Back Clinic Herniated Disc Chiropractic Team. A herniated disc refers to a problem with one of the rubbery cushions (discs) between the individual bones (vertebrae) that stack up to make your spine.
A spinal disc has a soft center encased within a tougher exterior. Sometimes called a slipped disc or a ruptured disc, a herniated disc occurs when some of the soft centers push out through a tear in the tougher exterior.
A herniated disc can irritate the surrounding nerves which can cause pain, numbness, or weakness in an arm or leg. On the other hand, many people experience no symptoms from a herniated disk. Most people who have a herniated disc will not need surgery to correct the problem.
Symptoms
Most herniated disks occur in the lower back (lumbar spine), although they can also occur in the neck (cervical spine). Most common symptoms of a herniated disk:
Arm or leg pain: A herniated disk in the lower back, typically an individual will feel the most intense pain in the buttocks, thigh, and calf. It may also involve part of the foot. If the herniated disc is in the neck, the pain will typically be most intense in the shoulder and arm. This pain may shoot into the arm or leg when coughing, sneezing, or moving the spine into certain positions.
Numbness or tingling: A herniated disk can feel like numbness or tingling in the body part served by the affected nerves.
Weakness: Muscles served by the affected nerves tend to weaken. This may cause stumbling or impair the ability to lift or hold items.
Someone can have a herniated disc without knowing. Herniated discs sometimes show up on spinal images of people who have no symptoms of a disc problem. For answers to any questions you may have please call Dr. Jimenez at 915-850-0900
Pain that travels from the back down the leg and into the foot is known as sciatica, which is an overall expression for pain that is excruciating. The term does not clarify why, or what tissue is injured. In reality accidents can cause gastrointestinal pain, together with piriformis syndrome, lumbar spinal disc herniations, and sprains being the three most frequent types of injuries and conditions affecting health and wellness.
Piriformis syndrome is commonly misdiagnosed as a spinal disc herniation, because the pattern of radiating pain, in the back to the lower elevation, is similar in both cases. With both injuries, individuals experience pain with the same type of motions, particularly rising from a seated position, standing for prolonged period of time, or sleeping. At the same time, the pain related to both injuries feels better once you curl up in the fetal position on your side.
A spinal disc herniation occurs when the jelly-like substance from inside the lumbar disc compresses the spinal cord or nerve. Either the disc material compresses the nerves when squeezed out of this disc, or else the compression of the nervous tissue is caused by inflammation. A spinal disc herniation is generally considered a severe injury, causing a massive amount of restriction and back pain. Some folks lose sensation in their legs. They can experience numbness and tingling through the day. Several have tingling, burning, dull, or pain in leg, glutes, and their own back. These are all symptoms associated with sciatica. Compression of particular nerves causes muscle fatigue and loss of feeling.
Herniated Disc Treatments
Therapy entails helping the body break down the spinal disc material, and relieving the compression of the nerves. Spinal disc decompression treatments are treatments for disc herniations. Flexion distraction therapy is also a way of decreasing pressure in the low back. Patients benefit from at-home utilization of inversion tables. Improve movement in the back joints and stretches and light exercises are used to decrease muscle spasms.
Massage treatment is focused on the back, buttocks, and hamstring muscles to decrease spasms and to reach the lumbar spine and pelvis. Individuals with disc herniations have weakness within their muscles, which need to be strengthened with therapy in order to increase strength, endurance, and muscle coordination patterns. Patients with a history of previous disc herniations or back injuries benefit immensely from strengthening therapy to prevent injuries.
Piriformis Syndrome and Treatment
The piriformis muscle is a really strong and powerful muscle that runs from the sacrum into the femur. It runs beneath gluteal muscles the nerve travels beneath them. If this muscle goes into spasm, then the nerve creates radiating pain, numbness, tingling, or burning out of the buttocks to the leg and foot. People do experience pain together with the syndrome. Other people develop the syndrome while dealing with chronic low back pain.
Activities and motions that cause the piriformis muscle to contract further compress the sciatic nerve, causing pain. This muscle can be contracted once we squat, or stand, walk , go up steps. It tends to tighten when we sit at any position for more than 20 to 30 minutes.
