Relief For a Herniated Disc Introduction

For patients suffering from a herniated disc, the pain can be unbearable.  In some situations, talking with your doctor and getting long term care is ideal, but, in the short term, pain relief is all that you can think about.  The goal of any situation is to minimize the pain that you feel but also to improve your overall health and well being.  In most cases, both can be accomplished.

For those that are suffering from severe back pain, the most important consideration will be to choose a method to improving it in both the short and long term.  Here, we discuss several key ways for you to improve the pain that you feel, but always insist that the key ingredient to improvement is long term solutions offered by your doctor and care takers.

To get relief from your herniated disc, use these helpful tips and tools that are designed to ease the pain and allow you to get moving the way that you need to, without having to flinch with each move of your waist.  The good news, most will find relief to be easily obtained through constant work on it.

Chapter 1:  Understanding Where The Pain Comes From

The first thing that you must fully understand about your herniated disc is where the pain comes from.  There is quite a lot of information available to you on the web, but not all information is worth while, and most importantly, there are many terms that can be used to describe the same type of pain.  For example, you may have heard these terms before: 

·        Sciatica

·        Pinched Nerve

·        Bulging Disc

·        Herniated Disc

·        Ruptured Disc

Each of these is really the same basic situation.  All are used by various doctors and health care professionals, too.  There is no wonder why so many people are confused as to what they actually are.  All describe any type of problem that occurs in the spinal column or abnormalities with the discs themselves.

Still other terms include a slipped disc, torn disc, black disc, and degenerative disc disease.

Diagnosis By A Doctor

How will your doctor know what is wrong with your back and how can he or she do anything to improve it?  The first step is to consider the amount of pain that you are in.  For example, while it may be a disc in your back causing the problem, it almost always is pain that is associated with other areas as well. 

Lower back pain, pain in the legs and even pain in your hip region are all similar and can be an indication of a problem with the discs.

In order to understand your condition, the doctor will talk to you about your family's history and will examine the locations and intensity of the pain you feel.  In doing so, he will pinpoint exactly what is the problem, potentially. 

Diagnostic testing will reveal more in depth understandings of the pain that you are dealing with.  More so, your ability to function is defined here.  There are several key factors that are looked for by doctors for pain that is determined to be from discs in the spinal column. 

A Pinched Nerve:  
A situation in which the disc space (between two discs) is not causing the pain.  Here, the sack of fluid here is bulging which is causing a nerve in the spine to be pinched.  The fluid sack itself is not where the pain is.  This is also called radicular pain.  Here, you would have nerve root pain which is also known as sciatica when you have a lumbar herniated disc.  When you have pain in your arm, this is caused by a cervical herniated disc.

Disc Pain: 
Here, you have the opposite effect.  Now, the actual space between the discs, or the fluid sack there, is where the pain is originating from.  This is one of the main causes of lower back pain.  This is known as axial pain as there are no nerves being pinched.

Why Is This Important?

Why is it so important to know what is causing the pain here?  Knowing what is causing the pain specifically will help you to know what treatment options are available to you.  The treatment options between a pinched nerve and a disc pain situation are quite different and knowing the difference can help you to understand the right method for treating the condition. 

Your doctor will help you to overcome the various steps in diagnosing these conditions to determine exactly what you are suffering from.  Together you can work out a treatment plan to overcome these problems.

Diagnosing Yourself

It is essential to get help from your doctor regarding treatment of your herniated disc, but you may want to know beforehand if in fact you are suffering from this condition.  To know this, consider the symptoms of a herniated disc in the first place.

• When no nerve is involved, you may have a lower back pain or back ache.  In some cases, there is no noticeable pain at all.
  
• If there is nerve touching, you may have pain or numbness in the area.  You may also feel weakened by it.
   
• Pain that runs through your buttocks region and down into the leg even to the ankle and foot is caused by too much pressure on the sciatic nerve.  Lower back pain may also be evident here.
  
• Pain that is in the lowest rib area.
  
• Numbness and pain in the arms, chest and the shoulders

If you have leg pain, this could be a herniated disc if you have pain in just one leg. It may start all of a sudden or it may have taken some time to come on and done so gradually.  You may also have pain at some points and not at others.  It can get worse or cause that shooting pain feeling especially with sudden moves such as coughing or a straining to go to the bathroom.  What's more, when you are sitting for a long period of time or you are twisting your body, this too can bring on the pain that you feel.

You may also have symptoms such as a tingling and weakness in the affected areas.  You can often feel pain that is relieved by switching positions or by lying down.  In some cases, very deep pain in muscles can be evident as can muscle spasms.

Causes Of Herniated Discs

If you don't plan to go to the doctor, or you are looking for a quick fix before you actually get there, there are several key things to think about including the potential cause of this pain. 

