HERNIATED LUMBAR DISCS - DO YOU REALLY NEED SURGERY?
The lower back is affected by disc herniations more than any other area in your back; because your body weight is putting more pressure on the discs in your lower back than any other place in your body. Discs are round shock absorbing spacers found between the bones in your back. They cushion all the jolts and stresses your back is exposed to each day as you bend, lift, twist, walk, run, jump, or fall. As you age, your discs slowly flatten out and lose some of their shock absorbing abilities. Interestingly, you could have herniated lumbar discs and not even know it. Many disc herniations are found on patient’s x-ray’s who are not having any back or leg pain. Many times, correcting a piriformis muscle entrapment will relieve pain in your buttock and leg that is similar to the symptoms of herniated lumbar discs. Correcting unhealthy joint function in your lower back with chiropractic care can also relieve low back, hip, or leg pain that is similar to the pain of a herniated disc. It’s important that your doctor determines that it is a herniated lumbar disc that is causing your back or leg pain before recommending surgery or any other treatment. It’s only when your herniated lumbar discs are pressing on your spinal cord or nerves coming from your spinal cord that you would have pain. For a complete description of herniated disc symptoms visit here. Herniated lumbar discs are caused by trauma such as a fall, auto accident, or lifting injury. They can also occur as a result of wear and tear on the spine over time. A disc herniation actually occurs when the soft, jelly-like center of a disc is forced through the harder, outer layers of your disc. If your herniation is big enough to put pressure on your spinal cord or a spinal nerve, you can have severe pain in your back, hip, and all the way down your leg to your foot. Even if you do have a lot of pain from a disc herniation, it is well worth trying conservative treatments before rushing to have surgery. For a detailed list of treatments available for herniated discs click hee I had a patient whose husband herniated a disc in his low back lifting heavy beams at work. He was a foreman for a construction company and did carpentry jobs on the side. This guy was in fabulous condition and exercised regularly. He loved playing all kinds of sports with his three young sons. He also was a remarkably upbeat and happy person. My patient told me about her husband’s injury and asked me if I could help him. I told her to have him come to my office so that I could examine him and see if I could help. I’d had great success with many disc herniations over the years. Well, he never did come in to see me. His work place referred him to an orthopedist who immediately recommended surgery. To say the surgery did not go well would be a tremendous understatement. In fact, this young father has been in constant, severe pain ever since the back surgery. His pain was so severe that a morphine pump was implanted in his side to drip morphine into his back in an attempt to relieve his pain. He has been totally disabled since the surgery and walks only with the aid of a cane or walker. He is unable to horse around or play at all with his three sons. His wife told me that he is so distraught about being in constant pain and not being able to work, have sexual relations, or play with his kids, that he is in counseling and is contemplating suicide. I don’t tell you this sad story to try to scare you out of having surgery for herniated lumbar discs. I tell it to you to encourage you to try conservative treatments first. Only if you have been unable to find relief after trying a number of conservative treatments should you consider surgery. As you can see from this story, not all back surgeries have successful outcomes. To Your Best Health, Dr. Cliff
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