The General Scope Of A Herniated Disc

Our spine as an adult is made of 26 ring-like bones that are protected by spongy discs which keep them from rubbing against each other. The spine or backbone is slightly curved to provide us with a spring-like quality that will absorb impact when we do anything physically jarring, however slight, like jogging or jumping. When you talk about a herniated disc, you are referring to one of these spongy discs as the disc’s inner core extruding to the outer core. It is also known as a slipped disc or a bulging disc.

Technically, though, calling it a slipped disc is a mistake because the disc on its own cannot slide out of place or get misaligned. What happens is the disc actually breaks open, but does not and part of it could start to hit a nerve which can be devastatingly painful. It can also happen that you have a herniated disc but are not aware of it because you feel normal - no spinal pain or discomfort at all.

Most often, when this condition happens, it tends to affect the lower back. Rarely does it happen in the upper back or the thoracic spine.

There are 2 basic ways of getting a herniated disc. The first is a natural aging process were there is normal wear and tear. The bones gets brittle and less able to handle any sudden impact, and the discs are not able to absorb the impact, having become less flexible. You can also get a herniated disc from an accident to your spine.

Herniated disc treatment initially happens because you feel spinal pain. Otherwise, finding out you have this problem could just happen by accident, as a sideline discovery to another medical problem.

In addition, the bulging disc will solve itself over time. The body has ways of healing itself, and in this case, the spine can recover even without you being aware there was a problem to begin with.

However, if you are aware of the problem, here are some things you can do. For one, don’t stop walking unless the pain is very severe. Normal but light physical activities will be good for you.

You can try getting a physical therapist to help you with some minor exercises as part of your herniated disc treatment, or use a heating pad on the area for about 15 minutes every 3 hours. Best of all, you need to be patient. Time will heal your herniated disc.