Herniated Disc

Herniated Disc: refers to a problem with one of the rubbery cushions (discs) between the individual bones (vertebrae) that stack up to make your spine.

A spinal disc has a soft center encased within a tougher exterior. Sometimes called a slipped disc or a ruptured disc, a herniated disc occurs when some soft centers push out through a tear in the tougher exterior.

A herniated disc can irritate the surrounding nerves, which can cause pain, numbness, or weakness in an arm or leg. On the other hand, many people experience no symptoms from a herniated disk. Therefore, most people who have a herniated disc will not need surgery to correct the problem.

Symptoms

Most herniated disks occur in the lower back (lumbar spine), although they can also occur in the neck (cervical spine). Most common symptoms of a herniated disk:

Arm or leg pain: A herniated disk in the lower back, typically an individual will feel the most intense pain in the buttocks, thigh, and calf. It may also involve part of the foot. If the herniated disc is in the neck, the pain will typically be most intense in the shoulder and arm. In addition, this pain may shoot into the arm or leg when coughing, sneezing, or moving the spine into certain positions.

Numbness or tingling: A herniated disk can feel numb or tingling in the body part served by the affected nerves.

Weakness: Muscles served by the affected nerves tend to weaken. This may cause stumbling or impair the ability to lift or hold items.

Someone can have a herniated disc without knowing. Herniated disks sometimes show up on spinal images of people who have no symptoms of a disc problem.

Disclaimer *

The information herein is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified healthcare professional or licensed physician and is not medical advice. We encourage you to make your own health care decisions based on your research and partnership with a qualified health care professional. Our information scope is limited to chiropractic, musculoskeletal, physical medicines, wellness, sensitive health issues, functional medicine articles, topics, and discussions. We provide and present clinical collaboration with specialists from a wide array of disciplines. Each specialist is governed by their professional scope of practice and their jurisdiction of licensure. We use functional health & wellness protocols to treat and support care for the injuries or disorders of the musculoskeletal system. Our videos, posts, topics, subjects, and insights cover clinical matters, issues, and topics that relate to and support, directly or indirectly, our clinical scope of practice.* Our office has made a reasonable attempt to provide supportive citations and has identified the relevant research study or studies supporting our posts. In addition, we provide copies of supporting research studies available to regulatory boards and the public upon request.

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Dr. Alex Jimenez DC, MSACP, CCST, IFMCP*, CIFM*, ATN*

email: [email protected]

phone: 915-850-0900

Licensed in Texas & New Mexico *