Herniated discs are a common cause of back pain that can significantly impact your quality of life. While surgery is often necessary to fix a herniated disc, chiropractic treatment can help manage the pain and provide relief. At Leaf-Chiropractic, we offer safe and holistic treatment options that can help ease herniated disc pain.
Understanding Herniated Discs
Before we dive into the chiropractic treatment options for herniated discs, let's first understand what they are. Herniated discs are different from bulging discs. While a bulging disc refers to a swollen disc, a herniated disc involves damage to the tough outer layer of cartilage, with the inner layer also swollen from the tear. A herniated disc means you have damage to the outer layer of your disc, which can lead to more severe pain.
Herniated discs can reach nerve endings more readily than bulging discs, resulting in nerve pain being difficult to treat. It's essential to pay attention to the symptoms of a herniated disc, which include loss of bowel or bladder control, loss of feeling in your lower extremities, loss of balance, fine motor skills, and muscle weakness.
Chiropractic Treatment Options for Herniated Discs
Chiropractic treatment cannot heal a herniated disc, and it does require surgery to be fixed. Still, it can help manage pain after surgery and provide complete relief. There are two or three different chiropractic treatment options that can help ease herniated disc pain.
Flexion-Distraction Technique
The flexion-distraction technique is a chiropractic treatment that requires a patient to lie down on a special table that is used to stretch out the back and spinal column. Once the patient is in a proper position, the chiropractor uses a specific type of hand technique to address the problem area. The overall goal is to stimulate the disc while the spine is stretched. This technique helps the disc move back to its correct position and reduces pain by moving the disc away from the nerves.
Pelvic Blocking Technique
The pelvic blocking technique requires a patient to lie down on a chiropractic table and have cushioned wedges placed underneath the pelvic area. These wedges help change the patient's posture and relieve pressure. The overall goal is to stretch the lower pelvic area, which in turn helps relieve any spinal pressure present.
Manipulation Under Anesthesia
When a patient is experiencing a lot of pain due to a herniated disc, the manipulation under anesthesia procedure can be used so that the patient does not experience discomfort while undergoing treatment. This option generally takes somewhere between fifteen minutes and an hour to be completed and often requires the herniated disc treatment to go on for multiple days in a row. During this procedure, a doctor can use different types of anesthesia that may be used, which are dependent on the patient's overall level of pain.
Supplemental Approaches to Chiropractic Therapy
Along with spinal manipulation, other approaches can supplement chiropractic therapy. Heating or icing inflamed or painful areas, using devices to electrically stimulate muscles and nerves, developing relaxation and deep breathing techniques, adding exercises to promote rehabilitation, establishing a regular fitness routine, making adjustments to diet and lifestyle, and taking certain dietary supplements can all complement chiropractic therapy.
Chiropractic Assessment for Disc Problems
Chiropractors usually look at the overall function of the spine to determine what treatment to provide in areas out of alignment. It's important to be consistent during your chiropractic treatment to get lasting relief. Chiropractors first take a look at any imaging done on your spine to see what the disc looks like. Once they identify the problem area, they devise a treatment plan accordingly.
Conclusion
While chiropractic care cannot cure a herniated disc, it can be an effective treatment option for managing pain and improving spinal health. At Leaf-Chiropractic, our team is committed to providing safe, effective, and personalized care to help our patients achieve optimal wellness. So, if you're wondering "can a chiropractor fix a herniated disc," the answer is no, but they can certainly help you feel better and improve your overall quality of life.
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