BENEFITS OF TREATMENT
A slipped disc, also known as a prolapsed disc, usually causes severe pain in the lower back area caused by pressure or pinching of a nerve along the spinal column. In most cases, slipped disc symptoms ease off gradually after several weeks. People who have the condition are typically advised to perform normal activities. Sometimes pain is mitigated with prescription drugs along with physical treatments like spinal manipulation. In symptom persistent cases surgery may be required.
What Happens When You Have a Slipped Disc?
When you have slipped disc, a part of the inner, softer part of the disc (usually the nucleus pulposus) bulges out (or herniates) through a weakness on the outer region of the disc. The bulging or herniated disc may press on the nearby structures like a nerve coming through the spinal cord. The irritation that ensues creates inflammation around the slipped part of the disc.
What Causes a Slipped Disc?
A prolapsed disc usually occurs as a result of the breakdown of connective tissue due to advancing age. This may lead to a weakness causing the soft part to be inflamed. Slipped discs are relatively rare in the chest part of the spine but typically affect the lower back. It is also possible that strenuous physical labor may increase an individual's chances of having a slipped disc as well as trauma from an injury or accident.
What are the Symptoms of a Slipped Disc?
Back pain - The pain felt at the back is often severe and usually begins suddenly. The pain may subside when lying down flat. It often gets worse if the affected individual moves their back, coughs or sneezes.
Nerve root pain (sciatica) - Nerve root pain may occur because a nerve coming through the spinal cord is pressed, or trapped, by a slipped disc or is irritated by inflammation. Although the problem starts in the back, an affected individual may feel pain through the nerve in a leg to the foot or calf. The sciatic nerve is a large nerve made up of a group of smaller nerves that come through the spinal cord at the lower back. Each leg has a sciatic nerve.
Other nerve root symptoms - The pressure or irritation on the nerve near the spine can also cause a sensation of needles and pins, weakness, or numbness in a part of the buttock, foot, or leg. The exact location and the type of symptoms will depend solely on which of the nerves are affected.
How is a Slipped Disc Treated?
It is agreed generally that a slipped disc be treated without surgery, so Chiropractic and physiotherapy treatment options should be explored first. Surgery should only be considered when other treatment approaches have failed. The slipped disc treatment will mean a short period of bed-rest along with the appropriate pharmaceuticals for pain. Antidepressants may also be prescribed. Some of the common drugs used for slipped disc treatment include paracetamol, Ibuprofen, stronger analgesics, anti-inflammatory medicines, codeine phosphate, amitriptyline, duloxetine, tramadol hydrochloric drugs, gabapentin, and pregabalin.
According to IBIS World, chiropractic services are on a steady growth as more US citizens begin to recognize the importance of visiting a chiropractor. Each year, it is estimated that about 30 – 40 million people utilize chiropractic services. This reflects how the profession is widely gaining acceptance among the American people as well as other healthcare professionals.
Many people are particularly interested in chiropractic services as an alternative to invasive surgeries and other treatments. Listed below are some of the reasons that chiropractors receive approximately 200 million visits yearly.
Improved Posture
Poor posture can lead to back pain and other health problems. Over time, these problems can worsen if posture has not improved and the condition rectified. As much as it is important to have proper eating habits and regular exercising, so it is to maintain good posture. However, the problems with posture often result from misalignment in the spine and other bones. Fortunately, postural issues can be improved through spinal manipulations.
Aimed At Tackling The Root Cause
Although other health care services may tend to reduce discomfort by providing treatments aimed at alleviating symptoms, these treatments typically do not ultimately fix the underlying problem. By treating the main cause of a problem, advanced chiropractic services are unarguably aimed at providing long-term health benefits.
Reduce Blood Pressure
High blood pressure is a common problem among many people. In fact, it is estimated that 1 in every 3 adults suffers from high blood pressure. To reduce the risk of heart disease and other health problems, there is a need to make serious changes. As a highly effective treatment for high blood pressure, chiropractic care has proven to be an ultimate solution to reducing blood pressure among adult citizens.
Best way to treat pain without the use of Drugs
As people seek alternatives to the constant intake of medications, holistic healthcare providers are beginning to get more and more popular. Advanced chiropractic services are proven to be an excellent solution to treating chronic pain even without having to pass through the stress of taking medications and their potential side effects.
Alleviate emotional problems
One major reason why people are beginning to consider visiting chiropractors is because it has often proven to be effective at helping people overcome worry, anxiety, and depression, as well as other mental health problems. Due to the high level of connectivity of different body systems, fixing physical problems help to address other problems.
Chiropractic care is an essential element of the concerted medical care needed to provide relief from pain during the therapeutic process of correcting problems relating to the bones. The importance of chiropractic care has gained recognition and it has become much more than just an alternative solution for aches and pains. A bulging disc cannot be cured by chiropractic care, but the pain involved can be greatly relieved.
What is a bulging disc?
A bulging disc is a common spinal injury that occurs in the intervertebral disc in the spinal column. This is usually located around the lumbar spine, which is your lower back. It can occur around the thoracic and cervical spine regions, which are the middle, upper, and neck regions. A bulging disc is also known as a slipped or protruding disc.
How Chiropractic care can help a bulging disc
Although Chiropractic care is not a cure for a bulging disc, but rather provides temporary pain relief, it is still considered an essential therapeutic element of overall treatment for the following reasons:
- It is non-invasive
- It does not require a pharmaceutical prescription in the form of pills or injections.
- A major benefit of treatment with chiropractic care is the fact that it is holistic. This means that the chiropractor will often look at your general health and offer advice based on nutrition, exercise, physical therapy, and even stress relief.
When you visit a chiropractor with a suspected bulging disc condition, he will first need to verify the diagnosis. This is an essential step to ensure you receive treatment for the correct condition. A physical examination may be advised where muscle tone, reflexes, and nerve functions will be tested. You will need to answer questions about your health history and may be required to have an x-ray to see the extent damage.
Once the diagnosis is confirmed, the chiropractor can employ several measures to treat the symptoms. While a chiropractor may not be able to completely cure a bulging disc, the relief that comes with chiropractic care is largely beneficial.