How to determine if a disc problem is causing low chronic back pain

By: Dr. Robert Patterson

Determining whether or not you have a disc problem in your low back is sometimes difficult. There are a number of things to look for when assessing for a disc problem.

1.Do you experience pain that radiates down one or both of your legs? Pain from a disc herniation will often go into the butt or down one or both legs. If pain radiates below the knee into the calf or foot, then that is a strong sign that you may have a disc herniation.

2.Are you experiencing burning, tingling or numbness? These are common types of nerve pain and are often associated with disc herniation. This is a clue, but in the absence of other findings does not rule out other conditions.

3.Does sitting significantly increase your back and or leg pain? Sitting increases disc pressure and will often irritate a disc herniation.

4.Does coughing, sneezing or bowel movements increase your pain? These activities increase disc pressure just as sitting does, and can greatly increase your pain.

5.Are you unable to stand straight? People often stand crooked when they have a disc herniation. They may lean to one side or the other in order to reduce pressure on a nerve.

6.Do you have trouble walking on your heels or your toes? If your foot wants to drop, this is a sign that you have significant pressure on the nerve. This needs to be monitored closely by your doctor. Surgery may be required if this is deteriorating.

7.While sitting, does straightening one of your legs in front of you increase your pain? This stretches the sciatic nerve. If this sends pain down your leg then there is a high probability that you have a disc problem.

Patients seldom have all 7 of these signs and symptoms at the same time. The more you have, the greater the probability of disc herniation. We also take into account your history as well as other exam findings in determining a final diagnosis.

Less than 5% of disc herniations require surgery. We are able to effectively treat most disc problems using Cox flexion distraction manipulation. This allows us to decompress the disc and relieve nerve pressure. We are often able to avoid expensive MRI procedures. Radiology guidelines recommend conservative treatment for 4-6 weeks before doing MRI procedures, because the majority of the time, the imaging does not change the treatment.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, April 1st, 2010 at 8:02 am and is filed under Alternative Medicine, Mechanisms and Treatment of Low Back Pain, Rehabilitation Exercises and Protocols, Stress Reduction, back pain. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.