Why a Herniated Disc Causes Referred Pain

/337 Comments/in , , /by



Herniated Disc CausesA herniated disc causes many different types of symptoms, from shooting pain to muscle weakness to a pins-and-needles sensation. Depending on the location of the herniated disc, these symptoms can reach as far as the fingers and toes. Why? Because all of the nerves that provide muscle and sensory stimulation throughout the body are extensions of the spinal nerve roots that branch off the spinal cord. If an anatomical abnormality like a herniated disc intrudes on the spaces in the spinal column where the spinal cord and its nerve roots reside, and nerve tissue becomes compressed, pain signals may be sent along the entire path of the compressed nerve.


In the case of a herniated disc in the cervical spine, the presence of both localized neck pain and referred pain will depend on whether a specific nerve root is being compressed. There are seven vertebrae in the cervical region of the spine, labeled C1-C7. The first two vertebrae, the atlas (C1) and the axis (C2), form a joint that connects the skull to the spine and helps the head move from side to side. The remaining five vertebrae assist in supporting the weight of the skull and facilitating flexion and extension, which involve moving the head forward and backward, respectively. Unlike the first two vertebrae, C3-C7 are separated by intervertebral discs. The discs help to absorb shock and provide flexibility to the neck.

Pairs of cervical nerve roots branch out from the top portion of the spinal cord and travel through openings on either side between the cervical vertebrae. When a herniated disc causes nerve compression of one or more of these nerve roots, the following symptoms can occur:

  • C5 nerve root – can cause shoulder pain and muscle weakness in the upper arm
  • C6 nerve root – can cause weakness in the biceps and wrists, in addition to tingling along the inside of the hand and thumb
  • C7 nerve root – can cause weakness in the muscles at the back of the arm and the fingers, in addition to tingling in the middle finger
  • C8 nerve root – can cause weakness when the hand tries to grip something, in addition to shooting pain in the entire arm and outside of the hand

Some people also find that a cervical herniated disc causes pain within the disc itself, as well as soreness or tenseness in the muscles and ligaments of the neck, which can contribute to localized neck pain and/or headaches. If your doctor diagnoses you with a herniated disc in the neck, a regimen of conservative treatments will likely help the discomfort to dissipate. Common therapies include physical therapy, stretching, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and hot/cold compresses.

You might also like
Antibiotics - Are They Causing Your Neck Pain?
Tension Neck Syndrome - Solutions for Construction Workers
Thunder God Vine with Methotrexate Better than Rheumatoid Arthritis Medication Alone
Laminectomy and Fusion for Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy
Learning More About Your Cervical Herniated Disc Diagnosis
Neck Pain - Is it a Heart Attack?
Facet Disease in the Neck
Causes of Neck and Shoulder Pain
337 replies
  71. tinyurl.com
    tinyurl.com says:

    Have you ever considered creating an e-book or guest authoring on other blogs?
    I have a blog based on the same subjects you discuss
    and would love to have you share some stories/information. I know
    my subscribers would appreciate your work. If you are even remotely
    interested, feel free to shoot me an e-mail.

    Reply
  90. http://bit.ly/3aZvKUC
    http://bit.ly/3aZvKUC says:

    My coder is trying to convince me to move to .net from PHP.
    I have always disliked the idea because of the costs.
    But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using Movable-type on a number of
    websites for about a year and am worried about
    switching to another platform. I have heard
    good things about blogengine.net. Is there a way I can transfer all my wordpress posts into it?
    Any help would be really appreciated!

    Reply
  91. tinyurl.com
    tinyurl.com says:

    Hey there! Do you know if they make any plugins to protect against hackers?
    I’m kinda paranoid about losing everything I’ve worked hard on. Any
    recommendations?

    Reply
  146. tinyurl.com
    tinyurl.com says:

    My developer is trying to convince me to move to .net from PHP.

    I have always disliked the idea because of the costs. But
    he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using WordPress on a variety of websites for about
    a year and am worried about switching to another platform.
    I have heard great things about blogengine.net. Is there a
    way I can import all my wordpress content into it? Any help would be really
    appreciated!

    Reply
  149. http://menpodcastingbadly.co.uk
    http://menpodcastingbadly.co.uk says:

    Hi would you mind letting me know which web host you’re working with?
    I’ve loaded your blog in 3 completely different web browsers and
    I must say this blog loads a lot quicker then most.
    Can you recommend a good web hosting provider at a honest price?

    Cheers, I appreciate it!

    Reply
  151. tinyurl.com
    tinyurl.com says:

    Thanks for another great post. The place else may anyone get that kind of information in such
    an ideal way of writing? I’ve a presentation subsequent week, and
    I’m at the search for such info.

    Reply
  157. coupon
    coupon says:

    My spouse and I stumbled over here different website and
    thought I might as well check things out. I like what I see so i am just following you.
    Look forward to looking over your web page repeatedly.

    Also visit my page :: coupon

    Reply
  160. http://tinyurl.com
    http://tinyurl.com says:

    Hey I am so thrilled I found your site, I really found you by error, while I was
    browsing on Askjeeve for something else, Regardless I am here now and
    would just like to say thanks for a incredible post and a all round enjoyable blog (I also love the theme/design),
    I don’t have time to go through it all at the minute
    but I have saved it and also added your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read a great
    deal more, Please do keep up the fantastic work.

    Reply
  173. http://tinyurl.com/
    http://tinyurl.com/ says:

    An outstanding share! I’ve just forwarded this onto a friend who has been doing a little homework
    on this. And he actually ordered me breakfast due to the fact that I stumbled upon it for him…
    lol. So let me reword this…. Thank YOU for the meal!! But
    yeah, thanx for spending some time to discuss this topic here on your internet site.