Individuals who have a history of chronic low back pain frequently assume that their radiating sciatic pain is traceable to their lower spine. Their history of disc herniations, or sprains, strains has taught them to assume that it will go away like normal, and that the pain is out of their spine. It is just when the pain doesn’t respond as usual that individuals seek therapy, thus delaying their recovery.
Treatment for piriformis syndrome entails decreasing the intensity of the piriformis muscle spasm that’s controlling the sciatic nerve. Trigger point therapy, massage therapy, ice, heat, electrical, and stretching are involved with the early stages of care. Deep massage therapy is not advised in the first phases of piriformis syndrome. Some of the pain may be relieved during the therapy, but individuals experience worsening symptoms the following day. After the piriformis muscle is worked deeply it might relax for a short time period before it goes to a bigger spasm, further worsening the gastrointestinal pain.
Chiropractic Therapy for Sciatica Symptoms
Chiropractic therapies and treatment goals are to increase joint selection of motion and reduce muscle spasms. Muscle spasms increase tension and pressure on the lumbosacral and sacroiliac regions, which raises back pain. Treatment restores motion in these regions. Treatment and remedies to improve flexibility and reduce spasms accelerate healing and healing times for many types of back pain.
Often, people aggravate their piriformis muscle when they’re protecting or protecting their low back. They may have strength and capacity to compensate, bend, turn, and twist — thus, to squat, they overwork piriformis muscles and their glutes. Treatment should focus on increasing strength and endurance of their muscles, to reduce strain and injury.
Both piriformis syndrome and spinal disc herniations produce radiating pain in the very low back and to the leg. They are two different injuries, requiring treatments for recovery and regular healing. They are both commonly associated with flexibility and low back weakness. Treatment should address the acute traumas but also the core weaknesses that resulted in the condition.
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .�
By Dr. Alex Jimenez
Additional Topics: Sciatica
Lower back pain is one of the most commonly reported symptoms among the general population. Sciatica, is well-known group of symptoms, including lower back pain, numbness and tingling sensations, which often describe the source of an individual’s lumbar spine issues. Sciatica can be due to a variety of injuries and/or conditions, such as spinal misalignment, or subluxation, disc herniation and even spinal degeneration.
Herniated discs are a common condition that can occur anywhere along the back or spine, but most often affects the lower back or neck region of the spine.
Also known as a slipped disc or ruptured disc, a herniated disc develops when one or several of the pads found between the vertebrae moves from position and presses on adjacent nerves, resulting in a variety of painful symptoms.
Herniated discs are caused by overuse injuries or trauma to the spine, nonetheless, disc conditions can also develop as a result of the normal aging process or due to degeneration. It’s also understood that there is a genetic element that leads to the development of disc herniation and disc degeneration.
Symptoms of a herniated disc may generally include sharp or dull pain and discomfort, muscle spasm or cramping, fatigue, tingling sensations, numbness or referred pain.
But here is something to consider: From time to time, a disc does not cause any symptoms . That’s called an asymptomatic herniated disc. Your intervertebral disc could be bulging or herniated, but it won’t cause any symptoms, such as pain, unless it is pressing on the spinal cord, its nerve roots or individual nerves.
This brings up a fantastic point about herniated disc symptoms: Your symptoms are dependent on where you’ve got a herniated disc.
Cervical Herniated Disc Symptoms
If you’ve got a herniated disc or bulging disc on your neck (cervical spine), then you will experience:
Neck pain
Muscle tightness or cramping on your neck
Pain which radiates (or travels) down your arm(s) (this can be called referred pain or cervical radiculopathy)
Tingling in your arm(s) or hand(s)
Weakness in your arm(s) or hand(s)
Lumbar Herniated Disc Symptoms
A herniated disc in the low back (lumbar spine) may cause the following symptoms:
Low back pain
Muscle tightness or cramping in your back
Pain that radiates down your leg(s) (this can be known as referred pain, lumbar radiculopathy, or sciatica)
Tingling in your leg(s) or foot/feet
Weakness in your leg(s) or foot/feet
Really infrequent: Loss of bowel or bladder control (Please, even if this occurs, seek prompt medical care.)
