What is a Herniated Disc? It sounds awful! article by Pattie Skoviak, DC

A herniated, degenerated, prolapsed, ruptured, or slipped disk are all terms referring to a disk that sits between two vertebrae and has been injured.  Basically, what has happened, is that some sort of compressive force, injury, or accident has caused two of your vertebrae to slam together forcing the discal material to tear or rupture out one or more sides.  When this happens, depending on the degree of tearing that has taken place, the disk begins to lose its shape and function because now it is spilling out into the area where your spinal cord or nerves are housed.  This the reason for the discomfort or screaming pain you are feeling!  As the disk oozes out, no longer contained in its normal shape, it puts pressure on these nerves.  Sometimes surgery is required to clean up the disk.  However, for the most part, each disk injury is individual and what works for some may not work for others regarding rehabbing that disk.  This is for cetain; each disk will heal within roughly 6 months time.  It will not return to its original, uninjured state or shape, but nonetheless, it will heal just the same.  So my question is, do you want it to heal in a compromised position or do you want to support it maximally and heal it the best you can?  Well, obviously, we all want the latter.

You can be proactive about helping it heal, here’s how.

That is why I believe it is absolutely necessary to see a Chiropractor and keep your spine, and specifically the level of the injured disk, completely aligned.  Also, each disk is fluid filled and that fluid is primarily water, so for at least 6 months after every spine injury related to disks and or vertebrae, you absolutely want to make certain you are drinking 80 ounces of water or similar fluids daily.  In addition, you will want to do some very light bouncing on a swiss ball or similar ball.  This type of activity allows movement through your spine, much like a shock absorbing system in your car or on your bike.  The light downward bouncing compresses the vertebrae together flattening out the disk between them, forcing fluid out of the disk.  As you move your weight upward, the vertebrae separate allowing the fluid to flow back into the disk.  This results in continual bathing of the disk, forcing out debris that has flowed in as a result of the inflammation due to injury.  The moving of fluids in and out assures that maximal healing with take place, because as I said earlier, your disk is going to heal regardless if you get adjusted, drink plenty of water, or do light bouncing on a ball.   The question then is this… do you want to give your disk and spine the best and most efficient opportunity to heal?  I imagine we all know the answer to that question.  So my tip to you is, avoid injuring your disks via improper lifting, risk taking, or jumping from heights in lieu of using a ladder.  And in the event you are unfortunate enough to sustain such an injury, do what you can maximally do in the first 6 months to get yourself on target to do your best healing!  Stay healthy, and enjoy your amazing life!

Dr. Patti Skoviac is a Chiropractor in Fort Collins, Colorado.

1017 Robertson St, Fort Collins, CO 80524

click here to visit her website.