spinal disc herniation

At North Jersey Whole Health Center LLC, we excel in treating patients with all sorts of challenging health conditions and symptoms. By looking at the underlying conditions and understanding the biomechanics of the spine, we help to decrease or eliminate pain and discomfort, promoting better mobility, range of motion, and quality of life for our visitors.

One common issue that people come in with is a herniated disc in the spine. These types of problems can cause intense pain and chronic impairment. Many people don’t understand that disc herniations do not have to be debilitating, and often are not the main cause of back pain. In order to understand how disc herniations affect the spine, it is important to learn what this condition is and how it develops.

What is a Herniated Disc?

First of all, some of the language around spinal conditions can be confusing. One thing to remember is that the vertebrae of the spine are the actual bones. These bones are connected with softer rings called discs in between them. You can think of the discs as sort of like the “shock absorber” of a car – when they work properly, they protect the vertebrae against certain kinds of impact.

The word “herniation” is medical jargon for “something that has moved out of place.” In this case, the disc itself hasn’t moved, but the jelly-like center of the disc has started to create a bulge in the exterior shell of the disc or even squeeze outside of it entirely. The bulging disc can put pressure on a nerve directly, and if the jelly-like center of the disc comes in direct contact with a nerve, it can cause severe inflammation.

Spinal Health and Herniated Disc

The human spine is an amazing piece of engineering that serves as the “backbone” of the human body (pun intended). The spine is designed to hold our body weight while allowing us freedom of movement. In order to accomplish this, the spine includes 23 discs, and more than 100 joints, each of which has to be able to move freely.

The thing to note here is that the spine’s anatomy is very tightly packed. There are spinal nerves that rest around the spinal column, and when these are compressed or pinched by a herniated disc, it can cause incredible pain.

Cascading Conditions

In holistic therapy and in the medical world at large, professionals recognize that one condition often leads to another. The chronic pain from a herniated disc impacting a spinal nerve can give the sufferer a disincentive to get up and walk. As a result, the general health deteriorates due to insufficient exercise and physical activity, and all this time, the pain goes on.

At North Jersey Whole Health Center LLC, we can help to evaluate and work with herniated discs and other spinal conditions. The essential task of the professional is to help the patient maintain better spinal health in order to preserve the range of motion and mobility that we talked about before. For more details, come into our office and talk to our experienced staff about what you’re facing, and the best treatment and therapy modalities available today.

Welcome to North Jersey Whole Health Center, LLC we offer services such as Chiropractic Manipulative TherapyGait Scan TechnologyNutritional MedicineOrthotics and Supports, PhonophoresisPhysical ExaminationsPhysiotherapy.

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