DISC INJURIES
- Disc injuries are very common causes of back and neck pain. They account for roughly 40% of acute lower back pain
- Not all disc injuries cause sciatica or leg pain, some may a cause deep ache in the lower back or mild tingling in the thigh. Some may only cause pain in certain positions or with certain movements.
- Think of the disc like a jam doughnut. It has a jelly like substance on the inside called the ‘nucleus pulposus’ which is contained by the crust of the doughnut called the ‘annulus fibrosis’
- More often than not injuries to the disc are due to poor movement around the area leading to over use and over strain.
- Often an injury to the disc can seem as though it has come out of nowhere. This is because the inside of the disc has no pain fibers only the outer third of the disc can sense pain and hence we sometimes don’t know it is coming.
- There is a spectrum of different types of disc injuries
- Most disc injuries heal with time. Initially the pain is very intense as there is an inflammatory process going on. This will calm down within 3-5 days.
- This injury is usually a result of bad movement patterns or movement habits over time.
- Once the inflammation has settled it is very important to follow through with treatment and rehabilitation to reduce the time frame of your pain and more importantly reduce the likelihood of a re occurrence.