Herniated Disc Treatments – Home Care Tips For Fast Relief

Posted on January 17, 2009
Filed Under Pain Relief | Leave a Comment

Treatment for a herniated disc can be somewhat discouraging, because most of the therapies available through traditional medical methods only provide temporary relief, if that. This article will discuss the most common therapies available for a bulging disc, as well as 3 simple things you can use from home for relief.

But before we get into that, we need to discuss what a disc of the spine is, as well as what a bulging disc is, so you understand why the recommendations I will make in this article will provide relief.

The discs of the spine are cushions that are located between each set of bones in the spine. Their main purpose is to absorb shock, which protects the bones from too much force, which could lead to quite a bit of pain.

Each disc of the spine is made up of two main parts â€“ a strong outer covering called the annulus, and a soft jelly center called the nucleus. The jelly in the center is very important, because this is where the disc keeps nutrition and oxygen in order for the disc to remain healthy, and heal if a problem ever occurs.

One of the things that complicates any disc condition is the fact that the discs of the spine do not have a very good blood supply. Normally, the body utilizes blood to transport oxygen and nutrients to injured areas of the body, so they can heal more quickly. One of the recommendations I give you later in this article will help bring new oxygen and nutrients to the jelly of the disc for faster healing.

In the case of a bulging disc, the outer covering tears, and the jelly in the center begins to move into the area of the injury. This causes the disc to bulge against the nerves of the spine, which causes quite a bit of pain. In addition to this, because the nerves are affected, this condition can also lead to quite a bit of disability, simply because the nerves of the spine control everything in the body.

In fact, one of the things you may not know about a spinal disc is that they can not feel pain, which sounds strange at first, but if you think about it, it makes sense considering the fact that theyâ€™re absorbing shock all day.

So, itâ€™s significant to realize that all of the pain is actually coming from the pressure on the nerve. This is really the reason that most herniated disc treatments are not successful for the long term â€“ they are all primarily designed to deal with the painful nerve, which sounds good at first, but they do not really get to the cause of the problem, which is the bulging disc.

For example, most doctors will begin by prescribing muscle relaxers and pain relieving medications, which are typically successful about 30% of the time. The reason for this is because they numb the nerve, but donâ€™t do anything for the disc herniation.

Physical therapy is also usually prescribed, and although Iâ€™m a fan of physical therapy, with this problem, it often doesnâ€™t provide a long term result. The same is true for pain injections (such as cortisone and epidurals), which usually provide relief about 50% of the time, but the pain usually returns.

Surgery has the lowest success rate of all (16% according to the medical journal Spine), which is why most doctors will do everything else before recommending surgery. Not only that, surgery is also temporary, and the pain usually returns within 5 years of having the surgery if youâ€™re lucky enough to experience relief to begin with.

This is why many have a hard time finding a back disc treatment that will provide lasting relief. The good news is that there are actually a number of treatment of a herniated disc that are effective, and truthfully, it often requires a combination of specific treatments to lead to the end result you are hoping for.

In this article, Iâ€™m going to share 3 simple treatment of a herniated disc that can be done from home, but realize this is only part of the solution â€“ Iâ€™ll share a helpful resource at the end of the article if youâ€™d like to learn more. Each back disc treatment that Iâ€™m about to recommend needs to be followed as I outline for best results.

The first recommendation Iâ€™ll share with you is to use ice. Most people want to use heat with this problem, which is truly the worst thing you can do. Heat will aggravate the nerve more, and cause additional swelling in the injured area, which also causes more pain.

Ice will numb the aggravated nerve, and slow the inflammatory process, which will provide faster relief. In order to see the fastest results with ice, you should use real ice instead of a substitute (such as frozen vegetables), and you should place the ice directly on the skin over the painful area.

Leave the ice on for 15 minutes maximum, or until you experience numbness, whichever occurs first. Then, repeat the ice treatment every hour â€“ it will take 3 to 4 treatments before you feel any relief, and it usually takes about 3 days to experience a noticeable difference in your pain level.

The next back disc treatment I will share with you is actually a simple exercise utilizing a therapy ball. A therapy ball is one of those large balls you see in health clubs or physical therapy clinics. People often use them for stomach exercises, however, the exercise I will recommend for you is actually very simple.

All you have to do is sit on the ball and gently bounce up and down for 5 minutes every day. Remember how we were discussing earlier how the jelly in the disc is where the oxygen and nutrients are stored for healing? This exercise will pump each spinal disc, which pumps new oxygen and nutrients into the disc for faster healing.

The final treatment of a herniated disc I will share today is another exercise utilizing a mini-trampoline. You can find a small trampoline (usually about 4 feet wide) at most sports stores, and you simply want to stand in the center of the trampoline and march in place for 5 minutes a day.

Donâ€™t jump with this exercise â€“ marching will force the body to re-balance the muscles in the entire back, which removes quite a bit of pressure off the injured disc. This exercise will go a long way for not only relieving the pain, but also for healing the bulging disc.

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