The Healthy Back Institute Forum » Topic: What is a bulging Disc?

The Healthy Back Institute Forum » Topic: What is a bulging Disc? http://www.losethebackpain.com/forum/topic/what-is-a-bulging-disc The Web's Best Back Pain Forum en-US Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:10:05 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 <![CDATA[Search]]> q http://www.losethebackpain.com/forum/search.php HealthyBack on "What is a bulging Disc?" http://www.losethebackpain.com/forum/topic/what-is-a-bulging-disc#post-341 Tue, 20 Jul 2010 17:53:11 +0000 HealthyBack 341@http://www.losethebackpain.com/forum/ *PREVIOUS POST* Sylvia Jan 23, 2008 - 4:14PM Quote Reply What is a BULGING DISC? I could not stand the pain any longer and went in for an MRI to see what it is I'm dealing with. Today they called and said it is a Bulging Disc. What is the difference between a bulging, herniated, or ruptured disc? Sylvia _______________________________________________________________________________________ Dan Monahan Jan 23, 2008 - 5:04PM Quote Reply Re: What is a BULGING DISC? Hi Sylvia This following article from the site should answer all your questions. <a href="http://www.losethebackpain.com/conditions/herniateddisc.html" rel="nofollow"> "Herniated Disc"</a> Hope this helps Dan _______________________________________________________________________________________ Sylvia Jan 25, 2008 - 9:36PM Quote Reply Re: What is a BULGING DISC? Thanks. I have the System and the Inversion table. It seems I was getting a little better, and even went swimming about 4 times a week - good days and some not too good. Then we had (Florida) a weather change to about 19 degrees, and I just locked up tight - the pool closed and it was like going back to day one. I went to a doctor and she had me get an MRI. When the office called with the results, she said I had a bulge, and the next day the doctor called and said to get into an Orthopedic for more evaluation. She said I had a 'tear' and Central L4 L5. Well the word """tear'''' kind of traumatized me. I mean, it made it sound like I'm in even worse shape than I thought. I did some reading online, and found that others have experienced the cold causing a set back - and I read where Michelle said she had a torn disc too. Since the 'freeze' I've just kind of shut down. I've stopped swimming, doing the exercises... and sciatica is going down both sides. Am I safe to get back into exercises? Even if it feels kind of worse? I got confused about either ICE or Heat too. And read to 10 min Ice the Pain Spot, and to heat the offending muscles. Sylvia _______________________________________________________________________________________ tim Jan 27, 2008 - 10:23AM Quote Reply Re: What is a BULGING DISC? well i have confirmed by MRI that i have multi level bulging discs (5) to be exact ,im on strong pain meds that no dr in my area will write rx for, so i must travel 75 miles from home, to get a pain clinic to write the rx for me ,even though i have the steroid shots every time i can, like every 3 months ,hurt like hell they do for me , the relief is for the most part what keeps me going back for more of them ,so what i read here is that a bulging disc not treated will certainly cripple me further!! what they say is I cant be operated on!! no dr will touch me, the dxr 9000 is out alltogether as i also have a failed bone graft fusion at L3-4 to S1 done 18 years ago 1990 pain well yep,. i do have that and its the only constant thing in my life other than taxes and death,. im told by many specialists that my spine is so porus with DDD and arthritus that it will not hold screws at all or steel plates and rods ,another failure waiting to happen ,should the drs i see even try ,they wont touch me at all or offer me anything but to make me sort of comfortable with strong meds like the durgesic pain patch, oxycodone ,tramadol, etodolac,and citalopram for depression which only about touches how i feel. ive not noticed any relief from it ,but the strong meds like the tramadol and fentynal patch and oxy-codone along with the steroid shots do in fact allow me to turn off the heating pad ,and get off the couch or out of bed ,i can and do walk outside every day ,other than this ive lost all energy,to do the things i love to do like hunt and fish ,i dont because im afraid ill blow out completely a bulged disc and then where would i be laying in the woods ,or passed out on some river bank with the pain im trying so hard to fight,,,i can hide the pain so well that to look at me you would never know that i suffer so greatly from it , yet they can give some 90 year old man a new heart ,or a kidney ,or even a lung for a smoker ,but for a spine im out in the crowd of people just like the ones i read about here trying to find out what to do to get any relief. all this pain has affected all aspects of my life completly ,my record of 3 divorces is because im no good dealing with it day in day out ,i yell, lose my temper at things that i should not.and all my friends have given up i cant participate in a friendship knowing i cant keep up with others of my age in good shape. i force my self to do things that i should not.. last summer i had to have money for wood to burn this winter for heat. so i went to work under the table for a contractor and put on new roofs for him and his clients i did three roofs and painted the whole outside of 2 three story houses (all alone) i made what i needed for fire wood logs ,got em all cut into blocks and split them with a gas splitter and stacked all 35 face cords of wood alone, by my self , now im so bad from that effort that my wife has to bring it into the house ,and load up the stove as i watch from the couch on my god sent heating pad. what im saying here is im 49 yrs old im a hard worker been disabled now for 18 years and cant get all my bills paid but somehow i get thru each year , but im afraid that i wont last till im 50 yrs old this comming august. what a fool does to meets his needs is sometimes push him self way too far now im down waiting for the count the health care industry as a whole I have no respect for as they all have let me down BIG TIME Tim _______________________________________________________________________________________ Sylvia Jan 27, 2008 - 11:12AM Quote Reply Re: What is a BULGING DISC? Tim, I am so sorry for what you, what all, are enduring. And I'd like to share with you how I am learning to cope. Warning: It may not be popular. Sitting, ... with so much to do. Last night I lay on the right, and woke up with a numb hand. I turned to the left, and woke up with that hand numb. I lay on my back with my head on the ortho-pillow, and awoke with a numb left foot, and this horrendous vibrating in my head and back. Since August, though, when I stumble out of bed, slip on my crocks, because barefoot now, my feet feel very weird,... there is something for me to look forward to. In August, one morning, after the Chiro messed up my neck instead of helping my L4 and 5,... I cried out to the Almighty (I call Yahuweh) "WHY? What can I do?"!!! And the small voice in my mind answered, "Meet me here every day." So I have been. It's the best part of my day. Maybe HE allowed this because, being a stubborn and busy person, it was the only way to get my attention. I believe when I have firmly establish a pattern of putting Him first in my day and life, He will heal me completely. Until then I learn, and pray - and use the tools that are brought to the forefront. After my 'time of joy with the creator of my very life' I jump (well, sort of jump) on the inversion table to get my feet more there, and try to DO MY UTMOST BEST TODAY. I can get through today. "Weeping may endure for the night, but JOY comes in the morning." Two weeks ago, my dh brought me a brand new Scripture. Once alone I prayed that on the first opening of the book, that it would be a personal message of HIS WISDOM to me. I opened to where Yahshua lay His Hand on a woman and said, "Woman thou art loosed" from a spirit of weakness that has been with her for 18 years. I CRIED! because it was 18 years ago to the date that I had the first sign of a 'problem' in my back!!!! Then he told her to get up, and she could stand up straight! I now have an MRI picture, and when I'm healed, there will be proof! Yahuweh Rules. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it! Sylvia _______________________________________________________________________________________ tim Jan 27, 2008 - 12:02PM Quote Reply Re: What is a BULGING DISC? i too have a higher power , and if /when they land ill be one of the first they fix,, as there is no hope for me on this earth i hope sincearly that a UFO will come rescue me from the health care industry as a whole i have , a lot of hands on things i can share with others on how to survive it all cause i been there helping my self now for more than 18 years alone , i watch the sky too for answers and some day they will come , its built so where are they , in hiding from the government of the united against us states of america the disabled support america all they way around and what do we get in return PAIN and no cure in sight on this earth if you build it they will come ,, mine is built my strength that is so where are they now out spending the money the disabled could have to better there lives ,,, each and every one , hope this made you smile if so all is not lost Tim _______________________________________________________________________________________ Jesse Jan 27, 2008 - 9:02PM Quote Reply Re: What is a BULGING DISC? I urge anyone with a bulging or hernaited disc to do some research about "resorption" or "healing" of a disc. There are many studies that have been done that have shown