The herniated disc is a common diagnosis of back pain, both in
the lumbar and cervical spine. herniated discs are fairly common; due to
constant, lifelong pressure on the spine, discs are prone to weaken
and, eventually, bulge or herniate.
Discs are constructed of a tough exterior, called the annular fiber, and a gel-like center containing inflammatory materials. This construction allows the disc to act as a cushion and shock absorber for the vertebrae of the spine. As we grow older, the annular fiber begins to weaken. Some discs dehydrate; others may bulge and herniate. The latter results from uneven pressure placed on the spine - from years of poor posture, repetitive movements and/or muscle imbalances - which causes the gel in the center of the disc to be pushed to one side. If the annular fiber cracks, the gel can leak out; this is called herniation. This means two potential things: 1) the disc fails to cushion the spine properly and 2) the inflammatory materials that have leaked out may irritate sensitive nerve roots exiting the spine, causing lower back pain or upper back pain, as well as referred pain, numbness and weakness along the affected nerve path.
That may sound terrifying, but there is no need to panic if you are diagnosed with a herniated disc. Often, this condition even goes unnoticed since it is not always accompanied by any symptoms.
Operate or Ignore?
Herniated discs show up on MRI (magnetic resonance imagining) tests, a common test performed to diagnose the cause of back pain. Unfortunately, this test often leads to misdiagnosis for people with a clearly herniated disc, but other, unrelated cause of pain. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine entitled "Magnetic resonance imaging of the lumbar spine in people without back pain" assessed the MRI results of 98 pain-free individuals. 64 of the 98 showed marked disc abnormalities that would have made them candidates for surgery.
There are two main fallacies committed both by medical professionals and individuals with back pain: overreacting and under-reacting. Doctors quick to sign off on surgery and patients eager to cut the damaged disc out are overreacting. Those who under-react tend to think that the problem will simply disappear on its own, or that a herniated disc unaccompanied by pain should be ignored.
Forging a Middle Ground
In reality, a herniated disc is rarely a reason for surgery. Equally as important, the condition should not be ignored. If unaccompanied by pain, the change in disc shape can eventually effect the movement of the spine, taxing other discs and creating friction between vertebrae at the site of herniation. The gel can eventually irritate nerves to the point of causing lasting damage. Also, things rarely fix themselves without any effort on your part. Conservative treatments, like exercise and inversion therapy, can restore natural disc shape and facilitate the resorption of fluids.
A small study of 64 participants with confirmed lumbar disc herniation and an affected nerve were treated with conservative rehabilitation measures. After over 2 years, only 6% of the participants required surgery.
Another study suggests that the rate of failure of surgeries meant to correct herniated discs may be greater than generally reported. The study found that, on average, discs that re-herniate after surgery do so at 29 months post-op. Most follow-up studies on surgeries are conducted much earlier than that. Pre-29 month follow-ups yield re-herniation rates of 10-15%, which is high enough to give caution.
Summaries of these studies and more on the effectiveness of conservative treatments for disc herniation can be found at http://www.pnbconline.com/pages/HerniatedDisc/.
Do you need surgery for your herniated disc? If you have tried conservative treatment for 3 to 6 months to no avail and have debilitating nerve impingement, then yes. However, the vast majority of people with herniated discs do not fall into this category.
Discs are constructed of a tough exterior, called the annular fiber, and a gel-like center containing inflammatory materials. This construction allows the disc to act as a cushion and shock absorber for the vertebrae of the spine. As we grow older, the annular fiber begins to weaken. Some discs dehydrate; others may bulge and herniate. The latter results from uneven pressure placed on the spine - from years of poor posture, repetitive movements and/or muscle imbalances - which causes the gel in the center of the disc to be pushed to one side. If the annular fiber cracks, the gel can leak out; this is called herniation. This means two potential things: 1) the disc fails to cushion the spine properly and 2) the inflammatory materials that have leaked out may irritate sensitive nerve roots exiting the spine, causing lower back pain or upper back pain, as well as referred pain, numbness and weakness along the affected nerve path.
That may sound terrifying, but there is no need to panic if you are diagnosed with a herniated disc. Often, this condition even goes unnoticed since it is not always accompanied by any symptoms.
Operate or Ignore?
Herniated discs show up on MRI (magnetic resonance imagining) tests, a common test performed to diagnose the cause of back pain. Unfortunately, this test often leads to misdiagnosis for people with a clearly herniated disc, but other, unrelated cause of pain. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine entitled "Magnetic resonance imaging of the lumbar spine in people without back pain" assessed the MRI results of 98 pain-free individuals. 64 of the 98 showed marked disc abnormalities that would have made them candidates for surgery.
There are two main fallacies committed both by medical professionals and individuals with back pain: overreacting and under-reacting. Doctors quick to sign off on surgery and patients eager to cut the damaged disc out are overreacting. Those who under-react tend to think that the problem will simply disappear on its own, or that a herniated disc unaccompanied by pain should be ignored.
Forging a Middle Ground
In reality, a herniated disc is rarely a reason for surgery. Equally as important, the condition should not be ignored. If unaccompanied by pain, the change in disc shape can eventually effect the movement of the spine, taxing other discs and creating friction between vertebrae at the site of herniation. The gel can eventually irritate nerves to the point of causing lasting damage. Also, things rarely fix themselves without any effort on your part. Conservative treatments, like exercise and inversion therapy, can restore natural disc shape and facilitate the resorption of fluids.
A small study of 64 participants with confirmed lumbar disc herniation and an affected nerve were treated with conservative rehabilitation measures. After over 2 years, only 6% of the participants required surgery.
Another study suggests that the rate of failure of surgeries meant to correct herniated discs may be greater than generally reported. The study found that, on average, discs that re-herniate after surgery do so at 29 months post-op. Most follow-up studies on surgeries are conducted much earlier than that. Pre-29 month follow-ups yield re-herniation rates of 10-15%, which is high enough to give caution.
Summaries of these studies and more on the effectiveness of conservative treatments for disc herniation can be found at http://www.pnbconline.com/pages/HerniatedDisc/.
Do you need surgery for your herniated disc? If you have tried conservative treatment for 3 to 6 months to no avail and have debilitating nerve impingement, then yes. However, the vast majority of people with herniated discs do not fall into this category.
Education in back pain is the cheapest form of self preservation. Learn about what causes back pain and 4 other things that cause sciatic nerve pain.
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sean_Burton
