Treatment FAQ

what is the best treatment for slipped discs

by Hilda Erdman Published 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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Most people with a slipped disc in the lumbar region of their spine (lower back) are offered “conservative” treatment, meaning that the treatment does not involve surgery. This mainly involves exercise, relaxation and positioning, painkillers or local anesthetics, and manual and physical therapy.

Full Answer

What are the effective remedies for Slip Disc?

  • Abhyanga – Massages with medicated oil and herbal concoctions are proven effective in the ayurvedic treatment of slip disc. ...
  • Swedana – The process, Swedana, will be instrumental in relaxing the body and reenergizing it. ...
  • Shodhana – Shodhana will help in expelling toxic substances from the body. It will detoxify the body and purify it. ...

What is the best remedy for a slipped disc?

What Are Home Remedies For A Herniated Disc?

  1. Ice And Heat Therapy For pain relief, using a cold and hot pack may help alleviate your pain and keep inflammation down. ...
  2. Stretching Exercises Don’t just sit in bed all day. Try gentle movements during the day to use your muscles and keep them moving. ...
  3. Yoga

Can a slipped disc heal on its own?

Can a Herniated Disc Heal on Its Own? Despite what a surgeon may advise you the answer is YES. Lumbar discs healing on their own is well documented using MRI (9). The medical term for this is a regression which references a resolution or reduction of the disc herniation. The healing may be partial or complete.

Can herniated or slipped discs heal naturally at home?

Herniated discs can be treated naturally in the comfort of your home with proper nutrition, exercise, and therapy. Prevention is the best medicine and making sure that you learn to sit, bend, and lift properly can go a long way to making sure that you don’t develop new overuse or misuse injuries that can lead to additional herniated discs.

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What is the best thing to do for a slipped disc?

Lifestyle and home remediesApplying heat or cold. Initially, cold packs can be used to relieve pain and inflammation. ... Avoiding too much bed rest. Staying in bed can lead to stiff joints and weak muscles — which can complicate your recovery. ... Resuming activity slowly. Let your pain guide you in resuming your activities.

What are three treatments for a slipped disc?

Most people with a slipped disc in the lumbar region of their spine (lower back) are offered “conservative” treatment, meaning that the treatment does not involve surgery. This mainly involves exercise, relaxation and positioning, painkillers or local anesthetics, and manual and physical therapy.

Can slipped discs be fixed?

As with bulging discs, there is a spectrum of options to treat herniated discs. If you've experienced symptoms for less than 6 weeks and have no nerve damage, anti-inflammatory medications, physical therapy, and steroid injections (if needed) can help resolve the issue in 6 to 12 weeks.

Is walking good for slipped disc?

Instead, try aerobic exercises, such as swimming and walking. Using a stationary bike can be an excellent source of exercise while recovering from a herniated disc. Hiking, especially up hills, can also be good.

Can a chiropractor fix a slipped disc?

It can get to the point where many patients mistakenly believe surgery is the only option. But it's not. Chiropractic care may be effective in the treatment of slipped discs, no matter the severity.

How long does a slipped disc take to heal?

The average amount of time it takes for a herniated disk to heal is four to six weeks, but it can get better within a few days depending on how severe the herniation was and where it occurred. The biggest factor in healing a herniated disk is time, because most often it will resolve on its own.

Are slip discs permanent?

7: Slipped disc is a permanently disabling condition Many believe that once they get a slipped disc it's a lifetime problem and they will never be able to return to normal activity.

How do you pop a disc back into place?

Exercise can work like a vacuum to suck the center of the disc back into place, helping release pressure on the nerve. Although someone suffering an attack of back pain may find it hard to believe, it has been proven that specific exercises can help relieve some cases of back or neck pain.

What is the treatment for a slipped disc in the lower back?

This mainly involves exercise, relaxation and positioning, painkillers or local anesthetics, and manual and physical therapy.

How to treat sciatica after slipped disc?

Manual therapy and treatments based on physical stimuli. The treatment options for sciatica following a slipped disc also include manual therapy and treatments based on physical stimuli. Manual treatment may include massages and special techniques for relaxing tense muscles or locked joints.

