Chiropractic Treatment for Disc Injury in Franklin, TN
Roughly 80% of people will deal with lower back pain at some point in their lifetime. This is ultimately the #1 cause of disability as people age. Typically, it is due to an injury in the discs.
Over time and use, the discs in our spine can wear down and dehydrate. If that occurs, the fibers begin to tear especially if you had an injury, lifted something incorrectly, or got into a motor vehicle accident. Once those fibers tear enough, the jelly-like interior of the disc takes the path of least resistance and moves toward the outside of the disc, creating a bulge. That bulge puts pressure on the nerves that travel down the spine, into your lower back, and can radiate into your legs and feet.
Another common symptom due to a disc injury is a herniated disc. Similar to a bulging disc, the disc’s fibrous exterior tears, and the jelly moves toward the outside. If the fibers tear enough, the jelly-like middle can break through the disc’s exterior and sit on the nerve ending. Herniated discs tend to create more intense leg pain, then move to the lower back. If the disc ruptures, low back pressure is relieved, but the pain radiates down the legs as the gelatinous substance sits on top of the nerve.
Phagocytosis is how your body naturally tries to resolve a herniated disc. It happens when your body sees the jelly-like middle as a foreign object, so it will inflame to try to help eat up that jelly and absorb it. If that does not work, it can create pain that is typically bad enough to cause people to start to look into surgery. We try to treat herniated discs naturally, but surgery may be the only option after a certain course of treatment. So do not wait to get examined!!
Disc injuries can be extremely painful and are most common in the lumbar and cervical spine and can even occur in the thoracic if a rib is out of place. To avoid it becoming a chronic issue, receiving acute care is vital. Seeing a chiropractor is less invasive and is an excellent proactive treatment versus waiting until a symptom occurs and using conventional treatments such as opioid painkillers, which have numerous unwanted side effects.
How We Treat Disc Injury in Franklin, TN
Comprehensive Exam
One of the first things we do at Mission Health Center in Franklin, TN, is to meet with you to discuss your case and get to know your story. This will help us identify the root cause of your pain and establish the appropriate goals for your case. Once we have reviewed your case, we will determine if an examination is warranted. Our comprehensive examination includes specific chiropractic function, orthopedic, and neurological tests performed to help us understand and get to the root cause. This will help us to determine the best course of action to help you heal from your injury.
When a spinal vertebra jars out of its correct position, it can cause pressure on that nerve, called a subluxation. Chiropractors are experts at finding and correcting those spinal misalignments that can cause nerve irritation and swelling. Any type of disc injury can be debilitating. However, we can alleviate the pressure points through specific adjustments to reduce pain and allow your body to heal.
Specific Chiropractic Care
When a spinal vertebra jars out of its correct position, it can cause significant issues that damage the nerves, specifically in your lumbar and cervical spine.
Chiropractors are trained experts in finding and correcting these misalignments caused by an injury so it does not lead to further nerve irritation and swelling. There may even have been misalignments before the injury. The doctors can adjust the spine through specific adjustments to help align all the joints, muscles, and nerves surrounding the issue, ultimately reducing irritation and inflammation. This will also allow the disc material’s movement to go back into its correct position between the two vertebrae.
Custom Therapeutic Exercise Program
At Mission Health Center, we are huge proponents of proper stretching and strengthening exercises for any treatment protocol; however, it is especially imperative for those who have experienced a disc injury. Because an injury can lead to muscle weakness or imbalance, building up those muscle groups surrounding the spine is crucial. Weak muscles create instability and make the vertebrae even more susceptible to another injury. Specific strengthening and stretching exercises help improve mobility and stability, protecting the spine from future injuries.
Once we understand your case and goals, we will create a custom plan of specific ergonomic changes you can make at home and work, a customized stretching routine that will immediately reduce your back pain, and a stabilizing strength program to get your entire spine to get back into proper alignment. By going through our customized rehab plan and sticking to it, you will safely and effectively increase your healing potential.
Spinal Decompression in Franklin, TN
Traction or spinal decompression is a common method for treating sciatic pain. If the discs are herniated or have degeneration, decompression is one of the best things to help alleviate that discomfort. When the doctors stretch the lumbar or cervical spine, the negative pressure causes the disc material to return to its normal state sandwiched between the two vertebrae instead of near the nerve. If the spacing between your discs is uneven due to degeneration, the nerve can only run in a small space and can lead to further compression of the joints. Decompressing those vertebrae helps create more space so the nerve can function as it needs to.
Nutrition and Supplements
It is proven that eating a diet consisting of processed foods and excess sugars can cause high levels of inflammation in the body, making your muscles more susceptible to pain and injury. Inflammation reduces your range of motion and decreases your body’s ability to adapt quickly to recover from the stress of a disc injury.
Some of the common foods that induce inflammation are:
- Chemically sprayed produce
- Alcohol
- Packaged snacks
- Excess sugar
- Processed meats
- Conventional dairy
Consuming a nutrient-dense diet, including anti-inflammatory foods, is vital for decreasing inflammation and improving your body’s ability to heal from the inside out. Eating in a sustainable way that becomes part of your lifestyle is important so that you do not regress by coming off a particular “diet.”
