Moriarty Chiropractic Understands How Images Help a Back Pain Patient

“Seeing is believing.” Ever heard that saying before? Moriarty Chiropractic bets you have. Moriarty Chiropractic understands that Nashua back pain patients often would like to see the cause of their pain. (They believe they have pain by now!) Today, imaging doesn’t always satisfy a patient’s desire to see the source if it is due to an issue like chemical irritation when disc material leaks out to a nerve root, so imaging can only go so far in satisfying a patient’s desire to see what’s going on. But Nashua back pain patients can believe that their Nashua chiropractor will thoroughly explain to them the cause of their pain…and set a treatment plan to alleviate that pain.

THE GOOD OF IMAGING

Today’s imaging recommendations seem to be 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, reducing radiation dose and doing more MRI than CT. These changes in turn decrease the cost of imaging. (1) Recommendations today are to no do imaging for 6-8 weeks of conservative treatment. Moriarty 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 30 days during which time 50% improvement is sought. If a month pass without such improvement, imaging is ordered. These are win-win situations for Nashua back pain patients and their healthcare providers like your Nashua chiropractor most of the time.

BACK PAIN SUFFERERS WANT TO “SEE”

Other times (and Moriarty Chiropractic totally understands this!) patients want to “see” their diagnosis. Words and descriptions and drawings are one thing, but imaging is much more personal. When it comes to non-specific back pain, there is an additional layer of curiosity as it’s “non-specific” and does not always have an obvious reason for the pain. The public and patients believe imaging helps determine 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 problems. Today, medicine is more and more interested in it. For cervical spine myelopathy, for example, treating physicians depend on imaging to ascertain the severity of it. Specifically, a set of researchers considered the possibility that imaging helped see the relationship between lumbopelvic alignment and cervical alignment and subsequent cervical spine myelopathy severity. (3) Imaging has its good points. Your Nashua back pain specialist at Moriarty Chiropractic wants to be sure imaging is positively contributory to the treatment plan for our back pain patients’ final recovery and pain relief. We know that “seeing is believing” and respect what imaging contributes to the treatment plan when necessary.

CONTACT Moriarty Chiropractic

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

Schedule your Nashua chiropractic appointment at Moriarty Chiropractic to more fully comprehend your back pain and its relieving treatment plan whether you can see its source or not because you definitely already believe you have pain. Moriarty Chiropractic believes in its relief. You can, too.