The disks help hold your spine up and allows it to bend and move. The inside of the disk is the jelly in the donut, which is called the nucleus pulposus. Now imagine that the donut has a hole somewhere in it and you press down.
The jelly is going to squirt out of it — just like the nucleus pulposus would from your actual disk in your spine. Movement, injury, pressure, age or just plain bad luck can cause the nucleus pulposus to push through the annulus fibrosis — just like the inside of a jelly donut would if you pressed down on it.
A herniated disk could also be caused by disk degeneration, genetics or a combination. Certain activities like lifting weights or playing a sport might also cause a herniation. People experience symptoms of a disk herniation when it presses on a nerve or the spinal cord. A pinched nerve is called radiculopathy and typically causes shooting pain, numbness or weakness. Depending on what nerve is pinched, it can cause pain in a variety of places. If you have a herniated disk in your lumbar spine, the pain might come down your leg , down your butt, over the hip and down the leg, says Dr.
If your herniated disk is pinching a nerve in your cervical spine, it might cause arm pain or weakness that shoots down your shoulder or upper back. The disks have a soft center within a tougher exterior. A herniated disk happens when some of the center pushes out through a crack in the outer portion of the disk. A herniated disk may irritate or compress a nearby spinal nerve root.
The result can be back pain , along with pain, numbness or weakness in an arm or leg. For most people who develop back pain — whether it is because of a herniated disk or due to another problem — symptoms often go away within six to eight weeks. During that time, you can take steps to ease discomfort.
Rest, apply heat or ice to the painful area, and take over-the-counter pain medication, such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen, if you need it. If you have muscle spasms, taking a muscle relaxant also can be useful. If pain is strong, ask your doctor about getting a short-term prescription pain medication. Medication : Your doctor may prescribe pain relievers, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications NSAIDs , and steroids. Sometimes muscle relaxers are prescribed for muscle spasms.
Steroid injections : The procedure is done under x-ray fluoroscopy and involves an injection of steroids and a numbing agent into the epidural space of the spine. The medicine is delivered next to the painful area to reduce the swelling and inflammation of the nerves. Repeat injections may be given to achieve the full effect. Duration of pain relief varies, lasting for weeks or years.
Exercise and strengthening exercises are key elements to your treatment and should become part of your life-long fitness. When symptoms progress or do not resolve with conservative treatment, surgery may be an option. Factors such as patient age, how long the problem has persisted, other medical problems, previous neck operations, and expected outcome are considered in planning surgery.
The most common approach to cervical disc surgery is anterior front of the neck. A posterior from the back approach may be performed if you require decompression for other conditions such as stenosis. Clinical trials are research studies in which new treatments—drugs, diagnostics, procedures, and other therapies—are tested in people to see if they are safe and effective.
Research is always being conducted to improve the standard of medical care. Information about current clinical trials, including eligibility, protocol, and locations, are found on the Web.
Studies can be sponsored by the National Institutes of Health see Clinicaltrials. Back pain affects 8 of 10 people at some time in their lives, and usually resolves within 6 weeks. A positive mental attitude, regular activity, and a prompt return to work are all very important elements of recovery. If your regular job cannot be done initially, it is in the patient's best interest to return to some kind of modified light or restricted duty.
Your physician can give prescriptions for such activity for limited periods of time. Has two parts, a soft gel-like center called the nucleus and a tough fibrous outer wall called the annulus. Also used to describe pain along the sciatic nerve that radiates down the leg. Only the top 24 bones are moveable. This information is not intended to replace the medical advice of your health care provider. Patients who come to Mayfield with neck and back problems are given a rapid review of their medical condition within a few days, not weeks.
It's a treatment process called Priority Consult. Nearly 80 percent of our spine patients are able to recover with nonsurgical treatment.
But when physical therapy, medications, and spinal injections fail to relieve neck or back pain, we help patients with surgery. To make an appointment call Make an Appointment. Many Mayfield patients have the option of same-day, outpatient surgery at our spine surgery center. Herniated cervical disc Overview A herniated disc occurs when the gel-like center of a spinal disc ruptures through a weak area in the tough outer wall, similar to the filling being squeezed out of a jelly doughnut.
Anatomy of the discs Your spine is made of 24 moveable bones called vertebrae. What is a herniated cervical disc? Figure 2.
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