Herniated disk symptoms may occur at any part of the spine where a disk herniation has occurred.

A disk herniation develops as a result of a tear in the outer fibrous ring (annulus fibrosus) of an intervertebral disk, causing the extrusion of the soft central material (nucleus pulposus). While it is misleadingly called a slipped disk, symptoms are not characteristic of a true slippage because the intervertebral disk is attached and sandwiched between two vertebrae. Pain, which is the main symptom of herniated disks, develops as a result of compression on a nerve by the protruding material or the release of inflammatory chemical mediators – namely Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha (TNF) and Interleukin-17 (IL-17) – even in the absence of nerve compression.

Herniated Disk Symptoms

As mentioned earlier, symptoms of herniated disks may occur at any location in the spine. The most common site is the lumbar region or lower back followed by the cervical or neck region. Thoracic or upper/middle back herniations are very rare, but can occur in causes of traumatic injuries.

For cervical herniated disk neck symptoms include pain that radiates to the shoulder and arm, going down to the hand and fingers. Muscle weakness may be observed as well as numbness or “pins and needles” sensation (paresthesias) in the hand and fingers.

For lumbar herniated disks lower back symptoms include pain that starts from the lower back radiating down to the buttocks, feet and leg, following the path of the sciatic nerve. Muscle weakness in the lower extremity could cause the patient to walk with a limp. Numbness and paresthesias may develop in the feet.

Most causes of disk herniations resolve on their own after a few weeks. Some do not even present with any pain or other symptoms, and only turn up as incidental findings on CT or MRI scan when a patient is being checked for other medical conditions.

Relief Options for Herniated Disk Symptoms

For those patients in whom the herniated disk is causing bothersome symptoms, conventional disk herniation treatment would involve prescribing non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, like aspirin or ibuprofen, to counteract the effects of the inflammatory chemical mediators. Epidural steroid injections may be given in cases of persistent or severe pain. Some patients have found relief though acupuncture, chiropractic manipulation, and inversion therapy.

Spinal decompression therapy is a form of herniated disk treatment that shown great promise. Through the creation of a negative pressure within the spinal canal using measured weights, the protruding disk material can be sucked back into the intervertebral disk to relieve nerve compression and pain.

In patients who don’t respond to conventional treatments and back decompression, disk herniation surgery is the final option. Thankfully, a number of back surgeries for disk herniation, such as laminotomy and foraminotomy, can now be performed using minimally-invasive or endoscopic techniques.

Patients need not suffer from herniated disk symptoms when there are several treatment options to choose from.

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