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Treatment for Bulging Discs C-4 and C-5

If you are experiencing pain when you move your neck along with weakness and numbness in your shoulder, you could have a bulging disc at C4 and C5. Your doctor can recommend treatment.

  1. Bulging Discs

    • Bulging discs C4 and C5 occur when the soft disc between the two cervical vertebrae herniates. The center of the disc pushes out through one of its walls, and the bulging portion of the disc puts pressure on nearby nerves.

    Significance

    • Bulging discs at C4 and C5 are less common then disc problems farther down your neck.

    Traction

    • A bulging cervical disc can be treated with traction. Holding your neck in a flexed forward position can remove pressure from the nerve root. (See CINN)

    Medication

    • Anti-inflammatory medication can reduce pain from a bulging disc. Steroids are also occasionally prescribed.

    Surgery

    • The majority of patients recover from a bulging disc without surgery. For those who require it, a surgeon will remove the damaged disc and replace it with a piece of bone.

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