What does discopathy mean

Discopathy is a pathological (disease) condition of the intervertebral disc. The term itself is very general. Some degree of discopathy is possible in almost every adult, often without any symptoms.

Problem zaczyna być istotny, gdy pojawiają się tzw. ubytki czuciowe:

• brak czucia,
• mrowienie 

lub ubytki ruchowe:

• stopa opadająca,
• spadek sprawności manualnej palców,
• wypadanie przedmiotów z rąk
• trudności z uniesieniem ręki

All types of damage mentioned above may occur suddenly (as a result of trauma, traffic accident) or may take years to develop as a result of regular, cumulative overloads of the spine ( smartphone user’s neck).

Nowadays, children are especially at risk of developing cervical discopathy due to long-term use of devices such as tablets and smartphones with their heads positioned in the so-called protraction.

Diagnostics of discopathy

The best test to illustrate the condition of the discs is magnetic resonance imaging. Good quality MRI allows you to determine the extent of disc damage and possible conflict with neural structures (nerve pressure). Magnetic resonance imaging combined with the patient’s examination allows us to determine the possibilities of non-surgical treatment.

In the absence of obvious, significant sequestration (detachment of part of the disc), non-surgical treatment of the damaged disc can be initiated. The plasticity of the nervous system is so high that properly selected therapeutic parameters guarantee the effectiveness of treatment even in the case of large disc herniations.

Non-surgical treatment of discopathy

A damaged disc causes a mechanical disorder – it presses on the nerve. The diseased disc is significantly reduced and its gel-like contents „flow” beyond the vertebral structures, causing compression of the spinal nerve.  Non-surgical treatment of discopathy involves creating a mechanical decompression of the disc of a pulsating nature, repeated several dozen times during one therapeutic session. Thanks to this, the disc „expands” and the space between the vertebrae increases. This causes the nerve to stop being compressed. Axial pulsed extraction is used to achieve this effect.

The use of pulsed axial traction requires the preparation of peri-spinal tissues. For this reason, before the lift, the patient undergoes preparatory manual therapy (relaxation of muscles and fascia).  The entire treatment (manual therapy + pulsed axial traction) lasts approximately 45 minutes. Depending on the extent of disc damage, 10 to 20 treatments are performed in a series, 2-3 times a week. At the end of the series, the patient receives a recommendation/exercises to perform at home to prevent the recurrence of the symptoms.

Do you suffer from discopathy?  Book an appointment!

During the visit, preparatory manual therapy and pulsed axial traction will be performed.

In the online booking panel, select the service: terapia osteopatyczna/manualna

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