Could it be a bulging disc – can spinal disc decompression help me?
Severe back pain can bring a person’s life to a screeching halt and they are left wondering what they did to cause such severe pain. They may have had an achey back for months and months just thinking it would go away on it's own. In some cases, a person may have been lifting something heavy, moving furniture around or just turned wrong. Sometimes it is unknown what caused the initial injury and it only takes something little like bending over to pick up a pencil, tie your shoe or even just twist in bed. Our bodies try to let us know that something is wrong through aches and pains but if we ignore those warning signs...The pain will worsen and can lead to a Bulging Disc. When it finally breaks you down, you will not be able to ignore it!
Disc bulges often causes pain with sneezing or coughing and with extreme pain, a person may not be able to bend forward or backwards. When lying on their back, a person cannot lift both legs at the same time without severe shooting pain. In some cases, the pain is associated with severe muscle spasms, searing pain that runs down the arms or neck and numbness or a loss of strength.
There are many issues that can cause severe back pain. Pinched nerves, pulled muscles, bulging or herniated discs, and possibly more, but only an X-ray ( we use Digital x-ray), CT Scan, MRI, or doctor can diagnose what has occurred, not WebMD. The specially trained Doctors of Chiropractors at McMillen Chiropractic and Rehabilitation Center have the knowledge and equipment to offer a professional diagnose. If they feel that an MRI or CT scan is required, they will order those tests to find our what is causing your pain. McMillen Chiropractic and Rehabilitation Center has onsite digital x-ray equipment that can help rule out the need for more extensive screening tests and we can see the results in a just a few seconds.
A bulging disc is caused when the disc is pushing outside of its normal space. Think of a jelly donut. A disc bulge is when the jelly is being puched towards the outer part of the donut. But unlike a disc herniation, the jelly does not tear through the outer dough part of the donut. That is what a bulging disc can look like.
A BULGING DISC is not something that happens with a single twist or pull, but over time lifting improperly, or cumulative injuries this can happen. The body has a way of masking the underlying problem with muscle tightening and spasms. So naturally, a pulled muscle is the first thing people think, but if not checked by a Doctor of Chiropractic who is trained to look for these problems, that final twist can bring patient's to their knees with the worst pain they have ever had. A HERNIATED DISC can also be thought of like a jelly donut but in a much different way. With a herniated disc, the jelly goes all the way through the out dough part of the jelly donut pushing out onto the nerve. This is usually a more painful condition and can cause leg pain, numbness or tingling. It can also cause you to walk with a limp and make the whole leg hurt.
GOOD NEWS. Research has shown Chiropractic and spinal disc decompression therapy to be very effective and conservative tools in treating this condition. In fact, reserach has shown that this combination of treatment has a 86% success rate at relieving the pain associated with Herniated or Bulging Discs. Expensive Surgery is always a last resort and most of times can be avoided with the combination od Chiropractic care and spinal decompression therapy. This leads to a much brighter future than having extensive surgery which can lead to a lifetime of chronic pain.