What’s Wrong With Your Back Pain

We cannot always control everything that happens to us in this life, but we can control how we respond. Many struggles come as problems and pressures that sometimes cause pain. Others come as temptations, trials, and tribulations.

—L. Lionel Kendrick

We have talked about different factors that cause back pain or dysfunction, and now we will discuss in further detail and name conditions that occur when the back system breaks down—either through postural changes, muscle imbalances, new or old trauma, nutritional or activity deficiencies or, yes, a cumulative effect of all. This is not a complete review of all conditions that can culminate in back pain, but we will discuss the most common disorders related to back pain.

What Is a Bulging Disc?

This complicated condition can also be known as a bulging disc, disc protrusion, or slipped disc. The disc is the cushion that sits between the stacked vertebrae that make up your spine. It has several functions, an important one being to act as a shock absorber. Visualize a disc like a jelly doughnut. Inside the disc is a jellylike substance that can attract water or gel-like substances to help absorb compressive forces. This is why we are actually taller in the morning than in the evening. After gravity pushes down on your spine throughout the day, the disc hydration decreases. When you lie down at night and take the compression forces off the spine, the disc rehydrates.

Many people have bulging disc but might not have any symptoms associated with it. Disc pain can occur when it is torn, irritated, or putting pressure on the nerve. The outer portion of the disc has painful nerve fibers, which can be a source of pain…and you can develop a bulging disc (or multiple bulging discs) when the inner portion of the disc. In terms of the jelly doughnut example, the jelly breaks through the outer ring of the doughnut and can put pressure on the nerves in your lower back. When the nerve is compressed, it can cause sharp shooting pain, numbness or tingling that might radiate into your buttocks, thigh, back of your leg, and even down into your lower leg and foot. If a herniated disc happens in the neck, you might experience numbness, tingling, or sharp shooting pain in one or both arms.

The source of disc herniations can be an injury from a car accident, or lifting and twisting your lower back, which creates extreme compression and torsion on the spine. But many disc herniations occur due to muscular imbalances that occur over time, creating slow abnormal pressure on the disc and spine, which allows a weak region of the disc. This condition in chronic situations responds well to computerized spinal decompression therapy, a muscle balance treatment.

SUCCESS CASE STUDY

Janet is a 45-year-old city administrator, suffering from persistent lower back pain, as well as pain that travels into her right buttocks and the back of her lower leg. For two months, she hoped the pain would resolve on its own and had been, as she says, “eating Aleve every day.” She was unable to get comfortable at night and couldn’t bend over to put on socks in the morning. X-rays and an MRI revealed multiple disc bulges. She had seen her primary care doctor, who was giving steroids but with minimal relief. She began treatment that included computerized lumbar decompression therapy, joint realignments, muscle balancing therapy, and electrical muscle/nerve stimulation treatment in our clinic. She had a 50-percent reduction of pain in eight visits, and was 80-percent pain-free in 12 visits; she had no pain by 24 visits. She told me the best part of her treatment was that she gained knowledge of how to stay pain-free.

Effective Treatment for Bulgingor Herniated Disc

Computerized lumbar decompression therapy • Muscle balance treatments to allow your body to take pressure off the disc • Core exercises to strengthen the muscles that support that joint • Natural anti-inflammatory such as Boswellia extract or turmeric • Lumbar braces with the goal of reducing pressure on disc • Cold laser therapy • Electrical muscle/nerve stimulation

If you want to learn more about becoming pain free from a bulging disc and/or would like to schedule a consultation to see if you are a candidate for treatment at Advanced Chiropractic & Spinal Rehab

Call Today! 325-695-9355 Ask about our New Patient Special!

Jake Morgan DC

Download a copy of my latest book 21st Century Back Pain Solution Book.