Slipped Disk - Symptoms, Causes And Cautions

Spinal cord is the most important part of human body, which helps us walk straight, provides support to our body and does much more than that. Today at least 1 out of 8 people suffer from back problems and slipped disk conditions, which are extremely painful. In most of the cases, Slipped disk results from a person’s habit of giving high pressure on the intervertebral disk. Many people face the slipped disk problem because of their habit of bending forward from their spinal cord, when it is not necessary to do so.

Even when our spine and all of its joints are very much flexible in nature, we should not apply more pressure on the spine at wrong areas (like centre of the cord, even when we can bend from the lower back or fold legs for a reason and achieve the objective) to move or more specifically, to bend.

What is slipped disk?
In slipped disk condition, no disk actually slips from its place as spines are perfectly interlocked in the neighboring spines and Spinal bones are supported by a circular disk like formation of tissues that are filled with jellylike substance. If more pressure is applied to spinal bones, it ultimately affects the tissue disks, resulting in swollen, tore, ruptured or bulged tissue disks allowing the jellylike substance to breakthrough the surrounding area. This substance and rupture in the tissue disks cause pressure on nerve which is placed next to these tissues making it very painful to bear. This condition is called slipped disk.

What are the causes of slipped disk problem?
As mentioned in the beginning of this article, slipped disk (and any other back problem) is an outcome of improper habits of bending, along with this any accident that might have caused direct or indirect pressure on the spinal cords, improper lifting, frequent and improper turning and twisting of back causing high pressure and strain on the spines etc. are the main causes of slipped disk problem.

What are the symptoms of slipped disk problem?
There are many symptoms of slipped disk, among which most prominent are:

• Slipped disk mainly affects nerves, which in turn causes pain in back, neck and lower part of the body.


• Sometimes, person suffering from slipped disk feels partial or complete numbness in the parts above and below the affected area, this slowly leads to a paralytic condition.
• In some cases, the lower part of the body becomes weak and it becomes almost impossible for the patient to stand on his/her feets.
• People also witness scratchy/itchy (tingling) feeling around the genitals.
• Along with the above specified symptoms, patient also experiences pain while doing any activity such as sneezing, coughing, walking etc.
• People suffering from slipped disk often complain of experiencing partial or regular unconsciousness.

What are the possible treatments available for slipped disk?
So if you are experiencing any of the above specified symptoms, you should consult your physician and find out what you need to do in order to achieve fast relief from the pain caused by the slipped disk condition. Although surgery is does not guarantee maximum relief for the person suffering from slipped disk, your doctors may suggest operation as one possible solution for your problem after performing all the diagnostic tests. Along with the medications and surgeries, exercising is one of the most effective ways to soothe the patient’s condition and help him/her in controlling the pain. In some cases where it is impossible to exercise or use surgery, patient is advised to take complete bed rest. Periodic message also can help in finding relief from the excruciating pain.

What should I do to avoid Slipped Disk condition and live backache free life?

• Try to keep back straight and bend from the legs and hip area wherever possible.
• Try to avoid activities which might cause direct stress on back, such as lifting weights, twisting and turning of back.
• If you are suffering from backache problem, consult a good physician and do regular exercises to soothe backache and strictly follow above tips.
• Whenever possible, take a good massage.
• Take proper rest, it is very important if you spend your entire day running around for some work, or sitting on a chair in your office.
• Take regular breaks from any activity that demands you to give stress/pressure on your back.