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| Disc injuries are very common and the most common injuries include: disc herniations, and degenerative disc disease. Disc herniations or herniated discs occur when the inner core of the disc extrudes toward the outer edges of the disc and cause a bump or bulge of the disc.There are varying degrees of disc bulges or disc herniations. A persons symptoms will depend on the degree of disc bulge and will vary from no pain to immobility due to the pain. In a patient who has a minimal disc bulge they may have no pain to mild back or neck pain. As the degree of disc bulge increases a patient may begin to experience increased pain as well as radiating symptoms such as shooting pains into arms or legs. As the disc herniation extrudes and begins to put pressure on the spinal cord or spinal nerves, the radicular symptoms will increase. At this point the patient may experience numbness/tingling, shooting pain, muscle weakness and muscle atrophy. Degenerative disc disease is common and can be seen in patients in there 20’s and up. This type of back problem will usually become more evident with age and more common in people who have injured there back in the past. As the degeneration progresses, the disc will get thinner and weaker. During this stage the disc is very vulnerable to disc herniations. The end result may be complete loss of the disc with fusion of the two vertebrae together. Symptoms may include pain stiffness, restricted range of motion, and possible nerve pressure with radicular symptoms. Chiropractic treatment is very successful at treating disc injuries without drugs or surgery. It can also be very effective in slowing or stopping the degenerative process. Always make surgery the last resort.
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