Herniated discs will often cause you a great deal of pain if you sustain one. Some people report a truly excruciating experience with this condition. They say they can barely move. Getting up and walking around becomes a difficult task.
About three million US residents sustain a herniated disc yearly, so it’s a fairly common condition. If you herniate a disc, then you have a few options for how you can treat it.
We will talk about those right now. Ideally, you can take suitable action and get back on your feet sooner rather than later.
You have a series of discs in your back that go up your spine. These discs have soft, jelly-like centers. If you herniate a disc, this means that there is a tear in its outer layer. The center pushes through that tear.
When that happens, it can impact the nearby nerves. It often triggers a pain reaction. You can sustain an injury that causes disc herniation.
If you slip on the ice during the winter and fall, for instance, that can do it. You may also herniate a disc from a sports injury or a car wreck.
To confirm that you have herniated a disc, you must go see a qualified medical doctor. They can do some imaging. An MRI will usually confirm a herniated disc. You might also get a CT scan or some X-rays.
If you have a herniated disc, you might feel pain, but that is only the beginning. You may also a tingling, weakness, or numbness. The condition impacts the back, but it can also cause your neck, legs, or arms to tingle or to go numb.
You will need to talk to your doctor about some options. They will usually want to try the least invasive ones first.
They may suggest that you try to get some relief by putting a heat wrap on your back. A cold compress might also work. However, that’s only going to provide you some temporary relief in most instances.
You can use over-the-counter pain meds when treating a herniated disc as well. You might try Aleve or Advil. You can use a generic brand if you want a cheaper option.
You can also ask your doctor about prescribed medications. They might give you some. They will usually try to avoid any ones that have addiction potential, though. Doctors became very leery about prescribing things like Oxycodone or Vicodin during the pain pill epidemic of recent years.
They might also suggest physical therapy. Usually, that means visiting a clinic. There, the physical therapist will look at your chart and give you some exercises that you can do.
These will usually involve stretching out the back. That can provide some relief. They may also massage your back.
Like pain meds, heat wraps, or cold compresses, these exercises or a massage will probably only give your temporary relief. However, it’s better than nothing.
Physical therapy might help you, but it can get expensive in a hurry. If you have good insurance, then you may have a copay that’s not very large. You will likely only have a certain number of physical therapy appointments your insurance company will let you do each year, though.
If you find that you’re not getting the relief you want when you try everything we’ve mentioned so far, then you and your doctor might talk about a spinal injection. This usually involves injecting cortisone into your spine.
Hopefully, that can give you some temporary relief. Maybe you will feel somewhat better for a few weeks or months after the shot.
You can usually get a few of these shots per year, but no more. Also, they’re usually expensive, even if you have health insurance. Those copays can easily cost you a few hundred dollars out of pocket.
In some cases, your doctor may feel that you’re a surgery candidate. They will almost want to avoid this option, but if you have a herniated disc that’s making your life hellish, or more than one, they you may have little choice.
Back surgery has some associated risks. That’s why doctors will usually go with this option last. If they look at your chart and feel like you’re a candidate, though, and you are insistent, then you can usually find a surgeon who will do this for you.
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