While it is strongly recommended that you do visit the doctor for long term help, you may need to find some help right away and the goal here will be to have the best possible understanding if this is the condition that you have.

The overall condition is caused by the wear and tear of the discs in the spinal column.  It is natural and normal that as you age the discs located here will slowly lose some of the fluid that is stored between the discs.  This fluid is in fact what helps you to be flexible, bending and moving in any direction. 

For most people, there are injuries to these sacks that cause the liquid to leak out.  Even small injuries will cause small tears in these sacks that go without notice until they become significant.  When the fluid, which is actually like a thick jelly, starts to seep out, it causes a bulge which often can rupture. 

Two types of situations cause most of the injuries to these sacks.  One is a sudden heavy pressure or strain on the lower back.  If for some reason you turn hard and too fast, you may squeeze the fluid from within while doing so.  This sudden condition can also be a result of an injury to this area of the body.

The second method of this happening happens over time.  If you do the same motions over and over again, this can cause a lot of stress on your lower back, in effect causing the same painful situation just prolonged over a period of time. 

If you continuously lift heavy objects incorrectly you can cause this.  In addition, sports injuries can cause it as can exposure to vibrations.

In either of these situations, you will need to address the pain and symptoms as soon as possible before allowing them to become even worse.  Treatment sooner rather than later provides ultimate protection for you.

Using this information you can determine if in fact you may be suffering from a herniated disk.  For situations in which you can not easily move or you can not walk, it is necessary to visit your doctor as soon as possible to be treated as severe pain can be an indication of many additional problems.

Yet, when you are just aching and you know that you have a herniated disc, there are several ways to get relief quickly and that is what we will discuss in the next chapters of this book.  The goal is, though, to know when to visit your doctor as complications can arise in situations that are unable to be cared for.

Chapter 2:  Treatment Of Pain

Your goal with treating a herniated disc will always be to minimize the pain that you are in, but long term goals should also be evident.  Treating your pain is an important step, but you will also want to get your body back to the shape that it should be in so as to return to your normal activities without prolonged absence.  In addition, you should have the goal of preventing any type of re-injury to your back.  Doing so will help to prevent or lessen the risk of disability.

·        50 percent of people that have an inflammation that causes pain will see improvement to normal activity within one month. 

Those that have pain that lasts longer than this will generally see improvement before six months time.  Only a slim ten percent will actually have pain that lasts beyond six months, which is the necessary timeframe for the consideration of surgery to treat the injury.  In other words, you are likely to see improvement from your herniated disc and this will likely improve within a month's time.

The good news is that many times a herniated disc will fully heal on its own without any type of treatment from you, besides not further straining the injury.  This happens because the body will absorb the broken down jelly like interior of the sack.  This process is called resorption. 

With all of these facts you can see why doctors prefer not to have to resort to surgical treatment of the condition, but would rather allow the body and other treatments to heal the problem on its own.  Surgery is not always successful and has additional risks for it.  The good news is that you can recover on your own!

Pain Relief

Pain relief comes in several forms.  The most basic methods of relieving the pain you feel are listed here in this section.  These are the first things that you should be doing to improve your situation and to ultimately heal.  Later we will talk more about treatments that go above and beyond.  For now and always first, do these things to get the healing process started.

Rest

There are many ways that you can treat the pain in your back caused by a herniated disc.  The very first and most obvious solution is the most important as well.  Your body needs rest and time to heal.

It is never easy to hear that you need to lie down and allow the body time, but it is in fact the best solution for reducing pain as well as reducing the healing time of the body.  Rest following any injury of the back or when pain is evident for most movements that you have.

Stay laying down as much as possible, or slightly elevate your head.  Do not crunch the back.  Instead, a short period of rest, often just one to two days can greatly improve your pain tolerance and reduce the degree of injury you have. 

After this period of time, the next step is to provide your body with a slow maneuver back into your daily activities.  IF you have been resting for a full day, do not assume that the next day you can be back at 100 percent. 

Instead, gradually ease into activities as you feel the ability to do so.  This will allow your body to adjust and continue to repair itself without further damaging the injured area.

Rest itself will not take all of the pain away, but it will lessen it considerably.  Pain is your body's indication to you that the movement you are making is not okay and for that reason you should not continue to move in that direction. 

When a feeling of pain strikes when you move, stop moving in that direction and rest that injured area.  The shooting pain in the area will subside while the body's natural healing processes get to work.

Pain Medication

If you are like some, you don't need to use pain medication because you know that the pain will subside and that you will heal.  But, for those that are not able to do this, there are several types of pain medication that you can take to lower the amount of pain that you face.

As with all medications, never take them if you are allergic to these or if you are taking other medications and haven't asked your doctor if these will interfere with those.  It is vital not to take too many pain medications as well as not taking more than one type at a time.  Unless your doctor tells you to, never mix medications.

