New Solutions to Disc Herniations in Kingston WA

When a patient is diagnosed with disc herniation in the neck or lower back, they are usually presented with two options… drugs or surgery.

There are more conservative approaches to treating disc herniation that can help decrease daily pain and get a patient back into their daily functions. Studies have shown that patients can have disc herniation in their lower back and not have pain, therefore the pain is not necessarily present with a disc bulge. There needs to be enough pressure on a pain nerve from the disc bulge as it exits the spine to feel pain.

Conservative and natural approaches to disc herniations and disc bulges in Kingston WA:

Decompression Therapy in Kingston WA:

Decompression therapy is a modality that utilizes traction forces to take pressure off nerve roots that are pinched off by disc bulges. Decompression therapy is a FDA-approved modality in the United States and has grown in popularity due to the results it achieves.

What exactly does a disc herniation cause?

As I mentioned earlier a patient can have a disc herniation on an MRI but present with no pain. When a disc herniation puts pressure on a nerve root and pinches it off it can cause radicular pain/leg pain and local low back pain. Therefore, the disc needs to bulge far enough out to irritate nerves as they exit the spine. Once this occurs it is difficult to perform regular activities of daily living like sitting, standing, walking and even sleeping. there usually is no relief of symptoms and a patient usually must resort to pain medications. If the problem persists long enough the patient is given the alternative for surgery.

What causes disc herniations:

Repetitive trauma over a period can cause wear and tear at a disc joint. This prolonged stress creates arthritis and the disc space decreases over time. As this occurs, disc spaces between vertebrae diminish and that’s causes the disc, a jelly like material to herniate/push out.

The next time you have low back pain or leg pain ask a doctor would I benefit from decompression therapy?