Some of the best anti-inflammatory foods that can help reduce inflammation after an accident are:
- Vegetables – dark, leafy green veggies are most beneficial, like romaine, kale, or swiss chard
- Healthy fats – coconut oil, walnuts, chia seeds, grass-fed butter, bone broth
- Clean meats – wild-caught fish and free-range chicken
- Healthy starches – sweet potatoes or quinoa
- Fruit – blueberries and pineapple
A few great supplements to help aid in decreasing inflammation and reducing pain are:
- Turmeric
- Ginger
- Omega 3s
- Magnesium
- Potassium
- Collagen
Common Symptoms of Disc Injury
Degenerative Disc Disease
Degenerative disc disease is directly related to the breakdown of the discs as they age. Things like obesity, smoking, and strenuous work can also contribute to this disease. Naturally, our spinal discs lose their height, growing smaller as we age. A fully hydrated disc has good form and creates the proper openings for the nerves to emerge from the spine and travel throughout the body. When the disc begins to shrink, the foramen (the holes that the nerves come out of) start to get smaller and irritate the nerves. This is what causes the lumbar pain and potential radiating pain.
Degeneration cannot be reserved, but it can be slowed and managed so you can continue to have a higher quality of life. Chiropractic adjustments and decompression are vital for maintaining the health of your disc height and space for your nerves. Getting treatment as soon as possible is critical when dealing with pain related to a disc injury.
Bulged Disc
With age, our spine discs wear and tear. This dehydration causes the outer layer of cartilage to stiffen. When this occurs, that outer layer bulges out, which can cause pain since it irritates the nerves leading to shooting pain, weakness, cramps, spasms, tingling, and numbness. Having a disc that bulges is most common in older people due to improper form in lifting, poor posture, obesity, acute trauma, etc.
Herniated Disc
If the bulged disc gets worse, it can rupture and cause severe symptoms and pain. A disc is considered ‘herniated,’ or ‘slipped’ when the outer layer or cartilage tears and the gelatinous inner substance protrudes outside the disc. The escaped disc interior will irritate nerve roots leading to painful inflammation that could prevent you from walking, having healthy bowel movements, and bladder function.
Repetitive Stress and Motion
Again, disc injuries are usually a result of long-term wear and tear on the cartilage layers around the center of the vertebrae. The initial incident doesn’t always cause pain. Instead, it’s a build-up of thousands of movements before that incident. Those built-up stressors cause damage over time, so it makes sense that more labor-intensive work increases susceptibility to disc injury.
Heavy Lifting
Weight lifting is a wonderful exercise with lots of benefits; however, it places a great deal of stress on the spine. Since our backbone gives us our form, making it bear added weight can lead to weakness which promotes the likelihood of getting a bulged or herniated disc.
There are ways to lessen this possibility by lifting properly, even outside of the gym. Always lift with your legs. Refrain from bending at the waist and pulling up with your back.
Auto Accidents
Neck and lower back pain can be common effects of an auto accident. Whiplash can occur when your neck is moved back and forth or side to side rapidly. The thrusting of your neck can lead to disc, nerve, joint, or muscle damage, so it is essential to get to a chiropractor as soon as possible following a car accident to get evaluated and help you recover quickly. The doctor can help realign the bones to regain range of motion and relieve neck pain.
General back pain following an accident can also induce disc injuries like a bulging or herniated disc. When those disc muscles tear, it irritates the nerve and can radiate pain through the nerves’ pathways. Seeing a chiropractor can help you recover quicker and allow your discs to get realigned, so further symptoms do not ensue. Lumbar decompression can also help to lessen the pressure on the jarred discs letting them rehydrate and receive the blood flow they need to heal.
Respiratory Illness
With many respiratory diseases, flu, allergies, or the common cold, coughing and sneezing are likely to ensue. Those two reactions in the body can cause problems for the intervertebral discs in the spine.
When you cough or sneeze, there is a sharp increase in intra-abdominal pressure. This increase adds pressure to the spine and discs, so if there is already damage to an area, an extended bout of coughing or sneezing can worsen the existing disc injury. Getting regular adjustments will help your body fight against respiratory diseases and allow you to get back to living free of illness!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can chiropractic help with disc problems?
Of course! Both our doctors care for patients daily with disc injuries. We have various techniques for treating different disc-related issues to address the root cause of the problem. Adjustments, exercise, spinal decompression, and food and supplementation recommendations are some ways we help treat disc injury naturally.
How long does it take for a disc injury to heal?
It depends on how extensive the damage is, how long it has been there, etc. Chronic, older issues generally take longer to correct, while acute, newer problems are quicker to get back to normal. We will discuss your best treatment plan based on our examination findings and your goals.
Is it safe to go to a chiropractor with a herniated disc?
Yes, we recommend you see a chiropractor first so they can help you work on the problem without undergoing unnecessary medical surgeries! It is best to begin with the most conservative treatment and go up from there.
What are the signs of having a herniated disc?
It depends on the person, but most commonly, a herniated disc can cause a shock-like, intense pain going down into the legs due to how it affects the nerves. Usually, there is not a lot of back pain present since the disc material is pushing through the last layer of cartilage in the disc.
Can chiropractors make disc injury worse?
The worst side-effect you could have by seeing a chiropractor is that nothing changes. Being adjusted will not make anything worse. In rare cases, it may not be effective, and other types of treatment may be necessary. However, most people receive a favorable outcome.