A slipped disc, known in the medical world as a disc herniation is a spinal condition that can cause local pain as well as referred down the arms or legs. The disc is a cushion between the bones of the spine, that looks like a jelly donut. The inner part of the disc is made of a gelatinous material, call the nucleus pulposus, which helps with even weight distribution across the disc and acts as a shock absorber. The outer part of the disc is made of three layers of strong ligaments. When the jelly of the donut presses on the outer part creating a bulge or when the jelly breaks through the donut you have a disc herniation. Studies show that the size of the herniation doesn’t predict the amount of pain you may feel, in fact 50% of people who have a disc herniation do not even know because they exhibit no symptoms. New studies show that the pain from this condition is likely from the ligaments being torn, not the jelly of the disc entering the spinal canal.

If you think you may be suffering from a herniated disc, get assessed! Oftentimes, muscle strains and other nerve conditions in the neck and back can mimic a disc herniation, so it’s important to have a medical professional determine what your specific symptoms are for an accurate diagnosis.

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Here are the most common symptoms to look out for:

• Sharp shooting pain down the extremities
• Dull deep local pain in the neck and low back
• Pain with sitting, going sit to stand, and forward bending
• Pain that increases at nighttime or the early morning
• Numbness, tingling or burning sensations down into the extremities
• Weakness in the extremities
• In rare cases, bladder/bowel control problems

At Urban Wellness Clinic, we get to the root cause of the pain, you may have a “slipped disc” but we want to know why. What in your day is causing compression of the spine to such an extreme that you herniated a disc? Are there bad habits like poor posture, improper lifting form, or too many hours sitting? We want to know if there is a lack of stability somewhere else like in your core or gluts such that the discs are now over compensating to create stability where it is lacking somewhere else. For the hard core athletes, we look at your form with rotational exercises such as throwing, kicking, and chopping exercises to see if there are any shearing forces to the spine that can happen if the abdominal obliques are not firing properly. All these factors play a role in how the body creates stability and compensations that can lead to a disc herniation and pain.

If you find yourself nodding along as you read through this list of symptoms, you may be suffering from a slipped disc. Make sure to visit Urban Wellness Clinic to find out for sure. If you have any questions, please contact us to get evaluated at info@urbanwellnessclinic.com or call 212-355-0445.