A spinal disc is the structure that cushions the area between the vertebrae in the spine. The disc is made up of a tough but elastic outer covering and soft inner-core. The Mayo Clinic describes a herniated disc as a disc with a rupture in the outer covering and a protrusion of the inner-core into the surrounding nerves. There are options to treating a herniated disc that can relieve the pain.
Physical Therapy
Physical therapy in treating a herniated disc not only helps to offer some relief to the pain, but it can also be used to prevent injury in the future. The main goals of physical therapy are to manipulate the disc so that the ruptured portion is pulled away from the nerves and to strengthen the muscles around the spine to help hold the disc in place to prevent it from causing further damage. The process of physical therapy can take weeks or months to be effective.
Medication
Different kinds of medication are used to help a herniated disc. Your doctor may tell you to rest for a few days to allow the inflammation around the disc to decrease, and then may prescribe pain medication to help you get up and around again. FamilyDoctor.org suggests that movement can help to reduce the pain involved with a herniated disc, so your doctor will want you up and around as soon as possible. For more severe conditions, your doctor may use an cortisone shot applied directly to the herniated disc to help reduce the pain.
Surgery
According to the Mayo Clinic, approximately one in 10 cases of herniated disc result in some sort of surgery. The most common kind of herniated disc surgery involves removing the portion of the disc that is putting pressure on the nerves. If the disc is too damaged to be effective, then your doctor may either use a disc replacement surgery or may decide to remove the disc and use a bone graft to fuse the vertebrae together.
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