What is the best painkiller for sciatica?

NSAIDs that may be an option for the treatment of sciatica include diclofenac, ibuprofen and naproxen.

How long does it take for a slipped disc to heal?

Most people recover from a slipped disc within six weeks without treatment.

Where is the lumbar nerve injected?

In lumbar spinal nerve analgesia, the medication is injected directly at the point where the nerve root leaves the spinal canal. This has a numbing effect on the nerve root. In lumbar epidural analgesia, the medication is injected into what is known as the epidural space (“epidural injection”).

How to relax a tense muscle?

Common treatments include: Massages:Various massage techniques are used to relax muscles and ease tension. Heating and cooling:This includes the use of hot packs and heating patches, a hot bath, going to the sauna or using an infrared lamp. Heat can also help relax tense muscles.

How long does it take to recover from a slipped disc?

Most people recover from a slipped disc within six weeks without treatment. Until then there are a number of treatment options that aim to help relieve the pain and improve mobility. Exercise, relaxation and positioning.

1. Treat Pain

Changing positions or shifting posture may reduce immediate discomfort. For example, laying on the back, with feet on a chair and knees at a 90-degree angle, can sometimes be quite comfortable for back problems.

2. Have the Person Rest

Bed rest for a day or two may help, but no longer than that; it is important to become active again sooner rather than later.

4. Follow Up

The health care provider may recommend muscle relaxants, anti-inflammatory medications, injections of pain reliever, acupuncture, or physical therapy.

What is the procedure to remove a herniated disk?

Surgery. Diskectomy is the surgical removal of the damaged portion of a herniated disk in your spine. A herniated disk occurs when some of the softer material inside the disk pushes out through a crack in the tougher exterior. This can irritate or compress nearby nerves and cause pain, numbness or weakness.

What tests are needed for a herniated disk?

In most cases of herniated disk, a physical exam and a medical history are all that's needed for a diagnosis. If your doctor suspects another condition or needs to see which nerves are affected, he or she may order one or more of the following tests.

What test can be used to confirm the location of the herniated disk and to see which nerves are affected

This test can be used to confirm the location of the herniated disk and to see which nerves are affected. Myelogram . A dye is injected into the spinal fluid before X-rays are taken. This test can show pressure on your spinal cord or nerves due to multiple herniated disks or other conditions.

How to treat low back pain?

Spinal manipulation has been found to be moderately effective for low back pain that has lasted for at least a month. Rarely, chiropractic treatment of the neck can cause certain types of strokes. Acupuncture. Although results are usually modest, acupuncture appears to ease chronic back and neck pain. Massage.

How to help a swollen thigh?

Besides taking the pain medications your doctor recommends, try: Applying heat or cold. Initially, cold packs can be used to relieve pain and inflammation. After a few days, you might switch to gentle heat to give relief and comfort.

Can a surgeon remove a disk?

Loss of bladder or bowel control. In nearly all cases, surgeons can remove just the protruding portion of the disk. Rarely, the entire disk must be removed. In these cases, the vertebrae may need to be fused with a bone graft.

Can you take codeine for disk herniation?

Because of the side effects of opioids and the potential for addiction, many doctors hesitate to prescribe them for disk herniation. If other medication doesn't relieve your pain, your doctor might consider short-term use of opioids, such as codeine or an oxycodone-acetaminophen combination (Percocet, Roxicet).

Why do I have a slipped disc?

It is not clear why some people develop a 'slipped' (prolapsed) disc and not others, even when they do the same job or lift the same sort of objects. It seems that some people may have a weakness in the outer part of the affected disc. Various things may trigger the inner softer part of the disc to squeeze out through the weakened outer part of the disc. For example, sneezing, awkward bending, or heavy lifting in an awkward position may cause some extra pressure on the disc. In people with a weakness in a disc, this may be sufficient to cause a prolapse. Factors that may increase the risk of developing a prolapsed disc include: 1 A job involving lots of lifting. 2 A job involving lots of sitting (especially driving). 3 Weight-bearing sports (weightlifting, etc). 4 Smoking. 5 Being overweight (obesity). 6 Increasing age (a disc is more likely to develop a weakness as we become older).

