Slipped disc is often a catch-all for severe pain in the lumbar spine. However it can also be used in connection with the upper back and neck.

The discs between the vertebrae are shock-absorbing cushions that allow us to twist, turn, bend, run, jump and walk with ease.

The discs in an adult are about one-quarter to one-half inch thick, donut-like spacers with a jelly-like center. By increasing the space between the vertebrae, not only does it help us with the above functions, it also creates more space for the spinal nerves which exit from in between each of the vertebrae.

It is probably more accurate to refer to the "slipped disc" as a compressed disc. When the vertebrae in the spine become subluxated (misaligned), they tend to compress a disc more on one side than the other, causing the disc to protrude into the neural canal or hole through which the spinal nerves pass. It is somewhat like compressing the cushion on your sofa when sitting on it. Your weight will cause the cushion to be compressed and protrude out from the sofa slightly.

When the compressed disc, which is caused by a spinal subluxation, touches or "shorts" a nerve, severe pain and/or numbness along the course of the nerve is the result.

The Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR), a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, announced that standard tests and therapies typically used to diagnose and treat lower back pain are both expensive and often ineffective.

The agency panel consisted of eleven medical doctors, two osteopathic doctors, two chiropractic doctors, along with specialists in rehabilitation medicine, physical therapy, psychology, spine research and orthopedic surgery. These experts reviewed more than 3,900 studies in preparing their guidelines.

The AHCPR guidelines advise against surgery and a host of high-cost tests, including CT scans and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).

The guidelines validate what doctors of chiropractic have asserted now for 100 years and what millions of chiropractic patients already know, that spinal adjustments offer safe and effective relief from back problems without drugs or surgery.

In an attempt to curtail rising medical costs and decrease time lost from work, the panel recommended spinal manipulations for back pain (slipped discs)!

If you know someone suffering with back pain, please suggest they call us for an appointment. If they are not a chiropractic case, we will tell them. And if they are a chiropractic case, we'll help them!