Herniated Disc In Neck Chiropractic Treatment From Bournemouth Chiropractors at Charminster Chiropractic Clinic

Disc herniation in the neck is a common spinal condition that can cause a lot of pain and disability if it is not being treated. Herniated disc in the neck is a common condition the Bournemouth chiropractors at Charminster Chiropractic Clinic offer chiropractic treatment for. For us, it is important to understand the symptoms, risk factors, and treatment options to effectively treat and manage this condition in order to stop long-term complications. Therefore, an early diagnosis and chiropractic treatment can help you win back your functions and movement and as a result reduce pain.  

By working closely with us, we can make treatment plans that are specific to your needs and aid in good recovery and quality of health. Chiropractic treatment also involves active changes such as improving posture, exercise regularly, and remove risk factors and triggers. These will in turn help to reduce the risk of having disc herniation in the neck and a reduced spinal health.

What is Disc Herniation in the Neck?

Disc herniation in the neck can occur when the cushion-like discs between the bones of your neck (cervical spine) get injured. Your neck has seven bones called vertebrae (labelled C1 to C7) with the discs we spoke about that lie between these bones. The discs between these bones help your neck move smoothly and absorb shocks, just like an air balloon. Each disc has a tough outer layer (annulus fibrosus) and a gel-like centre (nucleus pulposus). When the gel-like centre pushes through a tear in the outer fibres it can press on nearby nerves or the spinal cord. This is what can cause pain and other nerve symptoms in the neck, shoulder, arm, hand and fingers.

The neck’s main job is to support your head and allow it to move in various directions—turning side to side, bending forward and backward, and tilting. Because your neck moves so much and bears the weight of your head, the discs in your neck can wear out over time. This wear and tear in the spine can lead to herniation, especially as you get older. Disc herniation in the neck is a common cause of neck pain and can also cause pain that travels out almost like a feeling of shooting or radiating pain, tightness, pins and needles and numbness to your shoulders and arms. It can result from a sudden injury or from gradual wear and tear in your spine over time.

Common Symptoms of Disc Herniation in the Neck

The symptoms of disc herniation in the neck can vary based on where the herniation happens and how severe it is. In more severe cases, symptoms can include difficulty swallowing, changes in reflexes, balance problems or scuffing of the toe – this is very important to get checked by a doctor or chiropractor to get an accurate diagnosis and prompt treatment. The seriousness of these symptoms depends on how much pressure the herniated disc puts on the nerves or spinal cord. 

• Neck Pain: This can range from a dull ache to sharp, severe pain. The pain can stay in your neck or spread to your shoulders and upper back.
• Radicular Pain: Sharp, burning pain that travels from your neck down to your shoulders, arms, and hands. The pain that follows is the path of the affected nerve root, the level of the issue and how much the nerve is squeezed. If the nerve is mildly squeezed the pain travel into the neck and shoulder and if more squeezed it can travel down to the forearm, hand and fingers.
• Numbness and Tingling: You might feel numbness or tingling in your arms, hands, or fingers. This would indicate that a nerve could be squeezed and can affect one or sometimes both sides of your body. 
• Muscle Weakness: The nerves in the neck controls the strength in your arms and hands. If the nerve is squeezed there could be weakness in your arms or hands. It can make it harder for you to do fine motor tasks like gripping objects, writing and buttoning a shirt.
• Neck Stiffness: You might find it hard to move your neck due to stiffness or pain. This could reduce your neck movements and your daily activities harder. Common symptoms are struggle looking over your shoulder when driving or stiffness looking up or down. 
• Headaches: Headaches can often stem from the joints and muscles at the base of your skull and are called cervicogenic and tension-type headaches respectively. They may also be related to muscle tensions as a result from the nerve irritation.

Common Types of Disc Herniation in the Neck

Disc herniations in the neck can be sorted into categories based on their location and severity. Understanding these types can help decide the most appropriate treatment. For example, a protrusion might respond well to chiropractic care or conservative treatment, while an extrusion or sequestration might need surgery and more invasive treatments.

