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November 2011

Slipped a Disk – What Is That Exactly?

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The intervertebral disk is like a shock-absorber located between each vertebra in our spine extending from the tail bone to the upper neck.  When healthy, your disks truly do function as shock absorbers.  There are two parts to the disk – the inner part (called the nucleus) which is the liquid-like center and the outer part (the annulus), which is tough, laminated and rubber-like whose job is to hold the nucleus in the center of the disk. The annulus has concentric rings which look similar to the rings of an oak tree trunk and the strength of these laminated rings is due to the fibers crisscrossing, creating a self-sealing, secure border for the nucleus center.  In spite of this great anatomical structure, our disks degenerate and can crack or tear allowing the more liquid-like nucleus to leak out of the annulus creating the classic “slipped disk” (technically referred to as a herniated or ruptured disk).  When the herniated disk presses into the nerve that goes down the leg, pain is felt along its course and can radiate all the way to the foot.  There are five vertebrae and disks with a pair of nerves that go into each leg and depending which disk ruptures, pain will follow a different course down the leg, which is why we ask you if you feel the pain more in the back or in the front of the leg. When the disk tears prior to both disk herniation and leg pain, low back pain occurs because the nerve fibers that are normally only located in the outer third of the disk grow into the central portion of the disk, making it generate more pain.

So now for the important question, “…what can I do for it?”  When you visit our office, we will ask you about how you injured your back.  Often, the cause of a herniated disk can be the accumulation of multiple events over time. It certainly can happen after one major event, like our example of lifting a rock out of a hole, but that is usually the “straw that breaks the camel’s back” and not the sole cause.  Many researchers have reported it is rare for a healthy disk to herniate.  Rather, disk degeneration with tears already present sets up the situation where a bend plus a twist, “…finishes the job.”         

The DRX 9000 quickly gained popularity when the jaw dropping results of its research study was published in two medical journals – Pain Medicine News and Anesthesiology News.  After discovering the results of the research, a Mayo Clinic doctor described it as “Impressive.”  The promising research data on the DRX 9000 has been presented to doctors at packed medical conferences in San Diego, Genoa (Italy), Athens (Greece), and Hamilton Island (Australia).  Picture the genuine excitement of doctors after discovering a new way to help their patients with back pain.  Even some back surgeons now recommend that their patients first try the DRX 9000 before they operate on them.

Serious back and neck pain in the form of sciatica, herniated disc, bulging disc, or spinal stenosis can be treated using non surgical spinal decompression. Learn more about this safe and easy back pain treatment offered by Roseland Spinal Rehabilitation Center by reading about our chiropractic services; check out the spinal decompression reviews from our satisfied clients; read questions and answers about spinal decompression; do your own spinal decompression research; visit the spinal decompression education center; and read Roseland Spinal Rehabilitation Center spinal decompression blog.

Roseland Spinal Rehabilitation Center is located in Roseland, New Jersey and is proud to treat residents in Roseland suffering from back and neck pain; including everyone in for conditions ranging from herniated disc to sciatica to spinal stenosis.