Only a person who has experienced a damaged spinal disk understands the agony and helplessness it brings. The pain can be excruciating. Every movement seems to make it worse. This pain is a warning signal. If you heed the warning and take proper action, the discomfort usually stops, and the problem can be corrected. If you ignore the warning, you could suffer permanent damage.

Spinal disks are rubbery pads between the vertebrae, the specialized bones that make up the spinal column. Doctors call them intervertebral disks. Each disk is a flat, circular capsule about an inch in diameter and one-quarter inch thick. They have a tough, fibrous, outer membrane (the annulus fibrosus) and an elastic core (the nucleus pulposus). The disk is sometimes described as a shock absorber for the spine, which makes it sound more flexible or pliable than it really is. While the disks do separate the vertebrae and keep them from rubbing together, they are far from spring-like.

In children, they are gel-filled or fluid-filled sacs, but they begin to solidify as part of the normal aging process. By early adulthood, the blood supply to the disk has stopped, the soft inner material has begun to harden, and the disk is less elastic. By middle age, the disks are tough and quite unyielding, with the consistency of a piece of hard rubber. These changes related to aging make the outer protective lining weaker and the disks more prone to injury.

Under stress, a disk’s inner material may swell, pushing through its tough outer membrane. The entire disk becomes distorted. With an injury, all or part of the core material may protrude through the outer casing at a weak spot, pressing against surrounding nerves. If further activity or injury causes the membrane to rupture or tear, the disk material may cause pressure on the spinal cord or the nerves that radiate from it. This causes extreme, debilitating pain. It’s an unmistakable signal to stop all movement immediately. Further disk damage may be irreversible. In some instances, the injured disk itself is the source of pain. Typical offices only offer one procedure to address a herniated disc and often you must wait weeks before ever seeing any relief.

Spinal Recovery Center attacks a herniated disc with multiple interventions at the same time. Our patients see relief much quicker and often experience dramatic recoveries in a much shorter period of time without surgery or drugs. At Spinal Recovery Center you can feel safe and confident that the care you receive will help you live the life that your pain is stopping you from living.