A Note on Referred Pain Brought on by a Herniated Disc
Referred pain means that you’ve got pain in another part of your body as a result of the intervertebral disc issue. As an example, in case you’ve got a bulging disc or a herniated disc in your low back (lumbar spine), you may have known pain in your leg. This is called lumbar radiculpathy or sciatica, a shooting pain that can extend from the buttock into the leg and to the foot. Only one leg is typically affected.
When you’ve got a herniated disc in your neck (cervical spine), then you may have referred pain down your arm and into your hand. Arm and shoulder pain caused by a herniated disc is also called radiculopathy.
Lower Back Pain: Causes & Symptoms (Video)
Herniated Disc Symptoms: When Should You Find a Doctor?
The pain from a herniated disc can make it hard to enjoy your daily life; it may make it tough to walk, sit, or even sleep comfortably. If your disc symptoms linger for more than fourteen days, you should make a doctor appointment. Should you experience unexpected onset of pain (after lifting something heavy incorrectly, as an instance), call your physician.
It’s very rare, but herniated discs can sometimes affect bowel or bladder control (as mentioned above). If this occurs, seek medical attention immediately for a proper diagnosis, followed up by treatment.
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .�
By Dr. Alex Jimenez
Additional Topics: Sciatica
Lower back pain is one of the most commonly reported symptoms among the general population. Sciatica, is well-known group of symptoms, including lower back pain, numbness and tingling sensations, which often describe the source of an individual’s lumbar spine issues. Sciatica can be due to a variety of injuries and/or conditions, such as spinal misalignment, or subluxation, disc herniation and even spinal degeneration.
A herniated (ruptured or “slipped”) disc results whenever a disc moves from place or bulges and puts pressure on the nerves or nerve roots. This kind of injury is comparatively common. Repetitive movements, lifting, being obese, and high-impact injuries, as well as simply the aging process, can cause a herniated disc.
As we age, we become more prone to disc injuries over time, primarily because the discs begin to degenerate: they dry out and can become torn and cracked. Moreover, certain genetic elements may also predispose a person to suffer from a herniated disc and disc degeneration.
Intervertebral discs would be the cushion-like pads that sit between the vertebrae of the spine; they act like shock absorbers and permit the spine to become elastic. A strong outer layer known as the annulus fibrosus surrounds a center called the nucleus pulposus, similar to a hard candy with a soft center. The spine can be broken up into regions. The vertebrae are numbered, and the discs are numbered by level. For example, the lumbar spine (lower back) vertebrae are tagged L1 to L5, and the discs are labeled L1-L2, all the way down to L5-S1 (where the spine joins the sacrum).
Lumbar Herniated Disc and Sciatica
Several symptoms may indicate a LHD, or lumbar herniated disc. Pain can range from a dull ache to a severe, sharp pain. Sciatica is a type of nerve pain which could be caused by a lumbar disc compressing the nerve. The sciatic nerve originates in the lumbar spine and extends down the buttocks and down each leg. When a disc protrudes, it can compress the nerves, causing sciatica where pain extends from the buttock and thigh down into the leg and below the knee. You might have other symptoms, such as numbness on your leg or foot, burning or tingling sensations (paresthesias), muscular fatigue and/or weakness, abnormal reflexes, and, in severe cases, loss of bladder or bowel control (that constitutes a medical emergency and needs immediate attention).
Lumbar Herniated Disc Diagnosis
The science of a medical diagnosis starts with a history and physical examination. Your doctor will assess body movements and asks about your symptoms. If lifting up the leg while lying down generates pain which radiates down your leg, a diagnosis of LHD is possible, especially if you have other symptoms, such as numbness or paresthesias.
Although X-rays may help rule out other conditions, such as a fracture, for example, other imaging studies, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), are necessary for a diagnosis of lumbar herniated disc. X-rays don’t show soft tissues like discs and nerves. Additional tests, such as nerve conduction studies and an electromyogram (EMG) are needed to confirm that a herniated disc is the source of the symptoms.
LHD and Sciatica Statistics
While low back pain is a common ailment, sciatica happens less frequently. Approximately 80% of the general population experiences low back pain but only 2-3% of people with low back pain actually have sciatica. Most cases of LHD occur in people aged 30 to 50 decades. The level of herniation is L4-L5, followed.
