Is A Herniated Disc Serious? | When You NEED To Take Action

Is a herniated disc serious?

Herniated discs are extremely common, and most are not serious in the sense that they get better on their own and do not cause permanent problems; however, some can be serious in two ways.

A herniated disc is serious when it causes problems with the neighboring nerve roots due to inflammation or direct pressure. Giant herniated discs, like Pat had, can cause damage to nerve roots making you paralyzed and unable to control your own urine:



If you experience severe weakness, numbness, or incontinence with back pain you may have a giant herniated disc that requires surgery on an emergency basis. If you have severe numbness, weakness, uncontrollable pain, or cannot pee with back pain then go to the nearest hospital that has a neurosurgeon on call. If a hospital is a trauma center, then there is a neurosurgeon on call there.

Second, a herniated disc can happen in conjunction with another serious problem. Infection, tumors, and fractures can all be associated with disc herniation. Fortunately, these conditions are rare, and all of them are easily seen on an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scan of your back.

Pat has a history of blood cancer, but it is not the kind of thing that causes tumors that could involve the bones or discs of the spine. When we talked to him Pat also denied having fever, shakes or chills, which makes infection not likely. If you think you have a herniated disc, but you do not have functional weakness, numbness, urinary retention, history of cancer, fever, or recent trauma, then the next step depends on the severity of your pain and the pattern of recovery.

Pat had been to the clinic before, so he contacted us. If you have a lot of pain despite moist heat, rest, and anti-inflammatory medications, or you are not getting better, then see your doctor right away.

[sabhasri]

Very informative for me as I am one of the victim of sciatica due to herniated disc. I am just counting days for the recovery from the pain and discomforts.

[TheSKIERO]

Thank you for the clear explanation and guidance on the self-assessment and remedies available.

[tractorback]

This is a good video. Thanks for the clear description and delivery of the material

[ldino]

Great informative video! Amazing how you explain this complex problem so simply. I have sciatica pain due to herniated disc, numbness in my left leg, and also weakness in my left foot. Doctors recommended I have to take surgery to remove the hernia asap. But I didn't know anything about the herniated disc, or the consequences of this, and was so afraid of this operation, but watching your vids I know more about this and feel more confident about it. Thank you man!

[colwyncallingbull]

It's so discouraging that I have been dealing with my lumbar radiculopathy for a year and a half. Got the MRI last fall, shows that there's a disc protrusion at the L4/L5 vertebrae. Also shows a slight loss of height due to dehydration that's causing a bit of spinal stenosis, according to the MRI report. I've been going to the chiropractor a lot and still which helps and feel I need it as a routine to get somewhat temporary relief because a little is a lot for me. And also physiotherapy I can really only go to once a month due to financial reasons and using up all my insurance balance for the year. In Physio the worst but best part is the IMS needles, I feel it helps a little along with the stretches and exercises I've been taught to do. And in all this I had a total of two Steroid injections. One caudal and the other right at the epidural space of where the actual herniation is, (extremely painful injection. Literally felt like my leg was on fire) and both of which did not really work and the effects wore off in under a week in terms of pain relief. Additionally, 2 months ago I started working out 3 times a week to start easing the weight pressure off my back and to build core muscle to help stabilize that area. I've already went from 238lbs to 221lbs. Still got a ways to go to being healthier in that regard but still to this day, the pain still persists going down my leg every single day and have 4 bad days out of the week. I will mention also I was on Lyrica (Pregabalin) for a few months before I started working out. Lyrica was supposed to help with the nerve pain causing the sciatica. I stopped taking them and the doctor suggested it too because I suffered a heart Arrhythmia. Rapid A-Fib to be specific. They were very concerned as I have no family history of any heart conditions and I'm young at the age of 24. I'm still currently on heart meds to keep my blood thinned and heart rate down but I haven't had heart palpitations since the week the A-Fib happened. I'm about to see a cardiologist soon so I figure I won't be needing these meds anymore. It's funny that the wake up call I needed to start being healthier and better was my disc herniation and heart arrhythmia. I do have high hopes my heart is ok and that the meds for nerve pain caused it. However with my back/leg pain, it's very disheartening that I'm doing absolutely everything to get rid of this pain for good and had some hiccups along the way and yet it still persists and the pain is increasing again. I'm not giving up losing weight but it's getting me very depressed as to why I'm not getting better pain wise and it's been 18 months of having this. I would say time will tell but this is a long time already and idk if I can keep doing this for another year because I've exhausted everything except for surgery. I didn't mention but yes I do all the smaller things like hot packs/hot baths, tens machines, ibuprofen, Mackenzie stretches, massages, inversion table, decompression belt, acupuncture etc. I've done it all, and still do most of them and the pain just doesn't wanna go away 😢 like am I missing something? Are the doctors missing something? The herniation is there on the MRI but shouldn't my body have healed the protrusion a long time ago? I need help and advice if anyone took the time to read this... Thank you if you did...

[aumnamashivaya]

Towards the end you said " it's going to hurt as it improves"( kind of cringing), so the pain in this case would be a hard and fast indicator of improvement or something that might not be present in all cases? Thanks 🎉

[mimmi]

I just found your videos! How do you determine the severity of the compression? I feel instant cramp pain in my leg as soon as I am in the wrong position. Does that imply severe compression? The previous time i had a herniated disc there was a beaming build up of pain until it starts cramping and getting numb.

