May 28
0

Dry Needling…No Medications, Only Pain Relief!

By | Dry Needling, Health, nutrition, wellness
Personally written by Milan Lassiter, DC, 1303 W. Main St, Richmond, VA and reached at (804) 254-5765.

 

People with muscle pain may seek out care with their MD, often ending up with one of 3 different types of medications:  muscle relaxants, anti-inflammatories, or pain meds.  Sometimes this will give a bit of relief of the symptoms, but they rarely resolve the actual cause of the problem.

Myofascial pain is the pain coming from muslce (myo) and fascia (the surrounding connective tissue around the muscle).  One of the common findings with myofascial pain syndromes is something called a “trigger point.”  A trigger point is a tight band of contracted muscle, often felt as a “knot,” and it’s often responsible for ongoing pain and dysfunction. A trigger point will often cause a pattern of referred pain, which is pain that is noted at a location away from the actual origination site of the problem.

It is desirable to elicit something called the latent twitch response (which feels like a grabbing or cramping around the needle), although a slight ache may be all that is felt.

Trigger point dry needling is one of the most effective treatment options available to resolve myofascial trigger points and dysfunctional or abnormally behaving muscles.

Here is a synopsis of how a trigger point is formed:

 

1)    Something causes pain.  If the insult occurs repeatedly or if the trauma is severe enough, the pain can form a feedback loop. Technically, the pain signal may return through a part of your nervous system called the sympathetic nervous system, activating pain receptors (called nociceptors) and feeding back to the spinal cord.  This is called a Reflex Arc, which causes the pain to continue instead of fading away.

 

2)    The nerve that goes out to a muscle (a motor neuron) can become stuck in the Reflex Arc loop, causing a muscle to contract and spasm, sometimes lasting for years or even decades.

 

3)    Introducing a new stimulus (dry needling) directly into the trigger point causes a disruption of this feedback loop, impedes the Reflex Arc from continuing, and has the effect of relaxing the muscle.

 

A contracted, spasmed, “knotted” muscle becomes a damaged muscle. Spasm reduces blood flow in the muscle, which means less oxygen and nutrients to the muscle. Muscle fibres die off and build up adhesive, fibrous scar tissue. This in turn holds the muscle in a tightened, shortened position and prevents the muscle metabolism by-products from leaving the muscle, which continues the cycle.  What you’re left with is a muscle “knot” or a tight band of muscle that won’t seem to go away, instead restricting your ability to move the area and causing pain.  Putting a needle into a spasmed muscle or trigger point causes the muscle to relax, which can be seen with an EMG (electromyogram), has been corroborated by many randomized research studies, and has been researched extensively by Dr. Karel Lewit, MD.

So there you have it: with regard to a trigger point, it’s not the injection of cortizone or taking some pill that resolves the problem. It’s the actual needle, inserted into the correct spot, by someone who’s trained and certified to do so. I have been trained and certified to do this procedure and have found it to be an indispensable procedure for the physical rehabilitation of many problems that come to my office in Richmond, VA.

 

For further information or for an appointment please contact Dr. Milan Lassiter, Richmond, VA @ (804) 254-5765.

 

Mar 28
0

Graston Technique: Instruments of change

By | Graston Technique
Written by Milan Lassiter, DC, 1303 W. Main St, Richmond, VA and reached at (804) 254-5765.

 

The Graston Technique® uses six hand-held stainless steel instruments.  It is an instrument assisted soft-tissue mobilization technique. Basically, that means we’re trying to get soft-tissues (muscles, fascia, tendons, connective tissue, etc.) to be more mobile…moving better and more freely. Graston Technique is designed to mobilize, reduce and reorganize adhesive scar tissue or fibrotic tissue restrictions in your body.  Often this adhesive scar tissue will be felt as a “knot” or tight band in a muscle.  You may notice loss of movement, pain, or tightness and tension as well.

 See the link at the bottom of this page where an orthopedic surgeon talks about  the value of Graston Technique.

A specially designed lubricant is applied to the skin prior to using the Graston Technique to minimize irritation to the skin. The instrument is then glided over the area in multiple directions to the adhesive scar tissue. The skin is usually reddened after the treatment and may be slightly sensitive to the touch for a day or two.  It should be clarified that the idea is not to dig in hard with the Graston tools.  The instruments have a precise hand-beveled  angle and certified providers are taught a specific angle with which to hold the instruments. Those are the things that break up the adhesions and remodel the scar tissue, not digging into the tissue as hard as you can with the tool.

