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by Jesse
Cannone, CFT, CPRS,
CS
PN
So what in the world is a
Herniated Disc??? Well, rather than confuse you more, I am going to give you
my simple, easy to understand definition…
a herniated disc is
simply a protrusion, or sticking out of the disc. Think of a disc as a
balloon being held in place between your hands… if you push your hands
together unevenly the balloon will bulge out on the opposite side. This is
what happens to the disc between the vertebrae.
A Bulging Disc is the
same thing as a herniated disc… just a different name.
Herniated discs are
probably one of the most common diagnosis’s for back pain out there and is
often used when a doctor can’t find an explanation for the person’s
pain… similar to a doctor explaining away various aches and pains as
arthritis.
The problem is, many
people who are diagnosed with a herniated disc don’t have pain because of
it… and, for years, research has shown that in many cases, people live
with herniated discs yet never have any back pain or symptoms. The point is,
if you’ve been diagnosed with a herniated or bulging disc, it may not
be what’s really causing your back pain!
Even if you’ve had
x-rays and MRI’s done that show a herniated disc, chances are still very
good that it’s not the problem… so read on to learn more and find out
what’s causing your back pain…
So what causes a disc
to herniate?
Well, many people want
you to believe it’s old age, excess weight, stress, poor genetics, or how
you lift a heavy object…
while these are all
potential factors, the biggest factor or cause is uneven pressure placed on
the disc. Yes, you read that right… uneven pressure on discs is the
biggest cause of herniated discs.
Remember we talked
earlier about the uneven pressure? Well, months and years of this uneven
pressure causes discs to breakdown.
Do you have any idea
what causes this uneven pressure?
It’s something so
simple that it amazes me how many people, including the experts (orthopedic
specialists, chiropractors, physical therapists, etc) fail to recognize it.
So what is it??? Muscle
Imbalances.
You see, muscle
imbalances pull your bones and joints, especially the pelvis and spine, out
of place and this places excess and uneven wear and tear on the body.
This is where
Chiropractors come in…
The whole concept of
chiropractic care is to manually move the bones and joints back into the
proper position.
Makes sense right? WRONG!
Why? Because the same muscles that pulled those bones and joints out of
place to begin with, will do so again, usually within days.
The ONLY way to
address muscle imbalances is to first identify them, then work on correcting
them with the right combination of corrective exercises and stretches… and
any treatment that fails to include this formula, is doomed to fail!
To learn more about
muscle imbalances, be sure to read my article titled “Aches, Pains, and
Injuries” here:
http://www.losethebackpain.com/achesandpainsarticle.html
So when does a
Herniated Disc actually cause pain?
Typically, a herniated
disc will cause pain when it is putting pressure on a nerve or nerves and
this pain is usually felt down the backside of the leg. However,
occasionally individuals experience pain in the disc itself or the area
around it.
How do you know then
what’s causing your back pain?
Whether your pain is in
the disc or shooting down your leg, I am willing to bet that it has
something to do with muscle imbalances.
In my opinion, it always
makes sense to start at the beginning… so the first thing to do is
identify what muscles imbalances you have and then begin work on correcting
them.
DON’T try things like
ultrasound, electrical stimulation, cortisone shots and then feel
disappointed that they didn’t work… how can they??? Remember, they
don’t address the root cause of the problem!
I am not saying that
these types of treatments don’t have a place, it’s just that they will
not give you the long-term relief you are looking for. For example,
ultrasound may be helpful in conjunction with a corrective exercise and
stretching program but it’s not likely to do much on it’s own.
The real key is to not
only treat the symptoms, but address the cause of the problem also. You can
learn more about how to identify and correct your muscles imbalances in our
video, Lose the Back Pain.
In it, we take you thru a
series of self-assessments in which you’ll identify which specific muscle
imbalances you have. We then show you step-by-step what to do to correct
them in our Corrective Action Plans… all you have to do is follow the
instructions and in weeks, maybe days, your back will be feeling great
again. Click
here to order your copy now online or call 800-216-4908.
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