Disc herniations cause back pain and
leg pain for some. Satterwhite Chiropractic welcomes those disc herniation pain patients. Gentle, relieving treatment
without surgery is what we offer. Oxford back
pain patients are relieved when they find us!
DISC HERNIATION: Size, Weight, Sleep
What matters when a disc produces back
pain? Its size? Its weight? Its effect on quality of life? Spinal researchers have
produced data and published that what the pain-producing disc looks like on imaging doesn’t really matter. The size and shape of an intervertebral
spinal disc’s bulging nucleus pulposus has no tie to
a patient’s clinical presentation or symptomatology
or how a patient feels. (1) The weight of a disc fragment did not relate to the amount of time the symptoms lasted or severity
of pre- or post-operative leg pain nor post-operative leg pain or back pain improvement,
the percentage of spinal
canal occupation, herniation classification, or vertebral level. The size
of the lumbar disc herniation did not have much effect on clinical
outcomes. (2) Chronic lower back pain and sciatica due to lumbar disc
herniation adversely impacted sufferer’s
quality of sleep. Treatment positively impacted
patient perception of pain in visual analog scale (VAS) scores as well as
in the PSQI Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index scores. (3) Pain lessening
chiropractic treatment of a pain-producing disc necessitates
decreasing the risk of recurrent back pain episodes as well as decreasing
the pain of the current episode.
MANAGING BACK PAIN AND RISK OF ITS RECURRENCE
Once you have experienced a disc herniation and its resulting back pain,
you don’t want to have it back! Satterwhite Chiropractic gets
that and shares that managing - as conservatively as
possible - the disc herniation is more realistic than curing it.
6.05% of lumbar discectomy surgery patients experienced a re-current disc
herniation. What prompted this? On their own, factors
like age, BMI, current smoking status, heavy lifting, degenerative facet joint
disease, operation time, and the ambulation time
after surgery affected the risk of recurrent disc herniation.
Combined, older age, male sex, high body mass index (BMI), and early ambulation
were significant factors in the experience of a recurrent
lumbar disc herniation. Managing weight, not lifting heavy
items, and exercising were suggested risk reducers. (4) One new
study reported that the amount of sedentary time probably did not raise
the risk of a new occurrence of low back pain
as much as the amount and type of physical activity. (5) Pain relief comes
more as a roller coaster than a straight hill to no pain. A
disc herniation is like a bruise on an apple making the apple (and
by comparison, the spine) never quite the same again. That’s
where Satterwhite Chiropractic comes in with a treatment plan that ensures
you know all there is to know about a disc herniation, how
to nutritionally take care of it, how to get it
back to being strong with exercise and keeping it that way, and how to perform activities
of daily living to prevent (re)injury. A newer
systematic review of ways to approach the management
of back pain listed 10 approaches:
manipulation/mobilization, psychological/behavioral, advice to stay active/bed
rest, reassurance, antidepressants, NSAIDS, opioids, muscle relaxants, and
paracetamol. (6) Satterwhite Chiropractic encourages walking, moving,
careful lifting, and especially being treated with gentle, safe, effective Cox®
Technic spinal manipulation!
CONTACT Satterwhite Chiropractic
Listen to this PODCAST
with Dr. Robert Patterson on The Back Doctors Podcast with
Dr. Michael Johnson as he illustrates the realistic expectations
back pain patients can expect with The Cox® Technic System of Spinal
Pain Management.
Schedule your Oxford chiropractic
appointment soon. Disc herniation sufferers are invited
to our practice for relief and a plan for controlling its future effect
on life.