Herniated Lumbar Disc...Now What?

San Francisco Chiropractor and Herniated Disc Doctor Comments:

How do you know if you have a herniated disc in the low back? Well, you don't, unless you have the right tests done. Sure, you may have a lot of pain in your low back...it may be shooting down your leg...but you still may not have a disc herniation.

Here's another thing...you may have a lumbar disc herniation and have no symptoms at all. In fact, some people live and die with disc herniations and never even knew they had them.

But...for the purpose of this article...we will be concerned about low back pain patients that DO have signs and symptoms of herniated lumbar discs, and want to know if they have one. Here are the most common signs and symptoms:

• Low Back Pain (can be severe)
• Sciatica (leg pain)
• Antalgia (listing to one side from muscle spasms)
• Numbness & Tingling in the lower extremities
• Night Pain
• Abnormal Gait (can be painful to walk)
• Hot or Cold sensations on the skin of lower extremities
• Weakness of the Lower Extremities (leg, feet, or toes)
• Loss of bladder or bowel function (this is a medical emergency)
• Loss of balance

There are more...but I think I covered most of them. And these are what we call subjective complaints...things that you feel and that are happening to you.

There are orthopedic tests that your doctor will do to help determine if you have a herniated disc. If these tests are positive (objective findings) she may order an x-ray or an MRI. Really, it just depends on the severity of your condition and how many subjective and objective findings point to a herniated lumbar disc.  An MRI is considered the gold standard for diagnosing a disc herniation.

   

So, you go to your doctor, they order an MRI, the MRI comes back positive for a disc herniation...say at L5, which is the most common disc to herniate..now what?

Well, this is when is gets interesting. There are so many factor to consider and so many opinions. If this is your first bout of back pain...it may just go away on it's own and never come back. But if you have been experiencing your low back pain for a long period of time, you will most likely need some form of treatment.

Personally, I would not rush to have back surgery. I would try the conservative approach first. I would visit a chiropractor. The body is an incredible machine and often times it can heal itself with a little help. Your spine may be out of alignment and some chiropractic adjustments is all you need.

Maybe you need some exercise as well...your chiropractor can help you with this...so can a physical therapist, or personal trainer.

Even very severe cases of lumbar disc herniation and spinal degeneration will often times respond to nonsurgical spinal decompression...a high tech disc herniation treatment that really works.

Sure, some disc pain patients don't respond to anything, even spinal decompression. For these very difficult cases surgery must be considered...but in my biased opinion...only as a last resort.

If you would like to find out if you are a candidate for non-surgical spinal decompression at our San Francisco Spinal Decompression Center...simply call 415-392-2225 and ask for a complimentary consultation, or fill out our Free Online Consultation Form and we will get back with you right away.