Can sneezing cause a herniated disc? For many people with back pain caused by a back pain condition (ie, herniated disc), the problem starts off small and then gradually builds until you start to feel symptoms, such as back pain. For example, let’s say you sneeze and feel a sudden, sharp pain in your back. You may have had an underlying herniated disc, and the sneeze was what triggered it to progress.

Your chiropractor might use one of a variety of techniques to treat your herniated disc. One commonly used technique is flexion-distraction. Flexion-distraction involves the use of a specialized table that gently “distracts” or stretches the spine. This allows the chiropractor to isolate the affected area while slightly “flexing” the spine, using a pumping rhythm to decompress the disc.

There is usually no pain associated with this treatment. Instead, the flexion-distraction technique’s gentle pumping to the painful area allows the center of the intervertebral disc (called the nucleus pulposus) to assume its central position in the disc. Flexion-distraction may also improve disc height. This technique can help move the disc away from the nerve, reducing inflammation of the nerve root, and eventually any associated pain and inflammation into the leg (if there is any related to your herniated disc).

With flexion-distraction, you generally need a series of treatments combined with adjunctive ultrasound, muscle stimulation, physiotherapy, supplementation, and at-home treatments (your chiropractor will let you know what those are). Gradually, specific exercises and nutritional recommendations will be incorporated into your treatment plan. Your chiropractor will monitor you throughout the course of your treatment.

Presented as a service to the community by: Union County Chiropractic Clinic, 110 Skyline Drive, Maynardville, TN (865) 992-7000 www.unioncountychiropractic.com