Spine, Spinal, and Neck Injury Attorney and Lawyer Attorney and Lawyers to help you with your spinal cord injuries.

New York Spine Injury Attorney and Lawyer Can Help

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. Thick ligaments attached to the vertebrae hold the pulpy disc material in place.  A herniated disk is a disk that slips out of place or ruptures, often producing pain, which may be severe.  Discs that become herniated are usually in an early stage of degeneration.  Herniated discs are more common in the lower back (lumbar spine), but also occur in the neck.  The area in which you experience pain depends on what part of the spine is affected. Injuries are infrequently geographically driven, but of late the count of orange spinal cord injury cases has been rising.

What are the Causes of Herniated Disc Ruptures and Injuries?
Strain or injury, which is excessive and may be a single time incident, can cause a herniated disc. Also with age the ligaments that hold it in place begin to weaken. As this weakness (degeneration) continues, a relatively minor strain or twisting movement can cause a disc to herniate. Typically a new york spine injury attorney has seen hundreds of cases and can find you care and provide further assistance. Location is not an factor as we see boulder spinal cord injury, spinal cord injuries in brooklyn, cincinnati spinal cord injury, spinal cord injury nyc, manhattan, queens, parkersburg, you name it.
Certain individuals may suffer herniated discs in several places along the spine, depending on susceptibility. A predisposition for herniated discs may exist in families. However, if the injury was not your fault, a manhattan spine injury attorney will give you guidance.

What Are Herniated Disc Injury Symptoms
This depends greatly on the position of the herniated disc and the amount of the rupture. If the herniated disc is not pressing on a nerve, one may experience a low backache or no pain at all. If a nerve is being pressed, there may be pain, numbness, or weakness in the area of the body to which the nerve travels. Normally this follows the low-level pain symptoms.
Neck (Cervical Spine): You may experience dull or sharp pain in the neck or between the shoulder blades. Sometimes pain that radiates down the arm to the hand or fingers occurs. At other times numbness or tingling in the shoulder or arm occurs. Certain positions or movements of the neck will normally change the symptoms experienced.
Lower back (Lumbar Spine): A herniated disc in the lower back normally results in Sciatica. Pressure to the sciatic nerve can cause pain, burning, tingling, and numbness, etc. that radiates from the buttock into the leg and lower at times. Normally only one side is affected and is described as sharp and like an electric shock. Standing, walking or sitting may increase severity.

What Can I Do?
A neurosurgeon will make a diagnosis based on a physical examination and tests. He will review your history and symptoms.  Various tests can include:
 - Electromyogram and Nerve Conduction Studies (EMG/NCS):
 - X-ray
 - MRI
 - Myleogram
 - CT or CAT scan
 - Computed tomography scan

 
How Can I Be Helped?
Most herniated discs injuries do not require surgery. However, a very small percentage of people with herniated, degenerated discs may experience symptomatic or severe and incapacitating low back pain, which significantly affects their daily life. It is important to call a new york spine injury attorney to see if you have options other than medical.

The initial treatment for a herniated disc is usually conservative and non-surgical. Prescriptions may include:
 - bed rest
 - advice to maintain a low, painless activity level for a period (few days to several weeks)
 - Both of these will decrease spinal nerve inflammation
 - non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication if the pain is only mild to moderate
 - epidural steroid injection is an option to put the medication to the exact location of the disc herniation
 - recommend physical therapy following in-depth evaluation

Final Option Is Surgery
If the above is not successful, the gain outweighs the risk and you are in reasonably good health, you may be considered a surgery candidate if:
 - You experience loss of normal bowel and bladder functions
 - You have difficulty standing or walking
 - You develop progressive deficits, such as leg weakness and/or numbness
 - Back and leg pain limits normal activity or impairs your quality of life

Types of Surgery
 - Laminectomy
 - Discectomy
 - Artificial disc surgery
 - Spinal Fusion
 - Laminotomy

Why Pays?
No one ever knows, but a call to your local or new york city spine injury lawyer or, more specifically, your manhattan spine injury lawyer will easily answer that question.

How Can I Avoid Herniated Disc Injury?
 - Use correct lifting and moving techniques, such as squatting to lift a heavy object. Don’t bend and lift. Get help if an object is too heavy or awkward.
 - Maintain correct posture when you’re sitting and standing.
 - Do crunches and other abdominal-muscle strengthening exercises to provide more spine stability. Swimming, stationary bicycling and brisk walking are good aerobic exercises that generally do not put extra stress on your back.
 - If you smoke, quit. Smoking is a risk factor for arthrosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), which can cause lower back pain and degenerative disc disorders.
 - Avoid stressful situations if possible, as this can cause muscle tension.
 - Maintain a healthy weight. Extra weight, especially around the midsection, can put strain on your lower back.

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