Best Herniated Disc Exercises and What to Avoid

Posted on February 7, 2012 by LoriDawson

Best Herniated Disc Exercises and What to AvoidHerniated discs are painful conditions that can lead to complete disability and loss of quality of life. There are many treatment options available to help with the pain associated with sciatica, a broad term covering lower back from many different sources. One of these treatment options is exercising; however it is important to know what the best herniated disc exercises are and which exercises should be avoided to prevent more pain. The information included here is provided to give a general overview of how exercise can help with the pain.

Starting Out

Before starting any exercise program to help with herniated discs, it is important to speak with or work with a physical therapist. The therapist will explain the best way to exercise and demonstrate the proper techniques for performing the exercises.

Strengthening the core muscles and the muscles in the lower back will help reduce pain and improve posture which will help with the pain reduction and at the same time help prevent further damage to the disc. The most important part of exercising is to understand how to perform the exercises so that further damage is not done to the disc. It is just as important to know what to avoid when exercising and a therapist can also help pinpoint what should not be done.

The patient should ask questions of the therapist about what exercises can be done safely from home. This should be in addition to a set of exercises that are only preformed with the therapist. The therapist will have in-depth knowledge of exercises that are safe and helpful as well as how many set and repetitions should be done and how often. The goal of the exercises is to remove the intense pressure that is pressing on the nerves and thus causing the pain.

Exercises

Many of the exercises that are recommended for herniated discs are simple, such as those described below.

  • Single Knee to the Chest: Lie on a flat surface with the back firmly on the floor. Place hands behind one thigh and pull that knee toward the chest while keeping the opposite leg flat of the floor. Hold knee to chest for 30 seconds, switch to the other leg and repeat.
  • Prayer Stretch: Utilizing a flat surface, lean back and place the buttocks on the heels of the feet. Lower the upper torso to the ground with the arms raised out in front, as if in prayer. Hold this position for 30 seconds and then return to the starting position. Repeat this focusing first on the right side and then the left.
  • Pelvic Tilt: Lie down on a flat surface on the back. Place feet flat on the floor with the knees bent and legs pulled together. Push the lower back into the floor while tilting the pelvis, while doing this, lift the buttocks off the floor as far as possible without straining. Hold this for at least 5 seconds then lower and repeat. During this exercise is important to breathe and keep the back flat on the floor.
  • Trunk Rotation: Lie flat on the back on a firm, flat surface with the feet flat and the knees bent. Rotate the trunk of the body from the right side of the body to the left and back again while keeping the feet flat on the floor. This should be a slow, concentrated movement that does not use swinging or jerking.

These exercises will help strengthen the core muscles and muscles in the back while relieving some of the pressure on the spinal column. They can be repeated as often as desired as long as pain is not being encountered.

Exercises to Avoid

In addition to exercises that are excellent for helping with herniated discs, there are also exercises that should be avoided as they will cause further damage to the disc. These exercises include:

  • Twisting Exercises: Any sport or exercises that cause twisting of the torso should be avoided as most herniated discs occur in the lumbar portion of the spine. Exercises and sports of this nature include football, golf, bowling, or ballet.
  • Weightlifting: Weightlifting has many sudden movements that are jerky in nature and require bending and lifting at the same time. These movements can cause shock to the spine and ultimately damage to the spine.
  • High Impact Exercises: These are exercises in which the foot is forced against the ground with sudden force which causes pain to travel up the leg and into the back, including running, jogging, jumping rope, aerobics and more.

Any exercise that causes pain to the back should be avoided in order to prevent further damage to the spine and discs.

Herniated discs can be helped or harmed by exercises, the key is knowing which ones are good for the back and which ones will cause further damage.

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What Are the Best Herniated Disc Treatment Options?

Posted on January 30, 2012 by EmmaRobinson

What Are the Best Herniated Disc Treatment Options?A herniated disc can result in unending pain and even numbness and weakness in your leg, back, buttocks, arms and neck.  Without treatment, the condition can worsen, often debilitating its victim.

