Herniated Discs
Bulging Discs
and
Degenerative Disc Disease
Herniated & Degenerative Disc Treatment in Charlotte, NC
What is a Herniated Disc?
Spinal Discs are circular tissue between the vertebrae in your spine. These discs are designed to be a cushion-like protection between the bones of your spine as you move, twist and bend. A herniated disc (or ruptured disc) is when a spinal disc bulges out from its normal position between the vertebrae. Herniated (or bulging) discs are most common in the lumbar (lower) spine because the lower region of the back carries the force associated with normal day to day life.
What is Degenerative Disc Disease?
This term refers to the normal aging process of the spinal discs. Many people will see this written on their MRI report and be concerned about their health. However, a large percentage of the population actually has Degenerative Disc Disease, just no symptoms. It really isn’t a disease at all, just an aging process.
What Causes a Herniated Disc?
Herniated discs can happen suddenly with trauma, but most often they occur over time. Spinal discs contain water, which helps give them their cushion-like characteristics. When the disc loses its’ water content, it becomes less plump, and flatter. This makes them become weak, and the inner part of the disc may then push out of its’ space and put pressure on the spinal nerves, which causes the pain.
What are the Symptoms of a Herniated Disc?
Typically, you will feel pain at the point of the herniated disc. Some common symptoms are:
In most cases, the acute pain from a herniated disc can get better within a couple days and in most cases can completely resolve in 4 to 6 weeks. Restricting your activity as well as appropriate ice and/or heat therapy can reduce symptoms. Effective back pain treatments in Charlotte, NC, like we provide, can help the process go faster.
Our Focus is...
treating the underlying cause of your bulging, herniated or degenerative disc by carefully listening to your health history, doing a complete examination and, if necessary, ordering new diagnostic imaging. We have often heard from other patient experiences that they have gone through things like epidural injections, facet injections, radio-frequency ablation, spinal cord stimulators and even other spinal surgeries, without really understanding why they have the bulging, herniated or degenerative disc or if the treatments were even necessary.
For example, researchers in 2011, examined 274 cases in which people were informed by a surgeon their lumbar or cervical spine required surgery. The experts performing the research analyzed those cases in great detail, they selected 183 of the cases for a second opinion. When those cases were evaluated again, 60.7% were determined to be unnecessary surgically, 33.3% were found to be the wrong surgery, and only a mere 6% fell into the category of a correct and necessary surgery. When a reasonable person takes a look at those percentages, they can clearly see that 94% of those patients were subject to either an unnecessary surgery or the wrong surgery. 1
The back pain doctors in Charlotte, NC at Select Health of the Carolinas strive to educate their patients on their conditions and are happy to spend as much time as needed to help you have a clear understanding of both your condition and our treatments. We provide some of the best herniated disc pain treatments in Charlotte, NC
To request an appointment, please complete the form below and a member of our scheduling team will contact you.
Please Note: Submitting this form does not establish a Doctor-Patient relationship and this form is not intended as a means to dispense medical advice.
1Study cited from National Institutes of Health:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3841934/
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