Herniated Disc ReliefFor some patients, finding herniated disc relief seems like an epic quest to locate the Holy Grail. Disc pain has a nasty and well deserved reputation as being unbearably agonizing, completely debilitating and undeniably long lasting. While this is true of many back pain syndromes, the actual facts about herniated discs are not generally well known by many affected patients. This helps to explain why finding some semblance of relief often seems like an impossible task.
Finding Herniated Disc ReliefBeing diagnosed with a herniated disc is akin to being struck in the head with a baseball bat. The very words “HERNIATED DISC” have such tremendous shock value when uttered by your doctor. I know patients who describe feeling doomed to a life a pain and suffering immediately upon hearing those fateful words.The reality of herniated discs is that most do not cause pain. That’s right. The majority of
disc bulges
are completely asymptomatic. This is doubly true for what doctors like to call
degenerative disc disease.
This condition is not a “DISEASE” at all… 95% of diagnosed cases simply represent expected and typical spinal aging which occurs in virtually every human adult. So, in essence, although herniated discs might cause pain when they first occur due to trauma, they are usually not to blame for ongoing chronic symptomatic conditions. Herniated Disc Relief TreatmentTraditional and complementary medicine have created dozens of individual therapy options for herniated disc care. Unfortunately, most of these treatments are symptomatic in nature and will accomplish nothing to resolve the underlying causative condition behind the pain. This is true for both accurately diagnosed disc conditions, as well as the far more common misdiagnosed disc pain syndromes. Some methods of treatment are more enlightened, such as modern spinal decompression, and might completely cure the underlying structural cause of pain. Of course, knowledge therapy is always a good choice for many patients, since the treatment singlehandedly provides a complete cure for most and helps facilitate a medical cure in the rest. Spinal disc surgery is a poor option for most patients and often does far more damage than good…Herniated Disc Relief AdviceMost patients “buy into” the concept that any disc abnormality is inherently painful. These patients have already purchased a one way ticket to suffering and are unlikely to recover unless they can be informed of the usual asymptomatic profile of a herniated disc. Some doctors continue to take advantage of a patient’s ignorance, using a herniated or degenerated disc as a scapegoat to explain otherwise idiopathic back pain. The goal of this practice is simply to keep a patient in treatment for financial gain. The longer, more diverse and more complicated the treatment process, the more money there is to be made. It is as simple as that…Dr. John Sarno writes beautifully about the role of the doctor in perpetuating, worsening and even creating psychosomatic pain through the diagnostic process. I like to think that this event is an unfortunate and accidental occurrence, but in many cases, I can’t help but see it as a purposeful propagation of old outdated mythologies about the causes of back pain, just to make a financial killing... I give much credit to those who work in treatment modalities which break this long term therapy stereotype. Knowledge therapy providers share all their information for the one time price of a book. Authors like Dr. Sarno, Dr. Candice Pert and Dr. Andrew Weil have given so much for so little… Even spinal decompression practitioners embrace this limited treatment mentality, offering a good chance at resolving pain within few weeks time. To these unselfish care providers… I salute you. I have no problem with symptomatic treatments, as long as the patient understands that the therapy WILL NOT CURE THEM. Honesty justifies long term care, especially if the goal is purely humanitarian, for simple pain relief. I think this point is often (accidentally or purposefully) left out of the conversation in some patient /doctor consultations. Worse yet are the care providers who promise good results and then fail miserably… This certainly mirrors my own personal experiences in the back pain industry, with one doctor blaming the poor treatment methods of another while demonstrating equally ineffective results themselves…Regardless of their lack of results, they all happily accepted the ongoing stream of money from my pocket without question… Herniated Disc Relief to Herniated Disc 6/17/08 Revised 1/3/12 |
Sensei Adam Rostocki
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