The idea of Graston is to remodel tangled, fibrous scar tissue. By remodel, I mean that it reorganizes the tissue fibers from being tangled (lined up in random directions) to being changed into lining up in a more parallel, straight fashion.  Tangled tissue  functions as if grabbing two ends of a rope and pulling apart equally with both hands…there’s no movement.  Now think of grabbing two ends of a rubber  band and pulling apart…you get stretchability and elasticity.  That’s what we’re working to do with Graston…taking tangled, “knotted,” and tight tissue and changing it to being moveable, elastic, and stretchable tissue.

The metal tools  that we use in our office function similarly to a stethoscope, allowing us to have a glimpse at what’s going on inside your body.  As the metal tools are moved, a “vibratory” sensation allows us to feel, find and zero in on the damaged areas. There is a clear change in the structure of damaged tissue, often felt as stringy, lumpy, rope-like, or hardened bands of tissue.

With a chiropractic training, we learn to adjust the spine and joints in the body.  Keeping body joints freely moving and well aligned, especially in the spine, is important and very valuable for our overall health and vitality.  However, chiropractic colleges are teaching nothing about soft tissue management (muscles, fascia, tendons, etc.) and most chiropractors do little to nothing for the soft tissues.  In the majority of patients that come to our office, I find limitations and injuries (old or new) to the soft tissues. What I’ve found over my approximately 15 years of practice is that techniques such as Graston or ART very specifically address the soft tissue component of an injury or repetitive stress condition.

Things have changed since the inception of chiropractic in 1895 and, for me, it includes soft tissue management in conjunction with chiropractic adjustments, as well as rehabilitative exercises.

Click on this TV interview  to see an orthopedic surgeon talking about the value of Graston Technique.

 

Feb 10
0

Part II: Chiropractic Care for A Better Quality of Health

By | Chiropractic

Written by Dr. Milan Lassiter, Chiropractor, 1303 W. Main St, Richmond, VA 23220  (804) 254-5765

This is a follow-up to the previous blog (click to read it), Forks in the Road; Choices of Two Friends.  The synopsis of the previous blog is that if you’re making bad decisions in one area with your health choices, you’re probably making bad decisions in many areas, which can lead to dire consequences down the road for your health and life-style.

People who go to chiropractors are often proactive with their health in many ways.  They’re more likely to seek out information about their health, have active lifestyles, be more careful and mindful about what they eat, dislike taking medication (unless their life depends upon it), and be more sensitive to what’s going on with their body. Chiropractic care is part of a lifestyle…it won’t give you good health on it’s own. You can’t go to the chiropractor and expect it, in and of itself, to give you good health, if you’re also smoking cigarettes, eating fast food all the time, and never exercising. The funny thing is that you’ll notice that people who go to chiropractors usually have very active lifestyles, make conscious decisions about what they eat, don’t like taking medications, and are much more likely to preventatively take natural supplements.

Chiropractors have a simple health philosophy:

It’s more simple and logical to maintain your health, while you’re healthy, than to let your body break down and then treat the problem or symptoms. 

Now, I know that people get sick and they get diseases…and I certainly wouldn’t tell someone to stop taking their high blood pressure meds or to forgo their medical treatments for diabetes or cancer.  But there are a lot of proactive things that we can do to keep ourselves healthier and prevent sickness.  Even the medical literature shows that many of the things that lead to a higher risk for health problems are related to lifestyle choices that are directly under our control (ie: lack of exercise, bad diets, too much sugar, excessive alcohol consumption, smoking cigarettes, lack of hydration with water, gaining too much weight, etc.). There are also risk factors for health problems that are not related to lifestyle choices, such as genetics, family history, gender and race, or unknown environmental exposure.  The point is, there are plenty of things that are directly under our control through the choices that we make everyday. If you’ve been making poor choices, it’s never too late to make better choices or to change some of the things that we do on “auto-pilot.”

Chiropractic care keeps your body moving well, so that there’s not so much “arthritis” and stiffness that typically develops as we age.  Chiropractic care enhances performance and prevents injuries in athletes. Many people describe a certain “vibrancy” after a chiropractic adjustment.  This happens because there is a lot of increased stimulation to the body with a chiropractic adjustment (ie: increased dilation of blood vessels, increased oxygen around the body, improved nerve receptor stimulation).  Ultimately, chiropractic care influences the way your nervous system functions (chiropractors adjust the spine, and your spine surrounds and is attached to your nervous system).  Since your nervous system controls everything that happens in your body, there can be many changes in your body that happen with chiropractic care.

