Are you experiencing sudden pain, numbness, or tingling in your shoulder and arm, or lower back, leg, or buttock? If so, find out if you have a herniated disc at The Institute for Comprehensive Spine Care, with offices around New York City, in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Queens, as well as Jersey City and Englewood, New Jersey. Gbolahan Okubadejo, MD, FAAOS offers a variety of herniated disc treatments. To find out more, book an appointment online or over the phone today.
Also known as a ruptured disc or a slipped disc, a herniated disc is the result of the soft, jellylike center of a spinal disc pushing out through its harder exterior. Discs act as cushions between the spine’s individual vertebra.
When a disc ruptures, it can cause pain by irritating or compressing nearby nerves. Often, a herniated disc ends up compressing a portion of your sciatic nerve, causing symptoms like:
A herniated disc in your neck will cause pain, numbness, tingling, and weakness in your shoulder and/or arm. In extreme cases, a herniated disc can cause loss of bowel control, loss of bladder control or difficulty walking and standing.
Herniated discs don’t have any one definitive cause, but most herniated discs have an origin related to age or injury.
Risk factors for herniated discs include:
Over time, the spinal discs wear down and lose water content, putting them at greater risk for rupture.
Occupations that require a lot of physical movement, especially lifting, lowering, twisting, and bending put you at a higher risk for a herniated disc.
If you’re overweight, you’re at a higher risk for a herniated disc because extra weight puts extra pressure on the spine.
Some people are genetically predisposed to developing herniated discs.
At The Institute for Comprehensive Spine Care, Dr. Okubadejo can treat herniated discs with epidural steroid injections, off-site physical therapy, or surgery.
Epidural steroid injections ease the pain by calming the inflammation around your herniated disc. For continued relief, you need to see Dr. Okubadejo for injections anywhere from once a week to once a year.
During surgery, Dr. Okubadejo removes either just the protruding portion of your herniated disc or the entire herniated disc. If he removes the entire disc, he fuses in supportive hardware where your disc once was. Dr. Okubadejo reserves surgery for those who experience disruptive symptoms that can’t be resolved with less invasive treatment.
Physical therapy lessens pain caused by your herniated disc with individualized exercises and stretches.
If you suspect you have a herniated disc, schedule an appointment at your nearest Institute for Comprehensive Spine Care office.
