Herniated Disc Treatments – Helpful Tips For Fast Relief

Treatment for a back 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 talk about what a spinal disc 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 spinal discs are cushions that are located between each set of vertebrae in the spine. Their main purpose is to absorb shock, which protects the vertebrae from too much force, which could cause quite a bit of pain.

Each spinal disc is made up 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 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 spinal discs do not receive a very good blood supply. Normally, the body utilizes blood to transport nutrients and oxygen 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 transport new nutrients and oxygen to the jelly of the disc for healing more quickly.

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 spinal nerves, which causes quite a bit of pain. In addition to this, because the nerves are agravated, this condition can also cause quite a bit of disability, simply because the spinal nerves 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 day.

So, it’s important 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 effective for the long term – they are all primarily designed to deal with the painful nerve, which sounds good on the surface, but they do not really get to the source of the problem, which is the bulging disc.

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

Physical therapy is also usually recommended, and although I’m a fan of physical therapy, with this condition, 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 do 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 begin with.

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

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

The first tip I’ll share with you is to use ice. Most people want to use heat with this condition, which is truly the worst thing you can do. Heat will aggravate the nerve more, and cause excessive 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 feel numbness, whichever occurs first. Then, repeat the ice treatment every hour – it will require 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 treatment for a bulging disc 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 offices. People often use them for stomach 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 every day. Remember how we were discussing earlier how the jelly in the disc is where the nutrients and oxygen are stored for healing? This exercise will pump every disc in the spine, which pumps new nutrients and oxygen into the disc for faster healing.

The final treatments for herniated discs I will recommend today is another exercise utilizing a mini-trampoline. You can find a small trampoline (usually about 4 feet wide) at many 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 force the body to re-balance the muscles in the entire back, which takes quite a bit of pressure off the injured disc. This exercise will go a long way for not only alleviating the pain, but also for healing the bulging disc.

If you would like to learn more about the most effective treatments for herniated discs, as well as the combination of those therapies that I recommend for the best results, you can click here (treatment for a bulging 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
• Treatment Of A Herniated Disc – The Top 3 Things You Can Do From Home For Relief
• Treatment Of Bulging Discs – Home Care Tips For Fast Relief
• Treatment For A Back Disc - Helpful Hints For Fast Relief
• More Herniated Disc Resources