Can A Herniated Disc Cause Sciatica Or Severe Leg Pain??? PART I

Have you or someone you know ever had the experience of going to your doc because you had some god-awful pain from your low back or hip down into your leg or foot?   If so, you know it can range anywhere from modestly unpleasant to down right agonizing.  And if you’ve had this rather negative experience you want pain relief fast…..and that’s why you went to see your doctor in the first place.

Usually, he or she tells you it’s Sciatica.  Well, the truth is… you just been told what you already knew because sciatica literally means “leg pain”. Sort of like going to the doc because you’ve lost your vision and you’re told you’re blind.

Your concern, however, is not to get a description of what you already knew but to find out what’s causing it…. and how to fix it.

In most cases, not all but most, leg pain radiating from the hip or back is related to pressure on the nerves in your lower back.   And often that pressure comes from the jelly donut like disc that ‘s being “squished” between to vertebrae.  This squeezing pressure causes the discs internal contents to bulge or spill out creating an outward bulging of the disc which can directly place pressure on the nerves which run down into your legs.  Additionally,  inflammatory chemicals may be released which further irritate the nerve and your pain.

Unfortunately, with time, things like Sciatica tend to progress.  The outer wall of the disc begins to get tiny cracks and crevices… like a broken windshield.   The disc can decay further and lose more and more fluid thus becoming dehydrated.

Standard care may utilize prescription of anti-inflammatory medication, over the counter analgesics or pain killers.  The doc will often refer you for a course of routine physical therapy or chiropractic care.  Later, an lumbar MRI may be taken which can reveal the damaged discs.

Continued pain leads you to a pain management office for invasive injections or even the neuro-surgeon’s office for consultation.

While all these things may create some short term relief…they all fall short in the long run offering no true repair or reversal of the process.  Surgical intervention is laden with possible side affects as well as anesthesia and infection risk not to mention surgical failure or even error.

What  has emerged over the last decade or so are advanced  non surgical methods used to relieve disc pressure and actually get the disc to heal long term.  This known as non surgical decompression and we will continue this discussion in my next blog posting.

Want to find out if you’re a candidate. Give us a call at  Waterfront Spine Institute for a no charge consultation  201-840-1980 or go to www.waterfrontspinerehab.com for more info and instant free detailed report.

Thank you so much for visiting my site. I encourage you to leave your questions and comments below. And for more information on Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression please fill out the form to the right or give us a call at 201-840-1980

About Dr. Podell, DC: Dr. Dave Podell, DC has been in active practice for over 25 years and has seen countless numbers of the most difficult and previously failed cases. As the clinic director of the Watefront Spine Institute in Edgewater, New Jersey, just minutes from the GW Bridge, Lincoln Tunnel and midtown Manhattan, Dr. Podell, DC runs one of the Northeast’s most advanced and evolutionary multi-disciplinary clinics for the treatment of disc herniation and associated ailments. Dr. Podell, DC sits on the advisory board of Spinal Aid Centers Of America and trains other health care providers in the science and art of non surgical spinal decompression in his Edgewater facility. He continues to train and advance his clinic’s state of the art spinal rehabilitation programs and is known nationwide in his field. He is additionally certified in neurodiagnostic evaluations, Spinal Manipulation Under Anasthesia and Disability Impairment rating.  In addition to NSSD, he had received advanced training in Spinal Chiropractic Biophysics, Active Therapeutic Techniques, MedX and Spine Force Spinal Rehabilitation, Extremity manipulation, orthopedics and neurology.