[WelcomeTexasPodcast]

I am 41 been having been pain for years. Went to Dr's all said it was bulging disks. I had a back surgery last year. Felt worse after surgery than before. Went to rheumatologist and she did blood work and mri came back hla b27 positive ankylosing spondylitis was my diagnose. I just had a new mri done last Friday. I have been in so much pain. I have erosion in my si joint and I also have a 6mm bulge that is hitting my left nerve before the surgery that same disc. Was 3mm I regret the surgery as I am on pain and get not stand or walk for long time

[lastlaugh]

Hi 35yo and have a large disc herniation at L4/L5 causing severe spinal stenosis and impingement of cauda equine nerve root. This has been causing radicular leg pain in my glutes and down my left leg for about 12 weeks. Mostly pain/numbness but not weakness and reflexes have been tested and are fine.
PT, oral steroids, and medication hasn’t helped much (other than Ibuprofen which I don’t want to take too often or too long) and am scheduled to have transformational epidural injection in a couple weeks. Does the injection help alleviate the leg pain I am having? I’m concerned about permanent nerve damage from the nerve impingement/compression. Is this something that really should be surgically repaired?

[Dtope]

How long should someone have nerve pain down the leg before it’s concerning ? I still have some numbness on the foot and outside of my calf… it’s been 4 weeks

[hmp]

I got herniated disc l4 l5 disc with lots of pain 3 months ago. Today the pain has reduced a lot. But feel uncomfortable in the area and a little burning sensation in the glute and leg. Do you think it will get cured completely and I will back as I was?

[jfsoccervids]

Hello, I got an MRI and have a herniated disc in my neck, I have no numbness or any type of nerve pain, but I do have neck pain. Is this common and is there a reason my pain is only in the neck and not down my arms or anywhere else in my body. I had the MRI done 2 months ago and my pain began about 4 months ago and it was pretty bad but has come down a lot there is days I forget about it but its still little bit sore especially if I put my head down all the way now.

[sherizazzetti]

IYes it is, im in gabapentin, now i got to have surgery, my oea just comes out can't control it, I just did my emg and nerve test, my leegs are weak and i fall. He said he was worried about my pea and number too.and my left leg didn't feel anything all the way uoto my left side to my stomach. What does 2 mean he tells the nurse. When he did my ankles

[rovaniainaraveloson]

Hi I have been having foot drop as a result of sciatica and herniated disc. I didn’t get surgery but got NSAIDs and immediately felt better in ~3 days. My foot has been getting a little bit stronger and it’s been now 3 weeks since onset. Is there hope for my foot to get to full strength again?

[giancarlofernandini]

Hi Doc, im having low back pain and its a possible herniated disc. My back is cracking a lot like every 5-10 minutes I need to crack my back to feel good. For example when I sit in the chair and straighten my back it cracks and it feels better, also when I move my body from side to side it also cracks. Would this be a normal thing? I am a little bit worried.

[wraithwarrior]

I had sciatica starting the end of June 2021 and it lasted until about August. I got an mri when I was able to do so and it showed a huge herniation pushing up against what I think is the sciatic nerve. Eventually I was able to get back to work but ever since then (its been about 2 years) my lower back has been a lot more sensitive/weak tender, ect. Also, I have noticed that when I took up fishing again last summer, if I crouched down several times throughout the day to set the hook on the rod, my lower back would be very sensitive and would make driving on the highway dangerous because my lower back would spasm for a second or so. By the next day everything would be better and by Monday it would be back to normal. Do you think I should get another mri in the near future? I have been for the most part going to a chiropractor and ever since then my back has not gone out. However, I still get the lower back pain usually whenever I go fishing or sometimes randomly. Does it sound like this is one of those situations where I might need surgery? I will admit it scares the living hell out of me to think that I might need surgery on my lower back. I live alone and dont have anyone to help temporarily take care of me

[nexstbob]

I hurt my back deadlifting the day i got hurt i didn’t Feel any pain at all day 2 was slight pain bending over and now on day 5 the pain is crazy

[randydelacruz]

I have a question what do you think about STEM CELL treatment for herniated disc? Do you think it will work

[arieusbrake]

I've been dealing with back issues for a long time now, about 2.5 years. I never had any serious issues before and then the military made the issues worse, I was diagnosed with a herniated disc and got a steroid injection a few days ago. Unfortunately For the last 2.5 years I've had to do 15 min hot baths and stretches 3 times a day just to have some form of relief and even after the shot im still having muscle hypertension that causes a lot of discomfort and if long enough with out stretching, pain. I am going to do physical therapy soon and wanted to know if there was anyone else that has issues with muscle unevenness in there supporter muscles like me and if so what works for you that makes it easier or helped stop the muscles from being so stiff all the time. Or will I always have to find a way to live and make a life without being able to work a desk job for more than 5 hours without needing to stretch.

[catfishm.]

Dealing with sciatica down left leg, very bad pains with low left back pain also. Dr sent me for PT and a cortisone shot for hip arthritis pain. Should I have an MRI to see what is going on in my back? Because no one has recommended it yet. I’m worried about whatever’s going on getting worse. Concerned!🤷🏼‍♀️