• Protrusion: The cushion (disc) is bulging outwards, but the outer layer of the fibres (annulus fibrosus) is still intact. This type is often the least alarming and may not cause any symptoms, or only milder ones. 
• Prolapse: The gel-like centre (nucleus pulposus) is now pushing through the outer layer but stays within the circle (disc space) and space that the disc is positioned normally. The symptoms that are being felt now can vary depending on how much the nucleus pulposus has pushed out. 
• Extrusion: The gel-like centre (nucleus pulposus) has now broken through the annulus fibrosus and pushes into the spinal canal. This type can cause a lot more symptoms because it is pressing and squeezing hard on the nerve.
• Sequestration: A piece (fragment) of the nucleus pulposus breaks away from the disc and becomes a free-floating piece within the spinal canal. This type can cause unpredictable symptoms, and sadly often requires surgical intervention.

When to Seek Urgent Help With Disc Herniation in the Neck

While many cases of disc herniations in the neck can be managed with chiropractic treatment or conservative treatments, some symptoms need urgent medical attention. If you experience any of these symptoms, it’s very important to seek a quick medical evaluation. Early intervention can make the after-effects better and avoid permanent damage.

• Severe Pain: Intense, constant, weakening pain that doesn’t get better with rest or medication. The pain severely interferes with daily life.
• Progressive Weakness: Weakness in your arms or legs that carries on, which may show signs of serious nerve compression. This can make routine tasks difficult and might lead to serious functional disabilities. 
• Loss of Bowel or Bladder Control: Difficulty controlling your bowel or bladder, which can signal that the spinal cord is being compressed and needs instant medical evaluation – This is a medical emergency and call A&E immediately.
• Difficulty Walking: Problems with walking, coordination, or balance, which could indicate trouble with the spinal cord. This increases the likelihood of falls and further injury. 

Risk Factors for Disc Herniation in the Neck

Several factors can increase your risk of having disc herniation in the neck. Understanding these risk factors can help you take action, and look after yourself by keeping a healthy weight, practising good posture, avoiding smoking and using better positions and lifting techniques at work and during daily activities.

• Age: As you get older, the discs in your spine lose water content and elasticity, making them more prone to damage. Wear and tear (degenerative changes), such as disc drying out and changes in the bone structures, are common in older adults.
• Occupation: Jobs that involve repetitive neck movements, heavy lifting, or continuous sitting can add more risk. Poor positions and lifting techniques and over time putting load on the neck can speed up the wear and tear in your neck.
• Genetics: A family history of spinal problems can make you more likely to develop disc herniation. Genes can affect the sturdiness of your discs and the rate of wear and tear.
• Smoking: Smoking speeds up the disc degeneration by turning down the blood flow and nutrient delivery to the spine. The chemicals in cigarettes can worsen the disc health and make the likelihood of herniation higher. 
• Obesity: Excess body weight increases the load on your spine, working more towards disc degeneration and herniation. Maintaining a healthy weight can reduce the load on your discs in the neck.

Examination and Diagnosis of Disc Herniation in the Neck

Diagnosing disc herniation in the neck usually calls for a detailed appointment with a chiropractor. During this time, the chiropractor will ask about your symptoms, medical history, and any recent injuries or activities that might have made the condition worse. Then they will do a physical examination and may refer you for diagnostic imaging tests if needed. During the physical exam, your chiropractor will look at how well your movement is (range of motion), muscle strength, reflexes, and sensation in the troubled and affected areas. 

Physical Examination:

• Inspection: First, the chiropractor will have a look at your posture, neck positioning and any underlying issues contributing to the problem. 
• Palpation: Second, we will gently feel your neck to point out areas that are painful or tenderness, muscle tension or obvious swelling.
• Range of Motion Testing: Third, we will test your ability to move your neck in various directions.
• Neurological Examination: Fourth, we will test your reflexes, muscle strength, and sensory function in your arms and hands. We want to see if anything could be wrong that a nerve is likely pinched. 

Diagnostic Imaging:

• X-rays: These can help pointing out if there is anything wrong with any bones, such as bony growths near the joints (bone spurs) or a neck bone out of place (vertebral misalignment). These could be making the symptoms worse or be the root cause of the problem. Although they show bones, they will not show any soft matter like ligaments, muscles or the spinal cord. 
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI): MRIs provide detailed images of the soft matters (tissues), including the cushion-like discs (intervertebral discs), nerve roots exiting the spinal cord, and the spinal cord’s integrity as well. This imaging is very useful when diagnosing disc herniation and looking at how severe the nerve compression is. 
• Computed Tomography (CT) Scans: CT scans offer detailed images of the spine that we can look at from a different point of view (cross-sectional images). They often use these images to point out if there is anything wrong with the bones or the spinal canal. 
• Electrodiagnostic Studies: Electromyography (EMG) and nerve testing (nerve conduction studies (NCS)) may be used to test how the nerves transmit signals to and from the nerve compression. These tests can help lead them to understand if there could be a disc herniation in the neck or other conditions that may cause the same symptoms. 

