Herniated Disc Treatment in Tampa & St. Petersburg
Discs act as your body’s shock absorbers and as shock distributors protecting your bony vertebrae and cushioning the impact of a jump and steps? If one of these discs is herniated (often referred to as bulging discs or slipped discs) your spine can’t function properly. Movement becomes painful.
Our OptiLife chiropractors may be able to help.
What chiropractic care can do for your herniated disc
Many people experience no symptoms from a herniated disk, but some experience severe pain or discomfort. But for many patients a herniated disk can irritate nearby nerves and result in pain, numbness and/or weakness in an arm or leg. The good news is that most people who have a bulging disk don’t need surgery to correct the problem; chiropractic treatments often provide a less invasive and safer option.
- At OptiLife we will create and administer an individualized treatment plan. This plan may involve adjustments, exercises, and other forms of alternative medicine, such as traction or ultrasound therapy.
- Depending on the location and severity of your herniated disc problem, our doctors may use low-force techniques to gently manipulate the spine.
- We will monitor your improvement over time, making adjustments to the treatment plan as necessary.
The OptiLife approach
At your initial appointment at our Tampa or St. Petersburg offices, our chiropractors will take a look at your medical history, do a physical exam, and run a battery of initial chiropractic tests. We will take X-rays to understand the severity of your herniated disc injury. We will carefully look at your posture, and order any other diagnostic imaging or tests, if necessary, to help with the diagnostic process.
Our doctors will look for several things:
- Is there loss of sensation along the path of a nerve?
- Where is the herniated disc located?
- How advanced is this herniated disc injury?
- Are the reflexes intact and are your nerves sending messages correctly?
- Is there loss of muscle strength or signs of muscle atrophy?
These are important questions the orthopedic exams can help answer before our chiropractors create a treatment plan for you.
Our chiropractors evaluate the entire spine – to help protect the injured disc, to evaluate potential other weaknesses that could aggravate the condition and to help you avoid future injuries. Our OptiLife chiropractors want to see how well your spine is functioning overall.
After reviewing all of the information, our doctors can determine if you have a bulging disc injury.
Contact us today at our Tampa office at (813) 926-9500 or our St. Petersburg location at (727) 698-6088 to set up an evaluation of your herniated disc problem or discuss potential treatments.
