The vertebrae in your spine are protected by flexible discs that absorb the shocks of your movements. The discs also make it possible for your spine to bend and twist.
Due to degenerative diseases or the natural changes of aging, discs can wear down and no longer provide adequate protection for the vertebrae. Wear and tear can also force the soft center of the disc through the outer wall, a condition known as a herniated disc.
If the protruding center of the disc presses on the surrounding spinal nerves, you can experience chronic pain that worsens over time. The symptoms of a herniated disc depend on the location of the affected disc and how much pressure is being put on the nearby nerves.
In most cases, you can experience persistent pain in the area of the herniated disc, such as the neck or lower back. Pain and weakness can also radiate down into your arms or legs, interfering with normal limb function. When a disc herniation presses on the sciatic nerve, you may have pain or shock-like tingling that radiates down through one side of your buttocks and down your leg.
Initially, you may benefit from muscle relaxants and oral pain medication or steroids to alleviate pain and relieve inflammation surrounding the nerves. Corticosteroid injections are also a minimally invasive option that delivers anesthetic medications to help with the pain and steroids to decrease inflammation, which helps relieve pressure on the nerves.
