SLIPPED DISC SYMPTOMSSLIPPED DISC SYMPTOMS may be associated with pain in the leg(s), pain on sneezing, coughing and straining on the toilet, pain on bending forwards and perhaps pain in the leg on bending forwards. There are four degrees of 'slipped disc'. In the first THREE Grades (I - III) you will have low back pain, which may or may not be severe. In Grade IV, the back diminishes dramatically, but the leg pain becomes far worse. The four levels of slipped disc are: Grade I: Low back pain onlyIn 60% of the patients with this condition, the pain starts after bending and twisting and, often, heavy lifting. For example lifting and moving a potted plant. Should you sneeze at just that moment, then your back is especially vulnerable.The low back pain may be severe, or in fact relatively minor. Grade I slipped disc symptoms are:
Normal disc
A tear through one or two layers is often called a 'bulging disc'. It won't reach the nerve. Grade II: Low back pain + Leg painIf the gel in the nucleus tears through more layers of the ring then the slipped disc symptoms will change: pain, or tingling, or a numb feeling, or a tight feeling starts to develop, first in the buttock, then radiating down the leg. Take special note of which part of your leg is effected - it gives your chiropractor important extra information. Read more about patterns of tingling in feet and legs …Notice now that the bulge - now called a PROTRUSION - has reached the nerve ...
TipPeople often think the tightness in the back of the thigh is from a tight hamstring - and try stretching it by bending forwards. It's about the WORST thing you can do if you are having slipped disc symptoms!DON'T!
Grade III: Low back pain + leg pain + NEUROLOGICAL CHANGESWhilst I don't believe one has to rush off to the doctor with every snivel, or to the chiropractic with every back pain, should pain, or a tight feeling, develop in the leg then I recommend you don't wait. Get to your chiropractor immediately. The sooner that disc is reduced the less the likelihood of it progressing.Why? Untreated Grade 2 often develops neurological signs:
Notice in this next picture - an MRI scan - how the gel is bulging deep into the spinal foramen? As these slipped disc symptoms progress, your life style will become more severely limited. Your Chiropractor will probably insist you stay at home, not sit at all, and probably spend some of the time lying down.
Grade IV: Minimal back pain + severe pain in the leg.Mr T is a very fit Dutch policeman. Four months ago after a fall on the beat, he developed the typical slipped disc symptoms. Low back pain, pain with sneezing and pain on bending. Anti-inflammatory drugs >> were prescribed by his doctor, but no reduction of the bulge was attempted - it was seen simply as an inflammation, rather than a change in the normal workings of the disc (what we call the biomechanics of the disc), nor was any rehab attempted. The pain went away.As part of his job, he often needs to travel long distances in the car - and within weeks he began developing back pain again, and worse, more severe slipped disc symptoms developed. First pain in the leg, then weakness in the calf, and numbness on the side of his foot. Physiotherapy helped somewhat. Abruptly, the pain in his back subsided after a heavy shower of sneezes (Dutch is a very colourful language!) and the pain in his leg became very severe. Sitting in the car became quite impossible. In a Grade IV, a fragment of the disc gel becomes detached from the main body of the nucleus and becomes lodged in the spinal canal. Back pain is greatly reduced, but the leg ... bladder symptoms may develop. In technical jargon, it's called the sequested disc. Ouch! This scan was only taken after he had already had four adjustments (manipulations) of the slipped disc. By then the pain in his leg was already 30% less, so we will never know how large the bulge actually was in the beginning.
CHIROPRACTIC CARESlipped-Disc-Symptoms-Case-File, click here ...The Slipped Disc Symptoms of a Grade I or II herniation are treated by chiropractors on a daily basis. It's routine, though I've learned never to take a slipped disc for granted. Nor should you. Research shows that 5% will go on to develop severe, disabling, chronic pain and no one knows ahead of time whether you could be in that one of them. My experience is that it's usually those who won't listen. Who refuse to slow down, stop sitting and if necessary stay at home. "Those who won't hear, must feel." - Dutch proverb.
Nope this is not a fancy scan of a disc that is in decay. It's a picture of Nebula NGC 2392, taken from the Hubble telescope. It's been called 'Eskimo' because it looks like a face surrounded by a furry hood. The hood is, in fact, a ring of comet-shaped objects flying away from a dying star. Eskimo is 5,000 light years from Earth. Keeps our human problems in perspective! Our Sun in comparison is I believe 7 light minutes from the Earth.
Not a Chiropractic CaseFor the first twenty-five years in practice, whenever a patient had a Grade IV slipped disc, also known as a sequestered disc, I wouldn't even attempt to treat them. Off to the surgeon. However, now for the last five years, I have started giving a trial period of treatment, limited to four weeks. Well, Mr T is 80% better. He can sit normally, and this week he goes part time back to work.RehabilitationRehab is absolutly vital whenever a patient has slipped disc symptoms. Otherwise the relentless progression fromGrade I > Grade II > Grade III > Grade IV > Surgery becomes increasingly likely. I hasten to say: Not every Grade IV can expect to respond as well as Mr T has. This is a fairly small prolapse, though it was worth a try don't you think? But really the trick is to prevent a Grade IV. Almost invariably the sequestered disk is only caused by neglect on someone's part. Your's, your doctor's, even your chiropractor's ... Can manipulation cause a Grade IV? Yes, I regret to say I have caused a few in thirty years, particularly in the early years when I was inexperienced. No treatment, chiropractic or medical, is without risk. Even withholding treatment, as happened in Mr T's case, can and often does worsen a disc injury. Doctor-caused disease. IATROGENIC ILLNESS >> Now I've learned not to use brute force and ignorance in the treatment of slipped disc symptoms. Mostly!
IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS
The Pisa sign MONTHLY NEWSLETTERYou will then have access to these newsletters, and more as they become available:Chiropractic Help, Issue #09 – Friday Fun: Headache Chiropractic Help, Issue #08- Spinal Stenosis/ Celery Chiropractic Help, Issue #07- Root-of-all-Healing/ Garbanzo beans /Chickpeas Chiropractic Help, Issue #06 - Safety-on-the-Stairs/ Ginger Chiropractic Help, Issue #05 - Safety-in-the-home/ Red foods Chiropractic Help, Issue #04 - Whiplash-and-the-Joints-of-Luschka/ Parsley Chiropractic Help, Issue #03 - How to stop falling/ Danger of a low fat diet Chiropractic Help, Issue #01 - Tingling the arms and hands/ Apples Sign up here:
|
