The best treatments for your Cervical Disc Herniation
Cervical disc herniation is relatively rare because this area is not exposed to a high pressure and it is not composed of much disc material. That is why this malady is not as common as lumbar disc herniation.
Generally, the disc rupture extends in space to reach to spinal path and the spinal roots. When the nerve roots became compressed and pressured due to the enlargement and expansion of the disc space and the bone spur, the encroachment of the discs cause an emphasis on the nerve roots which will create a pain sensation in the arm referred to as Radiculopathy. If the nerve roots are not damaged, the pain will be easily relieved by a simple treatment. Generally, this malady doesn’t necessitate forced treatments. It can be healed easily without being obliged to go through the scary experience of surgery. Only severe cases require this extreme intervention. When the patient continues to have a pain sensation for more than 15 days then it is time to start taking steroid in form of pills. The doctor would prescribe these medicines to help the patient relieve his unpleasant strong pain.
For the most severe cases, the doctor may prescribe sedatives. The patient needs to be aware that these drugs can be very dangerous and must not be taken on regular basis. It is obligatory to consult a specialist and to get a clear idea about their side effects.
For chronic pain the treatment is almost always the same. It is composed of a physical part where the patient is supposed to do some exercises on daily basis that aim to reduce the pressure exerted on the nerve roots. Another aspect is chiropractic treatment that means pressing the bones in order to make them regain their original place and free the nerves from any kind of external pressure. The final aspect is manual traction that aims at opening the cervical foramen.
When the physical treatment is unable to relieve the pain, the patient is supposed to start taking epidural injections. This medicine will be able to make the pain sensation disappear and to help the patient go back to his normal activities. In some cases the body does not respond correctly to the treatment for the first weeks. If so, the patient has to continue getting these injections for two or three months. If the case is severe to the point of not responding to any of these treatments, the patient still has a final option which is surgery. Thanks to the new technologies, cervical disc herniation can be examined and analyzed through the use of a simple CAT or MRI. They do also help the doctor to decide if the surgery is necessary in some cases or not and more importantly, they help deciding which kind of surgery does the patient need.
In fact there are two types of surgery that can be exerted. It depends on the case of every patient. The surgery can be anterior or posterior. In the first case, the foramen is opened to give the nerves more freedom and relieve them from any pressure. In the second case is exerted on patients whose dilated discs are blocking the side of the nerves.
The doctor is the only person who can decide which type of surgery is the best for every case. But both types have proved to be efficient in relieving pain.