Chiropractic care is an important part of a proactive, healthy lifestyle. Most people come into my office for pain relief, but if they’re conscious about their health, they periodically  continue with their chiropractic care with a proactive “tune-up” to enhance their health…this is no different than trying to eat more consistently with healthy, natural foods or working at maintaining a regular exercise program.  All these things are about having a better quality of life by attaining a better quality of health.

Dr. Milan Lassiter, Chiropractor, 1303 W. Main St, Richmond, VA 23220  (804) 254-5765

Jan 23
0

PART I: Forks in the Road

By | Chiropractic

This is a fictitious story about two friends, Ned and Heath (you can keep the names straight during the story by thinking Heath=Health)

Written by Milan Lassiter, Chiropractor, Richmond, VA

Ned and Heath grew up as best friends. They were inseparable and played sports together growing up. They were both popular, thin, healthy, and athletic.

After high school, they both went off to different colleges. Ned started to party a lot, binge drinking often and eating fast food. He stopped exercising and ran around with the “wrong” crowd. He gained 40 lbs. his freshman year.

Heath studied a lot and worked out in the gym often. He enjoyed his social life, having a beer occasionally with friends. He had a steady girlfriend who was a vegetarian, so he adapted her eating habits too. He graduated college with the same waist size that he had in high school.

Ned took a job at a local company, sitting all day in front of a computer while drinking soda. Most days he went to the local bar after work, where he’d have a burger and fries with beer. All of his friends at the bar smoked cigarettes, so he started smoking too. On the weekends he’d watch sports on TV, while drinking alcohol and snacking on chips. Saturdays and Sundays meals were predictable, donuts for breakfast and a microwaveable frozen dinner. He had now gone from a waist-size 32 to a size 44.

Heath went off to graduate school. He woke up every morning at 5 AM to go to the gym, where he’d run and lift weights. He continued to eat his vegetarian diet and didn’t keep any snack foods or sweets around his place. He drank water all day long. He still had his same waist size as when he graduated from high school.

When they were 40, Ned and Heath arranged a reunion to see each other. They were catching up on old times when Ned had to excuse himself to take his medications for high blood pressure, high cholesterol and depression. Heath and Ned went outside to shoot some baskets and continued talking. After 5 minutes Ned had to sit down because his back hurt and he was short of breath. Heath told Ned that he had been seeing a chiropractor and that he really noticed a difference in how he felt, but Ned thought chiropractors were “quacks.”

At age 63, Heath had a retirement party. He still exercised daily, looking muscular and healthy, with erect posture and a strong midsection. He took no medications, only a daily Omega 3 tablet. His M.D. had just given him a clean bill of health. He rarely went to “the doctor,” but now went to an acupuncturist once a month and to his chiropractor once every 2 or 3 weeks. He still had his same waist size as when he graduated from high school.

By now Ned had diabetes along with his high blood pressure and high cholesterol. He had smoked cigarettes for 45 years, so he had emphyzema. He also had kidney disease, was obese, and had both knees replaced.  A few years earlier he had a triple by-pass surgery to unblock clogged arteries in his heart. He used a pill-box to keep all of his medications straight, as he took 12 pills in the morning and 10 at night, every day. He had a huge, round belly and was hunched over, using a cane to keep himself upright. He had to schedule his life around his doctors’ appointments because there were so many of them.

Two years later, at age 65, Heath got a call that Ned had passed away. He couldn’t believe it.  They said it was from “natural causes.” Heath lived another 30 years and died in his sleep, from natural causes, at age 95. Even at that point in his life, he took no medications, had a sharp mind, and still was taking daily walks with his wife. He had seen his chiropractor 2 weeks before he passed away. His waist size was the same as when he graduated high school.

Click here to read Part II of this blog.

A man who has aged with strength, great posture and probably good health all around

A man who has aged with collapsed posture and probably other health complications too

 

Jan 17
0

What Is Active Release Technique® and How Does It Work?

By | Active Release Technique (ART)
Personally written by Milan Lassiter, DC.  He is located at 1303 W. Main St., Richmond, VA and can be reached at (804) 254-5765

 

Active Release Technique®, also referred to as ART, is a non-invasive hands-on therapy, provided by practitioners who are licensed through their state medical boards and who have completed post-graduate certifications through Active Release Techniques, LLC.

