Bulging and Herniated Discs
The lumbar discs of your lower back act as shock absorbers and allow movement of your spine, however these discs can become damaged, tear and cause back pain among other symptoms.
What causes a bulging disc?
Injuries to the intervertebral discs are often a result of repetitive trauma and long-term fatigue. Examples include sitting for long periods, poor posture, and excessive bending or rotation of the low back. These injuries may also result from severe traumatic accidents such as a fall, car accidents, or other high impact forces to the low back. Intervertebral discs, which sit between the vertebrae in your back, have two components; the outer layers (Annulus fibrosis) being tough fibrous rings and inner core (nucleus pulpous) being jelly like. When the outer layers begins to weaken the inner core begins to push its way out, causing the disc bulge. This bulge may put pressure on the nerves and cause pain.
With proper education you can prevent many of these causes and manage your low back pain.
Patients who chronically suffer from this condition are often in poor physical condition and lack the proper strength and endurance of the back stabilizing muscles. The importance of maintaining a strong core to protect your low back is extremely important!
In cases where the injury stems from a problem related to overuse, poor posture or improper exercise, there are steps that can be taken to help you avoid these injuries from happening. Proper instruction, from Dr. Baldwin, about your postural habits can reduce the detrimental effects of sitting on the spine. Education about correct lifting form can reduce these episodes of low back pain and help you build a healthy strong spine.
Symptoms of a disc bulge:
Back pain
numbness/tingling into the legs
radiating pain
Muscle weakness.
Pain with a cough or sneeze
Evaluation and Treatment of Bulging or herniated discs
Dr. Baldwin use research-based techniques and functional testing to test and treat low back pain. The goal of your treatment process is to correct any joint restrictions, muscle imbalances and tissue restrictions that may be contributing to your low back pain. Disc bulges are one of the most common conditions we successfully treat in our office.
Do I need an MRI?
Disc herniation cannot be confirmed 100% without a MRI, but often MRIs are unnecessary unless you are experiencing progressive neurological symptoms or are not responding to conservative care measures first. Dr. Baldwin will make the appropriate referral if imaging is necessary. In more extreme cases or those that do not respond to conservative care, surgery may be necessary.
Your Personalized Care
Educating you on the mechanisms that may’ve caused your injury is an important part of the rehabilitative process at Michigan Complete Chiropractic & Rehab. Exact treatment of bulging discs at Michigan Complete Chiropractic & Rehab can depend on your type of injury and unique case. It is common for low back pain to result from lack of mobility elsewhere in the body, whether it be from the ankles, mid-back, or pelvis.
Possible beneficial treatment options for Bulging discs include:
Our thorough evaluation will assess mid-back, low-back, hip and ankle mobility, dynamic core and hip stability, and proprioception (brain-joint awareness) to create a personalized treatment program to not only rehabilitate your pain but correct the underlying cause.