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At Monmouth Pain and Rehabilitation, we take all forms of pain seriously, including the back and neck pain that may be caused by bulged or herniated spinal discs.

A bulging disc is diagnosed when the tough, outer layer of a spinal disc weakens and stretches, thereby allowing the inner, jellylike center of the disc to bulge outward. The symptoms of a bulged spinal disc occur when this inner disc material affects the nerves of the spine. A herniated disc is a more serious situation in which the outer layer of the disc tears and allows the disc’s materials to move significantly out of its shell and closer to the spinal cord.

Symptoms of Disc Injury

Most of the symptoms related to damaged spinals discs are caused by irritation or compression of the spinal nerves. The discs of the spine are located next to the nerve passage-ways (small holes in the spine known as foramen, through which the spinal nerves exit). When there is disorder within the discs, the spinal nerves may become pinched, leading to the often severe and sometimes immobilizing symptoms of disc injuries.

The individual experience of a disc injury is closely related to where in the spine the damage has occurred. Although the entire spine is vulnerable, the discs of the cervical spine (the neck) and the lumbar spine (the lower back) are most commonly affected.

In the Lumbar Spine

When disc problems occur in the lower back, symptoms may include pain, numbness, tingling, muscle weakness in the legs, and the sharp pains associated with sciatica (when the bulging or herniated disc material compresses the sciatic nerve).

In the Cervical Spine/Neck

In the cervical spine, disc injuries can lead to neck pain, shooting pains down the shoulders and arms, weakness in the arms or hands, numbness, tingling, and headache.

Pain Management and Rehabilitation for Disc Injuries in Red Bank, NJ

Monmouth Pain and Rehabilitation is a total pain management office that provides a number of treatment options for disc injuries. Our major goal is to rehabilitate the spine, relieve pain, and help patients to get moving again—without surgery (disc injuries very rarely require surgery). Our office also doesn’t want patients relying on painkillers for long-term relief.

Our revolutionary system of care works by using the least invasive, most conservative options possible. The following is very basic overview of pain management and rehabilitation for disc injuries at Monmouth Pain and Rehabilitation:

• Medical Care/Interventional Pain Management: For patients in severe or disabling pain, our medical staff provides injections of a long-lasting steroid for pain relief. Some patients may receive a localized anesthetic to provide more immediate relief or to gather very specific diagnostic information. The basic idea behind this strategy is to enable patients to take advantage of practices that will help to begin the healing process, such as physical therapy.

• Physical Therapy: An important component to any program of pain management and rehabilitation, physical therapy helps patients to restore normal movement, relieve pain, and heal damage.

• Chiropractic: Our office has used chiropractic for over 13 years to help patients address disc problems through gentle adjustment. Using techniques based on the biomechanics of the spine, chiropractic care in our Red Bank office works to ensure the health of the spine (which can both treat or prevent injury to the spinal discs), reduce pain, and improve movement.

• Spinal Decompression: This non-surgical, drug-free therapy relieves the pain of disc injuries by removing pressure on the nerves. By specifically targeting problematic or herniated discs, this process also creates a vacuum effect in which negative pressure pulls bulging disc material back into its protective shell. This allows the disc to heal.

• Acupuncture: This ancient practice is a proven method of reducing pain without drugs.

• For chronic or difficult-to-diagnose patients: In order to perform Radiofrequency Ablation (the process of disabling certain nerves from sending pain signals) or Discograms (a more involved diagnostic process for issues within the intervertebral discs), our Medical Director is affiliated with several local medical facilities. This offers an advantage to our patients in that our MD is able to perform procedures that require anesthesia.

Please contact our Red Bank, NJ pain management office to learn more about rehabilitation for disc injuries in Monmouth County.