How is a Herniated Disc Diagnosed

Diagnosing a Herniated Disc

Back pain can be caused by so many things, this is why when you have back pain that is lasting more than a week you should always see a spine doctor. To correctly diagnosis back pain your spine surgeon in Chennai will perform a physical examination and they may also review your medical history to see if there is anything in your history that may point to the cause of your back pain. If they feel that you may have a herniated disc but it is not conclusive they will order diagnostic tests be done.

Two of the more popular types of tests that are used to diagnosis a herniated discs are the following:

MRI's

While the most commonly used diagnostic test is an X-ray, many times this test is not able to give a definitive diagnosis. When this happens your spine doctor may try an MRI, this being the gold standard for tests when dealing with back pain. An MRI would use magnetic fields, computers, and radio waves to create a highly detailed image of the muscles, ligaments, organs, discs, and other parts of the spine.

CT scan

A CT scan is another popular test that can be used to diagnose back pain. With this test a powerful computer and X-ray machine is used to create a three dimensional image of the spine. So instead of taking just one picture of an area like a normal X-ray with a CT scan pictures are taken all around the body and to create a more detailed view or the spine.

Types of Herniated Discs

There are four different types of herniated discs; they are a bulging, prolapsed, extruded, and sequestered disc. Keep in mind though that it is possible to jump right to some of the more damaged discs right away depending on what caused your disc become injured.

Bulging disc

With a bulging disc it is extremely rare for it to cause any symptoms; oftentimes those with a simple bulging disc do not even know that they have them. When you have a bulging disc what happens is a small bulge would appear on the outside of your disc. This bulge is still contained inside the disc and there is no tear or crack in the disc and since this bulge is so tiny it may not even compress or bother any of the surrounding tissues, nerves, or spinal cord.

Prolapsed Disc

This is the next stage for a bulging disc and also when you may start to notice symptoms such as pain, numbness and tingling on your skin. With a prolapsed disc your bugle is now larger in size but would still be contained inside the disc itself. Since this bulge is now larger in size it is more likely to cause problems.

Disc Extrusion

With a disc extrusion your bulge has now broken through the surface of your disc and the soft gel center is leaking out and into the spinal canal spaces. If enough of this material is no longer inside your disc it may begin to compress the surrounding tissues, spinal cord, or spinal nerves.

Sequestered Disc

This would be the very last stage of a herniated disc. With a sequestered disc what happens is, a piece or pieces of the leaking material has broken off the main part of your disc and is now floating around in the spinal canal. At this point it is possible for you to feel less pain as the free floating material may no longer be compressing your nerves or spinal cord.

Gall Bladder and Back Pain

The gall bladder back pain is usually caused due to the inflammation or improper functioning of gall bladder, which is a small pear-shaped organ on the underside of the liver, in the right upper quadrant of the abdomen. Its main function is to collect and store bile, which is used by the body to digest fats. Bile is made in the liver cells (hepatocytes) and consists of water, electrolytes, bile acids, phospholipids and bilirubin. It assists in the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, A, D, E and K.

Causes and Symptoms Of Gall Bladder Problems

Gall bladder diseases and problems are fairly common and affect both men and women.

Some of the gall bladder problems are caused by:

1. Production of toxic bile by the liver
2. Inadequate production of bile
3. Excess amount of cholesterol in bile, leading to the formation of gall bladder stones
4. Infection in gall bladder
5. Hormonal changes during pregnancy
6. Blood disorders or infections

The symptoms can vary from indigestion and nausea to vomiting and pain in the right upper abdomen. This pain also radiates to the lower back, resulting in gall bladder back pain.

Other symptoms include:

1. Fever due to inflammation in the gall bladder
2. Abdominal bloating
3. Severe heartburn and gas
4. Jaundice
5. Diarrhea

The lower back pain can be attributed to a gall bladder disorder problem that results in gall bladder pain called biliary colic. Biliary colic occurs when gallstones block the small duct that drains bile to the small intestine. Gallstones or biliary calculi are small stones formed from a mixture of cholesterol, bile pigment and calcium salts. The formation of gallstones is a very common disorder and affects approximately 15% of the people at the age of around 50.

However, in most cases, complication and infections don't arise until gallstones block a bile duct, which then leads to severe pain lasting from 30 min to several hours. In such circumstances, you must undertake an ultra sound test to confirm the presence of gallstones and then get the proper treatment with the help of a pediatric neurosurgeon in Chennai.

What Is Spinal Stenosis Surgery?

When it comes to spinal stenosis surgery, there is one thing every single patient should keep in their mind. This is not something doctors do most of the time. As a matter of fact, this kind of surgeries is a last resort instead when nothing else works. What this means is that doctors or experienced physicians will not recommend their patients to undergo such a surgery if they can be healed with bulging disc treatments, for example.

However, again, when the doctors or neurosurgeons in chennai have tried everything else and none of them just works, it becomes necessary to run the spinal stenosis surgery since it is the only hope their patients may have left. Yet, prior to that, the doctors or physicians will first have to distract their patients' mind to nonsense of alternative medicines that may often include acupuncture and chiropractic treatments. Yet, what the doctors or physicians actually do is monitor any changes that may occur to the lifestyles of the patients they treat.

Then, if the doctors consider that the medications their patients take are almost over their normal dosages and may cause their patients to get addicted to those medications, this is when they will do something. It is at this time that doctors are going to recommend their patients to undergo that spinal stenosis surgery.

Nonetheless, there are quite a few things that patients should consult with their doctors or spine surgeons in Chennai before they agree to undergo such a surgery. First of all, the patients need to know which part of their spine is going to experience an effect of the surgery. In order to get an accurate answer to this question, the patients will have to be willing to run through a series of tests. These tests are intended to locate more accurately which of their vertebrae is damaged. Yet, taking into consideration that stenosis can be caused by quite a few factors, including herniated discs, bone spurs, genetic defects and aging, the doctors who are going to run the surgery had better choose a procedure that proves to be more viable.

Then, the second thing the patients will have to consult with their doctors is that what risks exist after they have undergone the spinal stenosis surgery. There are chances they may experience injured spine. In some even worse cases, they may even get totally paralyzed.

The next thing is that the patients need to know how badly their spine has been damaged. If it has been damaged severely, this spinal stenosis surgery may just heal the mostly damaged areas causing other areas to be untouched at all.

Last but not least, the patients should remember that they should never undergo spinal stenosis surgery if they are not in such a fit condition.