Spinal Decompression Lawrenceville GA – What Is A Bulging Disc?

Throughout your lifetime, your spine goes through a lot of stress from almost every activity. As you age, your spinal discs decrease in fluid and gets weaker, causing them to degenerate and result to bulging discs. A bulging disc is a spinal condition where a weakened disc flattens out and can exert pressure on nearby nerves. This can be very problematic because you may suffer disabling low back pain or neck pain that can affect you with your usual everyday activities. In a case like this, treatment is needed. Although most doctors recommend medications, injections, physical therapy, and surgery, these traditional treatments may not be effective for this kind of problem because they only work to treat the symptoms.

Problems caused by bulging discs are often improved with conservative therapies. Among these is spinal decompression therapy, an excellent treatment for bulging discs Lawrenceville GA, which also has been proven effective for eliminating back pain and neck pain caused by disc problems.

What is bulging disc?

A bulging disc is a spinal condition that characterizes deformity in a weakened spinal disc. Normally, a disc is made of two parts, the tough outer shell or annulus fibrosis and the jelly-like inner structure or nucleus pulposus. A bulging disc has lack of elasticity due to dehydration and it flattens out of its normal parameter due to constant pressure.

What causes bulging disc?

Your spine receives a lot wear and tear throughout your lifetime. As you get older, your discs lose fluid which causes them to become less spongy. Constant pressure causes the discs to flatten and spread out of its normal limits. This alone does not cause problem. However, when the bulging disc presses on a nerve, this can be problematic. The nerves of your spine are highly sensitive to pressure. When the bulging disc presses on a nerve, you may feel pain on a certain body part depending where the affected disc is located. Risk factors of bulging disc include excessive weight, poor muscle tone, lack of exercise, cigarette smoking, advancing age, poor posture, and poor body mechanics.

What are the symptoms of a bulging disc?

Bulging disc is common among people although some of them might not know they have it. Bulging disc shows no symptoms unless it presses on a nerve. For some people, bulging disc causes them numbness or debilitating pain.

Most bulging discs occur in the thoracic area or lower back. When a bulging disc occurs in the thoracic area, you may experience low back pain. If it presses on the sciatic nerve, you may suffer from sciatica, a type of lower back problem where pain radiates from the buttocks down to the legs, where the sciatic nerve runs. If the bulging disc occurs in the cervical area or upper back, you may feel neck pain which may radiate to your arms.

Generally, you may feel worsening pain when bending over or sitting down for a long time or when coughing or sneezing. You may also experience numbness or pins and needles in an arm or leg.

What is the best treatment for pain from bulging discs?

Most pain from disc problems can be improved with conservative treatments. Among these treatments is the spinal decompression therapy. Spinal decompression therapy offers results better than those of traditional treatments. It is a nonsurgical treatment that works effectively for disc-related pain. While traditional treatments such as medications, injections, physical therapy, and surgery work to reduce the symptoms, spinal decompression therapy corrects the cause, which is the bulging disc, to provide long-term pain relief.

How does spinal decompression work?

Spinal decompression Lawrenceville GA works by using motorized traction to stretch the area of your spine where the bulging disc is located. To increase the effectiveness of the treatment, vibrating units are used to relax your back muscles while you are lying fully clothed on the decompression table. The table is angled to a certain degree and then the gravity will gently pull your spine and open its segments. When the segments are opened, your discs and your nerves will be lifted from pressure which then eliminates the pain. The vacuum effect created by the decompression allows the bulging disc to return to its normal parameter and the oxygen, nutrients, and fluid will be drawn into the disc to promote disc healing.

Where to get help? Simply call your chiropractor Lawrenceville GA to have your spine checked. Sugarloaf Spine and Rehab Center offers nonsurgical spinal decompression to help you relieve the pain and restore your quality of life.