A herniated disc can cause pain while you sleep for a few reasons. First, when you lie down, the pressure on your discs increases. It can cause the herniated disc to bulge more and pressure your nerves. Second, lying down flat on your back may not be the best position for a herniated disc.
Sitting is not really the preferred position when you have a herniated lumbar disc. Most physical therapists will recommend standing up, moving around or lying down over sitting.
Excess body weight causes extra stress on the disks in the lower back. Occupation. People with physically demanding jobs have a greater risk of back problems. Repetitive lifting, pulling, pushing, bending sideways and twisting also can increase the risk of a herniated disk.
For mild herniated disc pain, relieve the inflammation to decrease pain. For instance, applying a heating pad or ice pack to the affected area may be a good way to temporarily relieve your pain and reduce inflammation. Take 10-15 minutes twice a day to lie on your stomach with one to two pillows under your hips.
For most people who develop back pain — whether it is because of a herniated disk or due to another problem — symptoms often go away within six to eight weeks. During that time, you can take steps to ease discomfort.
Results: Spontaneous resorption of herniated disk was found in all patients in a mean time of 8.7 ± 3.2 months.
Skip movements that involve significant axial loading on the lower back, such as squats and leg presses. Avoid toe-touches, sit-ups, and yoga poses that worsen the pain and lead to significant bending of the back.
Sokunbi notes, “and sometimes don't have the ability to heal completely.” Most often, herniated discs in healthy patients heal quickly. However, nerve compression bad enough to cause radiculopathy—pain radiating down the nerve to an arm or leg—may take longer to get better, says Dr. Butler.
Stretching is actually one of the best ways to minimize and prevent ongoing leg pain from a herniated disc. Hamstring stretching can help decrease the tension across your lower back, and this provides the herniated disc with a better environment to heal.
Herniated disk pain can sometimes be intermittent. People can have minor pain that's always there or stronger pain that comes and goes depending on the activity they're doing. Varying pain typically has to do with movement and the position of the body.
Daily walks are an excellent way to exercise with a herniated disc, without putting additional strain on your spine and causing painful symptoms to flare up.
Pain while sitting is the primary complaint of many patients with lumbar spinal ailments, including those with discogenic low back pain and lumbar disc herniations (1,2). These patients typically achieve some degree of relief of their symptoms in the standing position.
“There are some types of back pain that can get worse when you get a massage,” says Walsh. Specifically, he says, sciatica (sudden-onset pain that extends down the back and into the butt or legs) stemming from a herniated disc can be aggravated by deep tissue stimulation.
A herniated disc may require 1 or 2 days rest to alleviate pain. However, you should resist the temptation to lie in bed for days at a time because your muscles need conditioning to aid the recovery process. If you forgo exercise and physical activity, your body may not respond to treatment as well as it could.
According to Spine Universe, chiropractic care is a non-surgical option for herniated disc treatment. This makes choosing a chiropractor to address problems with a herniated disc a viable option if you want to avoid undergoing any surgical procedures.
Seek Physiotherapy
Physiotherapists are highly trained medical professionals who can provide non-invasive, customized, and drug-free services that are shown by research to relieve herniated disc symptoms, heal disc tissue, and prevent recurring or chronic pain.
Although rare, the long-term effects of untreated herniated discs can be severe. They can cause permanent nerve damage, causing a loss of sensation in the legs, loss of bowel control, or partial paralysis. This is why it's important to seek treatment for herniated discs.
Rest. Most often 1-2 days of strict bed rest will calm severe back pain. Bed rest should not exceed 48 hours. Once you are back into your daily routine, you should take frequent rest breaks throughout the day- but avoid sitting for long periods of time.
The first traditional treatment for a herniated disc is often physical therapy to see if the pain and symptoms go away. If that doesn't work, the next step is often a high dose steroid epidural injection. If that doesn't get it done, surgery is often offered.
Bulging or Herniated Discs
A pronounced force on the discs can herniate them, as well, because dehydrated discs cannot sustain impact and have reduced elasticity. Because the discs, even the outer layer, need additional water to restrengthen, the bulging can occur from lack of continuous hydration.
The pain from a herniated disc usually is worse when you are active and gets better when you are resting. 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.