Herniated disc pain can be a torturous experience for any patient unfortunate enough to suffer from a symptomatic disc condition. Most mild and moderate severity herniated discs do not cause any pain or related symptoms and require no medical treatment at all. For truly problematic bulging discs, there are a variety of possible treatment options, so it is crucial to learn all the facts about herniated discs before deciding which modality will best cure your pain.
This resource section focuses on the various possible expressions of herniated disc pain which may be related to a plethora of different diagnoses. The articles below provide incredibly detailed accounts of specific disc pain conditions throughout the anatomy.
Herniated Disc Pain from Injury
A recent traumatic disc injury can certainly cause acute back pain, just like any other violent event. Discs which bulge spontaneously, due to traumatic force, are likely to hurt and might possibly create some neurological symptoms, such as sciatica or a pinched nerve. However, most of these disc conditions will cool off and resolve completely without any treatment. Typically, statistics show that most herniated discs will lessen in their symptoms gradually over the course of 2 to 8 weeks.
Some conservative symptomatic herniated disc treatments can make this time more comfortable while the condition heals. It is unlikely that an acute disc injury will result in a chronic disc pain condition, unless severe nerve involvement becomes an ongoing concern.
Herniated Disc Pain Topics
Painful herniations are the exceptions to the rule. However, when pain is expressed in relation to a herniated disc, patients must understand the facts of their condition, as well as learn more about their prognosis. These dissertations will provide everything a patient needs to know about disc-related pain:
Disc pain is not experienced by the disc itself, but rather from some neighboring neurological tissue, since spinal spacers have no internal nerve supply.
Discogenic pain denotes a condition wherein tiny nerves attached to the disc endplates are thought to be the source of symptoms.
Acute herniated disc symptoms can be ferocious, often causing patients to seek emergency help at their local hospital.
Chronic herniated disc are the rule, since most intervertebral pathologies become long lasting health crises.
Herniated disc hip pain can be caused by particular types of lower back disc protrusions.
Herniated disc groin pain might result from compression of the cauda equina structures from a lower lumbar herniation.
Herniated disc buttocks pain combined with herniated disc leg pain and/or herniated disc foot pain form the basis of most sciatica syndromes.
Herniated disc back pain can occur from any pathological thoracic protrusion, while herniated disc lower back pain is linked to lumbar intervertebral problems.
Herniated disc neck pain might be the consequence of cervical disc abnormalities, while some lower cervical and upper thoracic disc issues will be the origin of herniated disc upper back pain.
Herniated disc shoulder pain, as well as arm pain from a herniated disc and herniated disc finger pain can also radiate from a lower cervical or upper thoracic herniation.
Neck pain from a herniated disc is one of the worst possible expressions, since these conditions can cause central stenosis and therefore have wide-ranging effects on the neurological anatomy.
Disc-related buttocks pain may be an early warning sign of cauda equina syndrome, along with saddle paresthesia and leg weakness.
Herniated disc muscle pain may occur virtually anywhere in the body when a nerve root is being impinged upon by an intervertebral protrusion.
If you have been diagnosed with a disc problem, it is crucial to be able to answer the universally asked question: Do herniated discs cause pain?
Disc pain management allows patients to cope with their symptoms, even if they can not achieve their true goal of resolving the herniation.
Disc pain turning when turning the head can pose diagnostic challenges.
Pain from Herniated Discs and Spinal Degeneration
Degenerative processes are completely normal in the human spine and rarely cause significant or lasting pain of any type. Degenerative disc disease certainly increases the chances of experiencing a bulging or ruptured disc, but also minimizes the incidence of painful symptoms from this scenario.
Most bulging discs which occur from normal spinal aging are not symptomatic and often go undetected for long periods of time. It is often a shock to a patient if they are diagnosed with a herniated disc when undergoing an imaging study for an unrelated health issue. These patients often say: “That’s funny, I do not even remember hurting my back.” This is not uncommon, since most degenerative disc herniations occur naturally and painlessly.
Psychosomatic Herniated Disc Pain
Some chronic neck and back pain syndromes are misdiagnosed, regardless of what the original diagnosis is. Herniated disc, degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, pinched nerves, foraminal stenosis: the list goes on and on.
The reason for this is the inability of most doctors to recognize the common mindbody ischemia syndromes which are often responsible for these aches and pains. This is the same process which causes a host of other treatment-resistant conditions, ranging from headaches to stomach sensitivity, from ulcers to TMJ, from carpal tunnel syndrome to plantar fasciitis.
Medical practitioners have proven themselves to be only slightly more than useless in dealing with these varied conditions for one simple reason: They do not recognize the diversity, width and breadth of the constant mindbody interactions driving the human condition. This is why many of these health issues have reached epidemic levels in our society and continue to grow year by year.
Herniated Disc Pain Treatments
Ok, so most herniated discs are not inherently painful and only a small percentage might actually cause acute symptoms. Many are actually misdiagnosed and might be the result of a simple ischemic process.
If disc herniations are so innocent, then why do they enjoy such fearsome reputations as chronic treatment-resistant conditions? The answer to this question lies not in the facts of disc pain, but instead in the way the condition is diagnosed and treated within the medical system.
The back pain industry is an incredibly profitable aspect of medicine. Traditional and complementary care providers have carved out a very nice niche in the symptomatic treatment field. Long-term symptomatic care is prescribed for many patients with disc pain, since it is so lucrative. If the patient finally rebels and demands more proactive measures to be taken to end their pain, the doctor will generally recommend surgery, which is the most common big ticket item in medical care.
Herniated disc surgery is big business and best of all, will place the patient right back into symptomatic and rehabilitative care once it is over. Wow, that is a great business plan. Doctors who can not achieve a diagnosis for idiopathic symptoms or those who accept a mindbody causation for pain are simply hastening their own economic ruin.
Knowledge therapy is free and is available for each patient to use in the comfort and convenience of their own homes. This treatment demonstrates excellent permanent healing for a diverse range of pain syndromes, including many types of misdiagnosed back pain and especially incorrectly diagnosed chronic herniated disc pain.
So, in essence, herniated discs are vilified, along with all the other back pain scapegoat conditions, so that a growing group of doctors can exploit the ignorance of suffering patients who believe their every word. Does it sound cynical? Sure. Is it true? You bet.
Before I get the hate mail… I am not knocking any individual doctor or therapist. I am knocking the medical education system which trains care providers to be business people, rather than true healers, by only providing them with half the information they need to adequately treat a human being.
Ignoring the mind when treating the body is a ridiculous notion and has created an army of walking wounded who are resolved to suffer endlessly.
As a doctor, does this make you proud? Of course not; me neither.
Painful Herniated Discs
There is a lot here to absorb. If you are a patient who has been diagnosed with a herniated disc, make sure you do some objective independent research. I am sure that you will see that chronic pain is unlikely to occur from a bulging disc which has been treated appropriately. I am also sure you will understand that symptomatic treatment is a horrific long-term answer to chronic pain.
You will surely discover that surgery offers abysmal curative results for back pain and often makes the symptoms far worse. More than anything, I hope you will finally acknowledge the interactions between the mind and body and how they work together to produce every state of health and disease.
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