Is Surgery Necessary for LHD?
Herniated disks and sciatica often heal on their own with appropriate care, such as medications, injections, and physical therapy, including chiropractic care and other alternative treatment options. If the symptoms progress and when neurologic problems (such as shooting numbness or pain in the leg) become more severe, or when weakness in the leg or foot gets worse, surgery may be suggested.
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .�
By Dr. Alex Jimenez
Additional Topics: Sciatica
Lower back pain is one of the most commonly reported symptoms among the general population. Sciatica, is well-known group of symptoms, including lower back pain, numbness and tingling sensations, which often describe the source of an individual’s lumbar spine issues. Sciatica can be due to a variety of injuries and/or conditions, such as spinal misalignment, or subluxation, disc herniation and even spinal degeneration.
As we get older, we become more prone to injuries, since our bodies are not as elastic as they once were. This is especially true for the inner material of your spine’s discs. Every year you become a little more at risk of experiencing herniated discs, a condition where a stressed disc ruptures, because the elasticity and water content of your intervertebral discs reduces overall.
But herniated discs aren’t only a problem for elderly people. A disc herniation can be experienced by anyone as a result of twisting or lifting the wrong way. And in the event that you currently have a bulging disc, a disc that is hurt but still intact, chances are higher that stress on the affected disc could cause it to rupture or become “herniated”.
A herniated disc can cause pain throughout the entire body, not just back pain. And as you might think of surgery being the sole remedy for a herniated disc, there are lots of complementary and alternative treatment option for herniated discs. Chiropractic specializes in supplying non-invasive spinal decompression treatment and therapy methods.
A visit to your chiropractor will help you confirm whether you have a herniated disc, a bulging disc, or even some other spinal problem altogether. If you do have an injured disc, a doctor of chiropractic can create an individual treatment plan to assist you avoid surgery and return to enjoying your life, pain-free.
What are Herniated Discs?
The 24 vertebrae of your spine are separated from one another by pads of cartilage known as intervertebral discs. These discs have an outer coating with a soft interior to cushion against stresses and strains as well as the shocks experienced in your spine. The discs are subject to injury, disease, and degeneration with use over time. Certain activities and types of work increase the risk of discs being damaged or deteriorating.
Once the soft inside material of a disc pushes or is bulged out through a tear or weakening in the outside covering, the disc is reported to be herniated. Slipped, ruptured and �prolapsed discs are also known as protruding, bulging, or degenerated discs. There are distinctions between these terms, but they really refer to a disc that is no longer in its normal condition and/or position and may require chiropractic care to treat them. Herniated discs trigger pain by impinging on (intruding upon, irritating, and pinching) as well as depriving nerves in the spine.
Chiropractic for Herniated Discs
A healthcare professional can help address back pain along with other herniated disc symptoms. In your first appointment, your chiropractor will go through your medical history, do a physical exam, and carry out orthopedic and neurological tests. The chiropractor will also look over your posture, and may order an X-ray or MRI, if necessary, to aid with the diagnostic procedure and determine the presence of a disc herniation.
Chiropractors assess the whole spine. Your chiropractor will examine your neck, too, even when you simply have back pain. She or he wants to see how well your backbone is functioning and recall: What happens in one area of your spine can affect other parts of your spine and/or body.
After reviewing this information, your physician can ascertain whether you have an intervertebral disc injury. The type of disc injury you have will determine what treatments your chiropractor will use to address your symptoms. Your chiropractor can provide treatment options to you to address your pain and other symptoms.
To treat a herniated disk, your physician will develop a treatment program that might include spinal manipulation–also called adjustments–and other chiropractic techniques to help alleviate your herniated disc symptoms. It might consist of therapy and exercises, although this will be an individualized treatment plan.
The particulars of what are on your treatment strategy are particular to your own pain, level of activity, general health, and what your chiropractor thinks is best. As with any treatment option, do not be afraid to ask questions regarding what chiropractic treatments are being recommended and why. You want to be sure you know how it can help relieve your pain and what will be performed. Therapy is safe and effective for most patients.