Also, always defer to the types of medications and the dosages that your doctor recommends.  Use the medication itself to help you to know how much to take, going by their specific instructions.

Pain Relievers (Over the Counter)

One type of medication that is ideal for relief from pain caused by herniated discs is that of a simple, over the counter pain reliever.  Look for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications for this need.  These medications will provide you with pain relief, but do not actually heal the injury.  Their job is to reduce the pain you feel.

In other words, while they may reduce the pain that does not mean that your injury is gone.  Instead, it means that the nerves indicating that pain have been turned off.  Don't assume you are heeled if the pain does go away through the pain reliever's help.

Muscle Relaxants

You may also consider muscle relaxants which help to loosen the muscles in the back and other areas of your body.  This provides you with the benefit of not feeling as much pain but your muscles are not working at their full potential either.  Here, you need to be very careful about doing anything when the effects of this medication are there. 

Muscle relaxants are often carisoprodol Soma, cyclobenzaprine and others.  Valium is one of the most commonly known types. 

Relaxants are mostly used for people that have muscle spasms, or sudden severe muscle reactions that subside in intensity after a short time period.  Remember too that this medication does not heal the condition, but only minimizes the pain caused by it.

Side effects of muscle relaxants include dry mouth, drowsiness and in some cases addition especially with Valium and carisoprodol.  You will need to only take them when you can be lying still for several hours, such as before bedtime.

Opioids

Opioids are another solution.  Here you have medications like acetaminophen and codeine phosphate.  A common medication prescribed is that of Tylenol with Codeine.  Or, Lortab Norco VIcodin oxycodone as a treatment method.  Even aspirin like Percodan can be used to remove pain.  Here, the medication works by changing the way that your brain recognizes pain and these are generally not used often.

This type of medication is used to treat herniated discs that are severely painful and your doctor is the one that will prescribe them for you.  Usually other medications have failed to provide you with comfort at this point. 

You are usually only able to consume them for one to two weeks at most because of the risk factors of dependency that they portray.  They can cause confusion as well as drowsiness.  In some constipation and nausea and vomiting are evident symptoms as well.

Hypnotics And Antidepressants

In some cases, though less often, antidepressants and hypnotics are used to help reduce severe pain.  These are generally less often used because of the additional risks such as addiction and side effects.  Yet, in some cases, where other solutions do not work, doctors can prescribe these medications.

When prescribed they are generally only used during the night so that the pain felt is minimized enough to allow the person to sleep.  They can not be used unless other treatment options do not work.

Physical Therapy

Physical therapy is one of the most commonly diagnosed methods of actually improving your ability to move and function normally.  It may not seem wise to move a muscle or area of the body that is injured, but with a professional to help you, this can increase your body's ability to heal and even make the process faster. 

In most of these exercises you will be working on stabilizing the muscles in your lumbar spine.  You are not necessary working the specific herniated disc, but the muscles in the vicinity.  By doing this, you are able to remove at least some of the load that your disc is carrying.

By building your muscles in this area to do more of the work for your spine, vertebrae and even the actual herniated disc, you reduce the work load of those bones.  The goal is not to create large muscles, but instead to balance the muscles there for better control over the lumbar spine. 

In addition to doing this, physical therapy, along with lumbar stabilization methods will help to reduce the risk for further injury in this same area.  Therefore, it is both a treatment and preventative measure that you need to take into consideration.

Surgery

As described previously, surgery is considered the very last resort for those with a herniated disc and often is not even thought about unless there is a severe injury or there is continuous pain for the last six months.

One time in which surgery is used right away is when there is injury to the neurological component which is actually what causes the numbness and the weakness in the area.  

When other methods fail to help remove pain, such as those listed here, then surgery is also considered to be a treatment option for some patients. 

In surgery, the doctor will remove the herniated disc.  By doing this, he creates an extra cushion of room.  This helps to relieve the pressure that has been placed on the nerve and reduces the pain in the area because of this released pressure.

There are several surgical techniques that can and will be used, each offering benefits that should fit with the patient's actual needs.  Your doctor will work with you to devise a plan that will limit the amount of pain and problems and give you the most effective yet least invasive method of surgery that is possible.

Summing Up

The goal of pain relief is to lessen the amount of pain that you feel.  Yet, doing so can often take time, such as with physical therapy and with surgery.  While you may have to resort to these methods down the road, there are other methods that you can put in place now to help you to overcome the pain and most importantly get back to every day life.

Chapter 3:  Acupuncture

There are many methods to relieving pain and for centuries one of those has been acupuncture.  In terms of herniated disc pain, working with an acupuncturist can help you to overcome the pain and get the body moving towards healing. 

If you have not become familiar with acupuncture before, do so.  Although it has been around for centuries, it has recently become something that has been used readily in the treatment of pain of many types.  Some are finding great success with this method and often can see the results within a matter of hours.

