Disc herniations can bring about back pain and
leg pain for some. Manahawkin Chiropractic Center welcomes those back pain sufferers due to
a disc herniation. Gentle, relieving treatment
without surgery is what we provide. Manahawkin back
pain patients are relieved when they find us!
DISC HERNIATION: Size, Weight, Sleep
What matters when a disc produces back
pain? Its size? Its weight? Its effect on quality of life? Spinal researchers have
produced data and published that what the pain-producing disc looks like on imaging doesn’t really matter. The shape and size of an intervertebral
spinal disc’s bulging nucleus pulposus has no tie to
a what a patient’s symptoms may be
or how a patient feels. (1) The weight of a disc fragment did not relate to the amount of time the symptoms lasted or severity
of pre- or post-operative leg pain nor post-operative leg pain or back pain improvement,
the percentage of spinal
canal occupation, herniation classification, or vertebral level. The size
of the lumbar disc herniation didn’t have much effect on clinical
outcomes. (2) Chronic lower back pain and sciatica due to lumbar disc
herniation adversely affected sufferer’s
quality of sleep. Treatment benefitted
patient perception of pain in visual analog scale (VAS) scores and the PSQI Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index scores. (3) Pain lessening
chiropractic treatment of a pain-producing disc necessitates
reducing the risk of recurrent back pain episodes as well as reducing
the pain of the current episode.
MANAGING BACK PAIN AND RISK OF ITS RECURRENCE
Once you’ve felt back pain related to a
disc herniation,
you don’t want to have it back! Manahawkin Chiropractic Center gets
that and wants you to know that managing - as conservatively as
possible - the disc herniation is more realistic than curing it.
6.05% of lumbar discectomy surgery patients had a re-current disc
herniation. What brought that on? On their own, factors
like age, BMI, current smoking status, heavy lifting, degenerative facet joint
disease, operation time, and the time it took to ambulate
after surgery influenced the risk of recurrent disc herniation.
Combined, older age, male sex, high body mass index (BMI), and early ambulation
were significant factors in the recurrence or a
lumbar disc herniation. Controlling weight, not lifting heavy
items, and exercising were proposed risk reducers. (4) One new
study reported that the amount of sedentary time probably did not increase
the chance of a new occurrence of low back pain
as much as the amount and type of physical activity. (5) Pain relief happens
more as a roller coaster than a straight hill to pain relief. A
disc herniation is like a bruise on an apple rendering the apple (and
by comparison, the spine) never quite the same again. That’s
where Manahawkin Chiropractic Center comes in with a treatment plan that ensures
you know all there is to know about a disc herniation, how
to nutritionally take care of it, how to get it
back to being strong with exercise and keeping it that way, and how to do activities
of daily living to avert (re)injury. A recent
systematic review of approaches to managing back pain listed 10 approaches:
manipulation/mobilization, psychological/behavioral, advice to stay active/bed
rest, reassurance, antidepressants, NSAIDS, opioids, muscle relaxants, and
paracetamol. (6) Manahawkin Chiropractic Center supports walking, moving,
careful lifting, and especially being treated with gentle, safe, effective Cox®
Technic spinal manipulation!
CONTACT Manahawkin Chiropractic Center
Listen to this PODCAST
with Dr. Robert Patterson on The Back Doctors Podcast with
Dr. Michael Johnson as he describes the realistic expectations
back pain patients can expect with The Cox® Technic System of Spinal
Pain Management.
Schedule your Manahawkin chiropractic
appointment soon. Disc herniation sufferers are welcomed
to our practice for relief and a plan for controlling its future effect
on life.