Between each set of vertebral bones in your spine is a soft, cushiony tissue known as a vertebral disc. The discs resemble jelly doughnuts — they’re made of a soft gel-like substance encased in harder tissue. Your vertebral discs are your spine’s shock absorbers, allowing you to flex, twist, and move your spine freely and without pain.

When the outer casing of the disc is torn due to an injury or illness, the jellylike interior can push through to the exterior and brush against or press on sensitive nerves. A herniated disc also is less effective at protecting other structures in your spine. Your facet joints can become stressed, causing pain, inflammation, and this can eventually affect nerves and muscles in the spine.

You’re most likely to develop a degenerative disc in your cervical spine (neck) or lumbar spine (lower back). However, any disc along your spine can degenerate.

You’re more likely to develop a herniated disc as you age, because your discs become thinner and drier, making them more susceptible to injury. Other risk factors include:

- Being overweight

- Not getting enough exercise

- Repetitive motions of the spine

- Engaging in sports or high-impact activities

- Trauma

- Poor posture

Smoking and overuse of alcohol can also degrade your discs.

Despite the dramatic changes that a disc undergoes when it begins to herniate, you might not feel any symptoms at first. The most common symptoms of herniated discs include:

- Neck pain

- Shoulder pain

- Arm pain

- Lower back pain

- Buttock pain

- Sciatica (Pain that radiates down the legs)

- Weakness in limbs

- Tingling or numbness in limbs

If you suspect you have a slipped disc or have pain in your back or limbs, Dr. Silva determines the source of your pain and helps you heal the disc using supportive and regenerative therapies.

Dr. Silva views your body as a sophisticated machine whose parts all affect one another. Based on your individual needs, he helps your body heal a herniated disc with state-of-the-art therapies like:

- Prolotherapy

- Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatments

- Cellular Therapy treatments

To get relief from the pain, numbness, or disability from a herniated disc, contact the helpful team at Interventional Orthopedics of Washington by phone or using the online request form.