If you’re dealing with back pain and searching for answers, there’s a good chance the term “slipped disc” has crossed your mind. It’s one of the most common things patients ask me about when they come into our Cary office — but here’s what might surprise you: most of the time, it isn’t actually what’s going on.
As a chiropractor who has treated back pain for years at SpineCare Chiropractic Center, I see this exact worry walk through our doors on a near-daily basis. So let’s clear up what a “slipped disc” actually is, how it’s different from the other common causes of back pain, and how to know which one you’re dealing with.
What People Usually Mean by “Slipped Disc”
When patients say “slipped disc,” they’re almost always referring to what’s medically known as a herniated disc — a disc in the spine that has become damaged and is pressing on a nearby nerve.
But in my experience, most patients who come into our office worried about a slipped disc are not actually dealing with a true herniated disc. Back pain has several possible causes, including:
- A strained muscle
- A pinched nerve
- An inflamed disc
- A true herniated disc
Each of these can feel similar from the inside, which is exactly why so many people assume the worst.
The Key Difference: Where Does Your Pain Show Up?
Here’s the distinction I walk patients through in nearly every exam:
A true herniated disc typically causes radiating pain, numbness, tingling, or weakness that travels into an arm or leg — with or without pain in the back itself. The hallmark is that the symptom isn’t staying put; it’s traveling.
A patient who’s a good candidate for chiropractic care, on the other hand, usually has dull or sharp pain localized in the back that may or may not radiate into an extremity. If your pain is staying largely in your back, that’s a meaningfully different picture than a disc pressing on a nerve root.
This one distinction — radiating symptoms versus localized pain — is often the first thing that tells me which direction we’re heading with treatment.
How We Actually Determine What’s Going On
I don’t guess. Every patient goes through a hands-on exam that includes:
- Range of motion testing
- Strength testing
- Touch sensitivity testing
If those findings point toward muscle strain, joint dysfunction, or a pinched nerve, we can typically move forward with treatment right away. If we suspect a true disc herniation, we’ll refer the patient for an MRI to confirm before deciding on the best path forward. We can also take X-rays in-office, though X-rays alone won’t confirm a disc herniation — that requires MRI imaging.
Yes, Even Herniated Discs Often Respond to Chiropractic Care
Here’s something a lot of people don’t expect to hear from a chiropractor: even when a patient does have a true herniated disc, we can often still help — and frequently with great success.
Treatment for a herniated disc at our office typically includes a combination of:
- Chiropractic adjustments
- Soft tissue work
- Rehab therapy — which may include stretches, targeted exercises, or traction, depending on what that specific patient needs
That said, severity matters. If, after a full exam, we determine a patient’s symptoms are beyond what our level of care is appropriate for, we refer them to a neurologist or neurosurgeon for a second opinion. But that’s not the typical outcome — most of the time, chiropractic care is genuinely able to help.
Why I Encourage Patients to Try Chiropractic Care Before Drugs or Surgery
This is where I’ll share my honest opinion, built on years of treating back pain: medication is, at best, a temporary fix. It masks the symptoms of an underlying problem without correcting the actual cause. And surgery is invasive — it should be a last resort, not a first move.
We’ve treated hundreds of patients who came to us tired of taking medication for a problem that simply wasn’t going away. By identifying and correcting the underlying spinal misalignment, we’ve been able to resolve their problem and help them avoid surgery altogether.
That’s the outcome I want for every patient who walks in worried about a “slipped disc” — not a prescription that wears off, and not an operating room, but an actual answer to what’s wrong and a plan to fix it.
So, Is Your Back Pain a Slipped Disc?
The honest answer: it might be, but it’s far more likely to be a strained muscle, a pinched nerve, or an inflamed disc — all of which respond well to chiropractic care. And even in the cases where it is a true herniation, chiropractic treatment is often still a highly effective first step.
The only way to know for sure is a proper exam. If you’re dealing with back pain and aren’t sure what’s causing it, give us a call to schedule a consultation and exam. We’ll walk you through exactly what’s going on and how — or if — we can help you get back to living your best life.
Curious what else chiropractic care can treat? Take a look at the full list of conditions we treat. And for more insights like this, check out our chiropractic blog.