Back Pain - Bulging Disc

Back pain from bulging disc need not be a cause for panic as it is a common occurrence among both younger and older people.

A bulging or protruding is generally seen at high rates when an MRI procedure is done on patients suffering with back pain. But such a phenomenon is also seen in patients with no history of back pain. The most common reasons attributed to bulging disc are the ageing process and the process of degeneration of the intervertebral disc. Back injuries and certain life styles by individuals can also cause a bulging disc. But, in any case, bulging disc is not indicative of any serious problems with your spine and hence there is no reason to panic.

A bulging disc when it bulges to its potential causes the narrowing of the spinal canal rendering the condition of the patient as serious. Behind the bulging disc if bone spurs are present on the facet joints, the combination of the spurs and the bulging of the disks can lead to further narrowing of the spinal canal in that region.

In most cases, individualized treatment regimen would be necessary in treating patients with lumbar bulging disc. Standardized procedures have not been known to be effective in these conditions. When the bulging disc affects the sciatic nerve (known as sciatica), it can cause leg pain. The condition is often referred as herniated disk/disc, ruptured disc, slipped disc or pinched nerve.

The treatment procedure adopted will largely depend on the duration that the patient had been suffering with his/her symptoms and intensity of the related backache. Conservative treatment for 6 to 12 weeks will generally be the starting regimen. If conservative treatment does not produce the desired results, and alleviate the patient's pain and suffering, a surgical treatment might then be explored. In cases where the patient is experiencing severe and consistent pain obstructing a reasonable level of functionality, surgery may be recommended even before completion of the six weeks of the conservative treatment regimen.

The conservative treatment would aim at providing the patient relief from the pain and allow him to get back to a normal level of functionality. Most forms of bulging discs have the ability to heal on their own and often, the affected person may not even be aware that something was wrong with him. How to go about healing a bulging disc or how long it can take to heal are still devoid of any hard and fast guidelines. Some of the common treatment procedures adopted in the case of bulging disc are:

• Pain medications
• Rest followed by slow mobilization
• Osteopathic/Chiropractic manipulations
• Physical therapy
• Epidural steroid injections
• etc.

The time frame to be employed in conservative treatment would be determined on an individual patient basis. While some patients may not have severe, chronic or debilitating pain or symptoms, in some others the suffering can be acute. Longer conservative treatment would generally be adopted in cases where the patient has only minor aches and pains, but is still able to lead a productive lifestyle.

Surgical option will often be the last choice. However, any patient having progressive neurological deficits, or exhibits sudden onset of bowel or bladder dysfunction, should be subjected to an immediate surgical evaluation since such conditions can potentially foretell a surgical emergency. But such conditions occur very rarely and surgical procedure for back pain from bulging Disc is often elective.

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