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4 Signs You May Have a Herniated Disc in Your Back

Lower Back, Blog, / By Shi Qi Yap

Back pain is one of the most common complaints among our patients. There’re a lot of issues that can lead to back pain, but muscle strain and bulging disc are the two of the most common causes. Different sorts of treatment are required depending on the source of your back pain.

But how can you know if the pain you’re experiencing is from a strained muscle or herniated disc? In today’s blog, we are going to discuss the signs that indicate your disc problems.

What is Disc Herniation?

A herniated disk is also known as slipped disc, prolapsed disc, or ruptured disc. It refers to an issue with one of the jelly-like cushions (disks) that sit between your spinal bone.

Disc herniation occurs when the disc gets squeezed out of its normal position and bulges outward, beyond the edge of the bone. As spinal nerves are located besides, the bulging or herniated component of the disc impinges on them, causing pain and other symptoms.

4 Signs of Disc Herniation

Here’s how you tell if your back pain is caused by herniated disc:

1.  Back pain that radiates down to legs

Numerous spinal nerves exit from the spine and travel to other parts of your body. A herniated disc might compress them and therefore cause radiating pain towards the lower limb.

2.  Experiencing numbness, tingling or shock-like burst of pain

Because your nerves are responsible for sensation, when one is compressed, it can impair your ability to feel and create electricity-like jolts of pain down the nerve pathway.

3.  Weakness over your lower limb muscles

Because your nerves are also responsible for your motor function. Thus, if a nerve is compressed, your muscle strength can also be affected.

4.  Pain may worsen when sneezing and coughing

Increasing abdominal pressure can cause the herniated disc to be further pushed out and further compressed on the nerve.

If you have back pain and are experiencing the symptoms stated above, we recommend you seek medical help before the condition worsens. If you have any more questions or would like our physiotherapists to assess or treat your problem, feel free to drop us a question or talk to us. Do check out our Instagram page too.

Yap Shi Qi

Rehab Therapist

Sources

  1. Nwachuku, A. (n.d.). 3 telltale signs you have a slipped or bulging disc. Spine. Retrieved from: https://www.spine-health.com/blog/3-telltale-signs-you-have-slipped-or-bulging-disc.
  2. Bonaventure, N. (n.d.). How to tell if you are suffering from a herniated disc. Retrieved from: https://www.premierspineinstitute.com/blog/how-to-tell-if-you-are-suffering-from-a-herniated-disc.
  3. Mayo Clinic. (2019, September 26). Herniated disk. Retrieved from: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/herniated-disk/symptoms-causes/syc-20354095.
  4. Better Health Channel. (n.d.). Back pain – disc problems. Back pain – disc problems. Retrieved from: https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/back-pain-disc-problems
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