The discs located between our spinal bones and made of cartilage play an important role in the waist part of the body, acting as shock absorbers between our spinal bones, supporting the upper body and providing a wide range of movement in all directions.
If a disc herniates and the internal If it leaks some of its material into the nerve canal, it can stop making your daily life easier and ruin your day, and can even continue this for months or years. If a disc herniates and leaks some of its internal material, the disc can quickly go from making daily life easier to aggravating a nerve, triggering back pain and possibly pain and nerve symptoms in the leg. Compressing a nerve, causing lower back pain and possibly causing symptoms such as pain, numbness and tingling in the leg. and will cause periods in your life that you do not want.
The symptoms of disc herniation usually begin without any apparent reason. When a person lifts a heavy object or leans forward from the waist and turns left and right, situations occur that create more pressure on the discs, which can lead to wear and tear on the discs.
Disk herniations usually occur between 35 and 35 years of age. It is a common medical problem that affects people between the ages of 50.
How Do Discs Herniate?
Discs run from the outside to the inside, called the annulus fibrosus, which consists of a hard substance surrounding the disc. and the softer, more fluid, gel-like core consists of the nucleus pulposus.
Due to aging and general wear and tear, discs lose some of the fluid that makes them flexible and spongy. As a result, discs tend to be flatter and harder. This process, known as disc degeneration, begins very early in life and is usually detected by imaging methods in the middle age group.
When tension, pressure or pressure occurs on the spine, this may occur with heavy lifting or as a result of a wrong body movement. The outer ring of the disc may swell, crack or tear. If this occurs in the lower back, the part of the protruding disc may move towards the nearby spinal nerve root. Or the disc itself is inflamed By becoming sore, the edematous substance in that area may irritate the nerve. As a result, pain and other symptoms extend to the hip, front and back of the leg, calf and even the structures in the foot.
Contact your doctor or physiotherapist, waist. It may tell you that your herniation is due to the wear and tear of the disc in your spine. This term can be alarming and misleading. Doctors or physiotherapists have an important responsibility not to increase their patients' fears. Worn discs are not a disease that progresses on its own and does not always cause chronic or permanent problems.
What are the Symptoms of a Herniated Disc?
If the following symptoms are present. You may have a herniated disc:
Lower back pain
Pain radiating down one leg
Numbness +/- tingling in the lower part of one leg
One leg weakness of muscles
Difficulty sitting or bending
Pain with coughing or sneezing
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The following symptoms may be cause for immediate medical attention
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Loss of control of bladder and bowel function - involuntary urinary incontinence
Weakness in both legs
Pain that suddenly wakes up from sleep at night
Numbness in both legs / tingling
Do Herniated Disc Symptoms Last Long?
While a person with a herniated disc may have extreme pain, these symptoms are not long-lasting for most people.
Experts believe that symptoms from a herniated disc can resolve for three reasons:
The body attacks the herniation as a foreign material, reducing the size of the herniated material and reducing the amount of inflammatory protein near the nerve root.
Over time, some of the water in the disc is absorbed by the body, causing the disc to shrink. A smaller disc is less likely to extend to the nerve roots and cause irritation.
For example, lumbar extension exercises along with manual therapy applications can remove the herniated area from the spinal discs.
When the size of the herniated material decreases, it does not irritate the nerve root. symptoms improve as it reduces the likelihood of It is thought to occur.
Not every herniated disc patient may have pain or other symptoms. In studies, although many people had a herniated disc, they never complained of pain or other complaints.
Therefore, care should be taken in the diagnosis to ensure that a herniated lumbar disc is causing the problem.
Treatment Applications for Disc Herniation?
When many patients want to receive physical therapy sessions for their herniated disc, they are usually instructed to do it at home, along with hot application to the waist, ultrasound, electrotherapy, and some exercises, and the sessions continue for 15-30 days. Many physiotherapists now approach the restoration of function from a different perspective.
1.Application of Manual Therapy and Exercise Together
Manual therapy is a special form of physical therapy applied with hands, as opposed to a device or machine. In manual therapy, practitioners use their hands to apply pressure to muscle tissue and manipulate joints in order to reduce lower back pain caused by muscle spasm, muscle tension, and joint dysfunction.
2. Massage therapy
It can relieve lower back pain by increasing blood circulation, relaxing the muscles and releasing the body's natural painkillers called endorphins. Massage therapy, which can also be performed using cups, creates a relaxing effect on the muscles and fascia of the muscle by activating spinal mechanisms and circulatory mechanisms. reduces pain and tension.
3.Dry Needling
In cases of herniated discs, persistent, persistent and annoying pain reflected from the muscles of the affected area can spread to the waist area, hips and even to the legs. Dry needling to these painful points provides a complementary function to manual therapy in relieving pain.
4.Soft Tissue Mobilizations
The purpose of soft tissue mobilization is to remove inelastic and myofascial adhesions such as scar tissue resulting from waist injury. Some of the methods used to dissolve, move tissue fluids and relax muscle tension are;
Graston technique, connective tissue massage, myofascial release techniques
5. Kinesio Tape Applications
Kine sio taping method is a taping process applied on the painful muscle.
It improves muscle functions, supports joint functions, inactivates the pain system, and eliminates factors that hinder blood and lymphatic circulation.
It is not preferred as a method applied alone. It is usually applied in combination with other major treatments.
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