Can You Recover from a Herniated Disc? Here’s How Chiropractic Care Can Help!

Back pain is one of the most prevalent orthopedic issues experienced by people today. In fact, it’s estimated that almost 80% of all people will suffer from back pain and/or a related condition at least once throughout life. Needless to say, this problem is very common!

One particular disorder that often leads to back pain is known as a herniated disc. A herniated disc, also colloquially termed a “slipped” disc, can cause unbearable pain in the spine and the limbs.

For this reason, people with herniated discs need to find ways of effectively treating their condition, without resorting to surgery. This is where chiropractors come into play. Your Noblesville chiropractor can help significantly with any pain or dysfunction you may be experiencing due to your slipped disc. 

What is a Herniated Disc?

A herniated disc is known by many different names. As was mentioned in the introduction, most lay people refer to a herniated disc as a slipped disc. On the other hand, many medical professionals will use the more technical term: herniated nucleus pulposus when describing this condition. 

Specifically, a herniated disc is a condition in which the padding between two vertebral segments has slipped out of place. As a result, this often causes sharp pain due to the “bone on bone” contact between the two vertebrae, and radiating pain due to the disc pressing on nearby spinal nerves.

Also, many patients with herniated discs will experience symptoms in their arms or legs (depending on the area of the herniation). Besides pain, these symptoms may include tingling, numbness, and weakness. 

What Causes a Disc to Herniate?

Usually, a disc will slip out of place due to inappropriate bending, twisting, or lifting involving the spine. For instance, a powerlifter may suffer a slipped disc when attempting to deadlift a large amount of weight. Alternatively, an office worker might experience a slipped disc in the neck from turning his head too quickly while in a bad posture at his desk.

But while there are many instances of slipped discs which have clear causes, tons of these injuries occur for seemingly no reason at all. For example, there have been cases of slipped discs which have occurred while someone was simply sitting at home resting. As soon as they stood up, they felt a staggering pain in their back or neck, and they were later diagnosed with a herniated disc.

How to Treat a Herniated Disc

Treating a herniated disc usually requires one of two different treatment approaches, which can be broadly broken down into: surgical or nonsurgical management. 

Surgery for a herniated disc may vary with regard to the extent of tissue removed. In some cases, surgeons will only remove a small part of the disc, and nothing more. In other cases, surgeons might decide to remove most or all of the disc. Once they do this, they will then insert a form of padding between the vertebrae.

As you might imagine, these surgical options present a variety of risks to the patient. These risks include, but are not limited to, increased pain, decreased mobility, weakness, and bleeding issues. 

Nonsurgical management of a herniated disc usually involves trying to get the disc to slide back into place. For this reason, exercises that are designed to improve the symptoms of a herniated disc usually involve pushing the spine into extreme ranges of motion to allow more space for the disc to move in the desired direction.

Specifically, if a disc herniates to the back side of the spine, which is the most common direction for a disc to slip, clinicians will often prescribe spinal extension exercises. This opens up space in the front of the spine, allowing the disc to move back into its original position.

Chiropractic care uses a similar principle for treating slipped discs. By performing specific manipulations on your spine, your chiropractor can open up space and allow the disc to move back into position. 

Your Noblesville chiropractor at Anchor Health Chiropractic can help you with your slipped disc today. Book your appointment now!