The spine is made up of 24 individual bones
(vertebrae). The discs are the padding
or ‘shock absorbers’ in between the bones which protect us when we run or
jump. A ‘slipped’ disc is a disc which
has bulged outwards from its original or intended position; is also termed a
prolapsed or herniated disc. It can
happen for a number of reasons but generally it occurs due to excessive
pressure being absorbed by the disc and the jelly substance being squashed
outwards.
Unless due to trauma, the underlying cause
is always the individual’s posture. Whether the spine is too stiff, too flat or
too curvy, the disc always ruptures at the point of most pressure. In some cases it is only a minor bulge but in
others it can be a serious herniation of internal disc fluid through a rupture
in the disc wall and into the spinal space.
The degree to which a disc is slipped is
not indicative of the level of pain a patient is in; however, the tissue which the
bulge or prolapse comes into contact with is significant. Comparison MRI scans have revealed that some
patients with only a slight disc bulge can be in the most debilitating pain
whilst others showing severe degenerative changes and multiple disc prolapses
have no symptoms at all.
If the slipped disc disturbs or irritates
other tissues then this will setup an inflammatory response whereby you get
swelling, redness, heat and pain. Muscles and other tissues respond and
contract, causing stiffness and aching, and if a nerve root is involved then
you can get pain referred down the leg, termed radicular pain or commonly sciatica.
Leg pain can be referred from other
tissues not only the nerves so just having leg pain does not automatically mean
sciatica.
IDD Therapy is an invaluable tool for
decompressing the slipped discs and thereby reducing the pressure on other
structures. It passively stretches the
muscles, reducing their level of heightened tension and ‘guarding’ and creates
more space between the bones to permit the bulge to be drawn back in towards
the centre of the disc.
It also improves the blood flow to the area
and stimulates the healing process and stretches the deep postural ligaments
which hold the spine together (simple physics: increased volume leads to reduced
pressure). In an acute case, relief can
happen at an early stage as the injury is fresh and not a lot of physiological
changes have occurred in and around the slipped disc. However most cases
treated with IDD Therapy are chronic ones.
By the time patients have exhausted the
usual medical avenues (a period of months usually) their condition and local
tissues will have undergone significant changes. Muscles will have either gone into a long-term
contracted state and started to become more fibrous in nature or they will have
switched off and weakened. Ligaments
will have tightened in an attempt to give better stability and the patient will
tend to weight-bear in a manner which avoids loading the damaged disc.
IDD Therapy gives the body a chance to rehabilitate
under passive decompression and give relief to the troubled area. During a
programme of IDD Therapy, exercises are given to the patients at the
progressive stages of treatment to enhance the IDD Therapy and improve their
flexibility and strength.
Osteopathy is used during the course of treatment to
address the crux of the problem which is the posture. Addressing the posture is crucially important
to the long term benefits of IDD Therapy - and for the general health and well
being of the patient.
The three key components of the IDD TherapyProgramme: mechanical distraction and mobilisation, osteopathy and exercise can
provide the complete rehabilitation a chronic disc patient requires to gain long-lasting pain
relief and mobility.
For more information about IDD Therapy at Leominster Osteopaths, call the clinic on 01568 610610 or go to www.leominsterosteopaths.co.uk