When too much pressure is placed on the spine’s vertebrae, it can actually push the jelly-like substance that cushions those vertebrae out of place, leaving those nerves open to inflammation. It is this inflammation that causes the spinal nerves to send pain messages to the brain.

So, what can a person experiencing this condition do to relieve their agony and fix their spinal problems?

There are many different approaches to treating herniated disc pain, but what are the best herniated disc treatment options? Here are just a few of the most common – and the most effective cures:

Medication

The first thing that most doctors will do when treating a herniated disc is put the patient on a variety of over-the-counter and prescription medications.  If the herniation is not severe, drugs like Tylenol, Motrin and Advil may help to ease your suffering by reducing inflammation and masking pain signals.  More severe cases of herniation may require prescription medications including:

NSAIDS: Non steroidal pain killers like NSAIDS can often alleviate many symptoms.  Codeine too ahs been used successfully in treating herniated disc pain.

Anti-Inflammatories are good at reducing inflammation around the spinal column, thus keeping nerves from being stimulated.

 Muscle relaxers too, such as Cymbalta can help reduce the instances of back spasms, keeping pain levels lower.

Oftentimes, doctors will prescribe a combination of all three drugs to help give the area a rest, relieve the patient’s most painful symptoms and give other treatment methods a chance to work.

Physical Therapy

Physical therapy has traditionally been tone of the most popular treatments for dealing with herniated discs for decades.  By using soothing positions that help to reduce inflammation, the patient’s pain levels can be decreased significantly. In addition, the positions and exercises used during therapy treatments help to strengthen the muscles surrounding the spine, thus making it more difficult for discs to protrude outward and becoming herniated in the future.

Even after formal physical therapy treatments are finished, patients are urged to continue with their prescribed maintenance program, doing many of the same exercises which helped to repair their damaged spine to keep it remaining healthy and strong.

Chiropractics

Chiropractic manipulation is a must-do for many herniated disc patients. By systematically manipulating the spine into a more normal position, mild herniation can actually be reversed.  More severe cases may take more time for healing and additional, more gentle manipulations in order to reduce inflammation around the spine and pull the disc back into place.

Again, periodic manipulations are necessary in many cases to keep future herniations at bay.

Surgery

Treating a herniated disc with invasive surgery is not usually the optimal method of reversing symptoms; unless, of course, the condition has become so severe that it is causing prolonged numbness, tingling or weakness of the extremities.  For patients who have tried other methods of treating their herniated disc for several months and have experienced minimal benefits, surgery may be an option. Keep in mind though, that the vast majority of herniations treated in this matter recur within five years, with les than 20% of surgical patients experiencing complete and permanent relief form their symptoms.

Still, if you and your doctor believe that you are a good candidate for herniated disc surgery, then you will want to understand your options. Here are some of the most common procedures performed on herniated discs:

  • Microdiscectomy – the most common and less invasive back surgery used today, miscrodisectomy allows the surgeon to repair the disc with a small incision in the back.
  • Chymopapain injections – these are surgical injections that help to dissolve the disc, thus eliminating the pain.
  • Microendoscopic surgery — performed through a tube rather than a traditional incision with a microscope, this procedure works as well as traditional microdiscectomy.

Homeopathic Remedies

For those who want to go a more natural route for treating their herniated disc, there are some more traditional homeopathic remedies available:

Ice

Ice can be used to help ease herniated disc pain in three different ways:

  1. it helps to reduce the swelling around the nerve
  2. it can help reduce overall inflammation
  3. it can help to numb the aggravated area

When using ice therapy, be sure to hold the ice on the area for about 10 minutes every hour around the clock (or at least during waking hours).  Be patient though. It can take several days to feel any real relief using this method of treatment.

