Some Facts About The Herniated Disc

When one is involved in an accident, or has lifted a heavy object, that is beyond his capacity, or has caused some injury to his or her spine, he or she may be likely to suffer from a back injury called a herniated disc. This means that the disc within his spinal cord has either ruptured, broken or has fractured. This usually happens when someone has come into contact all of a sudden with a solid body, through a particular force. Find more information about herniated disc discussed by neurosurgeon in chennai.

The herniated disc is associated with people who have very low muscle content on their back, so that certain strenuous activity like carrying heavy loads or certain instantaneous occurrences like an accident will cause the gradual straining of nerves on the disc. When this occurs, the usual consequence involves the further reduction of the nerve space, thus resulting in the constant irritation of the nerves that someone usually experiences on several occasions.

With further and further reduction in elasticity of the spine, the disc becomes more and more brittle. The acquisition of this state makes the disc prone to such occurrences as snapping, just like any material which has a brittle property within it. 

A disc will therefore push outside its socket, making it to bulge out of position. As it is now outside the vertebrae, the nerves that surround this disc are displaced, squeezed further more, thus the irritation that has been mentioned earlier. As much as there is some extra space for a herniated disc to bulge on, the more it does so, the more the nerve is compressed, and cause potential harm to the body.

There are a couple of diagnostic procedures that are used to detect the eminent presence of a herniated disc disorder, yet, there are so many causes that potentially make up such symptoms like the one given above. 

There are other forms of disc degeneration, tumors that can grow and other space occupying lesions that can potentially cause certain forms of irritation. Other causes of these symptoms are metastases, and they do result in the same irritation. Therefore, there are ways in which one can detect herniation, through some imaging tests that can be carried out.

X-rays are a good way to start, since they spot any forms of tumors relatively easily. Thus through elimination method, the tumor can be ruled out if not adequately spotted. A CT scan is also another imaging method that can be used to detect this. 

The CT scan views even the shape of the disc that has bulged out, making a view of the adjacent structure and the potential cause of the herniation. The MRI is also suggested, and its results almost resemble those of a CT scan.