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Author:
Saurabh Jain

Vertebral Disc problems are very painful. They haunt you with excruciating and shooting pain. Vertebral is a plate or disc of cartilage and fiber that contains a nucleus pulpous, a mass of white elastic fiber in its center situated between the vertebrae or bones of the spinal column. Disc problems tend to deteriorate with age. The deterioration or any injury or any stress can bring on painful disorder known as slipped disc, herniated disc, pinched nerve or ruptured disc. In the herniated disc when the disc ruptures or slips, the white elastic fibers protrude through the cartilage exerting pressure on the adjacent nerve root generating unbearable pain in the effected area.

A herniated disc can be completely painless at times, but the degenerative disc can produce intense pain. Degenerative means that the condition is likely to deteriorate with time. Most patients of degenerative disc will periodically experience continuous tolerable pain followed by increasing intense pain which will automatically go down after some time. It is a cyclic process. A patient with a pinched nerve will experience a radicular pain commonly known as nerve root pain, radiculopathy or sciatica pain and from the disc itself the patient will usually experience an axial pain. The sciatica nerve is the widest and longest nerve in the body running from the spinal column to the lower leg which branches in to two parts. It can be damaged due to different kinds of injury in the back, in pelvis and in the lower legs. Injury to the nerve generates a shooting pain from the thigh to the feet and the toes. Intense pain due to disc problems can immobilize you necessitating immediate attention of the doctor but it does not mean that intense pain is related to the amount of disc damage.

Diagnosis and Treatment An accurate diagnosis of the disc problems is done through medical examination, X-rays and CT or MRI scan. These scans are very accurate in identifying whether the source of pain is from a pinched nerve or because of the disc space. The most common treatment is strict bed rest on a hard mattress placed over a hard board until the symptoms have subsided and non steroidal and anti inflammatory drugs. For severe pain flare ups oral steroids and injections may have to administered to reduce the inflammation and the pain. For a herniated disc patient physical therapy, exercise, gentle stretching, application of heat, ice and pain relieving medicines will relieve the effected portion of any pain. The pain can also be removed through surgery by removing herniated portion of the white elastic fibers protruding towards the adjacent nerve root. In the degenerative disc problem fusion surgery stops the motion of the painful portion of effected part thereby considerably reducing pain or artificial disc replacement is done. However most of the disc problems get better with passage of time and therefore surgery may not be needed, but if there is no relief then surgery is the best option.

Disc problems, Vertebral, slipped disc, herniated disc, pinched nerve or ruptured disc, degenerative disc, sciatica pain

Saurabh Jain is the Executive Editor of Online Back Pain Resource. He has developed this site to provide valuable information to people suffering from back pain. This site enumerates different causes and factors related to back pain, guides through the different back pain treatments and suggests exercises for treatments of different types of back pain. The site is a free online resource for back pain and its remedies. The visitors can also find valuable information and reviews about the different equipments and therapies for back pain relief. Visit http://www.backpain-resources-online.com for more information.

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A Quick Note From The Publisher... If you like the article above, you may be interested in the following article which is also related to Pain Relief... Chronic Pain Relief: An Overview Everyone will experience pain at some point in their lives. Pain is a necessary form of protection against injuries, diseases, or conditions that would otherwise impair or even kill us. Pain alerts us that something is wrong. Pain can be either ‘acute’ or ‘chronic’ – the distinguishing characteristic between the two is their duration. Acute pain usually occurs after a specific injury. It appears quickly and is usually very intense – one example is the pain of a broken bone. It subsides fairly quickly, particularly after treatment. Chronic pain, on the other hand, seems to build up over time, and often cannot be connected to a particular injury or condition. What chronic pain lasts in intensity, it makes up for in duration – sometimes persisting for decades. Living with constant pain can be unbearable, and many forms of treatment attempt to offer sufferers some sort of chronic pain relief. One of the most commonly prescribed therapy for chronic pain is medication, both prescription and over-the-counter. While often effective in alleviating pain, these are eschewed by some because of their adverse side effects, which include nausea, dizziness, and fatigue. Others are in search of a more natural form of chronic pain relief. Exercise, stretching and physical therapy reduce chronic joint pain and muscle soreness and spasms by increasing strength, tone, and flexibility. Exercise increases blood flow, eases joint stiffness, aids in weight loss, and counteracts the stress, anxiety, and depression that often comes from living with chronic pain. Chiropractic, acupuncture and massage offer three alternative methods of chronic pain relief. Though their methods differ, all of these have helped sufferers manage chronic pain. In the past few...