Herniated Discs – Symptoms, Causes, and Effective Therapies
A bulging disc / herniated disc can be one of the most frustrating spinal conditions to heal, and can cause quite a bit of pain and dysfunction. Fortunately, there are some good solutions available, even for the person suffering with the most severe herniated disc pain.
This article will discuss what a herniated intervertebral disc is, as well as the causes, symptoms, and therapies available for relief. But before we discuss this information, we need to have a basic understanding of what a spinal disc is, as well as how it functions.
The discs of the spine are like shock absorbers that separate each set of bones in the back. They are very important, because they separate the vertebrae and prevent them from rubbing together when you move (which would be very painful). They also absorb shock so the bones don’t break when force is applied to the spine.
Each spinal disc is composed of a strong outer covering called the annulus, and a soft jelly center called the nucleus. When a person suffers from a back bulging disc, the outer layer of the disc tears, and the jelly begins to shift through where the disc is damaged. This will create a bulging in the disc.
If you look closely at the spine, you will see that the spinal nerves are located directly behind each disc. This is an important point to understand when we begin to discuss the symptoms associated with bulging vertebral discs, because the spinal nerves are truly what cause most of these symptoms.
In fact, the spinal discs are actually designed to not feel pain. I realize that this may sound strange at first, but if you think about it, this actually makes sense when you consider their function of shock absorption. If the discs could cause you to feel pain directly, you would be hurting all day long, with every movement you make.
So, if this is true, why does this condition cause so much pain? The reason is because of the nerves – when the disc bulges, it tends to bulge where the nerve is located, and will apply pressure on the affected nerve.
You have to realize that the spinal nerves control everything in the body, so this condition will not only cause pain, but also malfunctioning of whatever parts of the body the nerve controls.
For example, if you have a bulging spinal disc in your neck, not only will you have neck pain, but you may also develop problems with your arms and hands, chest pains, heart problems, headaches, and even blurred vision and ringing in the ears.
Bulging vertebral discs in the middle back will result in mid back pain, radiating pain around the rib cage, chest pains, and even digestive problems (because the nerves in the middle back control the gall bladder and liver, which are involved with digestion).
In the lower back, a back bulging disc will cause low back pain, pain traveling down the legs, weakness in the legs and an inability to walk, as well as problems with your bowel and bladder.
In fact, these other symptoms related to the spinal nerves tend to be even more frustrating than the back pain associated with a herniated disc because they really affect a person’s normal ability to function.
The cause of bulging discs is usually a trauma of some sort. Whether it be a car accident, or lifting something heavy, these are the types of traumas that may cause this condition to develop.
There are other factors that cause this condition as well. Genetics plays a role, so if you have a family member (or members) who have developed a spinal condition, you may have a genetic predisposition to develop a bulging disc / herniated disc.
Your lifestyle also plays a role in the development of bulging discs. Smokers, for examples, tend to have a higher likelihood of developing a herniated intervertebral disc because toxins will destroy the strong wall of the disc. Poor diet also plays a role, as well as a lack of exercise.
The therapies available for bulging discs in back are often somewhat discouraging, unfortunately. Most physicians will begin by prescribing medications (usually pain killers and muscle relaxers), pain injections (such as cortisone and epidurals), physical therapy, and surgery as a last resort.
These therapies will tend to only provide temporary relief, at best. The reason for this is because they are primarily designed to numb the affected nerve. Although this may sound good on the surface, because the nerve is what causes you to experience the pain, if you don’t address the cause of the problem (which is the bulging disc / herniated disc), the pain will relapse.
Some may say, “Well, wait a second – doesn’t surgery address the disc?” And the answer would be, not really. The surgeries that are available for bulging discs will either remove the bulging area of the disc, or remove the disc completely and fuse the vertebrae above and below together.
In the first case, the disc will typically bulge again after a short period, because even if they remove this area of the disc, the disc does not heal with the surgery and the problem will tend to re-occur after a period of time. A spinal fusion is even worse – this causes the discs above and below this area to work harder than they normally do, and the problem will then spread to other areas of the back.
There are other treatment options available that are more effective, however most physicians are not familiar with them. In fact, it is really a combination of therapies that I have found to be most successful with this condition.
If you would like to learn more about the most effective therapies for a bulging spinal disc, as well as the combination of those treatments that I recommend for the best results, you can click here (herniated disc) to get all the details.
About the Author: Dr. Ron Daulton, Jr. is a chiropractor, national speaker, and published author who specializes in spinal disc conditions.
