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.
Your doctor might recommend surgery as an option for your herniated disc if: Your symptoms have lasted at least 6 weeks and make it hard to do your normal activities, and other treatments haven't helped. You need to get better quickly because of your job or to get back to your other activities as soon as possible.
If the pain does not subside within a few weeks or worsens, surgery may be necessary. If you continue to experience numbness, weakness, have difficulty standing or walking or have loss of bladder control, you may be a candidate for spinal surgery for your disc herniation.
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.
Once a healthy disc herniates, it will never return to its normal anatomical state—the disease or injury is permanent in nature.
The healing time for a herniated disc depends on the exact nature of the injury and symptoms, and can last from just a few days to months, according to Gbolabo Sokunbi, M.D., Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
Fortunately, surgery is not typically required for a herniated disc. In fact, only about 10 percent of herniated disc patients end up needing surgery, according to research cited by Harvard Health. This article explains what you need to know about herniated spinal discs, treatment, and surgery.
Stages three and four: disc extrusion and sequestration
In the final stage, not only does the nucleus leak out, but it begins dripping out of the disc. In stages three and four, pain is often accompanied by tingling, numbness, and weakness in the nearby tissues.
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.
What happens to my herniated disc if I don't have surgery? A study of patients with different sized herniations showed that by six months to one year, herniated disc material had resorbed in many of the cases.
If the repeated forward bending stress continues, or the improper body mechanics continue, very often the inner disc material will continue to push backwards, causing the disc bulge to worsen, to herniate, progressing into the spinal canal and towards the spinal cord.
Few people with herniated disks require surgery. Your doctor might suggest surgery if conservative treatments fail to improve your symptoms after six weeks, especially if you continue to have: Poorly controlled pain. Numbness or weakness.
If you leave a herniated disc untreated, you may experience intense, sharp pains, partial paralysis, or the inability to control bowel movements in relatively dire situations.
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.
A small bulge may be considered 1-3 millimeters, whereas anything over 4 millimeters is considered moderate. A bulge of 7 millimeters +, is considered severe. When the jelly starts displacing backwards, it causes the outer covering to bulge out and it may put pressure on the nerve roots at that level.
Pain that radiates below the knee is a red flag for a herniated disc or nerve root compression below the L3 nerve root. This is based on the dermatomal distribution of the nerve roots and the fact that the pain associated with inflammation radiates along the entire pathway of the nerve.
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.
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.
Along with a microdiscectomy, a new treatment for herniated discs involves hyaluronic acid (HA) gel and collagen gel. The HA gel re-inflates the disc, while the collagen gel seals the hole to prevent further prolapse. Ask your doctor about this treatment option with a microdiscectomy.
Herniated discs are serious health problems. Because you're dealing with a spinal injury, you could be at risk for permanent paralysis or long-term chronic pain if you leave your herniated disc untreated.
Herniated disks get better on their own over time or with nonsurgical treatment for 9 out of 10 people. If other treatments don't relieve your symptoms, your healthcare provider may recommend surgery.
Bulges can put pressure on the surrounding nerve roots, leading to pain that radiates down the back and other areas of the body depending on its location within the spinal column. If the symptoms are severe enough and have become chronic, surgery for a bulging disc may be required.
With a herniated disc, the capsule cracks or breaks, and the nucleus squeezes out. This can irritate the spinal cord or nearby nerves, causing weakness and numbness in the arms or legs. A severely herniated disc can cause paralysis.
Stretching should be done carefully. It's important also to do the right types of stretches since some types actually make your disc herniation worse. Before beginning any exercise routine, it's always a good idea to consult with your pain management physician.
A bulging disc may have no pain at all because it has not reached a certain severity level, and this can make it difficult to identify the bulging disc symptoms before the condition becomes more severe. Most commonly, bulging discs create pressure points on nearby nerves which create a variety of sensations.