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Disc Pain
October 7, 2008 |
Many people think their bones are to blame for neck and back pain. But area specialists
say it’s another part of the spine that’s usually the cause.
"The most common cause of neck pain and back pain that I’ve been seeing is disc
problems.
The discs are your supporting structures in between the bones of your
spine they’re made of like a gel like material with some water in the middle,” says
Dr. Annette Tugaoen, an Interventional Pain Management Specialist. When discs are
exposed to more stress than they can handle they begin to bulge and cause pain throughout
your body. “When the disc bulge is big enough it can press on the nerve route and
that’s when you have sciatica, which you’ve probably heard about, which can send
shooting pain down your legs and arms.”
If a condition like this goes untreated it can even cause serious weakness in the
arms and legs. But Dr. Tugaoen says there are treatment options out there including non-invasive injections. “The whole reasoning about the epidural injections is about
putting an anti-inflammatory right where the action is or right where the nerve
or inflammation is.”
Physicians say it’s also important to stretch your spine and do exercises that will
help increase your range of motion before and after disc injuries. In most people
with bulging discs, the pain spreads over the buttocks and goes down the back of
one thigh and into the calf. |
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