Carrolltown Chiropractic Care for Thoracic Disc Herniation
The thoracic spine, the middle section of your spine, gets overlooked. “Mid back pain” does not easily roll off your tongue 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. Gormish Chiropractic & Rehabilitation does talk about the thoracic spine and its mid-back pain. Gormish Chiropractic & Rehabilitation gently cares for the thoracic spine’s mid-back pain to effectively ease it.
THORACIC DISC HERNIATION
The incidence of thoracic disc herniation in people who have no pain is 11-37%. It is not as rare as we think. Two studies described abdominal wall bulges: A patient later found to have a thoracic disc herniation at T11-12 on MRI imaging came to the doctor with a lateral abdominal wall bulge that diminished 8 months later as the disc herniation healed. (1) An additional 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 reports describe the incidence of gastrointestinal and gastrourinary problems 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% were diagnosed with 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 tested positive in the DN4 test for neuropathic pain in contrast with just 8% in the control group. 77% of the patients had abdominal pain (and 16.88% of them had gone through a surgery to get rid of the pain to find that they still have the same pain after surgery). 90% of thoracic disc pain patients have back pain, 43% have pubic pain, 35% report genital area pain, 66% report 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 whole lower extremities. (5) Gormish Chiropractic & Rehabilitation does a thorough examination to determine how a thoracic disc herniation is affecting our Carrolltown chiropractic mid-back pain patients.
EXAMINATION
Gastrointestinal surgeons are very 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 discover whether the abdominal pain is related to issues 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 Carrolltown patients with mysterious abdominal pain or strange abdominal wall bulges, consult Gormish Chiropractic & Rehabilitation who understands the connection of these issues 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 Gormish Chiropractic & Rehabilitation
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Kurt Olding on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson who really knows and understands the rare but significant thoracic disc herniation. Dr. Olding defines the thoracic disc herniation and its symptomatology as well as its relieving treatment with Cox® Technic.
Schedule a Carrolltown chiropractic appointment at Gormish Chiropractic & Rehabilitation for your thoracic spine and its mid-back issues. Gormish Chiropractic & Rehabilitation doesn’t overlook the thoracic spine, and you shouldn’t either!
