So have you ever reached down just to pick up something small a pencil from the floor and “wham” your back grabs and goes into a spasm so tight that you can’t stand up straight?  Was it because the pencil weighed so much that it sent your back into spasm?  Of course not, it was just the straw that broke the camel’s back.

The discs in your spine just don’t have a lot of nerve endings, or even a dedicated blood supply for that mater, so the damage to them from past injuries isn’t noticed until the disc ruptures or the bulge is big enough to affect the surrounding tissues.  All of those past injuries and repetitive motions can cause micro tears in the disc, and eventually after years of slightly tearing the same portion of the disc it turns into a big tear and the nucleus pulposus, the jelly like center of your disc, pushes out though the tear and puts pressure on the surrounding tissues or even the nerve.  Then all of a sudden you feel excruciating pain and your muscles seize up to protect you from doing more harm.

So how do micro tears occur and how can you stop them?

For a disc, motion is life, and when the area is not moving correctly, like with a subluxation which causes decreased flexibility, muscle spasms, and ligamentous issues.  This puts a bunch of strain on your spine which your body dissipates the best it can by malforming the discs.  Here are a few things you can to help prevent this:

• When lifting bend at the hip instead of the low back keeping that nice curve in your spine.
• Don’t twist when lifting heavy objects when your low back is flexed.
• When carrying heavy objects keep them as close to your body as you can.
• Move slowly in the morning and gently stretch to help loosen things up.
• Strengthen your spinal muscles, ask your Fort Collins Chiropractor about what exercises work well for this.
• Use good posture and proper ergonomics at work and at home.

Avoid herniating a disc with chiropractic care is the best solution, however if it has already occurred, chiropractic care has shown amazing results in reducing pain and muscle spasms caused by disc herniations.  Spinal Decompression has also been shown on pre and  post MRI’s to pull disc bulges back in.

Don’t let pain stop you from living the quality of life you are accustomed to!  Give our office a call, 970-491-9191, today and schedule a free consultation to see if we can help you.

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