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.
Self care: In most cases, the pain from a herniated disc will get better within a couple days and completely resolve in 4 to 6 weeks. Restricting your activity, ice/heat therapy, and taking over the counter medications will help your recovery.
This results when a very large fragment of disc material is ruptured into the spinal canal in the area where the nerves that control the bowels and bladder travel before they leave the spine. Pressure on these nerves can cause permanent damage to them.
However, it generally takes up to six weeks for herniated lumbar discs to recover, and this is important information for the up to 20 in every 1,000 U.S. adults that this condition affects annually.
Discs that become herniated usually are in an early stage of degeneration. The spinal canal has limited space, which is inadequate for the spinal nerve and the displaced herniated disc fragment. Due to this displacement, the disc presses on spinal nerves, often producing pain, which may be severe.
A herniated lumbar disc may be aggravated by specific activities such as bending forward, lifting heavy objects, pushing or pulling things, and coughing or sneezing.
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.
A herniated disc is a common spinal disorder, and it typically responds well to conservative treatment like gentle exercise or over-the-counter pain medication. But some ruptured disc symptoms warrant a trip to your doctor to prevent serious—and potentially permanent—nerve complications.
In fact, an untreated herniated disc can lead to much more severe issues that become chronic. It is best to visit a chiropractor in Atlanta as soon as you begin to suspect this issue to prevent it from worsening. A severe case of a bulging disc can cut off nerve impulses, even causing permanent nerve damage.
If a herniated disc causes pain and limits an individual's ability to move or sit still for long periods of time, he or she may be considered unable to perform unskilled work and would qualify for either Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
The average amount of time it takes for a herniated disk to heal is four to six weeks, but it can get better within a few days depending on how severe the herniation was and where it occurred. The biggest factor in healing a herniated disk is time, because most often it will resolve on its own.
According to research cited by Harvard Health, about 10 percent of patients with herniated disc issues require surgery after six weeks. Similar research suggests that 90 percent of the time, surgery is not necessary for a herniated disc.
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.
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.
One of the best treatments for the symptoms of a herniated disc is stretching exercises. By gently stretching the muscles in the back, their flexibility is improved, helping them stabilize the disc herniation area. Overall endurance and circulation are also improved with herniated disc exercises, and symptoms improve.
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 discs are excruciatingly painful and any little movement could further aggravate them. While some may think that chiropractic care will cause more damage to the spine and further aggravate a herniated disc, nothing could be further from the truth.
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.
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.
MRI scan is the best non-invasive test available to find herniated and bulging discs and annular tears. Because the spatial resolution of spinal anatomy can be defined to 0.5mm with an MRI scan, doctors can identify with over 95% accuracy the herniated discs in the spine.
What difference does it make if it's sciatica or a herniated disc? First off, sciatica, for the most part, is very curable and with proper treatment, patients return to normal in fairly short order. However, herniated discs are often a permanent condition which can affect every area of your life.
In about a week, most patients are able to return to work; those with very physical jobs will need to wait until they have fully recovered, however. Full recovery usually occurs in about 8 weeks, and at that time patients can go about all their normal physical activities with no restrictions.