Many Herniated Discs Will Eventually Improve on Their Own…
If you are searching for slipped disc treatment in Visalia, or slipped disc treatment in Visalia, new research again has concluded that this problem (sometimes thought of a bulging disc, which is technically not correct) will resolve on its own, for most people.
Here’s More Information about Herniated or Slipped Discs
Herniated discs are a common but often misunderstood condition. For a brief anatomy lesson, your spine is made up of small bones called vertebrae, which are stacked on top of one another.
Between these vertebrae are soft, rubbery pads called intervertebral discs, which absorb shock in the spine and keep it flexible. These discs have a structure that is similar to a jelly donut, with a softer center encased in a tougher exterior. A herniated disc, also known as disc degeneration or disc bulging, occurs when the softer jelly-like substance pushes out through a crack in the exterior ring.
Although a herniated disc may lead to pain in the lower back and/or numbness and weakness in the arm(s) or leg(s), many patients don’t experience any symptoms. In fact, one study found that 80% of 50-year-olds and 96% of 80-year-olds without back pain had signs of disc degeneration on an imaging test, while 60% and 84% of the same age groups had signs of disc bulging.
Most Can and Should be Treated with Natural Physical Therapy
The majority of patients with a herniated disc who do experience symptoms can be treated with a conservative approach that usually includes various movement-based interventions delivered by a physical therapist. However, many patients go on to have surgery to “fix” the herniated disc, even if their symptoms may not stem from this finding.
This can be problematic because surgery is expensive, risky, and may not lead to the outcomes that patients expect. In addition, it’s been reported that in some cases, the portion of the disc that has protruded out will spontaneously regress back towards its original position over time. Researchers were curious how frequently this spontaneous disc regression occurred, and therefore conducted a comprehensive study called a systematic review to find out.
More severe disc herniations associated with greater chances for regression
To conduct the review, researchers performed a search for studies in which patients not treated surgically were assessed with imaging tests like an MRI or CT scan. The studies also had to include information on the incidence of regression in these patients. This search led to a total of 9 studies fitting the necessary criteria to be included in the review.
These studies included data on 361 cases of herniated discs, which are classified according to the level of severity. A bulging disc is the mildest type of herniated disc, followed by a protruded disc, an extruded disc, and finally a sequestrated disc, which is the most severe type. Results showed that discs frequently became smaller, particularly in the more severe types of herniation. Disc regression occurred in 96% of sequestrated discs, 70% of extruded discs, 41% of protruded discs, and 13% of bulging discs. In addition, 43% of the sequestrated discs went on to reach a point where the disc was no longer herniated, which was called a complete disc resolution. Most of the regression was found to occur within one year.
Slipped Disc Treatment in Visalia? Here’s the TL;DR – It Will Go Away on Its Own
These findings show that it’s possible for a herniated disc to regress or completely resolve without any surgical intervention. Although regression or resolution of a disc does not definitively indicate that the patient will also improve—just as a herniated disc does not guarantee that symptoms will occur—research suggests that outcomes are better for patients after a reduction of the herniation. Therefore, patients with back pain should be hesitant before considering surgery to address a herniated disc, since there’s a chance it may not be responsible for their symptoms and because may resolve on its own.
Instead, we encourage patients to trial a course of physical therapy for their pain. Physical therapists only order imaging tests unless it’s deemed absolutely necessary and utilize a strategy in which they treat back pain with a variety of safe, noninvasive, movement-based interventions right away.
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