Benefits of Chiropractic for Bulging Discs:
1. It’s noninvasive
2. Does not involve pills, injections or any other controlled substances
3. Is performed by a licensed professional who is trained to recognize serious health issues
4. Is holistic, which means a chiropractor will look at your condition as a whole-body issue and offer advice on stress relief, nutrition, and other lifestyle factors
Chiropractic Care and Bulging Discs
A chiropractor can help address back pain and other bulging disc symptoms and will look for several things.
• Are the reflexes intact? That is: are your nerves sending messages correctly?
• Is there loss of muscle strength or signs of muscle wasting?
• Is there loss of sensation along the path of a nerve?
A chiropractor will also carefully look at your posture, and he or she may order an X-ray or MRI, if necessary, to help with the diagnostic process.
Chiropractors evaluate the entire spine; even if you only have lower back pain, your chiropractor will examine your neck, too. He or she wants to see how well your spine is functioning overall.
After reviewing this information, your chiropractor can determine if you have an intervertebral disc injury. The type of disc injury you have will determine what treatments your chiropractor will use to address your symptoms.
Most intervertebral disc injuries are related to a bulging and/or herniated disc, and your chiropractor can provide you with various treatment options to address your pain and other symptoms. To treat a bulging disc, your chiropractor will develop a treatment plan that may include spinal manipulation—more commonly known as adjustments—and other chiropractic techniques to help ease your symptoms. This will be an individualized treatment plan, but it may include manual therapy and therapeutic exercises.
The specifics of what is in your treatment plan are particular to your pain, level of activity, overall health, and what your chiropractor thinks is best.
Chiropractic treatment is safe and effective for most patients.
Below are some examples of chiropractic techniques used for herniated discs.
Flexion-distraction Technique:
A common chiropractic technique is the flexion-distraction technique, which can be used to help address bulging disc symptoms.
Flexion-distraction involves the use of a specialized table that gently "distracts" or stretches the spine. This allows the chiropractor to isolate the affected area while slightly "flexing" the spine using a pumping rhythm. The flexion-distraction technique's gentle pumping to the painful area allows the center of the intervertebral disc to assume its central position in the disc. Flexion-distraction may also improve disc height as well.
This technique can help move the disc away from the nerve, reducing inflammation of the nerve root, and eventually any associated pain and inflammation.