Chiropractic provides the distinctive training, techniques, and experience needed to safely and effectively adjust your spine so the stress on the discs is minimized, the pain alleviated, the damaged or displaced structures given a opportunity to heal, and your capacity to return to normal functioning restored.
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .�
By Dr. Alex Jimenez
Additional Topics: Sciatica
Lower back pain is one of the most commonly reported symptoms among the general population. Sciatica, is well-known group of symptoms, including lower back pain, numbness and tingling sensations, which often describe the source of an individual’s lumbar spine issues. Sciatica can be due to a variety of injuries and/or conditions, such as spinal misalignment, or subluxation, disc herniation and even spinal degeneration.
Physical therapy plays a part in herniated disc recovery. Its methods not only offer you immediate pain relief, but they also teach you how you can condition your body to prevent further injury.
The discs are pads that serve as “cushions” between the vertebral bodies that serve to minimize the impact of movement on the spinal column. Each disc is designed like a jelly donut with a central softer component (nucleus pulposus).
As the disc degenerates from age or injury, the softer central portion can rupture (herniate) through the surrounding outer ring (annulus fibrosus). This abnormal rupture of the central portion of the disc is referred to as a disc herniation. The most common location for a herniated disc to occur is in the disc at the level between the fourth and fifth lumber vertebrae in the low back.
You will find a variety of physical therapy techniques, such as passive treatments, which help relax your body and include deep tissue massage, hot and cold therapy, electric stimulation (eg, TENS), and hydrotherapy, among others.
Your physical treatment program will usually begin with passive remedies. But once your body heals, you will start active treatments that strengthen your body and protect against additional pain. Your therapist will work with you to develop a strategy which best suits you.
Passive Physical Treatments for Herniated Discs
Deep Tissue Massage: There are more than 100 kinds of massage, but deep tissue massage is an ideal option when you’ve got a herniated disc because it uses a lot of pressure to ease deep muscle tension and spasms, which develop to stop muscle movement at the affected place.
Hot and Cold Therapy: Both hot and cold therapies offer their own set of advantages, and your physical therapist may alternate between them to get the best outcomes.
Your physical therapist may use heat to increase blood flow to the target region. Blood helps by delivering nutrients and additional oxygen cure the area. Blood also removes waste byproducts.
Conversely, cold therapy (also called cryotherapy) slows circulation. This decreases inflammation, muscle spasms and pain. Your physical therapist may put an ice pack give you an ice massage, or use a spray known to cool tissues.
Hydrotherapy: As the name implies, hydrotherapy involves water. As a passive therapy, hydrotherapy may involve sitting in warm shower or a bath. Hydrotherapy gently relieves pain and relaxes muscles.
Transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation (TENS): A TENS machine utilizes an electrical current to stimulate your muscles. It isn’t painful, although it seems extreme. A electric current is sent by electrodes to key points on the neural pathway. TENS reduces muscle spasms and is generally believed to activate the release.
Traction: The goal of traction is to decrease the effects of gravity to the spine. The aim is to cut back the disk herniation, by pulling the bones apart. The analogy is similar to a flat tire “disappearing” when you place a jack under the car and take strain off the tire. It can be carried out in the lumbar or cervical spine.
Active Physical Treatments for Herniated Discs
Active remedies help address flexibility, posture, strength, core stability, and joint motion. An exercise program may also be prescribed to achieve results. This will not just suppress recurrent pain but may also benefit your health. Your therapist may work with you to develop a schedule based on your diagnosis and health history.
Core equilibrium: Many people don’t realize how important a strong heart is to their spinal health. Your core (abdominal) muscles help your back muscles support your spine. It puts pressure when your heart muscles are weak. Your physical therapist may teach core to you.
Flexibility: Learning appropriate stretching and endurance techniques will prepare one for aerobic and strength exercises. Flexibility helps your body move simpler by warding off stiffness.
Hydrotherapy: Compared to just sitting in a hot bath or bath like its counterpart that is passive, active hydrotherapy can demand water to help condition your body without unnecessary strain.
Muscle strengthening: Strong muscles are a great support system for your backbone and better handle pain.
