What Are Bulging Discs and How Can a Chiropractor Treat Them?

Spinal injuries from poor posture, children, or car accidents can cause bulging discs. These discs can cause much pain when they protrude or slip from their normal position. A chiropractor can fix a protruding disc to help relieve your pain using non-invasive and all-natural treatment. Here’s more information on bulging discs and how a chiropractor can treat them:

What Are Bulging Discs?

The spine consists of vertebrae cushioned and separated by spinal discs. These discs assist in absorbing shock from normal wear and tear in your body. Spinal discs can turn from flexible and spongy to deflated and brittle as you age. When these discs degenerate, they can protrude out of their space resulting in a bulging disc. Many people often confuse a bulging disc with a herniated disc, but they are different. A bulging disc protrudes outward but stays intact and can compress nerves near the spine. Herniated disc causes a tear or crack that makes the materials inside the disc pour out. 

Bulging discs can occur anywhere from the lower back to the neck. They are painful, especially when the spinal discs press against a nerve. Symptoms of a protruding disc in the neck include tingling or numbness, headache, experiencing pain in the shoulders, arms, hands, and face. If you have a bulging disc in your lower back, the symptoms can include tingling, numbness, and weakness in the leg. People who smoke or live a sedentary lifestyle can increase their likelihood of developing a protruding disc. Activities such as lifting heavy objects that strain or stress your spine can result in bulging discs. Weakened back muscles can also be to blame.

How Can a Chiropractor Help Treat Bulging Discs?

Not all spinal disc injuries need an immediate trip to a surgery room. Based on the severity and frequency of your pain, you can be a good candidate for chiropractic treatment and care. Chiropractors are trained in hands-on and non-invasive techniques focused on improving your muscles, spine, tissues, joints, and bones. A chiropractor can diagnose a bulging disc depending on a medical condition and physical exam.

Chiropractic care is a more conservative treatment that assists your body to recover without any invasive procedure or medication. Your chiropractor will first check the extent of the damage by assessing your spine health. They can also do several tests to examine your muscle weakness or strength, range of motion, sensation in the extremities, and check your reflexes. If you are healthy and have no advanced or pre-existing spinal disorders, chiropractic adjustments can help heal your protruding disc.

What Techniques Can Chiropractors Use for Bulging Discs?

Having a protruding disc can result in excruciating pain that may worsen by doing heavy activities. Visiting a chiropractor can help prevent more damage to your spine. Here are some spinal adjustment methods that chiropractors can use to offer pain relief for bulging discs:

Spinal Decompression

Spinal decompression is a treatment whereby chiropractors use a traction table to stretch your spine gently. The technique creates a negative pressure to move bulging discs to prevent compression on the spinal structure and the affected nerves. Spinal decompression also helps to enhance the flow of fluids, oxygen, and nutrients required by bulging discs to heal faster.

Flexion Destruction

Flexion destruction is a spinal manipulation technique used to reduce the pressure exerted on the nerves by bulging discs. The technique helps increase spinal movement and relieves pain. During treatment, your chiropractor will let you lie on a specially-designed table to stretch your spine. They use light movements to separate the bulging disc from the nerves. The technique can help get the discs back to their normal position in your spine. These movements also help maintain healthy intervertebral discs as they promote fluid circulation.

Massage Therapy

Chiropractors use various massage techniques to ease muscle tightness from compressed nerves in the spine. They can perform a deep tissue massage on the tissues surrounding the affected nerves to relieve muscle tension and spasms and increase circulation. Massage therapy helps to restore your range of motion and flexibility.

Get Help From a Professional Chiropractor

If you’re suffering from bulging discs, find a chiropractor who offers a wide range of chiropractic treatments that promote faster tissue healing. They should have a dedicated team to create a personalized treatment plan to address your particular condition and help ease your pain. Choose a chiropractor with vast experience to help increase your chances of recovery.