Before you become taken aback by acupuncture, consider how and why it is so beneficial to the body that is in pain or discomfort, such as in the case of a herniated disc.  You may find it to be one of the best methods to overcoming these situations.

How It Works

Acupuncture works in a different way than other medications or treatments that you may have.  Here, the Qi, or life force that is in your body is affected so that healing can be promoted. 

You can learn more about the details of acupuncture but in general it is believed that a life force circles your body and when there is pain in your body there is something blocking or stopping the flow of Qi through the body.  By removing this blockage, you can minimize the pain and return the life force to its proper flow.  This in turn promotes health and well being.

This is called the gate control theory of pain.  In this process, the pain that you feel from your herniated disc is blocked from the central nervous system that processes it.  By using acupuncture, you block this flow of pain information to the brain, stopping the feeling of it. 

Acupuncture is done with needles, very small and not painful needles that are positioned in specific locations around the body.  The needle is what actually stops the flow of information to the central nervous system.  The needles are considered to be as thin as hair.  They are inserted into your skin, sometimes one is used, and sometimes several are used.  In some cases, these needles enter the skin and go in as deep as three full inches.  They are then left there for about fifteen to thirty minutes while you relax. 

While this sounds painful, it is not nearly as bad as it sounds and often people say that it was a relaxing experience for them.

Using This Method

Those that are looking to use acupuncture to relieve the pain that they feel from the herniated disc have one job to do that is quite important.  You will need to find a well experienced, educated professional in the field to help them with the procedure.

Thorough research of the acupuncturist is necessary to determine if they are able to provide you with the relief that you are seeking.  There is no doubt that the more skill that an acupuncturist has; the more successful they are in treating your condition.

Acupuncture is just one of many types of methods to relieve that pain of a herniated disc.  It is essential to realize that acupuncture is not healing the herniated disc itself, but is merely removing the pain that you feel.  Several treatments may be necessary and there is no scientific proof the acupuncturists can do what they claim to do.  Yet, more and more people believe that they can do just that.

Chapter 4:  Chiropractic Help

One of the most instant and most effective methods for relieving the pain of a herniated disc is to work with a professional chiropractor.  Today's professionals in this field are often able to provide a range of tools to help you to relieve the pain and to get back into every day life faster.  They are fully trained and have degrees that showcase their abilities.

As a professional, you will want to talk to them about how they can provide service to your specific problem.  Not only chiropractic professionals offer the same service and not all of them are as effective at some treatments.  Yet, most can provide help for any type of lower back pain, something that is the most requested help that they receive.

How Does It Help?

Chiropractic professionals believe that the inability to move correctly in the spinal area is what causes the pain and the inability to function correctly.  In this, the goal is to get the spinal column working correctly which will stop the pain and return you to life.

The process is called a spinal adjustment or a manipulation.  Those that have what is called, "restricted spinal mobility" or the inability to easily move their spine, are given this treatment.

By having an adjustment, you will be able to move your spine correctly which in turn removes the pain from your body.  During an adjustment, the spine is forced into one position or the next, in order to allow it to be correctly positioned.

What is important to remember is that chiropractic care is something that should be done only by a professional as they are trained in the proper treatment of these conditions.

Chiropractic treatments are not always recommended for the treatment of a herniated disc.  In some cases, they may not help but may even worsen the condition.  When you hire a professional, you will be able to determine what the right decision for you here is.

Hiring A Professional

It is quite necessary to find a skilled and experienced chiropractor in order to get the best results for this type of care.  You will want to look for someone that specialized in herniated discs as they will then be able to provide you with the most complete and successful care.  A professional should be licensed.

You can find professionals in your area by using the web to help you.  Check them out at the website of the Better Business Bureau.  Get information about their services as well as what they believe they can do for you.  The most information that you can provide to them, the more thoroughly they can provide help to you.

Chiropractors are often thought of in a negative light, but there have been some studies that show that these movements or correct positioning of the spine can help to relieve pain associated with virtually any area of the body.  While some scientists are skeptical, plenty of patients are able to get back into life by getting help for their herniated disc through these professionals.

Several appointments may be necessary, but often you can call and schedule and appointment and be in the same day.  More so, you should feel better to some degree after one session, making this a treatment that can be done rather quickly to relieve pain.  Finding a quality professional is the key to seeing improvements in your condition.

Chapter 5:  Massage And Herniated Discs: How To Get Relief

Perhaps one of the most sought after and best used methods for improving your condition of a herniated disc is to use massage.

Massage is a method of applying pressure in a specific way to a specific group of muscles to ease tension, pain and to gain flexibility in the area.  Massage is something that can be done by a professional for the best results, or by anyone that is willing to learn the correct methods to gaining these benefits.