that often times a herniated disc can heal on it's own. But in our research what we have found is that you must provide the right environment. That means both physically (nutrition, addressing muscle imbalances, spinal decompression, etc) and emotionally (positive thinking, true belief that you WILL repair/heal, neutralize negative stress, etc). Jesse _______________________________________________________________________________________ Sylvia Jan 30, 2008 - 10:37AM Quote Reply Re: What is a BULGING DISC? Wow! and Thanks! Yesterday at the ORTHO they said the my disc is dehydrated, and actually said, "drinking water won't help." Good grief! And that the bulge is permanent and that I can only manage pain. I did the search you recommended and YOU ARE RIGHT! Do you know I'm coming to think of you all at the HBI as great humanitarians. The ship aint sunk! I am so encouraged. Thank you so much. You give threads of hope that there CAN be a better day without having to have holes bored into our spines. Sylvia _______________________________________________________________________________________ Sylvia Feb 2, 2008 - 8:03PM Quote Reply Re: What is a BULGING DISC? This one was interesting: Do NSAID's Retard Disc Resorption? By Mitchell Miglis DC, Melbourne, Florida, USA. Anti-inflammatory medications are a common medical treatment for discogenic back pain. The best evidence today suggests that the natural history of disc herniation is positive for self-resorption, with more resorption on longer follow up. Autio et al1 write: “Herniated nucleus pulposus (HNP ) resorption is thought to occur via an inflammatory reaction in the outermost layer of herniation, with macrophages as the predominating cellular population. Recently, the molecular mechanisms of this phagocytotic process have been clarified. Rim enhancement around the herniated disc in contrast-enhanced magnetic resolution imaging (MRI) is thought to represent neovascularized zone with macrophage infiltration, which has an essential role in phagocytosis and herniation regression” pg. 1247 The question follows: Except for short-term acute pain management, do anti-inflammatory medications make sense from a physiologic perspective when an active inflammatory process appears to be the mechanism by which HNP’s are resorbed? This is, of course, a question premised on physiologic theory and, as such, represents a surrogate question. The relevant clinical question is: Do anti-inflammatory medications result in better, same or worse outcomes compared to controls in HNP cases when used beyond the acute phase? Is there evidence that answers this question? In the meantime, the theoretical argument for limiting long-term use, aside from gastric and other toxicity, may be that it could retard disc resorption http://www.coca.com.au/newsletter/2006/sep0617a.htm _______________________________________________________________________________________ Sylvia Feb 2, 2008 - 8:11PM Quote Reply Re: What is a BULGING DISC? This is a very postitive report, and they used Flexion Exercises (like Healthy Back Institute) instead of the extension. Sylvia Can Herniated Discs Reduce in Size or Resorb? David J. BenEliyahu, D.C., D.A.C.B.S.P., D.A.A.P.M. Chiropractor In the past, it was believed that once a patient acquired a herniated disc, it was permanent. However, recent research with MRI and CT outcome studies has documented that this is fallacy. Herniated discs in the cervical and lumbar spine have been shown to not only reduce in size after a period of conservative care, but in many cases regress and disappear upon reimaging. Numerous medical studies and some chiropractic studies have been performed and published. In recent studies by Mochida et al., both cervical (CDH) and lumbar (LDH) disc herniations were studied in pre- and post-MR imaging conditions. In CDH cases, they demonstrated that in 40% of the time, there was a reduction in size or regression. In LDH cases, they demonstrated about a 60% reduction or regression in the size of the herniation. They also found that the larger the extrusion or sequestration, the better the rate of regression. They concluded that disc regression or resorption depended upon size, location and the phase of the injury. Discs tended to reduce in size early on after onset, and more so in the lateral or sequestered type of herniation than smaller or subligamentous herniations. It is interesting to note that most patients in Mochida's study did well clinically with conservative care regardless of the MRI outcome. In a different study, Mochida found that there is a large percentage of macrophages in excised herniated disc material, as well as evidence of neovascularization. As such, the reduction in size is most likely due to phagocytic or macrophagic digestion, since the body attacks the disc fragment as a foreign protein, much like any other