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Herniated Discs services offered in Kingwood, Kingwood, TX
The discs between your vertebrae protect and stabilize your spine, but they can cause ongoing back or neck pain if they’re damaged. If you’ve got symptoms of a herniated disc, contact board-certified pain management specialists Chandler Mann, MD, and Leonard Trahan, MD, at the North Houston Pain Center in Kingwood, Texas. They offer advanced treatments that include spinal injections and radiofrequency ablation. Call the North Houston Pain Center today or book an appointment online to learn about their cutting-edge treatments for herniated discs.
Herniated Discs Q & A
What are herniated discs?
Herniated discs frequently cause neck and back pain. The discs in your spine sit between the vertebrae (bones) that form your spinal column. The disc’s tough outer shell houses a soft center that acts as a shock absorber for the vertebrae.
Discs start off having a high water content, but as you get older, they dry out. This dryness, plus the wear-and-tear of years, causes degenerative disc disease, flattening the disc and making it more brittle. Sometimes the soft center pushes against a weak place in the outer shell. If the shell tears or cracks, some of the inside comes out (herniates).
Sudden traumas, like a sports injury or auto accident, can rupture a disc. But degenerative disc disease is more common.
What symptoms do herniated discs cause?
Herniated discs frequently cause neck and back pain. The discs in your spine sit between the vertebrae (bones) that form your spinal column. The disc’s tough outer shell houses a soft center that acts as a shock absorber for the vertebrae.
Discs start off having a high water content, but as you get older, they dry out. This dryness, plus the wear-and-tear of years, causes degenerative disc disease, flattening the disc and making it more brittle. Sometimes the soft center pushes against a weak place in the outer shell; if the shell tears or cracks, some of the inside comes out (herniates).
Sudden traumas, like a sports injury or auto accident, can rupture a disc. But degenerative disc disease is more common.
How are herniated discs treated?
Herniated disc treatment usually begins with physical therapy and anti-inflammatory medication. You need to avoid activities that cause your pain to get worse and do your exercises to help the tissues heal. Ice and heat help reduce pain and inflammation.
These straightforward treatments are all many patients need to reduce their symptoms. If your back or neck pain isn’t improving, the North Houston Pain Center team offers other treatments that might help. These include:
- Epidural steroid injections
- Selective nerve root injections
- Sympathetic nerve blocks
- Radiofrequency ablation
- Biologics like platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections
Implantable devices, including spinal cord stimulators and pain pumps, are also available to patients when nothing else can ease their pain. Most patients don’t require these advanced interventions because other treatments are effective.
Call the North Houston Pain Center today or book an appointment online to benefit from expert diagnosis and treatment of herniated discs.