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Can individuals with herniated discs find the relief they are looking for from traction therapy or decompression to provide pain relief?
Introduction
The spine allows the individual to be mobile and flexible without feeling pain and discomfort when a person is on the move. This is because the spine is part of the musculoskeletal system that consists of muscles, tendons, ligaments, the spinal cord, and spinal discs. These components surround the spine and have three regions to allow the upper and lower extremities to do their jobs. However, the spine also ages when the body starts to age naturally. Many movements or routine actions can cause the body to be stiff and, over time, can cause the spinal disc to herniate. When this happens, a herniated disc can lead to pain and discomfort in the extremities, thus making individuals deal with a reduced quality of life and pain in three spinal regions. Luckily, there are numerous treatments, like traction therapy and decompression, to alleviate the pain and discomfort associated with herniated discs. Today’s article looks at why herniated discs cause issues in the spine and the effects of how these two treatments can help reduce herniated discs. We talk with certified medical providers who consolidate our patients’ information to assess how a herniated disc in the spine may be the issue causing musculoskeletal pain. We also inform and guide patients on how integrating spinal decompression and traction therapy can help realign the spine and reduce disc herniation that is causing spinal issues. We encourage our patients to ask their associated medical providers intricate and important questions about incorporating non-surgical treatments as part of their routine to reduce pain and discomfort in their bodies. Dr. Jimenez, D.C., includes this information as an academic service. Disclaimer.
Why Herniated Discs Causes Issues In The Spine?
Have you been experiencing constant discomfort in your neck or back that doesn’t allow you to relax? Do you feel tingling sensations in your upper and lower extremities, making grasping objects or walking difficult? Or have you noticed that you are hunching over from your desk or standing and that stretching causes pain? As the spine keeps the body upright, its main components include the moveable vertebrae, the nerve root fibers, and spinal discs to help send neuron signals to the brain to allow movement, cushion the shocked forces on the spine, and be flexible. The spine allows the individual to perform various tasks without pain and discomfort through repetitive movements. However, when the body ages, it can lead to degenerative changes in the spine, causing the spinal disc to herniate over time. A herniated disc is a common degenerative musculoskeletal condition that causes the nucleus pulposus to break through any weak region of the annulus fibrosus and compress the surrounding nerve roots. (Ge et al., 2019) Other times, when repetitive motions start to cause a developing herniated disc, the inner portion of the disc can become desiccated and brittle. In contrast, the outer portion becomes more fibrotic and less elastic, causing the disc to shrink and be narrow. A herniated disc can affect young and old populations as they can have a multifactorial contribution that causes proinflammatory changes to the body. (Wu et al., 2020)
When many people are dealing with pain associated with a herniated disc, the disc itself goes through morphological change through the characterization of the disc being partial damage, which is then followed by the displacement and herniation of the inner disc portion in the vertebral canal to compress the spinal nerve roots. (Diaconu et al., 2021) This causes symptoms of pain, numbness, and weakness in the upper and lower body portions through nerve impingement. Hence why, many individuals are dealing with referred pain symptoms from their arms and legs that are radiating pain. When nerve compression associated with herniated discs starts to cause pain and discomfort, many individuals begin to seek out treatment to reduce the pain that the herniated disc is causing to provide relief for their bodies.
The information herein is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional, licensed physician, and is not medical advice. We encourage you to make your own health care decisions based on your research and partnership with a qualified health care professional. Our information scope is limited to chiropractic, musculoskeletal, physical medicines, wellness, sensitive health issues, functional medicine articles, topics, and discussions. We provide and present clinical collaboration with specialists from a wide array of disciplines. Each specialist is governed by their professional scope of practice and their jurisdiction of licensure. We use functional health & wellness protocols to treat and support care for the injuries or disorders of the musculoskeletal system. Our videos, posts, topics, subjects, and insights cover clinical matters, issues, and topics that relate to and support, directly or indirectly, our clinical scope of practice.* Our office has made a reasonable attempt to provide supportive citations and has identified the relevant research study or studies supporting our posts. We provide copies of supporting research studies available to regulatory boards and the public upon request. We understand that we cover matters that require an additional explanation of how it may assist in a particular care plan or treatment protocol; therefore, to further discuss the subject matter above, please feel free to ask Dr. Alex Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900.
Dr. Alex Jimenez DC, MSACP, CCST, IFMCP*, CIFM*, ATN*
email: coach@elpasofunctionalmedicine.com
Licensed in: Texas & New Mexico*
Can individuals with herniated discs find the relief they are looking for from traction therapy or decompression to provide pain relief? If you have any questions or concerns, please call Dr. Jimenez at 915-850-0900.