ART allows a practitioner to diagnose and treat soft-tissue injuries with their hands. Soft tissue refers mostly to muscle, tendons, ligaments, nerves, and fascia (a connective tissue that’s all over your body). Many of the injuries that are treated with Active Release Technique are from repetitive stress to an area, overuse injuries, over-training, sprains/strains, muscle pulls, or joint dysfunction (ie: a joint can’t move in certain directions or feels restricted).

ART providers are able to locate scar tissue adhesions within muscles or in-between them.  Certified ART providers can recognize the difference in the way an area moves, the tension and tightness that develops in the area, and the change in the texture of the tissues (often the tissues will feel stringy, lumpy, “knotted”, or hardened like a leather belt). A precise hand or thumb contact is applied to the correct area. The patient is then instructed on how to move the effected region of their body through a specific range of motion (the muscle is shortened and then lengthened).  This allows the muscle to slide under the ART providers contact.

 

Think of this process as a paintbrush with a lot of thick paint on it, which has been left out on a piece of paper over night. Envision the bristles of the paintbrush as a muscle, the paper as another structure (could be another muscle, a joint, a nerve, etc.), and the actual paint as the scar tissue. As the paint (the scar tissue) dries and hardens over time, it sticks to the paper (another structure near by). The next time you try to move the brush, the bristles (the involved muscles) have become hardened and non-moveable, causing the paper (a near by structure) to become stuck to it, too.

 

The analogy in the body would be that a muscle becomes locked up and sticks to the structures around it.  Now think of ART as a way to break up the adhesive scar tissue (the hardened paint) so the involved muscles that are tense, painful, and are unable to move correctly, get “released” from near-by structures (they’re un-stuck from the paper). In other words, everything becomes moveable and soft again. 

 

Much of what is treated with ART occurs from cumulative injuries that build up over time, gradually accumulating into something that alters the way your body functions.

There are 3 main ways to cause cumulative injuries:

 

An acute injury   For example, when you pull a muscle, sprain your ankle, or get “whiplash” from a car accident. Tissues get torn and inflammation sets in, which eventually causes adhesive scar tissue to form over time.

Repetitive motion  For example, the constant repetitive stress created from running. Another example is with someone who types all day on a computer. This is not as physically rigorous as running, but the repetitive keyboard strike with the fingers can accumulate 20,000+ movements per day. It causes a smaller trauma to the tissues than with running, but the number of repetitions is a lot more than with a runner.

A constant pressure or tension injury  For example, a retail employee or nurse who stands for 10+ hours a day on hard surfaces. This type of injury doesn’t require any motion at all, but the constant pressure and load on the leg muscles can decrease circulation to the area (starving the area of oxygen), shorten the muscle, and create adhesive tissue to form from the constant contraction.

 

One of the problems with this is that if you don’t break the cumulative injury cycle, it continues in a circle, getting worse and worse over time. In other words, it’s self-perpetuating. ART treatments are designed to break the cumulative injury cycle, keeping people pain-free, limber and performing well with their sport or daily activities. Read more about Dr. Lassiter performing ART in his office by clicking here.

 

Jan 06
0

PART III: CONSERVATIVE TREATMENTS FOR HERNIATED OR BULGED DISCS

By | Herniated or Bulged Discs

Normally the disc is under a lot of compression, noted by the big blue arrows “squashing” the disc and pushing the disc gel out and onto the nerve

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is an appropriate time for neck or back surgery, but in many cases, being conservative first is a much smarter decision.  Dr. Uribe, a neurosurgeon in Tampa, FL, says that “surgery isn’t right for everyone and, unlike other interventions, it isn’t reversible.”  He generally won’t see patients unless they have spent at least six months to a year trying conservative treatments.

Our therapy safely and effectively reverses the pressure on the disc and nerve, noted by the big grey arrows opening the disc space, hydrating the disc and pulling the disc gel away from the nerve

The disc, just like every other tissue or cell in the body, needs oxygen, water, and nutrition in order for it to remain alive.  Non-surgical spinal disc decompression therapy is a conservative treatment, which creates a unique set of circumstances that don’t exist in every-day life (see illustration to the right), in order to increase these vital components to the disc (blood, water, oxygen, and nutrition). Our non-surgical disc decompression treatment program creates a de-pressurization of the disc; it decompresses the disc.  This is what the surgical procedures are trying to do as well (two of the most common surgeries are called a decompressive laminectomy and a decompressive discectomy). The obvious difference is that there is no cutting and drilling through your body, all the way down to your spine.

