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TexStar Chiropractic

Herniated and Bulging Discs

A disc bulge or herniation means some of the disc’s inner material is pressing toward a nerve. TexStar takes a non-surgical look when that picture matches what your doctor finds. Many bulges show up in people who feel fine. This does not promise you will avoid surgery.

AustinBee CaveBudaDripping Springs / Belterra
Book your visitCall (512) 899-2228
A patient being set up for spinal decompression at TexStar

What it feels like

What a Symptomatic Disc Often Looks Like

A report alone does not make a diagnosis. These are the findings that make the imaging relevant.
  • Arm or leg symptoms that follow one consistent path
  • Pain that is worse sitting or bending forward and better lying down
  • Coughing, sneezing, or straining that sharpens the limb symptoms
  • Numbness or weakness in a pattern the exam can reproduce

What We Can and Cannot Say

Non-surgical care may reduce pain and improve function for some disc problems. TexStar does not promise that you will avoid surgery. If strength is falling or pain is unbearable at rest, a surgical opinion is the right next step.

Why Your MRI Report May Not Be the Problem

Disc bulges are common on imaging in people with no pain at all, and they become more common with age. That does not make your report meaningless, it means the finding only matters if it lines up with the level the exam points to and the symptoms you actually have.

Bulge, Herniation, and the Words in Between

Radiology reports use protrusion, extrusion, and bulge to describe how far material has moved and whether it has broken through. Those distinctions influence what the chiropractor expects. Your Chiropractor will go over the results of the exam and discuss a plan of care. A frightening word on a report is not the same as a frightening exam.

How Decompression Is Considered

The spinal decompression table is used when traction is safe and the symptoms line up with the level that hurts. One trial session can happen on the first visit. A series is offered only after the findings review.

Working Alongside a Surgeon

Some people arrive already under an orthopedic or neurosurgical opinion. Bring that, because it changes what the chiropractor is willing to do, particularly after a fusion. The clinic's role in that situation is conservative care within the limits your surgeon set, not a second opinion on the surgery.

Disc Symptoms That Need Urgent Medical Care

These suggest pressure that conservative care should not be managing. Go now, not next week.

  • Any loss of bladder or bowel control
  • Numbness across the groin or inner thighs
  • Weakness in both legs, or a rapidly worsening foot drop
  • Severe unrelenting pain that does not ease in any position
  • Fever or feeling unwell alongside the spine pain

Where

Available at all four clinics

Same offer and same phone number at every office. Name the clinic you want when you book.

First visit

What the First Visit Includes

One appointment covers the consultation, exam, one trial treatment, and a findings review.
See what the first visit includesBook your visit

Questions

Common Questions

Answers from the chiropractors. Anything specific to you is for your doctor, not a web page.
Should I bring my MRI?

Yes, if you have one. The chiropractor still examines you. The report does not replace the visit.

Do you treat neck and low-back discs?

Both can be evaluated. The table setup is different for the neck and the lumbar spine.

Can a disc go back in?

Symptoms frequently settle over time, and function often improves with conservative care. Nobody can promise you a specific change on a follow-up scan, and any clinic that does is overselling.

Is an adjustment safe with a herniated disc?

It depends entirely on the exam. The chiropractor may use a gentler technique, an instrument, or avoid the level altogether and work elsewhere. Tell them about the diagnosis up front.

I have had a fusion. Can I still be seen?

Often yes, with restrictions. Bring the operative details. Some fusions mean traction is off the table and the plan focuses on the segments above and below.

Will you tell me if I need surgery?

The chiropractor will tell you when findings point toward a surgical opinion and will refer you. That call belongs to a spine surgeon, and it is not one this clinic makes for you.

Keep reading

Related Pages

The treatments the chiropractor may reach for, and the conditions that overlap with this one.

Founder

Dr. Michael P. Henry, DC

Dr. Henry founded TexStar Chiropractic in 2011. He grew up in Manchaca, studied kinesiology at The University of Texas, and was appointed to the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners. Your visit is with the chiropractor at the clinic you choose.

Get to the Root of Your Pain

The consultation, the exam, one trial treatment, and a review of what your doctor found, in a single appointment.

Book your visitCall (512) 899-2228