For a herniated disk in your neck, you'll typically feel the most pain in your shoulder and arm. This pain might shoot into your arm or leg when you cough, sneeze or move into certain positions. Pain is often described as sharp or burning. Numbness or tingling.
Treatment with rest, pain medication, spinal injections, and physical therapy is the first step to recovery. Most people improve in 6 weeks and return to normal activity. If symptoms continue, surgery may be recommended.
If you have a bulging spinal disc, you may be wondering if you can physically feel it. You are not likely to be able to feel the disc itself, since it is located between the bones of your spine. However, you may be able to determine the affected area by touching various points along your back that you can reach.
A herniated cervical disk is one of the most common causes of neck pain. If the disk is pressing on a nerve root, other symptoms can include: Numbness or tingling in a shoulder or arm that may go down to your fingers. Weakness in a hand or arm.
What Are the Symptoms of Cervical Disc Syndrome? Neck pain or tingling and numbness may reach the shoulder, upper back, arm, or hand. Some people have weakness, clumsiness, and trouble walking. Pain from a bulging disc is worse during movement and during coughing or laughing.
This herniation of the disc can result in a large bulge that can press on nearby nerve roots, causing pain. However, herniated discs don't always hurt. In fact, it's entirely possible to have a herniated disc and not know it. Herniated discs only cause pain when the herniated area pushes on a nerve root in the spine.
A bulging disc may have no pain at all because it has not reached a certain severity level, and this can make it difficult to identify the bulging disc symptoms before the condition becomes more severe. Most commonly, bulging discs create pressure points on nearby nerves which create a variety of sensations.
Herniated discs are often misdiagnosed as piriformis syndrome, a muscular disorder in the buttocks, mild sciatica, degenerative disc disease, and osteoarthritis.
Symptoms of C4/C5 and C5/C6 Herniated Discs
In some cases, pain from a C4/C5 and C5/C6 herniated disc can cause pain to radiate down through the neck. The pain may continue through the shoulders, arms, and hands. Tingling, numbness, and weakness are also common symptoms of a cervical herniated disc.
When a bulging or herniated disc occurs in the C5-C6 region, it can cause sharp pain that radiates from the neck to the shoulder, arms, hands, and fingers. It can also lead to muscle weakness, numbness, spasms, headaches, and neck stiffness. There may also be a cracking or popping sound when moving the neck.
C5 and C6 are the most common areas for disc herniation. Symptoms include weakness in the biceps and front of the upper arms, weakness in the wrist extensor muscles, and pain, numbness, and tingling that radiate to the thumb side of the hand.
The pressure that a bulging disc applies to your nerves can cause your nerves to misfire, especially if the area develops a pinched nerve. You can experience tingling, numbness, acute and chronic pain, and even nerve damage if your condition is left untreated.
Massage is usually part of the physical therapy for a cervical herniated disc, but patients also obtain this treatment as a stand alone method of reducing pain. Massage may be effective in making patients feel better but there is a low likelihood that it will have a direct effect on the herniated disc itself.
Skip movements that involve significant axial loading on the lower back, such as squats and leg presses. Avoid toe-touches, sit-ups, and yoga poses that worsen the pain and lead to significant bending of the back.
Bulges can put pressure on the surrounding nerve roots, leading to pain that radiates down the back and other areas of the body depending on its location within the spinal column. If the symptoms are severe enough and have become chronic, surgery for a bulging disc may be required.
Most disc bulges resolve in 6-8 weeks, but it can take longer depending on the size of the bulge (i.e. if the bulge is hitting the nerve behind it like described above).
Deep Tissue Massage: There are more than 100 types of massage, but deep tissue massage is an ideal option if you have a herniated disc because it uses a great deal of pressure to relieve deep muscle tension and spasms, which develop to prevent muscle motion at the affected area.
The Difference Between Muscle and Disc Pain
Muscle pain will feel like post-workout soreness, while disc pain will feel debilitating and tingly. It is helpful to know the difference before you see your doctor so you can accurately describe the pain to them.
Avoid Sitting Too Much
Sitting for long periods is not advised if you suffer from a herniated disc. It places more stress on your spinal discs, worsening the pain. You can maintain comfort by regularly moving around or standing up from your seat.
If the C5 and C6 discs are bulging, they only cause pain about 50 percent of the time, but this condition can lead to a straightened neck; this leads to tension on the spine, known to cause numbness, pain, and tingling throughout the upper body.
Common warning signs of a herniated disc
Following are some of the most common symptoms of a herniated disc: Radiating pain in your arms or legs. Loss of reflexes or weakness in your arms or legs. Numbness or abnormal tingling sensations in your arms or legs.
Bulging and Herniated Discs Explained
"A bulging disc is like letting air out of a car tire. The disc sags and looks like it is bulging outward. With a herniated disc, the outer covering of the disc has a hole or tear. This causes the nucleus pulposus (jelly-like center of the disc) to leak into the spinal canal."