Back Pain - Ruptured or Herniated disk

Written by Blueheronclinic.com

What is a Ruptured (Slipped) Disk?

A disc herniation or prolapsed disc, sometimes referred to as a  "slipped disc", is a medical condition affecting the spine, in which a tear in the outer, fibrous ring of an intervertebral disc allows the soft, central portion to bulge outwards.

Tears are almost always postero-lateral in nature due to the location of the posterior longitudinal ligament in the spinal canal. This tear in the disc ring may result in the release of inflammatory chemicals  which may cause severe pain. This is the rationale for medical doctors use of anti-inflammatory medication treatments for pain associated with disc potrusion, bulge, tear or herniation.

Herniated Disk Symptoms

Symptoms of a herniated (slipped) disc can vary depending on the location of the incident. Symptoms can range from mild or no pain if the disc is the only tissue injured, to severe and unbearable neck or low back pain that will radiate into the areas reached by affected nerve roots that are irritated or impinged by the herniated material in the spine. Often, herniated discs are not diagnosed initially, as the patients may complain of undefined pains in the thighs feet or kneees.

Further symptoms of a herniated disk may include sensory changes such as numbness, tingling, muscular weakness or paralysis. If the ruptured disc is in the lower lumbar region the patient may also experience sciatic pain due to irritation of one of the nerve roots of the sciatic nerve. 

Typically, symptoms of a herniated disk are experienced only on one side of the patients body. If the prolapse is large and / or the presses on the spinal cord or the cauda equina in the lumbar region, affection of both sides of the body may occur, often with serious results.

Causes of herniated disk

Herniation of a disk is most often the result of a gradual, age related wear and tear refered to as disk degeneration. As people age, the spinal disks become dryer and lose some of their water content (This would be considered Yin deficency in Traditional Chinese Medicine). This makes the disks less flexible and prone to tearing or rupturing with minimum pressure.

Many people can not pinpoint the exact cause of their herniated disk issue. Often, overuse your back muscles instead of your leg and thigh muscles while lifting large, heavy objects can put strain on the back and lead to a herniated disk, as can twisting and turning while lifting.

Treatments and Medication

Traditional treatment of herniated disk involves avoiding uncomfortable positions and following a planned exercise and pain-medication program. This gives back pain relief to 9 out of 10 people with a herniated disk. Research studies show that the protruding or displaced portion of the affected disk shrinks over time, corresponding to the gradual improvement in symptoms.

Medications for herniated disk

Over-the-counter pain medications may be used If your pain is mild to moderate, your doctor may advise you to take medicatoins such as ibuprofen, acetaminophen or naproxen. Some of these drugs may carry a risk of gastrointestinal bleeding, and large doses of medicaiton may damage the liver.

Muscle relaxants: Muscle relaxants such as diazepam (Valium) or cyclobenzaprine (Flexeril, Amrix) also may be prescribed if you have back or limb spasms. Sedation and dizziness are common side effects of these medications.

Narcotics: If your back pain doesn't improve with over the counter meds, your doctor may prescribe high strength narcotics, such as codeine or a hydrocodone-acetaminophen combination, for a short duration. Possible side effects from these drugs include nausea and sedation, decrease or eliminate your over the counter pain killer use if these combination medications are prescribed.

Nerve pain medications: Drugs such as gabapentin (Neurontin), pregabalin (Lyrica), duloxetine (Cymbalta), tramadol (Ultram, Ryzolt) and amitriptyline often help relieve nerve-damage pain. Because these drugs have a milder set of side effects than do narcotic medications, they're increasingly being used as first-line prescription medications for people who have herniated disks.

Muscle relaxants: Muscle relaxants such as diazepam (Valium) or cyclobenzaprine (Flexeril, Amrix) also may be prescribed if you have back or limb spasms. Sedation and dizziness are common side effects of these medications.

Cortisone injections: Inflammation-suppressing corticosteroids may be given by injection directly into the affected area around the spinal nerves on the back.

The Blue Heron Acupuncture Clinic in Galway - Ireland uses Traditional Chinese Medicine in the treatment of back pain and recovery from acute back injury.