It is recommended that you do use a professional service to provide you with the massage techniques that you need to improve this condition.  A herniated disc can be treated with this technique, but will not be healed by it. 

Here, the benefit is pain relief and muscle relaxation in the area.  Yet, don't forget that you do still have this potentially painful condition still and that it can bring pain back again.  It is not healed from massage, but the pain is minimized.

What Can Massage Do?

Massage can provide you with several key benefits in terms of a herniated disc.  The results are not lasting but the relief and the relaxation will improve your handling of the herniated disc.  When massage is done correctly, you are able to:

·        Stretch soft tissues in the effected area to help them to relax.

·        Elongate muscles, or restore them to their natural length.  (Muscles tense up and constrict when injured or by your natural reaction to the pain there.

·        Helps you to get back on your feet and doing the activities that you normally would do faster.

The fact is that there is no scientific evidence that says that massage will reverse the herniated disc that you have, but it can improve your pain level and it definitely has no adverse side effects such as medications can.  In many cases, you will want to use this type of method to relax and to get back to your life.

A word of warning, there are some people that should not have massage used as a treatment option.  Those that have osteoporosis or have skin infections, open wounds or deep vein thrombosis should not have any type of massage done on these effected areas.  Those that have arthritis too should be careful with treatment.

Massage:  How To

Massage is a method to healing the body that works by kneading and applying pressure to the muscles in the body.  With the right movements on various muscles, tendons and even the skin, stimulation of these areas can help to relax the soft tissues here.  There are various types of massage, each different in the way that it is done.  The differences are usually in the rate of movement, the rhythm of it, and in the pressure of it. 

Here are some types of massage that can be used to treat a herniated disc.

• Swedish massage:  Used to provide long, gliding movements in a stroking movement.  Here, they promote relaxation and the movements improve circulation as well.
  
• Deep Tissue massage:  Just as it sounds, this type of massage is geared at the deep tissues of your body.  Slow strokes are used and more intense pressure is used as well.  This helps to reach the deeper muscle layers.

More than 100 different types of massage are available today and many of them can be used to treat a herniated disc.  Here, we will concentrate on providing you with basic information so that you can begin to learn the techniques that are involved.

Performing A Swedish Massage

The benefit of a Swedish massage is to increase the amount of oxygen that is in the blood and to help to release the toxins from within the muscles.  This works because of the build up of lactic acid, uric acid and metabolic wastes are flushed from the body.  Often, muscles are strained because of the build up of these.

In addition, it helps to stretch the ligaments and the tendons.  This keeps them soft and pliable, important for relaxing the muscles in the back and improving your condition. 

There are many reasons for this type of massage including the fact that it can help you to relax.  Physical and emotional stress and strain is relieved.  Many people find it ideal for their stress management tool, too!

Finally and probably most importantly to the person with a herniated disc, the Swedish massage provides benefits in terms of stimulating your skin as well as your nervous system.  It can help to relax nerves that are being over stimulated, which is what is often causing you to be in pain from a herniated disc. 

The best results for this type of massage will come from having a professional help you.  There is little doubt that you will get a better massage by visiting a local massage parlor or looking for a professional to do it for you within your home. 

Nevertheless, you can learn to perform some of the techniques to some degree on your own.  Here are some of the various ways that you can use a Swedish massage to improve your pain management.  You will find that these terms are the terms that professionals use, too.

·        Effleurage:  This involved gliding strokes over the area with your palms and thumbs.  The fingertips are used to stroke the area as well, stimulating your skin and nerves.

·        Friction:  This movement is a circular pressure that is applied to the area with the palms of the hands.  The thumbs and the fingers can also be used to apply this pressure.

·        Vibration:  Here, movements that are oscillatory are used that help to vibrate the body or shake it.

·        Petrissage:  Most commonly used in massages, this is a kneading movement that is done with the hands, the fingers as well as the thumbs.

·        Percussion:  Here, a fast but not too hard hacking or tapping is done with the side of the hand.

Also, in Swedish massage there are often active and passive movement are used.  This includes bending and stretching the area, but this should be done by a professional only so as not to increase the amount of pain that you are under.

Deep Tissue Massage

There is a difference in a deep tissue massage over the Swedish massage.  First, its goal is not to stimulate the outward muscles of the body, but rather those that are lying deep within the tissue. 

To accomplish this, slow and calculated strokes are used.  There is much more pressure used in this method.  Usually this pressure is applied with the fingers.  The fingers are applied to the area in need and then they generally follow the fibers of the muscle either going across the muscles or following them.  Generally this is done for the muscles as well as the fascia and the tendons in the area.

The benefit of this type of massage includes several key things.  It helps to release chronic muscle tension by using slower strokes that have a deeper pressure and effect.  When the fingers are applied going across the actual grain of the muscles, this causes friction which helps to release the pain.  If you have had surgery in the area, it can also help to break up any scar tissue that you may have in the area.

