Back Disc Treatment – Home Care Tips For Fast Relief

Treatment for a herniated disc can be somewhat discouraging, because most of the treatments available through traditional medical methods only provide temporary relief, if that. This article will discuss the most common treatments available for a herniated 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 spinal disc is, as well as what a herniated disc is, so you understand why the tips I will make in this article will provide relief.

The spinal discs 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 spinal disc is composed of two main parts – a strong outer covering called the annulus, and a soft jelly center called the nucleus. The jelly in the center is really important, because this is where the disc keeps oxygen and nutrition in order for the disc to remain healthy, and heal if a problem ever develops.

One of the things that complicates any disc condition is the fact that the spinal discs do not have a very good blood supply. Usually, the body uses blood to transport oxygen and nutrients to injuries, so they can heal more quickly. One of the tips 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 herniated disc, the outer covering is damaged, 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 leads to 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 odd at first, but if you think about it, it makes sense considering the fact that they’re absorbing shock all the time.

So, it’s significant to realize that all of the pain is actually coming from the pressure on the nerve. This is truly the reason that most treatments for herniated discs are not successful for the long term – they are all primarily designed to deal with the painful nerve, which sounds good at first, but they do not really get to the source of the issue, which is the herniated disc.

For example, most doctors will start by prescribing muscle relaxers and pain relieving medications, which are only successful about 30% of the time. The reason for this is because they numb the nerve, but don’t do anything for the disc bulging.

Physical therapy is also usually prescribed, and although I’m a fan of physical therapy, with this problem, it often doesn’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 comes back.

Surgery has the lowest success rate of all (16% according to the medical journal Spine), which is why most doctors will try everything else before recommending surgery. Not only that, surgery is also temporary, and the pain usually re-occurs within 5 years after having the surgery if you’re fortunate enough to experience relief to start with.

This is why many have a difficult time finding a herniated disc treatment that will result in long-term relief. The good news is that there are actually a number of treatments for herniated discs that are effective, and truthfully, it usually requires a combination of specific treatments to lead to the end result you are hoping for.

In this article, I’m going to share 3 simple treatments for herniated discs that can be done from home, but realize this is only part of the solution – I’ll share a helpful resource at the end of the article if you’d like to learn more. Each herniated disc treatment that I’m about to tell you about needs to be followed as I outline for best results.

The first recommendation I’ll give 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 excessive swelling in the affected area, which also leads to more pain.

Ice will numb the affected nerve, and slow the inflammatory process, which will result in 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 right on the skin over the painful area.

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

The next herniated disc treatment I will share with you is actually an easy exercise using a therapy ball. A therapy ball is one of those large balls you see in health clubs or physical therapy clinics. People usually use them for abdominal exercises, but, 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 each day. Remember how we were discussing earlier how the jelly in the disc is where the oxygen and nutrients are kept for healing? This exercise will pump each spinal disc, which pumps new oxygen and nutrients into the disc for faster healing.

The final treatments for herniated discs I will share today is another exercise using 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.

Don’t jump when doing this exercise – marching will cause the body to re-balance the muscles in the entire spine, which removes quite a bit of pressure off the damaged disc. This exercise will go a long way for not only relieving the pain, but also for healing the herniated disc.

If you would like to learn more about the most effective treatments for herniated discs, as well as the combination of those treatments that I recommend for the best results, you can click here (treatment for a herniated disc) to get all the details.

Did you find this article helpful? Here are some other related articles and resources you may also find useful:

• Here is a list of the best resources I've found for Bulging Disc / Herniated Disc relief
• Back Disc Treatments – Helpful Hints For Fast Relief
• Bulging Disc Treatment - The Top 3 Things You Can Do From Home For Relief
• Herniated Disc Treatment – Helpful Tips for Fast Relief
• More Back Disc Resources