Bulging Disc Healed By Chiropractic Care

Bulging disc is often thought of as a normal part of the aging process. It causes pain and decreases mobility. Athletes and people who have jobs that are very physical are often prone to bulging discs and other disc problems. Smoking tobacco can also be a contributing factor in spinal discs deteriorating and weakening. Chiropractic has been proven to be an effective treatment for bulging disc and the associated pain.

What is a bulging disc?

Bulging discs are often thought to be the same as herniated discs but that is incorrect. A herniated disc involves a crack in the disc’s outer layer. This is called an annulus. Typically, a small part of the disc is affected, allowing the soft material that makes up the nucleus pulposus to protrude. This is different from a bulging disc because, unlike a herniated disc, there is no crack. The disc bulges out of the space but it doesn’t crack and no material protrudes. It also affects more area of the disc than a herniated disc.

While a herniated disc is likely more painful, a bulging disc can also cause pain that can increase over time. Symptoms of a bulging disc include:

• Tingling, numbness, or muscle weakness in one or both legs
• Changes in bowel or bladder function
• Hyper reflexivity in one or both legs
• Paralysis below the waist
• Deep pain over the shoulder blade or in the shoulder area
• Pain when moving the neck
• Radiating pain in the fingers, forearm, and upper arm

A bulging disc is often diagnosed by a combination of several methods. A physical exam, along with a full history of the problem will often lead to tests like MRI, x-ray, and myelogram with CT scan. From there, your doctor will work with you to find the best course of treatment.

Chiropractic for Bulging Disc

Chiropractic is a preferred treatment method for many patients with bulging disc because it is non-invasive and does not involve drugs or injections. Once you have your diagnosis, you and your chiropractor can work together to find the best way to treat your condition.

Your Chiropractor in Friendswood will want to verify your diagnosis so you may go through questions about your medical history, a physical examination, and tests that involve nerve function, reflexes, and muscle tone. Your chiropractor may also order MRI or x-ray as well as other diagnostic testing in order to get a better picture of what is going on.

One of the most popular features of chiropractic care is the whole body approach to wellness. Your chiropractor will look at your entire spine, not just the area that is painful. They will treat your entire spine and provide self-care direction, exercise, and nutritional recommendations so that you can continue to progress and live pain free. Your pain and spinal problems could be the result of spinal misalignment so your chiropractor will seek to get to the root of the problem and treat your entire spine so that you have less pain, your spine can heal, and you have better mobility.

Through spinal manipulation, your chiropractor will use low force techniques to relieve the painful symptoms by mobilizing your spine around and at the disc that is bulging. Your Chiropractor in Friendswood also utilizes Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression Therapy to decrease pressure on the effected disc and nerves.

Chiropractic for bulging discs is safe, effective, and long lasting. If you are having back pain from a bulging disc, you owe it to yourself to seek quality chiropractic care so that you can enjoy less pain, improved mobility, and better quality of life.

Why Chiropractic Is Preferred For Spinal Disc Problems

Chiropractic care for spinal disc problems is steadily increasing in popularity. As more and more research proves the effectiveness for chiropractic for these types of problems, doctors and therapists are incorporating it into treatment plans for their patients.

Spinal disc problems can be debilitating, causing significant pain and severely limiting mobility. Degenerative disc disease is one of the most common spinal problems, causing back pain that, like other spinal conditions, can extend into the hip and leg or even the arm and hand.

It is caused by degeneration or thinning of the spinal joints or discs which can disrupt the mechanics of the spine and contribute to bulging discs that press on spinal nerves. Traditional treatment of this condition usually consists of strong pain medication and sometimes surgery.

Patients who are dealing with pain from discs that are bulging or ruptured as well as herniated, or slipped discs, do respond well to chiropractic care. Where surgery has long been a primary medical answer to pain relief for these spinal conditions, chiropractic treatments offer a nonsurgical alternative that has been shown to be very effective.

Most spinal or disc problems are marked by a specific set of symptoms including neck and back pain, stiffness, arm pain, leg pain, and tenderness in the spinal muscles or the spine itself. Other more serious symptoms can present at the onset of the condition or over a period of time. These symptoms indicate a dangerous problem that could even be life threatening; they include:

• Back pain accompanied by fever
• Loss of control of bladder or bowel
• Severe weakness that inhibits the ability to use arms, legs, walk, etc.
• Loss of sensation in both arms and/or both buttocks
• Inability to defecate or urinate

More serious or life threatening symptoms may require medical intervention, but most spinal conditions can be helped or even corrected with chiropractic care.

Through the careful, precise manipulation of the spine, a chiropractor can make adjustments to the body that help relieve the pain and pressure. This treatment can halt the debilitating progression of certain spinal problems while relieving pain and increasing mobility.

Spinal problems are usually diagnosed by a combination of complete physical examination and a thorough patient history. During the examination the patient’s musculoskeletal and nervous systems are carefully assessed. A doctor of chiropractic will examine the patient by moving the patient into different positions using their legs, arms, and back while applying pressure to the joints. Other diagnostic tools include x-rays and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

The preferable course of treatment for spinal problems is more conservative in nature. The earlier the problem can be diagnosed and treatment can begin, the better. There are several different treatments that a doctor of chiropractic may do to control and treat the pain. Modalities such as heat and ice applied to the affected area have been proven effective in controlling injury related pain in the lower back.

Movement is also crucial to healing and the sooner the patient gets back on their feet, the better. For most injuries or back problems, those problems are exacerbated when the patient stays in bed or coddles their back instead of walking and moving. It can result in long term back problems.

Spinal manipulation by a doctor of chiropractic has been proven to be an effective, safe treatment for disc problems and associated pain. In some cases therapeutic exercise may be added to the treatment and this too has been shown to be very effective.

Non-Surgocal Spinal Decompression Therapy can also be used to decrease pressure on the discs and nerves, allowing the disc to retract back into position, relieving the nerve impingement.

In most cases, chiropractic care is sufficient and surgery of the spine or injections are not required to manage the problems. Chiropractic care should be the first course of action for spine related pain, injury, or problems. So if you or a loved one are suffering from spinal disc problems, make sure you give us a call. We’re here to help!