Your physician will teach you ways to condition and strengthen your back to help prevent future pain. So that you realize how to best treat your symptoms, you may learn fundamentals. The aim is that you develop the knowledge to maintain a way of life.
It is essential that you understand how to exercise and condition your back following the formal physical therapy ends. You won’t appreciate its results, if you don’t implement the lessons you learned during physical therapy. You might prevent additional disc pain, by taking care of your back on your own.
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .�
By Dr. Alex Jimenez
Additional Topics: Sciatica
Lower back pain is one of the most commonly reported symptoms among the general population. Sciatica, is well-known group of symptoms, including lower back pain, numbness and tingling sensations, which often describe the source of an individual’s lumbar spine issues. Sciatica can be due to a variety of injuries and/or conditions, such as spinal misalignment, or subluxation, disc herniation and even spinal degeneration.
Complementary and alternative treatments like massage, acupressure, and acupuncture can relieve pain related to a bulging or herniated disc.
If you’re considering these remedies, you need to consult a complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) professional. This title can be confusing, although complementary medicine and other medicine follow the very same techniques, they’re distinct in that forms are used in place of traditional medicine, whereas complementary treatments are used with conventional medication.
A herniated disk refers to a problem with one of the rubbery cushions (disks) between the individual bones (vertebrae) that stack up to make your spine. A spinal disk is a little like a jelly donut, with a softer center encased within a tougher exterior. Sometimes called a slipped disk or a ruptured disk, a herniated disk occurs when some of the softer “jelly” pushes out through a tear in the tougher exterior.
A herniated disk can irritate nearby nerves and result in pain, numbness or weakness in an arm or leg. On the other hand, many people experience no symptoms from a herniated disk. Most people who have a herniated disk don’t need surgery to correct the problem, as a matter of fact, they can explore alternative treatment approaches.
Other Treatments for Herniated Discs
Exploring alternative approaches may not only help you feel relaxed and hassle free but these can also keep you away from the operating room. For a ruptured or herniated disc, you might want to try:
Acupuncture: This ancient Chinese practice is rooted in the belief that everyone has an energy force called the Chi (sometimes spelled Qi, but the two are pronounced “chee”). When the Chi is blocked or unbalanced, your body may react with sickness, pain and discomfort. Traditional acupuncturists aim to free up Chi channels, called meridians, by inserting extremely thin needles into certain points in your own body’s meridians.
Based on your particular diagnosis, the practitioner will probably insert multiple needles which are left in for approximately 20-40 minutes.
It’s also been suggested that acupuncture triggers the release of endorphins into the blood flow. In other words, endorphins are the body’s natural pain relievers. As such, their discharge decreases your perception of pain. Similarly, the Gate Control Theory can play a part in acupuncture’s efficacy in reducing pain. This theory maintains that pain signals traveling slowly from the area of injury to the spinal cord into the brain because the nerves may only deal with a limited number of signals at the same time. Acupuncture is supposed to create signals to audience the pain signs that were slow-moving, blocking out the pain.
Acupressure: Not surprisingly, acupressure is very much like acupuncture. Both are techniques that restore a healthy flow of energy throughout the entire body by stimulating specific meridian points. But acupressure relies on hands palms, and elbows, not needles, to manage pressure. Acupressure is for people of all ages but not for pregnant women (several acupressure points may lead to miscarriage) and those with high blood pressure.
Massage: When received frequently, massage can provide chronic low back pain relief. A massage involves the stroking, kneading, and manipulation of your tissues. Blood flow, which provides oxygen and nutrients to the muscles is increased by these movements. Extra blood also carries waste byproducts that may accumulate away.
Whilst massage is not a proven treatment for herniated discs, it is usually safe and free of side effects. However, massage might not be perfect for you in the event that you suffer from deep vein thrombosis, osteoporosis, skin infections, open wounds, or arthritis in or close to the area to be massaged.
You’ll find over 100 types of massage techniques. A Swedish massage, for example, uses long strokes to impact the superficial layers of the muscles. In contrast, a deep tissue massage uses slow strokes and direct pressure to soothe your layers of muscle and relieve chronic strain. Your massage therapist will work with you to determine what special massage will most likely reduce your pain.