Non-surgical spinal disc decompression therapy is a very specific disc treatment for the neck or low back that was originally pioneered by a medical doctor.  The idea with disc decompression is to create something called negative pressure, which will pull the herniated or bulged disc material back where it’s supposed to be.  Rather than spilling out (herniating or bulging out), it’s pulled back in. Click here to see a video of how our decompression therapy works.  You can read more about how it works at the decompression page of our website.

Unfortunately, your M.D. most likely knows nothing about non-surgical disc decompression therapy, unless he or she is very progressive. The most common conservative treatment that M.D.’s usually prescribe is physical therapy.  Physical Therapists are smart, well-trained individuals who endure a rigorous education.  Their goal is to reduce a patients pain and to return them to their normal activities as soon as possible. Physical therapists do great work, but for patients with disc problems, it can be putting the cart before the horse.  Getting a disc patient to actually strengthen and stabilize their muscles that surround their faulty, degenerative back is a great goal, but only once the patient has been through some rehabilitative therapy  specifically for the disc itself. Once the disc itself has been stabilized and healed, strengthening the surrounding muscles and tissues will add a significant amount of stability to the area, preventing re-injury.

Dr. Steven Atlas, a professor at Harvard Medical School who has studied the escalation in back surgery, says too many surgeons don’t take the time to urge conservative alternatives to back surgery. Fact is, he says, medical doctors make more money doing procedures than counseling caution.

The correct order of intervention should be conservative treatments first, medicines second, and surgery last (if nothing else has worked).  Click the following link to find out how our conservative, non-surgical spinal disc decompression therapy can benefit you.

Dec 28
0

PART II: THE MEDICAL PROFESSIONS OPTIONS FOR TREATING HERNIATED OR BULGED DISCS

By | Herniated or Bulged Discs

Medical intervention for herniated or bulged discs fall into one of 3 categories:

Medications, Epidural Injections, or Surgery

1)      Medications: Usually pain medication or anti-inflammatories are used.  The problem with these are that people end up using the meds long-term because once they stop using them, the symptoms come back.  All medications have side effects and the long-term usage of medications can severely affect such organs as kidneys, liver, and stomach (gastrointestinal bleeding). Common medicines that are used as anti-inflammatories are the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID’s) Ibuprofen, Naproxen, and Tylenol.  Steroidal medication for herniated disc pain is usually given as cortisone injections directly to an area that is painful. The idea with anti-inflammatory meds is that by reducing inflammation, pain may also be temporarily reduced.  The key word is temporarily, if you have any response to them at all (many people get no relief).  Pain meds are also a  “band-aid” approach to temporarily relieve pain.  None of the medications do anything to actually heal the damaged disc.

2)      Epidural injections:  This is a cortico-steroid anti-inflammatory medication that is injected into the epidural space, which is the space between the spinal bones and the spinal cord that’s inside of it.  The idea is to introduce the anti-inflammatory medication directly to the offending area to try to calm down the nerve tissue from being irritated.  The same problem exists, however, in that the pain will often return once the medication wears off. In other words, another temporary fix, if you get any pain relief at all (many people are non-responsive to epidural injections).

3)      Surgery:  All spinal surgeries use high-speed surgical drills that are heated with an electric current in order to cut through tissue and bone.  More recently, laser devices have been used to do the same thing.  Some of the most common spinal surgery classifications are as follows:

  • Discectomy is a partial removal of the offending disc gel material that has pushed out and is causing symptoms. You may see the term “micro-discectomy” being used, meaning a large microscope is used outside of the body in order for the surgeon to see more clearly where he or she is operating.  A lot of invasive opening, cutting, and drilling is used to access the area.
  • Laminectomy is where a part of the bone (called the lamina) is removed to allow for more space, so that the nerve tissue has less pressure on it.  Sometimes they’re called decompressive laminectomies.  A lot of invasive opening, cutting, and drilling is used to access the area.
  • Spinal fusion is where the surgeon fuses the area together with a bone graft or with hardware such as rods, screws, plates, and cages.  Fusion surgeries also will usually involve a discectomy, laminectomy or foraminotomy (to open the area called the neural foramen, which is where the nerve root exits from).  The idea of spinal fusion is to permanently join an area of the spine so that it can’t move anymore.  Even the medical literature is replete with research that shows that the areas above and below a fused area of the spine are much more likely to give you problems in the future.
  • Minimally invasive spine surgery The idea here is to make a smaller incision to supposedly decrease the amount of surgery or minimize the effects. However, just because the incision is smaller doesn’t negate the fact that they’re cutting deep into the surrounding tissues, drilling into bone, removing structures, and working in an area a fraction away from your nervous system.  It’s actually a traumatic access operation. This doesn’t sound “minimally invasive” to me! It’s the same as the other procedures, except it leaves a smaller scar on your skin.
  • Laser spine surgery is a spinal surgery using a surgical laser device (a focused beam of light).  The only difference is that a light beam is used for a very small part of the operation, not the whole operation. Laser surgery still involves surgery with drills to cut through muscle and the other tissue in order to gain access to the spine, then drilling through bone, and only then is the laser used to remove some of the soft tissue over the spine. It should also be noted that H. Gordon Deen, M.D., of the world renowned Mayo Clinic, states that “at the Mayo Clinic, we don’t use or recommend laser spine surgery.”

