Painful lower back symptoms could be due to disc injury. A herniated or ruptured disc can disrupt your life by restricting your activities and mobility but an evaluation by a Fort Wayne, IN, chiropractor can help determine if you have a disc injury, so you can get the appropriate treatment. These FAQs from us at True Wellness Chiropractic explain more about disc injuries and how chiropractic care can help with treatment.
What Is a Herniated Disc?
Spinal discs can be likened to cushions positioned between your vertebrae to absorb the tension between spinal bones to facilitate movement. The discs are composed of a tough outer layer which protects a soft inner core. Damage to the outer layer can cause the inner core to leak out, resulting in a herniated, bulging or ruptured disc. If this core presses on spinal nerves, it can cause extreme pain.
What Causes a Herniated Disc?
Herniated discs can be caused by acute injuries or repeated motions of improper twisting or heavy lifting. Other causes are degenerative disc disease or deterioration from years of wear and tear.
What Are the Symptoms of a Herniated or Ruptured Disc?
You may feel pain radiating from the source of the injury through your arm or leg. If the disc pinches the sciatic nerve, your pain may extend from your lower back and all the way down your leg. You may also feel neck stiffness, shoulder pain, numbness in your arm, leg or foot and muscle weakness or spasms. A degenerated disc is more likely to cause pain around the site of the damage.
Low back pain that persists for some time shouldn’t be ignored. A Fort Wayne chiropractor on our chiropractic care team can diagnose your condition using x-rays and a limited physical exam. We can then create a plan for chiropractic disc treatment to help relieve your pain and restore your health.
How Do Chiropractors Treat Disc Injury?
Chiropractors rely on holistic techniques and therapies for herniated disc treatment. After evaluating your condition, we’ll outline a treatment plan to meet your unique healthcare needs. This plan may include adjustments to realign your spinal system to prepare your body for healing. Spinal decompression is another technique used for disc treatment. We’ll have you lie on a specially designed spinal decompression table to gently stretch your spine. This makes room for the protruding disc to return to its normal position. Repositioning the disc takes pressure off of the sciatic nerve to ease painful symptoms.
Get Chiropractic Care and Spinal Decompression from a Chiropractor for a Disc Injury
Not all disc problems require surgery. At True Wellness Chiropractic, we offer noninvasive chiropractic care for pain relief of disc injuries. To schedule an appointment with your Fort Wayne, IN, chiropractor, contact us at (260) 444-2080.