What is a herniated disk?

Disks are small, circular cushions between vertebrae (the bones of the spine). Normally, disks act as shock absorbers to cushion your vertebrae from each other as you move. A herniated disk is a disk that has bulged out from its proper place. It may press on nearby nerves and cause severe pain.

How does it occur?

When a disk is damaged, the soft rubbery center of the disk squeezes out through a weak point in the hard outer layer. A disk may be damaged by:

• A fall or accident

• Repeated straining of your back

• A sudden strenuous action such as lifting a heavy weight or twisting violently

A herniated disk may also happen spontaneously without any specific injury.

What are the symptoms?

Symptoms of a herniated disk in your neck may begin suddenly or gradually. You may wake up and feel a sudden aching. Or you may have a twisted neck that you cannot straighten without extreme pain. You may also have numbness, tingling, or weakness in one or both arms. If your herniated disk is below your neck, your symptoms may develop gradually or begin suddenly. Symptoms include:

• Back pain

• Pain down one or both legs

• Numbness, tingling, or weakness in one or both legs

• Changes in bladder and bowel habits

How is it diagnosed?

Your health care provider will review your symptoms and ask about the history of your pain. Then he or she will examine your spine and test the movement and reflexes in your arms and legs. Finally, your provider may want you to have one or more of the following tests:

• X-rays of your spine

• CT scan (computerized x-ray of your spine)

• MRI

• Eletromyography (tests of electrical activity in your muscles)

• Myelography (injection of dye into the fluid around the spinal cord that can be seen on x-rays)

• Diskography (injection of dye into a disk and x-rays taken)

How is it treated?

In most cases, treatment without surgery will relieve your pain. Treatment for a herniated disk in your neck may include:

• Hot or cold packs

• Anti-inflammatory drugs

• Muscle relaxants

• Prescription pain relievers

• traction, which is the process of putting bones or muscles under tension with a system of weights and pulleys to keep them from moving or to relieve pressure om them

For a herniated disk in your back, treatment may include:

• Muscle relexants

• Anti-inflammatory medication

• Prescription pain relievers

• Hot or cold packs

• Traction

• Physical therapy

• Steriod injections into the space near the herniated disk to control pain and inflammation

If you continue to have symptoms, you may need to have surgery. However, most people who have herniated disks do not need surgery.