antigen. Immunohistochemistry studies are being conducted at this time to elucidate the pathophysiology of disc herniation and regression. In a similar study of LDH outcome by Bozzao et al., 63% of the patients treated nonsurgically with epidurals, medication, etc., demonstrated disc resorption upon repeat imaging. In a prospective study of patients with LDH, Ellenberg et al. documented that patients with CT evidence of herniated discs and EMG evidence of radiculopathy had a 78% rate of disc reduction. Matsubara found in a similar study that medical care involving medication, physiotherapy, traction and epidural steroid injections resulted in disc regression in 60% of the cases. In another prospective study, Bush et al. showed disc regression in 12 of the 13 cases studied. The period of care averaged six months, with a range of 2-12 months for good clinical and anatomical MRI outcome. In one of the few chiropractic care MRI studies, I published a prospective case series of 27 patients with either CDH or LDH. I obtained pre- and post-chiropractic care MRIs and found that in 63% of the cases, there was either a reduction in size, or the disc herniation resorbed completely. I also found that 80% of the cases had good clinical outcomes, and 78% of the patients returned to their preinjury occupations. Chiropractic care was shown to be amenable to the clinical management of the disc herniation not only on a clinical level, but on an anatomical level as well. In a study by Cassidy et al. on the effects of side posture manipulation on CT-documented herniated discs, the authors found that 13 of 14 patients had good clinical results. Of those, about half had a decrease in the size of the herniation on repeat CT followups. Case Report In a recent case that I treated, a 48-year-old female patient presented with acute low back and associated leg/extremity pain into the foot. She had evidence of radiculopathy with diminished sensation at the L4/5 dermatomes, and positive root tension signs with a positive straight leg raise at 35 degrees on the left and 45 degrees on the right. DTRs were within normal limits, and there was no significant motor weakness. An MRI of the lumbar spine revealed a large focal disc herniation centrally and to the left. The patient began treatment on a three times per week schedule and was treated with lumbar flexion/distraction, interferential current and microcurrent delivered by pads and probes. Microcurrent therapy was combined with regular interferential therapy and helped reduce pain and increase circulation to enhance the healing process. Microcurrent was then delivered to the LS spine and lower extremity by probes, stimulating the acupuncture points of the bladder meridian as well as stimulation along the affected dermatome. The microcurrent therapy helped afford the patient pain management and reduced the healing period. The patient improved significantly with the above mode of care, and repeat MRI imaging showed a reduction in the size of the herniation. References 1.BenEliyahu DJ. MRI and clinical followup study of 27 patients receiving chiropractic care for cervical and lumbar disc herniation. JMPT 1996;19(9):597-606. _______________________________________________________________________________________ Wong Feb 5, 2008 - 3:01AM Quote Reply Re: What is a BULGING DISC? Sorry to hear about all those troubles. I have my share of troubles and great sufferings too I have scoliosic and uneven leg. I injured myself on the ribs quite badly from a workout in the gym. I was working on a stationary bicycle vigorously for about 40 mins non-stop. The next morning it was great sore on my ribs with breathing pain. I was told that I have scar tissues on my rib muscles. Quite a lot of scar tissue. It happened 6 years back. So whenever I stretch my ribs, I get pain. It is very disturbing and there is at least an exercise on the Lose The Back Pain requires me to stretch my ribs muscles. I just purchased the LTBP and got it yesterday and I immediately feel very discouraged thinking about the rare condition that I have which is scar tissue on the ribs. I'm greatly discouraged as other patients don't have such problem. Otherwise I would be able to do the exercise well. Hopefully Jesse will say something about this. I have slipped disc aka bulging disc on L4, L5 and L5, S1 for 1 1/2 years. Soon later, I have Repetitive Strain Injury(RSI) from using computers. From then on my life is terrible as I earn a living using computer the whole day. Later I even have sciatica. _______________________________________________________________________________________ Wong Feb 5, 2008 - 3:35AM Quote Reply Re: What is a BULGING DISC? I'm also wondering if I diagnose the wrong leg in HH and exercise on the wrong leg, will it cause any harm? Hopefully Jesse or Steven can respond to my this or prev comment soon. Or anyone has any comment