Norw1A Tutor – Sue Smith
Choose a medical condition that interests you and research it. Write about the possible uses of hypnosis in the treatment of the condition as you see them.
I would like to talk about a slipped disk also know as a prolapsed disc or a spinal disc herniation and the closly related condition sciatica. When people say they have a slipped disc, they are often using a general term for back problems. Many people are unaware that the term ‘slipped disc’ can refer to a range of medical problems; all of which relate to the discs of soft tissue that separate the vertebrae in the spinal column. The spine is made up of 24 vertebrae, these vertebrae allow for a variety of movement. Flexion and extention [to bend forwards or backwards] and lateral flexion [side way movement and twisting.]. Constant combinations of the two movements can put great strain on to the back, which can then result in a slipped disc. A slipped disk can occur due to any one of the following, lifting, trauma, injury or an idiopathic reason. The discs are protective pads which lay between each vertebrae. The discs job is to cushion and as shock absorbers to the spine when the body is moving. A slipped disc can occur along the complete length of the spinal column from the neck to the lower back.
Each disc is made up from a tough outer caseing,[annulus fibrosus] this contains a soft gel like substance for which the medical term is nucleus pulposus. When the outer caseing ruptures and the gel begins to protrude out between the vertebra and so a slipped disc has occurred. The slipped disc can not only cause a lot of severe back pain but can cause pain in any part of the body. If the slipped disc is pressing on nerves, the pain will go to where ever those nerves lead to in the body.
The pain caused by the slipped disc pressing on the nerves in the lumber area is a condition known as sciatica, although sciatica can be caused by other