Back Pain

The vertebrae are separated by “discs.” The outside of a disc is made from cartilage, and in the center is a jelly like solution. Discs serve many purposes. They allow movement of the spine, create space between the vertebrae, and act as shock absorbers. Discs can become damaged for many reasons, both internal and external. Back pain, often a result of injury to the spine can result in disc herniation, bulging, or in the most severe cases rupturing. When disc space is reduced or compressed nerve signals may be inhibited causing pain in the areas served by those nerves. The spine usually consists of 24 movable vertebrae in the neck, upper and mid back and nine fused vertebrae in the low back.

The vertebrae are separated by “discs.” The outside of a disc is made from cartilage, and in the center is a jelly like solution. Discs serve many purposes, they allow movement of the spine, create space between the vertebrae, and act as shock absorbers. Discs can become damaged for many reasons, both internal and external. Back pain, often a result of injury to the spine can result in disc herniation, bulging, or in the most severe cases rupturing. When disc space is reduced or compressed nerve signals may be inhibited causing pain in the areas served by those nerves.

Patients often describe tingling sensations in their arms and fingers, shooting pain in their legs or sciatica, chronic headaches, degenerative disc disease even bowel dysfunction, all of which may be from “pinched nerves.”

Often gentle realigning or adjustment of misaligned vertebrae of the spine will do the trick; however, patients with long standing issues may require additional therapies, home exercises or spinal decompression to alleviate their pain.