3) Fetal Position: When you suffer from a herniated disc, this is often the most comfortable position to sleep in. Fetal position is achieved by lying on your side with your knees pulled up to your chest. The position takes the pressure off your spine and allows you to get a good night's sleep.
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.
The optimal sleeping position for a herniated disc is on your back. Lying on your back keeps your spine in a neutral position so you have less chance of pinching the nerve. For added comfort, nestle a small pillow or rolled-up towel under your knees and lower back.
Thoracic Herniated Disc (Mid-Back)
With a mid-back injury, the goal is to decompress the spine. Side Sleepers – This sleeping position is not recommended for a thoracic herniation. If you must sleep on your side, keep a pillow between your knees to help keep the spine aligned.
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.
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.
Use a raised toilet seat or install handrail next to the toilet to help take pressure off your back when you sit on and get up from the toilet. Also make sure the toilet paper is easy to reach. Don't wear high-heeled shoes.
Sit with the Right Posture
It is proper to sit up straight without slouching. When you slump, you put extra pressure on the discs in the spine and can aggravate your herniated disc. Additionally, you want to ensure your knees are level with your hips. Your hips should be slightly above your knees if you sit at a desk.
Seek emergency medical attention if you have: Worsening symptoms. Pain, numbness or weakness can increase to the point that they hamper your daily activities. Bladder or bowel dysfunction.
The best way to foster healing in these cases is to rest, avoid activities that cause pain, and take over-the-counter pain killers like acetaminophen or ibuprofen to relieve symptoms. During your home treatment, you can also: Alternate applying heat and cold. Stay as active as you can.
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.
The good news is that in most cases — 90% of the time — pain caused by a herniated disc will go away on its own within six months. Initially, your doctor will likely recommend that you take an over-the-counter pain reliever and limit activities that cause pain or discomfort.
Individuals with a herniated disc can generally return to regular day-to-day activities relatively soon, usually within a few days. “We encourage patients to return to normal everyday activity such as walking as soon as comfort allows,” Dr. Butler says.
When beginning an aerobic exercise program, start slow—perhaps 10 minutes the first day—and gradually increase your time each day. Eventually, you should aim for 30 to 40 minutes of activity 5 days a week. Exercise can be an enjoyable and satisfying way to treat symptoms associated with a herniated disc.
Sitting puts you at a higher risk for sciatica, a herniated or slipped disc, degenerative disc disease, and of course lower back pain. Sitting with your hips and legs in a bent position causes joints, ligaments, and muscles to be under constant pressure and adds tension on your spinal discs.
It's okay to partake in gentle, healing exercises such as slow walking and swimming. For some patients, cycling is also a way to relieve herniated disc pain, but every individual is unique, so be sure to approach any new activity with caution and control. Sitting down for long periods of time is also discouraged.
Yes, drinking water can help prevent degenerative disc disease. If you do not drink enough water, your spinal discs will not adequately rehydrate after water leaks out during the day. This means the discs become smaller and less functional, which increases the risk of injury to the collagen fibers in the disc.
4) Applying Heat, via a heating pad or heat wrap, even a hot bath may help muscle spasms in the first 2 days of initial pain. Heat helps soft issues to stretch, dilates blood vessels and decreases pain signals giving some relief to the discomfort.
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.
You may continue to experience pain for many reasons. Sometimes, the nerves are actually damaged by the pressure from the disc herniation and may not recover completely. You may also develop scar tissue around the nerves weeks after the operation that causes pain similar to what you had before the operation.
Results: Spontaneous resorption of herniated disk was found in all patients in a mean time of 8.7 ± 3.2 months.
The severe case of a herniated disk is a medical emergency because of intolerable pain and discomfort. Some of its symptoms include lower back pain, sharp leg or arm pain, loss of bladder or bowel control and numbness, weakness or tingling sensation in the foot and/or leg.