Spinal Disc Injuries

Spinal disc injuries can be extremely painful and incapacitating.  The back is used in every movement of the body, so it is impossible to function without moving the injured area.  Also, disc problems may cause swelling and pressure on the nerves, leading to sciatica and related problems.  Chiropractors can give you relief from spinal disc injuries and other related problems by making necessary adjustments to keep the spine properly aligned

The discs of the spine have a number of important functions in the body.  They act as a spacer for the spine, a shock absorber, and as a motion unit that allows the spine to flex.  Without the spinal discs, the back would be a rigid, immovable stick that would severely restrict our ability to get around.

Besides sudden trauma, the most common cause of spinal disc injuries is the dehydration of the disc's inner nucleus.  As it dries out, the disc space will narrows and cause annular ligaments to bulge.  If the dehydration continues, these brittle fibers may crack or tear.  Loss of normal soft tissue tension may allow the spinal segment to partially dislocate and cause bone spurs, mechanical instability, and pain.

Herniated discs are caused by stretching or tearing of the annular fibers.  This allows the pressurized nuclear material to bulge or herniate and compress other tissues of the body, causing leg pain and weakness.  This is most common cause of pinched nerves or slipped discs.  Radiating leg pain may be a sign of a bulging spinal disc that is irritating the nerve root.  Although most of the patients who develop a herniated disc and the resultant sciatica can heal without surgery, it is often a popular choice to speed up the process.  If surgery is chosen as a solution for spinal disc injuries, a decompressive removal of the portion of herniated disc material is the usual procedure. 

Degenerative disease may also be the cause of a number of spinal disc injuries.  The disc can become injured because of a trauma that gradually overloads the capacity of the disc.  As it loses the capacity to withstand increased forces passing through it, the inner or outer parts of the annular fibers will begin to stretch and even tear.  The torn fibers then become inflamed when they are subjected to increased stress.  This can cause pain directly or indirectly through the body's tendency to compensate with the deeper paraspinal muscles.