 Therapy Ball

Bouncing lightly on a therapy ball for 3-5 minutes every day can help to boost blood supply and oxygen levels to the affected disc and increase healing.  Not very high tech, but a safe and effective solution to beating back pain from a herniated disc.

From the simplest ice pack to the most high-tech spinal surgery, the options for treating herniated discs are as varied as the people who are in need of them. When choosing the best herniated disc treatment options, be sure to consider your own needs and wants as well as your individual comfort level in treating your back pain.

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Back Surgery for Herniated Discs

Posted on January 23, 2012 by LoriDawson

Back Surgery for Herniated DiscsHerniated disc are nothing to scoff at and the pain they cause can be unbearable. Back surgery for herniated discs is one treatment option that many people turn to when they aren’t able to get relief from pain medications.

The idea of back surgery is a frightening one that many people have conflicting feelings about simply because they don’t have enough information about the procedure. Education about the surgery can take some of the fear out of the surgery, which is what the information here is designed to do.

Defining a Herniated Disc

The first thing that needs to be understood is the herniated disc. It is not unusual to hear of people who have the diagnosis but have no idea what it means. Discs are located in the spine and act as cushions that separate the bones in the spine. These cushions help prevent the bones from rubbing on each other during movement. These discs have a soft center known as the nucleus that is covered by the annulus.

If the annulus suffers a tear from an injury, age or simply being a weak disc, the inner nucleus leaks to the area of the annulus that has the tear and causes the disc to bulge, which is called a hernia. The end result is a herniated disc. This bulge is typically on the side of the disc that rests against the spine. This is where the nerves are located and why intense pain is associated with a herniated disc.

The pain is often felt any many other areas of the body in addition to the back. This is due to the spinal column having nerves that control many other body parts. For example, a herniated disc in the lower back can cause pain to be felt not only in the back area but also down into the legs.

The pain from herniated discs can become unbearable and actually cause disability. This is why many people turn to surgery to correct the herniated disc and live a normal life.

Back Surgery

Back surgery is sometimes an immediate need and other times an optional treatment when other treatments fail. There are usually only a few circumstances that require surgery as quickly as possible. The first is if the disc is causing loss of bowel and bladder control. The other sign that surgery is required immediately is a distinct weakness in the lower part of the body. If either of these two things occurs, a doctor must be consulted immediately.

These two incidents are the extreme cases of herniated discs and not the average person’s experience. This does not mean that surgery is not an option; it can be a pain-relieving option that allows people to get back to a sense of normalcy. There are two main types of back surgery that are performed for herniated discs. One removes the bulge from the disc and thus relieves the pressure on the nerve and the other one removes the entire damaged disc. Once the damaged disc is removed the bones from above and below the disc that are left with no cushion are fused together. This fusion prevents them from rubbing on each other during movement.

An important factor that must be taken into consideration is that there are no guarantees that the surgery will be successful and last forever. The actual success of these types of surgeries, as listed in the medical journal Spine, is around 16%. This is not a very high percentage for such an invasive surgery. In addition, there can be complications to this surgery that cause more back problems. One example of this is the added work the bones have to do when fusion is chosen. The remaining joints in the spine have to work harder due to the fused bone having limited movement. This in turn leads to other joints suffering and ultimately causing more pain.

If the bulge is removed, the complications tend to be scar tissue building up where the bulge was and the added problem of the disc being much weaker due to part of it being removed.

There are other surgeries that are being studied and in some cases used, even though they have not been completely perfected. Disc replacement is the most promising and is being performed by some of the more advanced surgeons in the field of herniated discs. This surgery may be the answer to herniated discs that will relieve the pain of thousands of people.

The bottom line is that back surgery for bulging discs is a personal decision that should be made in conjunction with the advice of a back specialist. The determining factor will ultimately be how much pain relief can be expected and how successful the doctor feels the surgery will be based on the extent of the hernia. Back surgery can be a good choice for many people, as long as they have researched it thoroughly and have an excellent surgeon.

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