Herniated disk what does it feel like

Surgery is usually not necessary to relieve the problem. Most herniated disks occur in the lower back, although they can also occur in the neck. Signs and symptoms depend on where the disk is situated and whether the disk is pressing on a nerve.

They usually affect one side of the body. You can have a herniated disk without symptoms. You might not know you have it unless it shows up on a spinal image. Seek medical attention if your neck or back pain travels down your arm or leg, or if you also have numbness, tingling or weakness. Disk herniation is most often the result of a gradual, aging-related wear and tear called disk degeneration.

As you age, your disks become less flexible and more prone to tearing or rupturing with even a minor strain or twist. Most people can't pinpoint the cause of their herniated disk. Sometimes, using your back muscles instead of your leg and thigh muscles to lift heavy objects can lead to a herniated disk, as can twisting and turning while lifting.

Rarely, a traumatic event such as a fall or a blow to the back is the cause. Just above your waist, your spinal cord ends. What continues through the spinal canal is a group of long nerve roots that resemble a horse's tail cauda equina.

Rarely, disk herniation can compress the entire spinal canal, including all the nerves of the cauda equina. A bulging disk happens when the disk moves out of place. A herniated disk happens when the outer layer cracks, allowing some of the soft center to protrude out. This can happen anywhere along the spine, but is most common in the lower back. Certain activities like lifting weights or playing a sport might also cause a herniation. People experience symptoms of a disk herniation when it presses on a nerve or the spinal cord.

A pinched nerve is called radiculopathy and typically causes shooting pain, numbness or weakness. Depending on what nerve is pinched, it can cause pain in a variety of places. If you have a herniated disk in your lumbar spine, the pain might come down your leg , down your butt, over the hip and down the leg, says Dr. If your herniated disk is pinching a nerve in your cervical spine, it might cause arm pain or weakness that shoots down your shoulder or upper back.

The average amount of time it takes for a herniated disk to heal is four to six weeks, but it can get better within a few days depending on how severe the herniation was and where it occurred. The biggest factor in healing a herniated disk is time, because most often it will resolve on its own. Healing time also depends on what recovery looks like for you and what type of treatment you try. You have to fit the requirements from the physical examination and medical history.

And we need to have a serious conversation about how bad the pain is bothering you and affecting your quality of life.