The spinal cord consists of various spinal discs that comprises a soft cushion between each vertebrae and when this spinal disc becomes less elastic due to age or injury it can rupture.The spinal disc can move out of its original position due to the rupturing and this medical deformity is called herniated disc.Though the herniated disc itself does not pose any medical threat, if the disc moves out of the groove significantly, it can cause the spinal nerves in the surrounding region to get compressed, and this compression may cause nervous system related disorders.

Among the symptoms of herniated disc, the most common ones are an electric shock type of pain in the neck region, the patient can also feel numbness or tingling sensation in lower back region.The patient may also suffer from weaker muscles, since the blocking of the pathways can cause the spinal nerves to not pass the signals properly to the associated muscles.Herniated disc can also cause back pain and leg pains, and so if they occur frequently, these symptoms should not be taken lightly.The pinched nerves can also cause the nervous pathways to get blocked, thus causing problems related to bowel and bladder control.

A physician can easily make the diagnosis of the herniated disc by checking the sensation, muscle strength and reflexes of the patient.Apart from this, MRI can also help in finding out the wear and tear associated with the spinal cord, thus helping the doctors in taking further decisions about the bulging disc treatment.Generally, the treatment starts with the patient taking adequate rest and physical massage of the region. Ice and hot pads can also aid the treatment.Sometimes, anti-inflammatory drugs and steroid based medications may also need to be orally administered or injected to cure the herniated disc.

If the normal course of medications do not yield proper results, then next options for herniated disc treatment can include surgery, wherein the doctor removes the herniated disc, thus freeing up the space around the compressed nerve.With the advancement in medical science, the doctors now make use of minimally invasive spinal surgery, wherein they only make small incisions and lower special devices and camera into the body to find out the problem area.

Once the herniated disc is located and if its removal is possible, a discectomy or an endoscopic microdiscectomy may be done to remove the complete disc.Not only do these operations cure herniated disc related issues permanently, but also they are safer as compared to operations in older days.Nevertheless, a surgery is still a surgery and since these are related to the nervous system, it is important that you consult your doctors and consider these procedures only if other forms of treatment do not work well.

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