While some bulging discs will resolve on their own, it is best to seek professional treatment to ensure it is properly managed and doesn't return quickly. By working with providers like a physical therapist and chiropractor, you can achieve these results without methods like surgery.
In some cases, surgery may be required to fix a herniated disc. However, bulging discs more often heal on their own over time, and surgery isn't needed. Your doctor can perform a neurological exam to test your muscle strength, reflexes, and walking ability.
Treatment with rest, pain medication, spinal injections, and physical therapy is the first step to recovery. Most people improve in 6 weeks and return to normal activity. If symptoms continue, surgery may be recommended.
You can feel better while the original damage or weakness may remain. Or your disc can fully heal, it just takes time for the protruding material to be resorbed by your body. Factors like your age and the cause of the herniation come into play.
Meanwhile, if the disc is herniated, recovery time is likely in the six months to a year range if a non-surgical approach is being taken.
Though exercising can't necessarily heal a bulging disc, it can strengthen your back, increase spine stability, and help decrease stress on the disc.
While some herniated or bulging disc pain may resolve on its own or with mild intervention, without proper treatment, the injury can lead to permanent issues that cause more pain than the original problem.
Some common symptoms that come from bulging discs are pain and tingling throughout the entire upper body, muscle spasms, and lower back discomfort or pain. If you suffer with this condition, then a chiropractor may be able to fix a bulging disc and relieve your pain.
L4-L5 disc bulge, slipped disc, spondylosis, bone-spur, and joint pain is treatable without injections or surgery. Avoid the L4-L5 surgery by opting for our corrective non-surgical treatment to fix and repair spinal discs and joints.
Signs Your Herniated Disc Is Healing
Often, the most severe neurological symptoms of a herniated disc feel better first. Radiculopathy—sharp, shooting pain down a nerve and into an arm or leg—will be one of the first symptoms to go away, followed by muscle weakness along the path of the nerve.
Coughing, sneezing, sitting, driving, and bending forward may make the pain worse. The pain gets worse when you make these movements because there is more pressure on the nerve.
In addition to natural wear and tear, other factors that can contribute to a bulging disc include repetitive movements, strenuous lifting, twisting of the body, bone spurs pushing against the disc, and many other degenerative conditions.
Stretching can alleviate some of the symptoms associated with a bulging disc, such as muscle tension and spasms. It can also increase your range of motion, which can help you perform everyday tasks more comfortably.
As a result, herniated discs can take a long time to heal. of the time, pain caused by a herniated disc will go away on its own within six months without surgery. However, it commonly takes up to six weeks for lumbar discs to recover from herniation.
2) Compressed Nerves
You can experience tingling, numbness, acute and chronic pain, and even nerve damage if your condition is left untreated. In these cases, it's crucial to get a rapid diagnosis and start with a treatment option as soon as possible.
Walking is a gentle form of exercise that has the potential to be beneficial if you have a bulging or herniated spinal disc. We explain why below. Walking isn't too strenuous, which is one reason it tends to be beneficial even with a bulging disc.
Living with a herniated disc
Most people who have a herniated disc are better in about 4 weeks. Sometimes it takes longer. If you still have pain or numbness after 4 to 6 weeks, or if you feel worse, talk with your doctor. Sometimes it takes surgery to relieve pain.
Deep Tissue Massage: There are more than 100 types of massage, but deep tissue massage is an ideal option if you have a herniated disc because it uses a great deal of pressure to relieve deep muscle tension and spasms, which develop to prevent muscle motion at the affected area.
While direct manual pressure to the spine is contraindicated, massaging the surrounding muscular tissues can ease the symptoms of a herniated or bulging disc. In addition to relieving the discomfort, massage can also increase the chances of the disc healing on its own without invasive measures.
Massaging these muscles can restore proper balance and symmetry to the posture, which can allow the bulging disc to migrate back to its normal position in the spinal column. The pressure against the spinal nerves often subsides, and very likely, the pain associated with it to goes away.
A bulging disk can push against the spinal cord and nerve roots, leading to severe pain and problems with mobility. Treatment may include a combination of medication, physical therapy, and self-care. In severe cases, a person may need surgery.
The most serious complication from a thoracic herniated disc is the development of complete paralysis below the waist. This results when a fragment of disc material is ruptured into the spinal canal. Pressure on the spinal cord causes permanent damage to the nerves traveling to the lower body and legs.
The incidence of a herniated disc is about 5 to 20 cases per 1000 adults annually and is most common in people in their third to the fifth decade of life, with a male to female ratio of 2:1 [6].
Gentle exercises, stretches, and activities can all help relieve the pain of a herniated disk. Exercises can also strengthen and improve flexibility in the spine, neck, and back. They may also help prevent a herniated disk from recurring.