Experiencing Pain From A Collapsed Disc?

A collapsed disc is an intervertebral disc of the spine that loses its original height due to the deterioration or wearing down of its fibrous outer wall. This condition is typically caused by an injury, obesity, or it is the result of degeneration in the aging spine. As a result of the injury, the collapsed disc condenses on the nerves in the spine, resulting in pain and discomfort in the form of numbness and tingling. While this condition is serious and shouldn’t be taken lightly, there are many treatment options available to help ease the pain that you are experiencing. An orthopedic spine specialist on Long Island at Orthopedic Spine Care of Long Island will provide you with the right treatment for your spinal discs condition.

Diagnosis & Symptoms

A collapsed disc can be very painful and difficult to manage. If you’re experiencing any of these symptoms, you may be a candidate for treatment at OSCLI:

1. Chronic Nerve Pain – the decay of a collapsed vertebrae collapse can lead to a herniated or bulging disc. As a result, there’s intense back pain and discomfort from irritated nerves.
2. Numbness – because the degenerative disc disease collapses and reduces in size, it’s possible that it can get too close to the vital nerves in the spine. If this occurs, tingling sensations and muscle weakness, along with a numbing feeling, occur in the vertebral body.
3. Bone spurs – when a disc gets smaller, this causes vertebral compression fractures to rub against each other, causing friction which results in bone spurs. A bone spur acts as an extension to the spine sometimes placing pressure on nerves. The result of the bone spurs compression on the surrounding nerves is pain and discomfort.

Treatment Options

Our team of spine specialists are here to help diagnose and treat your spinal compression fracture conditions. Your initial visit at OSCLI will consist of careful analyzation and review of your medical history, symptoms, and often diagnostic imaging to help attain a treatment plan (MRI, CT, X-Ray) that is best for you.

1. Surgery – consulting with an orthopedic spine specialist on Long Island, you may see that surgery can be beneficial in your recovery from a collapsed disc. A procedure on a collapsed disc can include the following benefits:

• Removing the part of the disc that is causing the problem is the first step to solving the problem. When removing the damaged part of the disc, it prevents further damage on the spine and nerves.
• If a disc is removed, bordering bones can be joined together or an artificial disc can be put in to separate the bones.

2. Epidural Steroid Injections – an in-office, minimally invasive procedure that’s performed to manage pain caused by the collapsed disc impinging on the spinal nerves in the neck or back for neck pain.  An ESI helps reduce inflammation surrounding the nearby nerve resulting in relief from chronic pain. Learn more about an Epidural Steroid Injection (ESI) offered at our office at your next appointment.

3. Physical Therapy – If you’ve recently suffered from a collapsed disc, treating it now is the best option if you’re looking to achieve a full recovery. An orthopedic spine specialist on Long Island at Orthopedic Spine Care will know exactly how to help your condition and will have you feeling as good as new.

To schedule a consultation with our medical professionals, contact us today at 631-847-0200.