A herniated spinal disc can cause considerable pain for those afflicted with it. Damage to the outer part of the disc, results in the inner material pushing out and exerting pressure on surrounding nerves, leading to painful symptoms. If suffering from spinal disc herniation Ashburn VA patients should know which treatment options are available to them.
Most physicians will already strongly suspect a herniation and have an idea of where it is located based on the symptoms the patient describes. A proper diagnosis includes doing a physical examination, obtaining a full medical background of the patient, and requesting diagnostic imaging tests such as a CT scan or an MRI to confirm their preliminary findings.
Similar in some respect to degenerative disc disease, herniation actually stems from a different source and results in another classification of pain. The former occurs within the disc space and leads to axial pain. The latter happens due to aging or an injury, and is responsible for radicular, or nerve root pain. Most often seen in the lower spine, it can also produce sciatica, a painful sensation extending from the buttocks to the legs.
Most lumbar, or lower back herniations lead to pain felt in one or both legs, as it travels along the large sciatic nerve. It is actually more common for a patient to feel leg pain than discomfort in the lower back. Muscle weakness, impaired ankle reflexes, and tingling or numbness felt in the legs or feet are also associated with this type of disorder.
If there is no substantial improvement in the lumbar herniation patient six weeks after the problem was identified, the doctor will devise a treatment plan for him or her which consists of one or several non-surgical modalities. Common treatments include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, epidural cortisone injections, oral steroids, hot and cold applications, physical therapy, and chiropractic care. Microdiscectomy or lumbar fusion surgery may be carried out if these initial measures fail.
Most often seen in people in their thirties to fifties, herniation of the cervical spine, or neck is somewhat less common than that in the lumbar spine. Impingement of nerves in the neck, caused pain to be referred to the shoulders and arms, and sometimes all the way down to the fingertips. Hand-grasp is weakened in some cases and there may be tingling and numbness as well.
Pain caused by cervical disc herniation will first be addressed by non-surgical means and in many cases it responds positively, but the numbness may persist a bit longer. Patients may undergo chiropractic adjustment, traction, physical therapy, activity modification, or bracing, and be prescribed narcotic pain killers or muscle relaxants. If these measure do not resolve the pain, it will be necessary to surgically repair the disc.
Thoracic, or herniations of the spine found in the chest region, are much less common than the other two types. In many instances, they will not even produce any symptoms. However, if a person does suffer pain in the upper back caused by a thoracic herniation, a non-surgical approach which involves the use of analgesic medications, anti-inflammatory injections, application of ice packs, chiropractic adjustments, and strengthening exercises, will usually result in healing. Decompression surgery is indicated only in cases of extreme pain or spinal cord dysfunction.
Most physicians will already strongly suspect a herniation and have an idea of where it is located based on the symptoms the patient describes. A proper diagnosis includes doing a physical examination, obtaining a full medical background of the patient, and requesting diagnostic imaging tests such as a CT scan or an MRI to confirm their preliminary findings.
Similar in some respect to degenerative disc disease, herniation actually stems from a different source and results in another classification of pain. The former occurs within the disc space and leads to axial pain. The latter happens due to aging or an injury, and is responsible for radicular, or nerve root pain. Most often seen in the lower spine, it can also produce sciatica, a painful sensation extending from the buttocks to the legs.
Most lumbar, or lower back herniations lead to pain felt in one or both legs, as it travels along the large sciatic nerve. It is actually more common for a patient to feel leg pain than discomfort in the lower back. Muscle weakness, impaired ankle reflexes, and tingling or numbness felt in the legs or feet are also associated with this type of disorder.
If there is no substantial improvement in the lumbar herniation patient six weeks after the problem was identified, the doctor will devise a treatment plan for him or her which consists of one or several non-surgical modalities. Common treatments include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, epidural cortisone injections, oral steroids, hot and cold applications, physical therapy, and chiropractic care. Microdiscectomy or lumbar fusion surgery may be carried out if these initial measures fail.
Most often seen in people in their thirties to fifties, herniation of the cervical spine, or neck is somewhat less common than that in the lumbar spine. Impingement of nerves in the neck, caused pain to be referred to the shoulders and arms, and sometimes all the way down to the fingertips. Hand-grasp is weakened in some cases and there may be tingling and numbness as well.
Pain caused by cervical disc herniation will first be addressed by non-surgical means and in many cases it responds positively, but the numbness may persist a bit longer. Patients may undergo chiropractic adjustment, traction, physical therapy, activity modification, or bracing, and be prescribed narcotic pain killers or muscle relaxants. If these measure do not resolve the pain, it will be necessary to surgically repair the disc.
Thoracic, or herniations of the spine found in the chest region, are much less common than the other two types. In many instances, they will not even produce any symptoms. However, if a person does suffer pain in the upper back caused by a thoracic herniation, a non-surgical approach which involves the use of analgesic medications, anti-inflammatory injections, application of ice packs, chiropractic adjustments, and strengthening exercises, will usually result in healing. Decompression surgery is indicated only in cases of extreme pain or spinal cord dysfunction.
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