Evidence of a bulging disc may range from mild tingling and numbness to moderate or severe pain, depending on the severity. In most cases, when a bulging disc has reached this stage it is near or at herniation. Tingling or pain in the fingers, hands, arms, neck or shoulders.
If your herniated disk is in your lower back, besides pain in your lower back, you'll typically feel pain in your buttocks, thigh and calf. You might have pain in part of the foot as well. For a herniated disk in your neck, you'll typically feel the most pain in your shoulder and arm.
Herniated Disk (Slipped, Ruptured or Bulging Disk) A herniated disk is also known as a slipped, ruptured or bulging disk. It's one of the most common causes of neck, back and leg pain. Most of the time, herniated disks heal on their own or with simple home-care measures.
If you experience any of the severe herniated disc symptoms below, contact your doctor immediately: Loss of bowel and/or bladder control, loss of feeling in your lower extremities (legs and feet)**:** These symptoms, which may be caused by a lumbar (low back) herniated disc, may be related to cauda equina syndrome.
There are four stages: (1) disc protrusion (2) prolapsed disc (3) disc extrusion (4) sequestered disc.
The good news is that in most cases — 90% of the time — pain caused by a herniated disc will go away on its own within six months. Initially, your doctor will likely recommend that you take an over-the-counter pain reliever and limit activities that cause pain or discomfort.
Flexion Based Movements
This typically causes the disc herniation to put extra pressure on surrounding tissues, causing increased muscle spasms and potential nerve symptoms. Flexion based activities include bending down to pick something up, traditional biking, sit ups, toe touches, and deep squats.
A disc herniation (sometimes called a "slipped disc") occurs when a piece of a spinal disc bulges or ruptures and slips out of place, squeezing a spinal nerve. This may cause leg pain, leg weakness, leg numbness, cauda equina syndrome, and/or low back pain.
Most importantly, an L4-L5 disc bulge can lead to prolonged pain and other, more serious conditions like spondylolisthesis if you delay treatment. Spondylolisthesis is a condition in which a vertebra shifts or slips, and can cause significant pain that may require surgery to fix.
It is not possible to feel a herniated disc with your hand. The intervertebral disc is much too far forward in your body for it to push that far out to feel it. If this were the case, this would mean that you could poke your spinal cord with your finger, which also isn't possible… and would be very bad if you could.
Yes! Chiropractic care is the preferred treatment method for many patients suffering from a bulging disc. It is non-invasive and does not require drugs or injections of any kind. Chiropractic can help provide you with improved mobility, decreased pain, and overall better quality of life.
It can cause pain in the buttocks, legs, or back. It can also affect your ability to walk. Bulging discs usually affect multiple discs. This condition develops over time and can cause other disc degeneration-related issues, like lumbar stenosis (narrowing of spinal canal).
In nearly all cases, surgeons can remove just the protruding portion of the disk. Rarely, the entire disk must be removed. In these cases, the vertebrae might need to be fused with a bone graft. To allow the process of bone fusion, which takes months, metal hardware is placed in the spine to provide spinal stability.
In theory the disc should be able to be popped back into its natural state, but it is very difficult to just “pop” a herniated disc back into place like a displaced gear. In fact, trying to pop a disc back into place can make the issue worse if the person doing the “popping” doesn't know what they are doing.
The pain from a herniated disc usually is worse when you are active and gets better when you are resting. Coughing, sneezing, sitting, driving, and bending forward may make the pain worse. The pain gets worse when you make these movements because there is more pressure on the nerve.
A doctor will usually recommend a few days of rest after experiencing a herniated disk. Doing gentle activities and exercises will strengthen the muscles that support the spine and reduce pressure on the spinal column.
Sit with the Right Posture
It is proper to sit up straight without slouching. When you slump, you put extra pressure on the discs in the spine and can aggravate your herniated disc. Additionally, you want to ensure your knees are level with your hips. Your hips should be slightly above your knees if you sit at a desk.
Treatment with rest, pain medication, spinal injections, and physical therapy is the first step to recovery. Most people improve in 6 weeks and return to normal activity. If symptoms continue, surgery may be recommended.
One of the best treatments for the symptoms of a herniated disc is stretching exercises. By gently stretching the muscles in the back, their flexibility is improved, helping them stabilize the disc herniation area. Overall endurance and circulation are also improved with herniated disc exercises, and symptoms improve.
Shoveling snow and gardening can worsen your disc pain, as it often involves heavy lifting, forward-bending, and twisting—motions that easily aggravate your discs. With snow, use a snowblower if you can, or get help from a neighbor. With gardening, try to avoid repetitive bending and stooping.
Conservative Treatment
In fact, 85% of people with a herniated disc feel better within 8 to 12 weeks. When you see your doctor for a herniated disc, they will likely recommend conservative (non-surgical) treatments for a period of 6 weeks to help reduce pain, inflammation, and discomfort.
“There are some types of back pain that can get worse when you get a massage,” says Walsh. Specifically, he says, sciatica (sudden-onset pain that extends down the back and into the butt or legs) stemming from a herniated disc can be aggravated by deep tissue stimulation.
Evidence of a bulging disc may range from mild tingling and numbness to moderate or severe pain, depending on the severity. In most cases, when a bulging disc has reached this stage it is near or at herniation. Tingling or pain in the fingers, hands, arms, neck or shoulders.