When you start any new medical plan, let your practitioner know if you have any health conditions apart from pain from your herniated disc. Additionally, it is important to be aware that these treatments are best when used as complementary treatments (that can be combined with conventional medicine).
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .�
By Dr. Alex Jimenez
Additional Topics: Sciatica
Lower back pain is one of the most commonly reported symptoms among the general population. Sciatica, is well-known group of symptoms, including lower back pain, numbness and tingling sensations, which often describe the source of an individual’s lumbar spine issues. Sciatica can be due to a variety of injuries and/or conditions, such as spinal misalignment, or subluxation, disc herniation and even spinal degeneration.
Herniation of the nucleus pulposus, abbreviated as HNP, occurs when the nucleus pulposus, frequently described to have a gel-like substance, breaks through the anulus fibrosus, the tire-like structure of the intervertebral disc which acts as a spinal shock absorber.
A herniated disc occurs most frequently in the lumbar region of the backbone or spine, particularly at the L4-L5 and L5-S1 levels (L = Lumbar and S = Sacral). This is primarily because the lumbar spine generally carries the majority of the body’s weight. Since the elasticity and water content of the nucleus decreases with age through the natural process of degeneration, individuals between the ages of 30 and 50 often seem to be �more vulnerable to disc herniation.
The progression of a herniation of the nucleus pulposus, best known as a herniated disc, can vary and typically occurs gradually over time. There are four stages: (1) disc protrusion (2) prolapsed disk (3) disc extrusion (4) sequestered disc. Stages 1 and 2 are known as incomplete disc herniations, or as a disc bulge, where 3 and 4 are known as complete disc herniations, ruptured discs or herniated discs. Pain may be combined with some radiculopathy, which means deficit. The deficit might include sensory alterations, such as tingling sensations and/or numbness, or motor changes, such as weakness and/or �weight loss. Nerve compression resulting from added pressure, compression or impingement of the spinal nerves due to the substance from the herniated disc is often what causes these changes.
Progression of Herniated Disc
The extremities affected by herniated discs are dependent upon the vertebral level at which they occur in. Consider the following examples:
Cervical – Pain, discomfort and other symptoms in the throat, shoulders, and arms.
Thoracic – Symptoms radiate into the chest.
Lumbar – Symptoms extend into the buttocks, thighs, legs and feet. Sciatica is common.
Cauda Equina Syndrome is serious disorder requiring immediate surgical intervention which occurs from from a disc herniation. The symptoms include bilateral leg pain, reduction of perianal sensation (rectum), paralysis of the bladder, and weakness of the anal sphincter.
Analysis of Herniated Discs
The backbone is analyzed with the patient standing and laying down. Because of muscle spasm, a loss of normal spinal curvature may be noted. Radicular pain, described as inflammation of a spinal nerve, may increase if pressure is placed on the affected spinal segment.
A Lasegue test, also known as Straight-leg Raising Test, is often performed to determine the extent of the herniated disc and its manifested symptoms. To perform this test, the patient lies down, the knee is extended, and the hip is flexed. If pain is aggravated or produced, it is an indication the lower lumbosacral nerve roots may be inflamed.
Other neurological tests are performed to ascertain loss of sensation and/or engine function. Reflexes are noted as these changes may indicate the location of the herniation.
Radiographs can be helpful to determine the presence of a herniated disc, but Computed Axial Tomography (CAT) or Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) provides more detail. The MRI is the best method allowing the physician to find the soft spinal tissues that are unseen in other imaging procedures.
Evidence of HNP
The findings in the examination and evaluations, such as the one below, are compared to earn a diagnosis. This includes ascertaining the precise location of the herniation so treatment options can be reviewed with the patient.
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .�
By Dr. Alex Jimenez
Additional Topics: Sciatica
Lower back pain is one of the most commonly reported symptoms among the general population. Sciatica, is well-known group of symptoms, including lower back pain, numbness and tingling sensations, which often describe the source of an individual’s lumbar spine issues. Sciatica can be due to a variety of injuries and/or conditions, such as spinal misalignment, or subluxation, disc herniation and even spinal degeneration.
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