Does this sound like you?
Common signs
- Back pain with pain, tingling or numbness travelling into the buttock, leg or foot
- Pain that spikes when you cough, sneeze or strain
- A sharp catch when bending forward, or difficulty sitting for long
- Neck pain with symptoms running into the shoulder, arm or hand
- Weakness in a foot, ankle or grip on one side
- Symptoms that ease when lying down and return on standing or sitting
- Pins and needles in a defined band of skin rather than the whole limb
This list describes the condition in general. It is not a diagnosis. Only an in-person assessment can tell you what is causing your symptoms.
What contributes to it
Why it happens
- Sustained flexion
- Sitting bent forward for hours at a desk, in traffic or over a phone loads the front of the disc and pushes its contents backward. Repeated over years, this is the most common background to a disc problem we see in Kuala Lumpur.
- Lifting with a rounded back
- Lifting while bent and twisted places a high, uneven load on the disc. The event itself may feel minor at the time, with symptoms arriving hours or a day later.
- Age-related disc change
- Discs lose water content and height over time, which reduces their tolerance to load. This is a normal part of ageing and does not by itself mean pain. It does mean a given movement asks more of the disc than it once did.
- Restricted joints above and below
- When neighbouring spinal segments stop moving well, the segment that still moves takes more of the load. Identifying which levels have stopped moving is a large part of what the assessment is for.
How we help
Our approach
Establishing which level is involved
Your first visit follows the Gonstead six-step assessment: history taking, visualisation, instrumentation with the nervoscope, palpation including a full-motion assessment of the spinal and pelvic joints, X-ray analysis where indicated, and only then an adjustment. X-rays are used to rule out pathology and assess the intervertebral discs and joints, which matters more with a suspected disc problem than with ordinary mechanical back pain.
Non-surgical care, delivered specifically
We start with conservative care. Once the involved segment is identified, the adjustment is specific to it and delivered by hand, and your chiropractor will explain what they found and what they intend to do before anything happens. Where the presentation calls for imaging beyond X-ray or a specialist opinion, you will be referred appropriately. That judgement is made at the assessment stage.
Loading the spine back to tolerance
Alongside chiropractic care, our physiotherapy side works on how you sit, hinge and lift, and builds tolerance in the muscles that share load with the disc. This is slower going than the work on the table, and it is usually what decides whether the problem keeps coming back.
When to seek urgent care
See a doctor first if you have any of these
These need a medical assessment before you begin chiropractic care. If any apply to you, contact a doctor or go to the nearest emergency department.
- Loss of bladder or bowel control, or numbness around the groin, buttocks and inner thighs
- Weakness in both legs, or weakness that is getting worse rather than staying steady
- A foot that drags or that you cannot lift properly
- Severe, unrelenting pain that is not eased by any position, including lying down
- Disc symptoms following a significant fall, road accident or direct trauma
- Fever, unexplained weight loss, or a history of cancer alongside new spinal pain
Frequently asked questions
What patients ask us
Can a chiropractor help with a slipped disc, or do I need surgery?
Many disc presentations are managed conservatively. Surgery is generally considered when conservative care has not helped, or when there is progressive nerve weakness or a red-flag presentation. A surgical opinion is a legitimate and sometimes necessary step, and being sent for one does not mean anything has gone wrong. Your chiropractor will assess your case and refer you appropriately if a specialist would serve you better.
Is chiropractic adjustment safe with a herniated disc?
It depends on the presentation, which is why the assessment comes first. You may read that a disc should never be adjusted, or that any twisting technique is unsafe. The reality is less absolute. A Gonstead adjustment is specific to one segment and delivered by hand, the position is chosen for the case in front of us, and some disc presentations are better served by leaving the involved level alone, or by imaging or a medical opinion before anything else. X-ray, where indicated, helps rule out other causes before any adjustment. Tell us about any numbness, weakness or bladder and bowel changes when you book.
Bulging, protruding, prolapsed or herniated: what does my scan report mean?
These words describe how far the disc material has pushed outward. A bulge spreads a little beyond its usual edge all round, a protrusion or herniation pushes further out at one point, and an extrusion means material has broken through the outer wall. "Prolapsed" and "slipped" are everyday names for the same group. The word on the report matters less than how the nerve is behaving, and our post on bulging disc vs herniated disc goes through the terms in more detail.
What can I do at home for a slipped disc?
Stay as active as you comfortably can, and break up long spells of sitting every 30 minutes or so. Notice which positions ease the leg or arm symptoms and which bring them on: lying on your back with your knees bent, or on your side with a pillow between your knees, suits many people. Hold off on heavy lifting and long forward bending until it settles. If the symptoms keep spreading further down the leg or arm, or any weakness appears, book in rather than waiting it out.
Do I need an MRI before coming in?
Not usually. We start with the Gonstead assessment and X-ray analysis where indicated, which is enough to guide care in many cases. If your presentation suggests an MRI would change the plan, your chiropractor will say so and arrange the appropriate referral.
How long does a slipped disc take to settle?
Recovery varies a great deal with the size of the herniation, how long symptoms have been present, and how the spine is loaded day to day. Some people notice change within weeks, others need months of consistent work. Your chiropractor will give you a timeline based on your own assessment rather than a general figure.
