Most of the pain that results from a herniated disc results from nerve irritation. First, the local nerves in a disc’s wall can become irritated by the herniation (tear) in the disc and its contact with the disc’s leaking inner fluid, which can cause a painful inflammatory response.

A herniated disc also can impinge the nerve roots in the spine, which branch out to carry sensory messages throughout the body. When spinal nerve roots are aggravated or constricted by a herniated or bulging disc, the pain does not just stay localized, but can extend through either the upper or lower extremities, depending on the location of the affected nerve root. Those who have experienced a herniated disc know that this type of pain can be extremely debilitating and can severely affect an individual’s lifestyle. There are different levels of treatment patients can go through in order to relieve some of their herniated disc symptoms. Most individuals begin with more conservative treatments, but sometimes surgical procedures are necessary to permanently resolve back pain.

What Causes a Herniated Disc?

In order to understand herniated disc treatments, it’s important, first, to understand what a herniated disc actually is and what causes the chronic pain associated with the problem. Staying educated about the condition is an important first step in recovery. A herniated disc occurs when there is a tear in the outer shell, called the annulus fibrosus, of the intervertebral disc, allowing for the inner gel-like substance, called the nucleus pulposus, to seep into the spinal column. Chronic pain from a herniated disc may result from a number of problems like the actual tear in the disc wall itself, the seeping nucleus pulposus irritating nerve roots or the spinal cord, nerve constriction from shifting vertebrae, or even the torn outer shell of the disc pressing against a nerve root or the spinal cord.

The risk of having a herniated disc naturally increases with age. However, direct trauma to the spine caused by an auto accident or aggressive sport can also cause the intervertebral discs to rupture. Any activity that puts pressure on a disc, from an accidental fall to spending hours on end sitting at a desk, may cause an intervertebral disc to rupture or tear. Sometimes, it can be difficult to diagnose a herniated disc because, for instance, if you’ve been involved in an auto accident there may be other factors like strained muscles or ligaments that can be causing back and neck pain. Only a physician can correctly diagnose a herniated disc, and often medical imaging like an x-ray or an MRI is necessary to see exactly what’s happening in and around the spinal column.

Conservative, Initial Treatment Options

Before you pursue drastic measures like open back surgery to treat your herniated disc, there are a number of exercises and therapies you can try that may dramatically relieve your pain. Physical therapy, pain medications, the application of heating pads and ice packs, and injections are common ways to relieve symptoms of a herniated disc. These techniques focus on ways to temporarily loosen up back muscles, ligaments, and other spinal components that are causing discs to infringe upon a nerve root or the spinal cord. Also, alternative treatments like chiropractic care can provide temporary relief for back pain. Chiropractors adjust your spine and manually maneuver discs so that they no longer press on or constrict nerves for a short period of time.

Lifestyle changes like losing weight, getting more exercise, and practicing yoga can reduce the pressure placed on discs and nerves and may relieve some symptoms as well. The stronger back muscles become, the more able they’ll be to support the spine and reduce the amount of pressure being placed on the vertebrae and discs, which may lessen the chances of nerve compression and pain.

Surgical Treatment Options

If the more conservative treatment options do not relieve chronic pain, surgical treatment may be recommended. Traditionally, this meant open spine surgery with large incisions; however, as medical technologies expand, doctors are finding less invasive ways to perform spinal surgeries. Laser-assisted endoscopic spine surgery has become a leading minimally invasive procedure that offers high levels of accuracy and reduces the amount of recovery time the patient has to endure as compared to traditional open-back surgery. For example, an endoscopic discectomy is a procedure during which doctors make an incision of less than one inch and remove the portion of a herniated disc that is pressing on a nerve root or spinal cord.

A laminotomy, which also can be performed as an endoscopic procedure, involves removing a portion of the lamina (part of a vertebra) thereby reducing pressure in the spinal canal. Also, this procedure gives the surgeon an open window to the spinal canal from which he or she can remove any tissue, bone, cysts, or disc material that can be encroaching on or pinching the nerve roots. A foraminotomy, another endoscopic procedure done to relieve herniated disc symptoms, creates more space in a foramen. The foramina are the spaces through which nerve roots exit the spinal canal; during a foraminotomy, any fragments of bone or disc tissue that are blocking a foramina and pinching nerve tissue are removed. A laminotomy and a foraminotomy, both of which can be performed as minimally invasive procedures, have the ability to resolve symptoms of herniated discs through an incision of less than an inch long. Open-back surgery, on the other hand, requires much larger incisions and a longer recovery period, and involves a greater risk for complications.

Patrick Foote is the Director of eBusiness at Laser Spine Institute, the leader in endoscopic spine surgery. Laser Spine Institute specializes in safe and effective outpatient procedures for the treatment of a herniated disc and several other spinal conditions.

Patrick Foote is the Director of eBusiness at Laser Spine Institute, the leader in endoscopic spine surgery. Laser Spine Institute specializes in safe and effective outpatient procedures for a herniated disc and several other spinal conditions. http://www.laserspineinstitute.com/herniated_disc/

Author Bio: Patrick Foote is the Director of eBusiness at Laser Spine Institute, the leader in endoscopic spine surgery. Laser Spine Institute specializes in safe and effective outpatient procedures for the treatment of a herniated disc and several other spinal conditions.

Category: Medicines and Remedies
Keywords: Herniated Disc