What is a Herniated Disk, and What can you Do About It?
A herniated disc is simply a protrusion, or sticking out of the disc. Think of a disc as a balloon being held in place between your hands... if you push your hands together unevenly the balloon will bulge out on the opposite side. This is what happens to the disc between the vertebrae.
So what in the world is a Herniated Disc??? Well, rather than confuse you more, I am going to give you my simple, easy to understand definition...
a herniated disc is simply a protrusion, or sticking out of the disc. Think of a disc as a balloon being held in place between your hands... if you push your hands together unevenly the balloon will bulge out on the opposite side. This is what happens to the disc between the vertebrae.
A Bulging Disc is the same thing as a herniated disc... just a different name.
Herniated discs are probably one of the most common diagnosis’s for back pain out there and is often used when a doctor can’t find an explanation for the person’s pain... similar to a doctor explaining away various aches and pains as arthritis.
The problem is, many people who are diagnosed with a herniated disc don’t have pain because of it... and, for years, research has shown that in many cases, people live with herniated discs yet never have any back pain or symptoms. The point is, if you’ve been diagnosed with a herniated or bulging disc, it may not be what’s really causing your back pain!
Even if you’ve had x-rays and MRI’s done that show a herniated disc, chances are still very good that it’s not the problem... so read on to learn more and find out what’s causing your back pain...
So what causes a disc to herniate?
Well, many people want you to believe it’s old age, excess weight, stress, poor genetics, or how you lift a heavy object...
while these are all potential factors, the biggest factor or cause is uneven pressure placed on the disc. Yes, you read that right... uneven pressure on discs is the biggest cause of herniated discs.
Remember we talked earlier about the uneven pressure? Well, months and years of this uneven pressure causes discs to breakdown.
Do you have any idea what causes this uneven pressure?
It’s something so simple that it amazes me how many people, including the experts (orthopedic specialists, chiropractors, physical therapists, etc) fail to recognize it.
So what is it??? Muscle Imbalances.
You see, muscle imbalances pull your bones and joints, especially the pelvis and spine, out of place and this places excess and uneven wear and tear on the body.
This is where Chiropractors come in...
The whole concept of chiropractic care is to manually move the bones and joints back into the proper position.
Makes sense right? WRONG! Why? Because the same muscles that pulled those bones and joints out of place to begin with, will do so again, usually within days.
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