Many people believe that this type of massage, the deep tissue massage is painful.  In fact, it is likely that you will feel sore after it, but this lasts only a short time.  What's more, you should really see benefits that last a longer time within one or so days.  Although not necessarily painful, some find it to be uncomfortable.

All of this helps to provide your muscles with several benefits.  For one, it helps to relax stressed muscles, both from a physical and an emotional state.  In addition, it helps to get nutrients and oxygen back to the muscles that are starving from being so stressed in the first place.

In addition to these benefits, it removes those toxins that are stored in the muscles when they are stressed.  To do this, deep tissue massage stimulates the amount of oxygen and blood that gets to your muscles.

When you have a deep tissue massage, make sure to drink plenty of fluids before and after so that you can remove those toxins from your body.

In terms of what it does specifically, the deep tissue massage has a job of helping to relax muscle fibers.  Because they release tension and toxins, it helps to loosen muscle fibers found in the body.  This helps the muscle to be soothed.

Overall, the goal is to get the muscle back to its correct stage and help to provide you with relaxation that you need from the pain of a herniated disc.

Either of these massages can be beneficial to you.  Having a professional do them is often advisable but you can find others to help you as well.  Generally a massage can take from a half of an hour to a full hour to complete, depending on the method that is used.

The use of massage for treatment of a herniated disc is one option, not the only option at all.  What's more, it is important to repeat the massage whenever the pain begins to come back or intensifies.  It is often necessary to have the procedure done a couple of times per week, in serious cases, which means finding a trusted provider to help you in this.

The good news is that a massage can help you to feel good beyond that of just relieving the pain there.  It can help you to relax and unwind as well.

Chapter 6: Moving Your Muscles Helps Too

As mentioned prior, physical therapy and exercise can help you to stimulate your muscle healing.  Although you will find that the most beneficial way to get this help is through a professional physical therapist, they are likely to recommend movements that you can do at home to improve your condition overall.

The goal of physical therapy is to provide you with several key benefits all working towards the end result of being able to function like you are used to doing.  Here are some aspects that you will gain from physical therapy programs (which you can get into!)

• First, they will help you to understand what your condition is and where the problem areas are.  This helps you to specifically know where the problem lies.
  
• Second, they will develop a specific program for you, that provides you with exercises as well as movements that can improve your pain as well as give you long term benefits such as prevention of additional injuries or problems.
  
• In addition, you learn how to keep from making it worse or injuring another area of your body.
  
• Learn how to lift properly and how to improve your overall posture to help you to make it through the pain without worsening it.
  
• Helping you to avoid stress both in the physical sense and in the emotional stress which can trigger additional pain in the area.
  
• In addition, providing you with therapy treatments that are more advanced if you are not improving as you should be can be taught and used to help you to relieve pain and injury.
  
• Pain management is another benefit that you will learn when you take on the help of a
  physical therapist and their skills.

All of these benefits can be what you receive when you begin working with a physical therapist.  It is also important for you to realize what types of exercises you can do at home to help you to improve your pain levels and to help your muscles and disc to improve.

When performing any of these movements, take care to make sure you are doing them with help and with someone to watch you.

Exercises For Herniated Disc/Back Pain

There are many great exercises that you can do that will help you to improve your pain level and improve your overall wellness.  Here are some of the ones that you will want to try, with help and back up just in case.  Always check with your doctor first, though!

Sciatica Exercises

Because many people have sciatic pain, or pain that is caused by the herniated disc that runs down the lower back into the hips and legs, these exercises are designed to help alleviate that pain. 

Extension Exercises And Pull Ups

·        Lay on your stomach in the prone position. 

·        Raise your elbows up, so that they are helping to support the upper half of the body.  They should be at a 90 degree angle to the floor and your body.  Keep your hips on the floor.

·        Stop for a moment to allow your back to adjust.  If you feel intense pain stop here.  Otherwise, move on but slowly.

·        Press up and hold for just five seconds, release.

·        Keep doing this with the goal of reaching 30 seconds for each repetition.  Your goal is to try to do at least ten repetitions in a sitting, never forcing yourself beyond the point that you are at.

More Advanced Extension

·        Here, you will move one step beyond what you are currently doing.  Do this movement after you have successfully completed the last exercise.

·        From the prone position, with your stomach lying flat on the floor, press up leaving only your pelvis on the floor. 

·        Keep your lower back and your buttocks relaxed, do not tense them up. 

·        Use your arms to support you as you push back.

·        Repeat by holding for five seconds, increasing with each repetition until you reach a full 30 seconds per repetition.

·        Try to do ten repetitions within one sitting, without straining.

