High impact activities include running, jumping, stair-climbing, and step aerobics. While these exercises are great exercises when you are injury free, they should be avoided until you can do them comfortably without pain and good core control. Alternative: Walking, swimming, or light jogging.
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.
Exercises to avoid
People with a herniated disk should avoid doing strenuous activities during recovery. People should avoid all exercises that cause pain or feel as though they are making the pain worse. Avoid hamstring exercises when experiencing sciatica.
Lie on your back, knees bent, both heels planted on the floor. Place your hands behind one knee and gently pull it toward your chest until you feel a tug. Hold the stretch for at least 10 seconds, switch, and repeat several times.
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.
Sitting for long periods is not advised if you suffer from a herniated disc. It places more stress on your spinal discs, worsening the pain. You can maintain comfort by regularly moving around or standing up from your seat.
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.
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.
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.
While a stationary bike is generally more stable, there is still the potential for excess disc pressure if it is not properly adjusted. Bending, in general, should be limited or avoided as much as possible if you have a bulging or herniated disc.
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.
Exercises that have a higher chance of causing or further damaging a herniated disc include squats, which can cause strain and pressure to the lumbar region while leaning forward; shoulder presses, which can cause strain and pressure from back extension (arching the back); and low back extensions, which can place ...
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.
These discs can become weakened over time as you age. This can increase the risk of a herniated disc, also called a ruptured disc. When this happens, the jelly-like nucleus substance leaks out into the spinal canal, putting pressure on the nerves.
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 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.
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.
Most of the time, pain associated with a herniated disc goes away on its own over a period of weeks or months and does not cause permanent damage to the spine or nerves. A herniated disc can occur in any part of the spine, but it is most common in the lower back (the lumbar spine) and the neck (the cervical spine).
The rubbery disks that lie between the vertebrae in the spine consist of a soft center (nucleus) surrounded by a tougher exterior (annulus). A herniated disk occurs when a portion of the nucleus pushes through a crack in the annulus. Symptoms may occur if the herniation compresses a nerve.
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.
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.