Chiropractic Treatment for Disc Herniation in the Neck

Chiropractic care is a gentle, no surgery (non-invasive) treatment method that focuses on restoring the function of the spine to reduce symptoms for herniated disc in the neck. Chiropractors may use different techniques to treat it.

• Spinal Manipulation: Also known as chiropractic adjustments, spinal manipulation is a way of adding a controlled force to the joints of the spine to bring back better movement, reduce pain, and let the body heal better. This technique can help ease nerve compression and make spinal function better.
• Mobilisation: Gentle stretching and movement techniques are used to make the joint function better and more flexible. Mobilisation can help reduce stiffness and raise the movement (range of motion) in the neck. 
• Therapeutic Exercises: Specific exercises and stretches that are designed to strengthen and stabilise the muscles supporting the spine, changing to a better posture, and help stop any disc herniations from coming back.  
• Soft Tissue Therapy: Massage, muscle treatment (myofascial release) and trigger point therapy, and other manual techniques to relieve the tensions in the muscles and help the circulation in the painful area. Soft tissue therapy can help with healing and reduce pain.

Several studies sited below have looked at the effectiveness of chiropractic treatment for disc herniation in the neck. For example, they found that patients with disc herniation in the neck who received chiropractic care experienced notable improvements in pain, function, and quality of life compared to those who received normal medical care alone. Another study found similar findings, with patients experiencing notable improvements in pain, disability, and movement (range of motion) after getting chiropractic spinal manipulation. 

While chiropractic care can be an effective treatment choice for disc herniation in the neck, it’s important to talk to them about what is the best treatment for your needs and what state your condition is. Chiropractic care may be used alone, teamed up with other therapies like physical therapy, medication or injections and if there is reason to be sent for further testing, examinations or radiology, the chiropractor will discuss this with you. 

Prognosis for Disc Herniation in the Neck

The time it takes for disc herniation in the neck to improve varies depending on many things. These factors may the severity of the herniation, your overall health, and how well and effective you respond to the selected treatment option. In many cases chiropractic treatment, along with other therapies like physical therapy and medication, can control the symptoms and help your healing. 

Factors Influencing Prognosis

• Severity of Herniation: Mild to moderate herniations often respond well to chiropractic treatment, while severe herniations may need surgery.
• Duration of Symptoms: Early help typically leads to better results. Symptoms that have been going on for a while (chronic, more than 3 months) may be more challenging to treat and may need either maintenance care or, if needed, surgery. 
• Individual Health: Overall health and fitness can have a role on how well you get with treatment. Patients who have a healthy lifestyle and follow the chiropractors’ advice and treatment plan, are more likely to have better results. 
• Adherence to Treatment: Patients who are keeping up with the treatments, exercises, medications and lifestyle modifications are more likely to get better results.

In cases of the herniation being in a very poor state or the neurological symptoms are getting worse, surgery might be needed. This procedure will take pressure off of the affected nerves or spinal cord. There are various operations for disc herniation in the neck depending on the affected area.

• Cervical Disc Replacement: This involves removing the damaged disc and replacing it with an artificial disc in order to keep the spinal movements intact and mobile.
• Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion (ACDF): In this procedure, the herniated disc is removed through the front of the neck, and the neck vertebrae on the same side are fused together to provide stability. 
• Posterior Cervical Decompression: This is a surgical approach that relieves pressure on the spinal cord or nerve roots by removing bone or soft tissue causing them to become squeezed.

Most people experience a lot of relief from symptoms and better quality of life after surgery. However, the time it takes to recover and how well you respond, can vary greatly. Rehabilitation and reducing potential risk factors are important steps after surgery to regain strength and restore optimal movement. 

By following these tips and working with our Bournemouth chiropractors at Charminster Chiropractic Clinic, you can receive chiropractic treatment for herniated disc in the neck to increase the likelihood of reducing pain and get better spinal movements. Book your chiropractic appointment here today!

References

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK546618/
2. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8169540/
3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9467101/
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK441822/
5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK441971/
6. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24614255/
7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3411405/
8. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10423346/
9. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8246101/
10. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7788378/
11. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24572195/