A very common pain issue people have is pain in their extremities. This shouldn’t come as a surprise when you think of the daily wear and tear your arms and legs go through on a daily basis. As you might imagine, when you have extremity pain it can be detrimental to your daily life; and unfortunately, as you get older extremity pain can happen due to the normal aging process or daily wear and tear.
Symptoms Of Extremity Pain
- Numbness/tingling in your arms and legs
- Persistent or sharp pain in the joints of your extremities
- Unexplained weakness in your extremity joints
- Extremity joint locking
Your spine is put together through vertebrae, which are basically just connected bones. There is a disc that consists of extremely strong connective tissue that essentially holds each vertebra to the other and sort of “cushions” each one. Each disc has a tough outer layer and a center that consists of a gel-like substance.
As we age, the gel-like center can start to lose its water content, effectively making the disc less cushion-like. Because the disc is no longer acting like a cushion, the disc can become displaced and create issues with not only your spine but also some very uncomfortable extremity pain. Some of these common causes of extremity pain include Bulging disc, Degenerative disc, or Herniated/Ruptured disc.
Bulging Disc
A bulging disc, also known as a slipped disc, is usually found in the lower back area. It can lead to leg pain, numbness or tingling in your legs or foot or even a radiating feeling from your spine all the way down your leg to your foot. You can also experience a bulging disc in the upper and middle areas of your spine, but the lower back is the most common because of the amount of weight the lower back is supposed to support.
Unfortunately, a bulging disc is very common. Many people live their lives with a bulging disc and don’t even realize it. The reason for this is because the bulging disc is not the actual source of a person’s pain. It’s the nerves that the bulging disc are irritating that start sending pain signals to your brain. You begin to feel the pain in your extremities because your bulging disc is located close to the nerve pathways of your entire body.
Degenerative Disc
The most common cause of a bulging disc is degenerative disc disease. This condition creates an ongoing weakening of the vertebrae discs that naturally occurs as a person ages. It is a part of the aging process for our discs to break down throughout the years; however, seeing a chiropractor and making healthy lifestyle choices will help prevent potential back and disc pain.
Herniated Disc/Ruptured Disc
A herniated disc commonly occurs in the lower spine, just below your waist. This type of disc problem can end up pressing on your nerves and cause general back pain, tingling, and numbness, or even weakness in your leg. This type of pain is called sciatica and it affects people usually between the ages of 30 and 50 years old.
The main goal when treating extremity pain, ultimately disc pain, is to get your joints back in their proper alignment. By seeing a chiropractor for extremity pain you are receiving treatment from a trained professional who has not only studied but understands soft tissue injuries and can actually provide you with the necessary treatment to relieve you of your extremity pain. In fact, the same techniques a chiropractor uses in helping with pain from your spine can actually help alleviate pain in other areas of your body, like your extremities. However, just like treatment for back pain, treatment for extremity pain will vary depending on the patient, the cause of the pain and what part of the body is hurting.
Manual adjustments performed by a chiropractor can help you gain back your range of motion and overall relief when other more traditional routes may have failed you. If you would like your pain relief to last long term, receiving regular chiropractic care can help keep your body in its correct alignment, therefore, helping you function and heal the way your body was intended.