Hockey Puck vs. Doughnut: Which Is It?

Hockey Puck vs. Doughnut: Which Is It?

Good article if you have degenerated spinal discs, bulging discs, or heniated discs. Your spinal discs have been described as a jelly filled doughnut or a hockey puck, which is it?

As you know, your discs are the spacers between your spinal bones, they are RICH in nerve supply (feel pain, position, pressure, etc) and POOR in blood supply.

Your discs are similar to tendons and ligaments, which also have poor blood supply and heal s-l-o-w-l-y. In the middle of your extremely tough discs is a gelatinous center, the pivot point of your disc (this is why some docs describe as a jelly doughnut).

Hockey Puck: Strong & Tough.

Your disc IS strong and tough- like a hockey puck, usually your spinal bones change shape/(degeneration) FIRST, which then causes your discs to slowly become damaged, technically called dessication (drying out and becoming fragile).

Why?

Your disc does not have a rich supply of blood, so it heals slowly. The way your disc gets it's proper nutrition is through movement. When you have a structural deviation of your spinal bones, this changes your spines proper angle. This cause constriction of your nervous system(pinched nerves is a common description), obstructs your nerves communication(nerves do not function at optimal - you may feel tingling, numbness, burning or sharp pain, and pins and needles), and disrupts normal movement.

What is common?

What commonly is done is to dampen your pain with medications, PT, massage, and conventional chiropractic care, and these will help you move better, lessen muscle spasm and help with pain.

What is a little different that is worth a mention, especially if you wish to correct vs. temporarily patch up a problem is Structural Chiropractic.

As a structural chiropractor which is different than conventional chiropractic, PT, and massage therapists we detect these structural shifts in the spine and then correct these abnormal shifts.  We use gentle specific non-invasive spinal corrections using our SCI and then we fortify your spine with our spinal restoration and complementary recommendations. And then, teach you how to protect your spine all on your own.

Regain Disc Health...

Once the spinal structure has been restored, this takes the harsh pressures off the spinal discs, allowing your spinal bones to function normally which helps your discs heal. Now, will discs go back to normal? What we have found is your discs do improve with structural care and gain height, less or eliminate pain, and  totally back to normal is not likely.

Have a great day!

Dr. Chris

About Dr. Chris Chase