Treating Intervertebral Discs
If you are suffering from a disc injury, seeking care can be more distressing than the symptoms. Rest assured you have come to the right place! We successfully treat many patients with disc problems. But let me say right off, that I will carefully investigate and discuss the problem and often refer patients for MRI or to orthopedic specialists whenever necessary.

Good conservative management to reduce pain, other neurologic symptoms such as numbness or weakness and promote healing is our goal.

Disc injuries can have a number of differing symptoms from patient to patient, and can show up in a myriad of ways from unlimited causes. Find out more here or in the adjacent tabs.

Proper diagnosis and treatment, and a doctor who listens to your concerns is what you can expect at Wilson Chiropractic!

How the disc works and how it may be treated

In between each spinal bone, or vertebra, is a small cartilage pad called the disc. The disc is made of a soft jelly like center surrounded by several thin fibrous layers. Each disc serves as a connector, spacer and shock absorber for the spine. Healthy discs provide for the normal turning and bending of the spine.

Unlike most other tissues of your body, the disc gets a very limited blood supply to the outer edges and none to the inner parts. They depend upon the circulation of joint fluids to bring in the nutrients and oxygen and to expel wastes. If a spinal joint loses its normal motion then the pumping action that provides for its circulation is impaired and the health of the disc deteriorates. Like a wet sponge, a healthy disc is flexible. A dry sponge is hard, stiff and can crack easily. This is how many disc problems begin.

The ends of the disc are actually ‘grown’ into the vertebra bone just like a ligament or tendon attaches to a bone. Therefore a disc cannot “slip” as is commonly thought. However, through degenerative breakdown, like the dry sponge or from trauma, the disc can become injured and bulge, herniate, or worse, rupture. When discs swell or rupture, they move out through the path of least resistance which is typically out the small hole where the spinal nerve goes through. In worst cases, they may expand straight back into the area of the spinal cord – this is a more severe condition. When the disc expands into the area of the spinal nerve or even the cord, the pressure can be quite painful and interfere with the function of the nerve.

Trauma, improper lifting and other injuries can cause the softer pulpy center to bulge or herniate out through the fibrous disc walls, much like pressing on a jelly filled donut. While discs can become injured at any age, a traumatic event will likely produce sudden or spontaneous symptoms and pain. However, most disc problems come on more slowly and are more often a result of degenerative changes that allow the tissues to weaken. Then what may seem like a fairly normal movement like lifting, can set in place the insidious process of a bulging disc. Therefore, these types of disc problems do not occur often in young people. It would take a pretty severe injury to cause a disc to herniate in a child.

According to research at George Washington University, half of all people over 40 have some type of disc abnormalities. There is no way to predict the potential or vulnerability for anyone to develop disc problems, but as with any health problem, taking better care of one’s physical health with proper strengthening exercises will go a long way in warding off these types of unwanted problems.

The chiropractic approach to disc problems is to help restore the proper motion and function of spinal joints. Proper diagnosis and assessment of dysfunctional or subluxated joints is paramount to provide for healing of the injured disc. Aside from special treatment of the involved disc, adjacent spinal joints are often involved in contributing to the stress and improper forces that may have caused or aggravate an injured disc. Besides reducing the bulging of the disc, better spinal function helps reduce inflammation and promote the process of healing of the surrounding soft tissues and improve nerve function. Properly restored nerve function thus provides for balanced and coordinated muscle function which further supports movement patterns and helps stabilize the healing disc.

The training to identify and restore the normal neurologic and optimal joint function is unique to doctors of chiropractic. The traditional approach to disc problems often ignores spinal function. I am often asked about whether steroid injections may help a patient’s disc problem. I can’t emphasize enough that while they may be very helpful to alleviate symptoms, they do nothing to restore joint function, especially to adjacent areas which may be a large part of the problem. Even after steroid injections, coordinating the treatment of a disc injury with restoring joint function will continue to promote better healing. Conservative chiropractic care is safer and often more effective than back surgery. While there is no guarantee, many patients have avoided needless surgery or dependence on pain medications by choosing conservative chiropractic care.