Non Laying Position

Some people with this amount of pain can not actually lie on their stomachs without a great deal of pain or discomfort.  This type of exercise can be done, then, in a stand up position.

·        Stand with your feet planted firmly at your shoulders width apart.

·        Place your hands on your hips with your elbows bent at the side.

·        Slowly bend backwards, extending your back in an arching position toward the ground behind you.  Do not over stretch.

·        Hold this position for five seconds and return to an upright position. 

·        Repeat for up to ten repetitions of five to ten seconds long for each.

This is not necessarily the most beneficial method of the extension but it is definitely one that can provide you with back pain improvement.

These are called extension exercises because they help to stretch those muscles.  One thing that you should do is to avoid doing exercises or movements that have you bending over forward as this contradicts the benefits that are given to you by the extension exercise and may not be beneficial to your condition either.

You can repeat these exercises any time that it is necessary, including doing them up to every two hours.  Never force any position that is painful and always ask your doctor about these methods.

Remember, arching your spine in a backward position will help your herniated disc pain and spine while arching your back forward will worsen this condition.  Remember this in your daily activities, too.

Abdominal Muscles And Back Muscles

In addition to these exercises, there are others that help to provide help you to as well, but are a bit more advanced. 

In addition, these following exercises can be used to help your pain when it moves from your lower legs into your lower back, which is a normal migration that the pain can take.  Here, you are working on strengthening the muscles in the abdomen and in the lower back which can help to keep the pain at bay.

Here are some that you should take into consideration to help you.

Upper Back Extensions For Lower Back

·        Lay in the prone position with your hands holding each other behind your lower back.

·        Raise your head and your shoulders up, slightly and slowly.  You are pushing against gravity here, not pushing down, but up.

·        Look at the floor during the entire movement.

·        Hold this movement for about five seconds and then gradually lower.  Your goal is to work up to twenty seconds in this position by increasing your hold by five seconds for each repetition that you take.

·        Do approximately eight to ten repetitions like this or until you can not continue.

·        Do not strain.

Another exercise to do here is a bit different.  Try this one after the first.

·        Lay in the prone position.  Keep your head and your shoulders lowered onto the floor. 

·        Gently raise one arm and the leg on the opposite side of your body slowly.  (Right leg and left arm, for example.)

·        Keep your knees locked but do not strain here.

·        Hold in this position and raise about three inches off the floor or as much as you can without causing any additional pain.

·        Hold this position for five seconds.  After several sessions of this exercise (over a period of time) you should extend this hold slowly to about twenty seconds per repetition.

·        Complete about ten repetitions of this movement slowly without forcing them.

Abdominal Muscles:  Curl Ups

·        Here, you are strengthening your upper abdominal muscles. 

·        Lie on your back with your knees bent in front of you comfortably.

·        Fold your arms up across your chest and hold them there throughout the movement.

·        Keep your back flat against the floor. 

·        Keeping your arms in place, curl up as much as possible.  You only need to lift your shoulders and your head off the ground. 

·        Hold this position for about two to four seconds, if you can tolerate it.  Then, slowly lower back down to lay flat.

·        Repeat.  While you should not do more than you can handle, try to do a total of two sets with ten repetitions in each set. 

·        If you have any type of pain in your neck, you can place your hands behind your neck for support, but do not force your head up with your hands, as this could cause injury.

Another exercise to help strengthen your lower abdominals (in comparison to the last which was for the upper abdominals) is that of this one.

·        Lie on your back and support your head with a pillow or comfortable cushion that is not thick.

·        Keep your arms at your sides, flat on the ground.

·        Bend one of your knees in front of you while the other is lying flat on the ground.

·        Tighten your abdominal muscles so that you can feel the muscle without over straining.

·        Raise the straight leg from the ground up about a foot in the air.

·        Keep your back and shoulders flat against the floor throughout this movement. 

·        Hold this position for about ten seconds without straining.

·        Lower the leg to the floor. Repeat again with the other leg.

·        Perform two sets of ten repetitions.

·        Over time, increase the time that you hold this exercise to twenty or thirty seconds.

Any of these exercises can be done over the space of time and whenever they are needed to improve the amount of pain that you are facing.

Additional Exercises For Pain Relief

These exercises are a great start for your improvement plan and can definitely help provide you with virtually instant relief from the pain of a herniated disc.  But, you should also consider some other types of exercises and movements that can provide you with improved mobility and overall fitness goals that you may have.

Water Exercises

One of the best ways for you to work on your back is actually in the water.  Swimming, running in the water and doing other activities there can help to strengthen the muscles located there without causing you any discomfort or pain in the process.

You do not have to do anything fancy here.  For a great way to increase your lower abdominal strength and to decrease pain here, simply walk in waist deep water.  Turn from side to side as you walk to feel your muscles relaxing.  This is also a good exercise for overall fitness.

