Old Mill Chiropractic Understands How Images Help a Back Pain Patient

“Seeing is believing.” Ever heard that saying before? Old Mill Chiropractic bets you have. Old Mill Chiropractic knows that St Peters back pain patients often want to see the source of their pain. (They believe they have pain by now!) Currently, imaging doesn’t always fulfill a patient’s desire to see the cause if it is due to an issue like chemical irritation when disc material is on a nerve root, so imaging can only go so far in satisfying a patient’s desire to see the cause. But St Peters back pain patients can believe that their St Peters chiropractor will thoroughly tell them the cause of their pain…and set a treatment plan to alleviate that pain.

THE GOOD OF IMAGING

Imaging recommendations today are all about decreasing imaging exposure and cost. The concern of radiation exposure is being dealt with by careful examination of low back pain patients for more specific indications, decreasing radiation dose and doing more MRI than CT. These changes in turn decrease the cost of imaging. (1) Recommendations today are to hold off on imaging for 6-8 weeks of conservative treatment. Old Mill Chiropractic has followed the Cox Technic System of Spinal Pain Management which suggests holding off on imaging (in the absence of "red flags" which a thorough clinical examination finds) for a month during which time 50% improvement is sought. If 30 days pass without such improvement, imaging is ordered. These are win-win scenarios for St Peters back pain patients and their healthcare providers like your St Peters chiropractor most of the time.

BACK PAIN SUFFERERS WANT TO “SEE”

Other times (and Old Mill Chiropractic totally gets this!) patients want to “see” their diagnosis. Words and descriptions and drawings are one thing while imaging is much more personal. When it comes to non-specific back pain, there is an added layer of curiosity as it is “non-specific” and doesn’t always have an obvious reason for the pain. The public and patients believe imaging helps diagnose the back pain condition. They are not alone as some healthcare professionals do, too. (2) That is likely why patients and their healthcare providers like MRI and xrays.

MEDICINE AND SPINAL IMAGING

Interestingly, for years, medicine downplayed the idea of imaging for spine issues. Today, medicine becomes more and more interested in it. For cervical spine myelopathy, for example, treating physicians depend on imaging to determine the severity of it. Particularly, a set of researchers looked at the possibility of how imaging helped see the relationship between lumbopelvic alignment and cervical alignment and subsequent cervical spine myelopathy severity. (3) Imaging has its positives. Your St Peters back pain specialist at Old Mill Chiropractic wants to be sure imaging is positively contributory to the treatment plan for our back pain patients’ final recovery and pain relief. We realize that “seeing is believing” and respect what imaging brings to the treatment plan when needed.

CONTACT Old Mill Chiropractic

Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Dan Clark on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he explains how valuable imaging can be for a patient’s treatment plan and final outcome of care.

Schedule your St Peters chiropractic appointment at Old Mill Chiropractic to more fully comprehend your back pain and its relieving treatment plan whether you can see the cause or not because you certainly already believe you have pain. Old Mill Chiropractic believes in its relief. You can, too.