    Reply
  210. tinyurl.com
    tinyurl.com says:

    Howdy! I know this is kind of off topic but I was wondering if you knew where I could locate a captcha plugin for my comment form?

    I’m using the same blog platform as yours and I’m having trouble finding one?

    Thanks a lot!

    Reply
  248. tinyurl.com
    tinyurl.com says:

    Thanks for one’s marvelous posting! I seriously enjoyed reading it, you could be a great author.
    I will make certain to bookmark your blog and will eventually come
    back from now on. I want to encourage you to definitely continue your great work, have a nice afternoon!

    Reply
  259. thichonee
    thichonee says:

    At the beginning, Gu Min was not in the Jinque Realm, so he was able to mobilize the sword light of heaven and does cialis increase testosterone levels in a human male earth to kill the Moon Wolf at the beginning of the Jinque Realm. nolvadex

    Reply
  285. Lester Foister
    Lester Foister says:

    hey there and thank you for your information – I’ve certainly picked up anything new from right here. I did however expertise several technical issues using this website, since I experienced to reload the web site a lot of times previous to I could get it to load properly. I had been wondering if your hosting is OK? Not that I am complaining, but sluggish loading instances times will sometimes affect your placement in google and can damage your quality score if advertising and marketing with Adwords. Anyway I’m adding this RSS to my e-mail and could look out for much more of your respective exciting content. Make sure you update this again very soon..

    Reply
  287. ลดริ้วรอย
    ลดริ้วรอย says:

    Howdy! I know this is kinda off topic but I’d figured I’d ask. Would you be interested in exchanging links or maybe guest authoring a blog article or vice-versa? My site addresses a lot of the same topics as yours and I believe we could greatly benefit from each other. If you’re interested feel free to shoot me an email. I look forward to hearing from you! Awesome blog by the way!

    Reply
  291. แทงหวยออนไลน์
    แทงหวยออนไลน์ says:

    You really make it seem so easy with your presentation however I in finding this topic to be actually something which I feel I would never understand. It sort of feels too complicated and extremely huge for me. I am taking a look ahead to your next put up, I will attempt to get the dangle of it!

    Reply
  296. kbc head office
    kbc head office says:

    Having read this I thought it was very informative. I appreciate you taking the time and effort to put this article together. I once again find myself spending way to much time both reading and commenting. But so what, it was still worth it!

    Reply
  302. quantec pro
    quantec pro says:

    Hi would you mind stating which blog platform you’re using? I’m planning to start my own blog soon but I’m having a hard time choosing between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal. The reason I ask is because your design and style seems different then most blogs and I’m looking for something unique. P.S Apologies for getting off-topic but I had to ask!

    Reply
  303. FAGBEARING
    FAGBEARING says:

    When I originally commented I clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get four emails with the same comment. Is there any way you can remove me from that service? Thanks!

    Reply
  308. idn poker
    idn poker says:

    Merely a smiling visitant here to share the love (:, btw great design and style. “Make the most of your regrets… . To regret deeply is to live afresh.” by Henry David Thoreau.

    Reply
  320. json to text
    json to text says:

    Please let me know if you’re looking for a writer for your site. You have some really good articles and I believe I would be a good asset. If you ever want to take some of the load off, I’d really like to write some articles for your blog in exchange for a link back to mine. Please send me an email if interested. Regards!

    Reply
  321. how to make money online for free
    how to make money online for free says:

    What i don’t realize is if truth be told how you’re now not really much more well-liked than you may be now. You’re very intelligent. You already know therefore considerably in the case of this subject, made me in my view imagine it from a lot of numerous angles. Its like men and women are not interested until it’s one thing to do with Girl gaga! Your individual stuffs excellent. At all times handle it up!

    Reply
  326. SPA COM HIDRO MASTER
    SPA COM HIDRO MASTER says:

    I’m really inspired along with your writing talents and also with the format for your blog. Is that this a paid theme or did you modify it yourself? Anyway keep up the nice quality writing, it’s rare to look a nice weblog like this one today..

    Reply
  327. banda casamento sp
    banda casamento sp says:

    Hi there! I know this is kinda off topic but I was wondering which blog platform are you using for this site? I’m getting tired of WordPress because I’ve had issues with hackers and I’m looking at options for another platform. I would be fantastic if you could point me in the direction of a good platform.

    Reply
  328. vender joias
    vender joias says:

    Thank you for every other excellent article. Where else could anyone get that kind of information in such a perfect method of writing? I’ve a presentation next week, and I’m at the look for such info.

    Reply
  329. web design em porto seguro
    web design em porto seguro says:

    Hi there, i read your blog from time to time and i own a similar one and i was just wondering if you get a lot of spam responses? If so how do you protect against it, any plugin or anything you can recommend? I get so much lately it’s driving me crazy so any assistance is very much appreciated.

    Reply
  330. wikipedia
    wikipedia says:

    Greetings from Ohio! I’m bored to death at work so I decided to browse your blog on my iphone during lunch break. I enjoy the information you present here and can’t wait to take a look when I get home. I’m shocked at how fast your blog loaded on my mobile .. I’m not even using WIFI, just 3G .. Anyways, very good site!

    Reply
  336. kbc lottery 2022
    kbc lottery 2022 says:

    Thanks a bunch for sharing this with all of us you really realize what you’re talking about! Bookmarked. Kindly also consult with my site =). We may have a link alternate agreement among us!

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.