Walking

Another key way to enjoy your movements to improve your overall fitness and to minimize pain relief is through aerobic exercise.  Here, simply walking can do what you need it to do.  Aerobics can help you to improve your overall body fitness which can play a significant role in improving your pain management abilities.

Walking is a key way of doing this and it can help to improve your lower back pain caused by a herniated disc.  Walking, especially with the right shoes, can be a low impact way of strengthening the muscles here.  As you walk, hold your abdominal muscles in for five to ten seconds, release and repeat for additional strengthen of those muscles as you are walking.

When it comes to walking, you will want to consider starting out slow and working your way up.  The goal you should have is to try and walk at least three miles three to four times per week.  This will increase your wellness overall and provide you with fitness benefits.

If you don't or can not go outside for walking, you can do it indoors.  Or, use other low impact fitness equipment that can help you to gain the same benefits of just walking. Consider any low impact form of exercising for the best result.  In turn, you are able to flex those muscles while you are exercising to gain strengthening of them as you move along in the process.

Weight Loss

In addition to gaining health through exercise and strength in your muscles, losing weight can help you to take the pressure off of your already weakened spinal column do to the herniated disc.  If you can shed some weight, you can often improve your overall pain levels and improve your health as well.

If you are overweight, this is increasingly important for your overall fitness and for allowing your body to direct more attention to the injury.  In addition, you are removing some of the pressure that you have on your lower back while gaining muscle strength through exercising.

Any of these forms of exercise can help you with the pain of your herniated disc.  Although none of these movements can actually repair the damage on its own, you have learned that most people are able to overcome a herniated disc over time, but that there are few methods to relieve the pressure before then to heal the condition faster.  But, through exercising in these methods, you can over come much of the pain that you feel here.

Chapter 7:  Emerging Therapies That Help To Relieve Pain Here

Science is always looking for ways to improve the treatments that are available for the conditions that you have, one of which is that of a herniated disc.  In fact, there are several ideal treatment options in the works that can potentially help to relieve the pain that you feel when you are given them. 

Here, we discussed some of these methods.  Not all doctors recommend these as they are new methods and yet unproven for all users.  Yet, they may be something to ask your doctor about.

 These are:

Oxygen Ozone Therapy

This method of treatment of the pain caused by a herniated disc is one of the many that are being used today.  Oxygen ozone therapy is a process of injecting a gas mixture into your herniated disc.  This gas mixture is made up of oxygen and ozone. 

The benefit of adding this treatment to your other treatments are that it will help to reduce the inflammation in the herniated disc which in turn helps to lower the amount of pain that is felt by you.  This happens because the size of the herniated disc is made smaller do to the reduction of inflammation in the disc.

This method of treatment is generally used with other treatments, usually with corticosteroid injections.  When that is done, it can help to improve the benefit of that injection substantially.

Another benefit of this treatment is that it can be done as an outpatient procedure.  It does not require that the patient be put under anesthesia either.

Nucleoplasty

Nucleoplasty is a process of using heat to help reduce the pressure that is being placed on the herniated disc's nucleau, or center.  This heat is produced by bipolar radiofrequency and is completely safe to use.  This technology creates what is a energy field. 

By lowering the actual amount of pressure on the nucleus, this procedure will reduce the amount of pain that you feel.  The process is simplified in most cases and can be done for most patients.

The benefit here is that although this method uses heat to dissolve what is called the dark tissue in the area, it doesn't produce too much heat that can cause pain and problems with the surrounding structures in the disc.

Biological Repairing:  DNA

Perhaps the most amazing option is to use a biological repair to help regenerate the herniated disc into its proper shape.  This is done using growth factor or growth of the cells and the tissues in the area through engineering methods. 

Doctors have found that by injecting the herniated disc in its early stages with growth factor can help to encourage the disc to do its own repair on the cells and avoids other problems.  Generally this must be done within the first stages of deterioration to provide any help to the patient. 

There is a need for additional research here and complications are not known.

These methods can be an amazing option for those that are facing a long term painful situation.  Talk to your doctor about alternative methods for treatment of this condition to find out if they offer them.

Conclusion

For those that are facing pain from a herniated disc, the first thing to do is to stop and rest.  Allowing your body to work its healing abilities is the most important first step and the one that is likely to provide you with the most overall pain relief.

You can also find a number of great tools available to you to help you to get through the pain from over the counter medications to prescription strength and more.  Still, perhaps the best benefits offered here are those that are new and advanced.  Yet, in any methods, exercise and working to strengthen the muscles in this region is one of the core requirements to overcome the pain you feel.

For those that have severe pain in their lower back and can not perform as they should, there is no replacement of a visit to the doctor's office.  In many cases, it is necessary to do this even with using the methods described here for pain relief.  Together you can overcome the pain and get life back on track.

You can relieve this pain!