Physical Therapy remains the first line treatment for lumbar disk injuries due to its’ non invasive nature and clinical effectiveness. The natural history of disk injuries is not well established but preliminary data covered in prior blog posts demonstrates regression of these injuries over time. A recent case study in the New England Journal of Medicine (Hong et al. 2016) described the case of a 29 year old female with pain and pins and needles into her leg. Her MRI is shown above on the left side of the screen. The patient did not want surgery and was instead treated with an injection and Physical Therapy. After 5 months a second MRI was taken, shown on the right, showing resolution of the disk injury.
This case adds evidence to the regression and resolution of disk injuries over time with conservative care. Patients are advised to seek care from a local Physical Therapist before attempting more invasive and costly procedures.