Beverly Hills Pain Management Center

Herniated discs occur as a result of an undue pressure on the disc. This can occur as a result of long term problems (such as posture) or a severe short term problem such as lifting something heavy without proper posture/position.

Symptoms include

Initially, your doctor may suggest medicine for the pain. You can probably be more active after you take the pain medicine for 2 days. Becoming active will help you get better faster. If your pain is severe, your doctor may suggest that you rest in bed for 1 or 2 days.

If the pain medicine doesn't help, your doctor may start by treating the pain with an injection of anti-inflammatory medicine close to the herniated disc and the nerves it pushes on. If injections do not help the next step in conservative management is Minimally Invasive Lumbar Percutaneous Diskectomy. 

Minimally Invasive Lumbar Percutaneous Diskectomy

This is performed for patients who do not respond to conservative treatment with medications and injections.  the removal of offending disk fragments in a minimally invasive manner. Potential benefits of this technique compared to traditional disc surgery include:

• Quicker return to normal activities
• Less post operative pain
• Less damage to muscle and skin
• Easier rehabilitation
• Smaller scars
• Less blood loss

Your backbone, or spine, is made up of 26 bones called vertebrae. In between them are soft disks filled with a jelly-like substance. These disks cushion the vertebrae and keep them in place. A herniated disk is a disk that slips out of place or ruptures. If it presses on a nerve, it can cause back pain or sciatica.