lower limb pain. (4) Thoracic disc herniation sufferers often have these issues – chronic abdominal pain, digestive issues, and urological symptoms. Another researcher reported on two patients with T10-11 herniations who showed moderate lower extremity weakness, amplified patellar tendon reflex, and sensory disturbance of the entire lower extremities. (5) Johnson Chiropractic does a thorough examination to figure out just how a thoracic disc herniation is affecting our Richmond chiropractic mid-back pain patients.
EXAMINATION
Gastrointestinal surgeons are quite likely to see patients with thoracic disc herniation as their symptoms are gastrointestinal and/or gastrourinary in nature but without any organic reason for them. A reliable test to see if the abdominal pain is related to problems with the abdomen or a visceral issue is Carnett’s Sign. It is well-known for its sensitivity of 78 to 85% and specificity of 88 to 97%. (6) It directs the examining physician to the source of pain! For Richmond patients with inexplicable abdominal pain or strange abdominal wall bulges, consult Johnson Chiropractic who understands the connection of these problems to the thoracic disc herniation. Gentle, chiropractic spinal manipulation with Cox® Technic to the thoracic spine may help ease pain and symptomatology of the thoracic disc herniation.
CONTACT Johnson Chiropractic
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Kurt Olding on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson who really knows and understands the unusual but important thoracic disc herniation. Dr. Olding describes the thoracic disc herniation and its symptomatology as well as its alleviating treatment with Cox® Technic.
Schedule a Richmond chiropractic appointment at Johnson Chiropractic for your thoracic spine and its mid-back concerns. Johnson Chiropractic doesn’t ignore the thoracic spine, and you should not either!
