That tingling pain shooting down your leg seems to never quite go away. Every time you move you can hear the vertebrae in your spine cracking. You need herniated disc treatment, and you need it bad.
At first, you waited it out like the doctors told you to, taking Tylenol hoping it would help and that you will be one of the people whose discs don’t push on their nerve endings.
But as your swelling continues and that nerve pain is triggered over and over, it can start to feel like you’re reinjuring yourself every time you get up. That dream of a simple recovery seems to slip further and further away.
The good news is, herniated disc treatment is available and more accessible than you might think.
Keep reading to explore some of the options that are available to you!
As you know, when your back or neck is injured, it is affected by even the tiniest adjustment of your body. You may be using your arms to push yourself off the wall so you don’t have to walk completely upright.
Trying to get into the car when you’re feeling like this, and imagining that anything could possibly make you feel better, is impossible.
Yet, there are several treatments you can undergo that can offer you a better quality of life and relief from the pain. Let’s take a look at where you can start.
Anti-inflammatory medications will be suggested to you by every medical professional you see about your condition.
The general principle they are working off of is this: Your herniated disc itself causes you no pain. Instead, the pain comes from the compressed portion of the disc hitting a nerve ending. So in order to keep the disc from rubbing up against that nerve, you need to bring the swelling down.
For many, oral medications never have much effect. If Tylenol hasn’t worked for you in the past, you shouldn’t expect too much now.
However, there is another way to knock out the swelling medically, and that is with injections. They sound a lot scarier than they are, and if you go to a doctor who has done a lot of these, you will find it nearly painless.
For some lucky few, you’ll be able to jump right up, immediately feeling the pain-relieving effects of the herniated disc treatment. But for some, it will take a few rounds.
One of the best tips out there on dealing with herniated disc pain is icing for twenty minutes any time you start to feel the injured region swelling.
Beyond that, stretching properly is key. If you have been wanting to start yoga, surprisingly now is the time! There are yoga classes specifically for back pain, or you can modify a traditional class.
When you are in these classes, guided by a professional, you can feel somewhat confident that you’re not re-injuring yourself. You’ll hear some people say stop if it hurts, but for many people, it hurt before they even began.
Only you know what is too much, so try to stay in tune with your body. Take your time to really think about the movements. If you do yoga with proper form, you will feel better coming out of the class than you went into it.
While surgery is one option for herniated disc treatment, few doctors will advise you to go this route immediately.
Although these surgeries have a great success rate, there are very serious risks that go along with cutting into your spinal cord.
As such, surgery should be a last resort treatment, only to be considered if you haven’t found success with other options.
Although it isn’t everyone’s first thought, the chiropractor is a great place to go when you are first learning to manage your condition. We have extensive knowledge of the workings of the human body and know what should, and should not be attempted.
It might take a while until you see results from any treatment, so going to the chiropractor weekly is a great way to make sure you are staying aligned as you heal.
Chiropractors also have electrodes we can use to help your tired muscles stop spasming. These patches can be very relaxing and give you some instant relief.
Beyond those treatments, chiropractic offices generally hire massage therapists that will become a regular part of your appointment. It can be very helpful to have someone who has been trained massage you.
It’s all well and good getting a massage from your spouse, but nothing can compare to the relief you will get from working with a professional.
If you do get a massage, be sure to drink a lot of water afterward.
After any of these treatments, you should go straight home and ice the area. Any kind of pressure or adjustment in that location can bring back slight swelling, but if you can get to an ice pack fairly quickly, you can abate any swelling before it becomes a permanently painful problem.
Finally, some of the leading edge chiropractic offices offer spinal decompression therapy. In this treatment, all of your limbs are gently pulled away from your body to allow your vertebrae to space themselves into a more natural position. This futuristic machine is worth checking out.
If you are in Ashville, North Carolina, and you are looking for a qualified chiropractor for your herniated disc treatment, then you should visit us at Atlas Chiropractic, where you will find quality care.
Our dedicated punctual staff would love to guide you through this painful time and we offer many of the treatments talked about here. Let us help you feel better today!
