Back Disc Pain - Simple Tips for Relief
Back Disc Back Pain can be one of the most serious types of pain a person could deal with related to the back. back disc problems will not only cause pain – they will also cause quite a bit of disability because of how the spinal nerves become involved.
This article will discuss some easy things you can do from home for relief from back disc pain, but before we get into these details, we need to first talk about how this condition leads to pain so the home care instructions will make sense.
The discs of the spine are essentially cushions that separate each set of bones in the back. They are very important, because they absorb shock when you move, which protects the bones from injury.
Each back disc is composed of two main parts – a strong outer covering called the annulus, and a soft jelly center called the nucleus.
If you take a closer look at the back, you will notice that the spinal nerves are located directly behind each spinal disc. This is very important to understand, because this is really the source of all the pain with these problems.
Whether your condition is a slipped back disc, or even degenerative disc disease (which is a form of arthritis in the back), the actual cause of the pain is pressure on the nerves that occurs from the changes that are taking place within the affected disc.
In fact, the discs of the spine are actually designed to not cause a person to experience pain. There are very few pain-sensing nerves going to each disc, which if you think about it, is actually a positive thing. Because the discs are cushioning shock with movement, you would experience pain all day if your discs could cause you pain.
The nerves, on the other hand, are incredibly sensitive to pain. If there is any pressure applied to a spinal nerve, they become easily irritated and inflamed and can cause severe pain for a person.
Not only that, the nerves control everything in the body, so a back disc condition that results in pressure on a nerve will also cause a great deal of disability. Whatever the affected nerve controls will start to malfunction, and can lead to some very serious issues.
So, keeping this in mind, let’s discuss the two most common problems that can lead to back disc pain. The most common condition that can occur is called a slipped back disc. This condition is also commonly referred to as a herniated disc or a ruptured disc.
In the case of a slipped back disc, the outer layer of the disc is injured, and the jelly in the center of the disc will start to shift into the weaker area of the disc. This creates a “bulge” in the disc wall, which is how the condition gets its most common name – a bulging disc. The bulge in the disc wall will apply pressure to one of the spinal nerves, which is why this condition can be so painful.
The second most common condition that can cause back disc pain is degenerative disc disease. With this condition, the jelly in the center of the disc becomes dehydrated (it loses water), and the disc begins to shrink. If the disc flattens, the space between the bones becomes less, which also causes pressure on one of the nerves of the spine.
So, what can you do to relieve your back disc pain? Well, if the cause of your pain is a slipped back disc, one of the best things you can do for relief is to use ice over the injured disc.
Utilizing ice will numb the aggravated nerve, and reduce the inflammatory process so you will experience relief much faster. Never use heat with this condition, because that will aggravate the nerve even more, and dramatically slow the healing process.
When applying ice, place the ice over the injured area and leave it on for 15 minutes, or until you feel numbness – whichever comes first. Then, wait an hour, and repeat the ice treatment again.
You need to be consistent, and utilize the ice treatment multiple times throughout the day for the best results. It normally takes 3 or 4 ice treatments before you will notice any difference, but if you are consistent, most people will see a big difference in their pain level within 3 days.
If the cause of your back disc pain is degenerative disc disease, however, ice is one of the worst things you can do. Degenerative disc disease is a form of arthritis, so if you place ice over the inflamed area, it will just become more stiff and aggravated.
Now, this is a fine line, because using heat over this area can also lead to more pain because of the aggravated nerve. So, here’s what I normally tell people to do in this case – use ice for one treatment and see how you feel.
It’s more likely that your pain is being caused by the aggravated nerve, so you want to err on the side of ice being the better treatment option. However, if you notice any more pain or stiffness with the ice treatment, discontinue it right away and try dry heat (which would be a heating pad).
Follow the same rules with heat (15 minutes on, 1 hour off, repeat numerous times throughout the day) for best results.
There are many more treatments that are very effective for these problems, and if you would like to learn about all of your options, you can click here (slipped back disc) for the full details.
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