Some people develop disc herniation and seek disc herniation treatment with chiropractic care. The herniated disc occurs in the neck or back, usually due to injury, aging, and poor lifestyle choices.
Sometimes disc herniation is used interchangeably with the term “slipped disc”. Disc herniation is a ruptured disc within the spine. Discs are made up of concentric circles or rings of fibrous material with a tough gelatinous center. When cracks or fissures occur in the fibrous rings, the gelatinous material in the center can begin to push out. A bulging disc has not broken open. A disc herniation has either partially or completely broken open. Like a tube of toothpaste with a leak, a herniated disc’s gel-like nucleus substance may spread out to the spinal cord and nerves. Disc herniation causes pain because the gel-like nucleus contains a chemical that irritates the nerves, causing them to swell.
For disc herniation treatment, Dr. Douglass Toth will correct the alignment of the spine, reducing the pressure on the herniated disc and surrounding vertebrae. Disc hernation treatment includes the use of the chiropractic flexion-distraction technique, the most widely used approach to treating symptomatic disc injuries involving back pain. Flexion-distraction involves the use of a specialized table that gently distracts or stretches the spine and which allows the chiropractor to isolate the area of disc involvement while slightly flexing the spine in a pumping rhythm. There is no pain involved in the disc hernation treatment.
Theoretically, disc herniation treatment allows the central area of the disc, the nucleus pulposus, to assume its central position in the disc. These actions move the disc away from the nerve, reducing inflammation of the nerve root. In the disc herniation treatment using the flexion-distraction technique, chiropractors like Dr. Toth follow a “50% rule”: if the disc herniation patient has not improved by 50% at the end of 12 sessions, then imaging studies are assigned and spine specialist referral is considered. If there is substantial worsening at any time during treatment, imaging and neurosurgical referral are the standard of care.
Contact the office of Dr. Douglass Toth for disc herniation treatment today at 707-526-1390 or email us for an appointment.
