Discs: The Ball Bearings of the Spine
Like a ball bearing, each vertebra rotates around the soft center of the disc, permitting turning and bending.
They bulge, herniate, degenerate and tear, but they don’t “slip.”
Discs are the “ball bearings” of the spine. Separating each vertebra, they create the necessary spacing for nerves to exit the spinal cord to service the organs and tissues of your body. Rings of fibrous tissue called the annulus contain a soft jelly center.
In our office, we see two common disc problems:
Bulging Disc
A weakened area of the annulus can allow the softer nucleus of the disc to bulge like a balloon. This can put pressure on nearby nerves. Bulging discs cases respond well to Chiropractic. With improved spinal function we’ve seen many cases resolve nicely.
Herniated Disc
A herniated or ruptured disc is more serious. It can occur anywhere in the spine, but is most common in the lower back. This is when part of the soft nucleus pushes out of the annulus into the spinal canal, usually through a weakened area due to trauma or degeneration.
Is a herniation your problem or a bulge. This answer may depend on your age!
Why? As we age, we lose fluid in each of our discs. This process starts around your 30s (at UBCC we were told 33. Why they said 33, I do not know. Maybe my professors read something or maybe they just wanted a reasonable number. This means everyone: male and female. I always tell my male patients, “on your 40th birthday, get all your pants shortened 1 inch so you won’t drag your cuffs on the ground. Whatever you thought you were in pants length, you are not that number anymore. Learn to accept this fact”.
What this means is that a bulge in a disc in someone who is 25 may be excruciating while that same bulge in a person who is 75 may not be felt at all.
A herniation in a person who is 75 may feel like a bulge in a person who is 25.
A herniation in a person who is 25 may be the cause for immediate surgery!
How Chiropractic Can Help
Chiropractic care, along with simple exercise, such as walking, increased water intake and improved nutrition offer a natural, non-surgical resolution to many disc problems.
patients at Chiropractic Lane experience tremendous success in addressing disc problems in our office. Chiropractic Lane care can often help heal disc tissue and offer relief to the pain that accompanies disc problems.
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