Does the c6-7 minimal proturding disc hernition abutting cause back pain?

Answer 1

There isn't enough information to answer this question conclusively. But here is a bit of information to help you understand the mechanism of the protruding disc and perhaps allow you develop questions to ask your practitioner.

A great number of people have protruding discs with NO symptoms. Conversely, a large number of people who complain of Back pain show not disc protrusion on imaging. There is no direct correlation between disc protrusion on imaging (xray/CT/MRI) and back pain.

There are people who have a protruding disc and back pain who choose surgery and after surgery find no reduction in their back pain. Back pain alone is typically NOT an indication for surgery. A good orthopedic/neurologic doctor will not even do radiologic films (CT/MRI) until they have determined through manual testing and observation that surgery is indicated. Those tests should be done to confirm the level of surgery, not to diagnose.

Medical science has a few theories as to how discs cause pain - they are not sure if the disc material is physically touching the nerve, of if there is a chemical reaction between the disc material and the nerve that causes irritation and pain. There is conflicting evidence, made more complex when scar tissue comes into play post surgery, that indicates there may be more than one mechanism for pain. This would explain why one treatment works on one patient, but not on another.

Whether or not your protruding disc causes pain depends on a few factors. Where is the disc protruding? Is it protruding into the area the nerve root occupies? If it does, then you have to consider the size and shape of the space the nerve root runs through. It is fairly wide or is it narrow - the size and shape of the canal can be affected by birth/genetics, degenerative conditions that narrow the space, the degree to which the disc is bulging, bony spurs that take up some of the space, etc.

With all these factors at play, you could have a tiny bulge into a tiny space and wind up with strong symptoms or you could have a large bulge into a roomy space and have no symptoms at all.

Typcially symptoms from nerve roots will not cause just back pain. They may cause no back pain at all, but they won't usually cause only back pain. Nerve involvement causes some degree of radiating pain, numbness/change in sensation, or muscle weakness. The way those symptoms radiate are fairly predictive, but not an exact science, which is why a surgeon will do a CT or MRI to confirm the level of injury just prior to surgery.

Without radiating symptoms, there is a strong chance that there is not nerve involvement and your pain should be treated conservatively with physical therapy.