I have been diagnosed with a ruptured disc in my lower back. i have a lot of pain in lower back, leg, foot. what should i do? chronic back pain

You : You need to see a neurosurgeon or an orthopedic spine specialist. The fact that the disc has ruptured (not herniated or bulging) means that bits of the disc can be migrating to places where they cause other symptoms.

Ruptured : Ruptured disk is when the disk breaks out of the disk space into the spinal canal and pinches the sciatic nerve causing leg pain called sciatica. Sciatica may improve over a 6 to 12 week period. Sciatica is usually treated with rest, medications (anti-inflammatory, steroid dose pack, muscle relaxers, nerve medications - for ex. Neurontin (gabapentin) and pain medicine), physical therapy, steroid injections and surgery. I would recommend seeing your primary care doctor, interventional pain doctor or spine surgeon depending on what treatments you have had. Please see my health guide on slipped disk and sciatica. Good luck!

Integrative care: A herniated disc can cause back pain as well as foot pain by physically pressing on the nerves that travel to the foot and by irritating them through the extrusion of pro-inflammatory disc materials. Physical therapy and other conservative measures, including medication management, are considered first line treatment. If these fail, your physician may recommend epidural steroid injections.