Do you have a herniated disc? Are you looking for relief from the pain it causes? Spinal decompression therapy here in our Columbus, Ohio office may be able to help you. To see if this form of care is right for you, let’s first talk a little about herniated discs and then we will finish up and talk about spinal decompression therapy.
HERNIATED DISC
Below are two examples of a herniated disc in the lumbar spine (lower back). The disc is marked by a #1 in both images. In the figure on the left, the red material represents the injured nucleus pulposus. Under normal conditions, the nucleus pulposus is a yellowish color that is centered completely in the middle.
As seen in the image on the left, the nucleus pulposus has ruptured through the concentric rings of the disc (item #16) and has reached the spinal cord. As seen in the image on the right, the nucleus pulposus has ruptured through the concentric rings of the disc (item #17) and has reached the spinal nerve.
Both of these are serious conditions and multiple symptoms may occur, such as: leg pain, low back pain, numbness in the legs or sciatica, or leg pain, bowel and bladder problems and muscle weakness to name a few. If this herniation occurs in the cervical spine it can cause neck pain, headaches, migraines and arm pain.
TREATMENT OPTIONS
Up until now, the only way to treat this condition was with medications, which has undesirable side effects, steroid injections, which provide only temporary relief, and surgery, which has proven to fail over 50% of the time.
Spinal decompression therapy is now considered the treatment of choice by leading health care experts. Spinal decompression therapy is a form of traction to the spine that works specifically to pull the vertebrae adjacent to the injured disc in opposite directions, so as to create a negative pressure in the disc.
Once the negative pressure in the disc is high enough, the the ruptured contents of the nucleus pulposus will get sucked back into the center of the disc. The end result is the disc no longer comes in contact with the nerve it is irritating.
If you or someone you know suffers from a herniated disc and are looking for relief, spinal decompression therapy in our Columbus, Ohio office may be able to help. To see if you are candidate for this type of care, call 614-428-9310 and schedule an appointment.
Grant, thank you for your question.
While the extruded part of the disc is now separated, it will likely get broken down and reabsorbed by your body over time so that is actually a good thing under the circumstances since it will no longer be able to irritate the spinal nerve.
The remaining disc where the extrusion came from still will present problems for you if it is extending into the spinal canal or lateral recess and this is where spinal decompression therapy can help. So to answer your question, the answer is ‘yes’ we should be able to help you.
All the best to you.
Dr. VanSuch