Our spine is cushioned by mushy, tiny discs. These spongy discs would absorb the shocks, which are tolerated by our body. A disc is said to be herniated if it gets ruptured or damaged. It mostly affects your low back and sometimes it may also affect the neck, which is called as cervical spine.

People who are involved in sports and occupation which require twisting, pushing, or heavy lifting are very likely to suffer from this disorder. Inside the disc sometimes leaks into the spinal channel that result in spinal cord and nerve ending compression. Depending on the compression location this may cause strong pain.

A barrage of the tests can be performed to check out the herniated disc, such as X-rays, electromyogram and myelogram etc. These tests can be done after a general examination of the affected back area and considering the symptoms of the pain.

Myelogram would be performed to take a spinal x-ray to know which pressure point is developed in the surrounding spinal tissues and nerves.

Electro-myogram is performed to check the electric wave magnitudes along the nerve paths, which also including through muscle tissues. Here the reading shows whether there is any damage due to nerve areas and messed up tissues as a result of herniated disc.

Treatment:

The treatment for herniated disc can be classified as:

1. Non surgical treatment

2. Surgical treatment

Nonsurgical treatment:

This treatment is aimed to help you to go back your daily routine that includes:

Learn: You must be educated about your back, which include handling the pain and controlling the symptoms. Many doctors would recommend physical therapy, which will reduce the discomfort due to pain and inflammation, followed by improving flexibility and strength of the muscle.

Rest: A short period of rest can improve the followed activity.

Relief from pain: You can use medicine to relieve from the inflammation and pain instead of dealing with the pain without taking any medicine. These medicines include: Opioids, muscle relaxants, antidepressants, corticosteroids, prescription and nonprescription pain relievers, like nonsteroidal anti inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) or acetaminophen.

Surgical treatment:

Generally surgical treatment is considered as a last option, or if the person has a significant neurological disease. Only about 10% of people can be treated with surgeries for herniated disc. It can be a best treatment option for the patients who are suffering from numbness or sever weakness, or nerve damage, which is getting worse or if the condition is not improved after the nonsurgical treatment.

1. Discectomy: This is the effective and most common surgery for herniated disc, which includes the removal of the disc material through an incision. This is mostly preferred to relieve from the pain. Discectomy will give relief from symptoms such as numbness and pain, but it does not give relief from the back pain.

Some other surgical options are:

2. IDET-An invasive surgery for disc pain

3. Chemonucleolysis - Abolish the protruding disc

4. Laminectomy-To get relief from nerve compression or spinal stenosis

5. Tessys method-This is a transforaminal endoscopic procedure, which gives relief from herniated disc

6. Hemilaminectomy-This will give relief from nerve compression or spinal stenosis

7. Dynamic stabilization

8. Disc arthroplasty

9. Lumbar Fusion

Contacting an experienced spine surgeon will suggest best treatment method for your condition. Make sure to search for a board certified surgeon in your area.

An estimated 80% of the Americans suffer from back or neck pain at some point in their life. Back pain is extremely common and the surgery may or may not help the people suffering from this condition.

There are several causes of back pain, such as trauma, age, improper body posture and normal wear and tear which all can injure the spine. If there is any damage caused to your back or put any pressure on the nerves in the spine, then it can lead to back pain and various other symptoms. If you have constant back pain, then you may consider undergoing back surgery.

Actually, back pain is needed in only small percentage of people. Most of the conditions related to back can be treated with non-surgical treatments like ice, anti-inflammatory medications, heat, physical therapy and gentle massage. When all these treatments don’t show any improvements, then back surgery is recommended. For this, you need to find an experienced spinal and back surgeon.

When it is necessary to undergo back surgery?

1. If there is any condition that cause compression of spinal nerves and lead to severe back pain or numbness along with the back of the legs.

2. If there are any broken bones or other damages to spine due to any injury then it can cause the spine unstable.

3. If you have already tried several other non-surgical methods and they won’t relieve your back pain or any other symptoms.

4. If there are any bulging or herniated disks separating the bones in the spine, then surgery can relieve the condition.

There are few other conditions that need back surgery. They include:

1. Kyphosis, humpback deformity

2. Scoliosis, curvature in the spine

3. Spinal stenosis, the spinal cavity narrows down due to arthritis

4. Degenerative disc disease, due to normal wear and tear pain develops in the disc

5. Radiculopathy, inflammation and irritation of the nerve due to a herniated disc

6. Spondylolisthesis, forward slippage of the segment in the spine

There are several types of back surgeries such as:

1. Laminectomy, performed for the removal of bone overlying the spinal canal

2. Vertebroplasty, performed to inject bone cement into the compressed vertebrae

3. Diskectomy, performed to remove herniated disc to relieve inflammation and irritation of the nerve

4. Fusion, performed to connect two or more number of bones in the spine

5. Artificial disks, an effective alternative to spinal fusion, which is performed to remove injured or degenerated disc   

Many individuals around the globe are suffering from severe back pain. The stressful lives that we lead are the major cause of back pain. Nowadays, acute back pain is a more common complaint in our daily life. Here are the most common causes of acute back ache:

1. If there is any injury to your back in an accident such as fall or even an unsuccessful surgery can lead to the conditions such as spondylolisthesis, spinal stenos, sciatica or slipped disc.

2. Bad posture, which is most common causes of severe back pain. Standing or sitting in a position with your shoulders and back curved or bent for several hours can cause the muscle as well as spine to become hard and more painful. If your job involves sitting or standing for the whole day, it is important to take frequent breaks.

3. Obesity, which is also a major cause for severe back pain. People should know the fact that back bone is the element that carries whole weight of the body. The greater the weight on your back, the higher is the chance of having back pain. Overweight puts great pressure on your back thus causing severe back pain.

4. Physical activity is another cause for back pain. Too little or too much workout can be stressful on your back. People who spend their whole day sitting in front of the desk without proper support to the back and also the improper positioned computers can put great strain on their back.

People who lift heavy objects without following proper ways or people who don't follow proper handling methods can suffer from severe back pain.

5. Stress can also be great contributor of back pain. Wear and tear on your body with continuous striving can begin back pain.

So, people need to prevent any activities that cause severe back pain. Prevention is better than cure; therefore follow a regular exercise program and a healthy lifestyle. Even with all these things, if you don't notice any improvement in your condition, it is essential to visit a spine doctor.