Objective: The low back pain (LBP) epidemic remains as a leading global disability burden with substantial economic and societal impact. Despite extensive research on management of LBP and availability of a broad range of treatment modalities, no single treatment option has been identified as safe and effective. Nonsurgical spinal decompression (NSD) therapy is a novel motorized traction therapy and shown to be effective at reducing herniation in management of patients with LBP. The purpose of this case series was to present the results of NSD therapy assessed via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of lumbar discs herniation in patients with LBP.
Clinical Features: Four patients with LBP and radicular symptoms received eight weeks of NSD together with chiropractic care. Lumbar herniated disc size was measured using MRI findings to calculate herniation index before and following the treatment protocol. In addition, pain intensity was measured on the visual analogue scale.
Intervention and Outcome: Following the NSD combined treatment protocol, all 4 patients reported improved function and considerable reduction in pain intensity. The herniated disc sizes were reduced compared to initial presentation for all patients.
Conclusion: The findings of the present case series showed that NSD contributed to the improvement in patient-reported pain intensity, function and quality of life. NSD might benefit patients with LBP due to a herniated disc. This series suggests that this be further studied to compare clinical value of NSD to other conservative modalities in management of patients with back pain.
Author keywords: Chiropractic; Low Back Pain; MRI; Lumbar Spine; Disc Herniation
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