If none of the above procedures sounds appealing, try something safe, effective, and conservative first. In our office, we use something called non-surgical spinal disc decompression therapy, which is effective and non-invasive. Our spinal disc decompression therapy safely, without surgery, pulls the herniated or bulged gel back to where it’s supposed to be, allowing the torn disc to heal.

Is there a time and place for medications or surgical procedures for certain people’s back problems? Yes, absolutely.  But in the majority of cases, they’re not the first interventions that should be used.

As long as there are no contraindications for the decompression therapy you can also do a free trial, with no-obligation to continue, in order to feel how decompression works and whether it’s the right thing for you.  Click here to see a video of how it works.  You can read more about it at our decompression page of our website.  A simple consultation at our office can give you more information about your case.

Dec 18
0

PART I: WHAT IS A HERNIATED OR BULGED DISC? THE RELATED ANATOMY AND SYMPTOMS

By | Herniated or Bulged Discs

Our spine has 24 bones (vertebrae). All those bones, except for the very top two, are separated by cushiony pads called discs.  The discs keep the spinal bones linked together, while at the same time allowing your spine to have a great degree of movement. The disc is a soft tissue structure that can tear, just like when you sprain your ankle or pull a muscle.

The spinal disc has 2 basic parts: an inner gel-like fluid called the nucleus pulposus and an outer multi-layered lining called the annulus fibrosus.  The outer lining is extremely strong and contains the inner nucleus gel within the center of the disc.

There is a very intimate relationship between the disc and your nervous system (the spinal cord and the nerve roots); they are both directly next to each other.  Some of the things that can break a disc down are general wear and tear, being deconditioned and having weak core strength, being over-weight, or trauma.  When a disc tears, it is the outer annulus fibrosus lining that tears, allowing the inner gel to seep out, often putting pressure on the spinal cord or the nerve root(s).  This phenomenon, where the outer layer tears and the inner gel pushes out is referred to in many ways, including herniated disc, bulged disc, prolapsed disc, slipped disc, ruptured disc, disc protrusion, disc extrusion, HNP (herniated nucleus pulposus), canal stenosis or foraminal stenosis.

Symptoms from a torn disc in the neck (cervical spine) include:

  • neck pain
  • shoulder pain
  • pain or numbness/tingling anywhere in the arm or hand
  • weakness anywhere from the shoulder down
  • increased symptoms or discomfort when the neck is moved in certain directions
  • Clinically we refer to these symptoms as cervical radiculopathy or radiculitis, brachial radiculopathy or radiculitis, or brachial neuritis.

Symptoms from a torn disc in the low back (lumbar spine) include:

  • sciatica
  • a dull ache, burning, or pulsating pain in the leg, hip, or buttocks
  • numbness/tingling in the leg, hip, or buttocks
  • pain or numbness in the back of the calf or sole of the foot
  • a grip-like feeling at the bottom of the buttocks or in the hamstring
  • pain or inability when bending your body forwards (or sometimes backwards)
  • increased pain or inability when bending your leg up to put pants or shoes on
  • weakness anywhere in the leg or foot
  • Clinically we refer to these symptoms as sciatica (pain in the back of the leg), sciatic radiculopathy or neuritis, femoral neuropathy (pain in the front of the leg), or lumbar radiculitis or neuritis.

In our office, we use something called non-surgical spinal disc decompression therapy for the previously described disc conditions in both the neck or the low back.  Our disc therapy creates “negative pressure” that will bring the herniated or bulged fluid back in place, allowing the torn disc to heal (see the illustration below). Click this link to see a video of how our therapy works (click the play button once the video comes up).  You can read more about our effective, non-surgical disc treatment at the decompression page of our website.

Part II of this blog will discuss the medical treatments that are available for herniated or bulged discs. Part III will discuss some of the alternative or conservative treatments available for herniated or bulged discs.

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