Bulging Disc Or Herniated Disc - They're One and the Same

spinal stenosis

Bulging disc or herniated disc, they are the same thing: they both talk about the cushioning discs of the spinal column which somehow inflames and bulges out causing pain and difficulty in movement to the one who is experiencing it.

Fear is the factor that makes people aware of what is going in their bodies. However, when the word spinal column is thrown at a sufferer, the immediate reaction is that of blankness. Everything seems to just focus at one point and the heart starts to thump as if it is right between the eyebrows. The tales involving spinal conditions and spinal surgery all run a gamut of nauseating details that just seems to flash across the mind's screen. It is difficult to assimilate, it is difficult to grasp.

Actually, there is not much cause for fear, just concern and an awareness that one has to be very careful with the spine that has a bulging disc. This is actually a condition that can be managed quite easily and with the least amount of invasions unless there is a ruptured disc. Otherwise, a bulging disc is managed by the least invasive of the bulging disc treatments: anti inflammatories. As the spine is made up of several bones, one has to concentrate and record how the symptoms appear to travel in the body as this can determine exactly where the herniated disc is located.

The four segments of the spine all correspond to the different parts of the body that the segments are in charge of. The cervical sort of is the mother of all segments. It controls from the head down to the little toes, then the thoracic comes in second with controlling the trunk all the way down to the toes, then the lumbar, the lower back down, and of course that pelvic or sacrum which controls the pelvic area.

Ordinary pain medications can control the inflammation of the bulging disc and sometimes it can cure it from progressing further. This accompanied by the necessary rest and exercise should bring back the normal conditions of the back later on. However, those who fear the pain have to remember that it is not good to immobilize the back as this could freeze and worse pain can float. Another thing to remember, do not take the pain medications without the direct supervision of the doctor. It can lead to addiction, plainly speaking.

The only time a doctor will talk surgery to a patient with a bulging disc complaint is when all other treatments failed and the conditions worsens or the disc will rupture.