How long does it take for a bulging disc to heal?

In most cases, the symptoms tend to improve over a few weeks. Research studies of repeated magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans have shown that the bulging prolapsed portion of the disc tends to shrink (regress) over time in most cases. The symptoms then tend to ease and, in most cases, go away completely.

How old is too old to have a prolapsed disc?

The most common age to develop a prolapsed disc is between 30 and 50 years. Twice as many men as women are affected. A prolapsed disc is rare in anyone under 20 years of age. For information and advice on back pain in young people, see the separate leaflet called Back Pain in Children.

What causes a bulging disc to prolapse?

The bulging disc may press on nearby structures such as a nerve coming from the spinal cord. Some inflammation also develops around the prolapsed part of the disc. Inflammation may irritate a nerve and also causes swelling, which may put pressure on a nerve. Any disc in the spine can prolapse. However, most prolapsed discs occur in ...

How long does it take for a disc to go away?

The disc often presses on a nerve root which can cause pain and other symptoms in a leg. In most cases, the symptoms ease off gradually over several weeks. The usual advice is to carry on as normal as much as possible. Painkillers may help. Physical treatments such as spinal manipulation may also help.

What is the name of the part of the disc that bulges out?

What happens is that part of the inner softer part of the disc (the nucleus pulposus) bulges out (herniates) through a weakness in the outer part of the disc. A prolapsed disc is sometimes called a herniated disc. The bulging disc may press on nearby structures such as a nerve coming from the spinal cord.

Where do discs prolapse?

Any disc in the spine can prolapse. However, most prolapsed discs occur in the lower back (the lumbar spine). The size of the prolapse can vary. As a rule, the larger the prolapse, the more severe the symptoms are likely to be.

How to treat a herniated disc?

Some exercises can help improve the symptoms of a herniated disc. A physical therapist can teach you which ones strengthen the muscles that support your back. Physical therapy programs also include: 1 Stretching exercises to keep your muscles flexible 2 Aerobic exercises -- such as walking or riding a stationary bicycle 3 Massage 4 Ice and heat 5 Ultrasound therapy 6 Electrical muscle stimulation

How to protect your spine from a herniated disk?

To protect your spine and prevent another herniated disk, you should always sit and stand up straight. If you have to stand for a long period of time , rest one foot on a stool or box to take pressure off your back. Be careful when you lift anything heavy. Squat from your knees to pick it up.

How long does it take for a herniated disk to heal?

Most people with a herniated disk don't need surgery. Rest and other treatments should start to improve your symptoms within 4 to 6 weeks. But if your pain doesn’t improve, surgery might be an option. Talk to your doctor about surgery if: You’re not getting relief from pain relievers, injections, and physical therapy.

What is the bone that is removed from a herniated disc?

Sometimes your surgeon will also need to remove a small piece of bone called the lamina from the vertebra. The lamina forms a protective cover over your spinal cord. Removing part or all of it helps the surgeon access your herniated disk. It also can relieve pressure on your nerves and eliminate leg pain and sciatica.

What is the best medicine for back spasms?

And nerve pain medicines, such as amitriptyline ( Elavil, Vanatrip ), duloxetine ( Cymbalta ), ...

What is the procedure called when you have two disks in your back?

This is called spinal fusion . Fusing the two disks will stop the bones from moving and prevent you from having any more pain. Artificial disk surgery. Only a few people are good candidates for artificial disk surgery because it only works on certain disks in your lower back.

How to stop back pain from a sprain?

You need to keep moving so your joints and muscles don't stiffen up. You can also use ice and heat to help relieve your pain. Just place an ice pack or warm wet towel on the area of your back that is sore. You can alternate hot and cold, or use whichever feels best.

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Diagnosis

Treatment

  • Conservative treatment — mainly modifying activities to avoid movement that causes pain and taking pain medication — relieves symptoms in most people within a few days or weeks.
See more on mayoclinic.org

Lifestyle and Home Remedies

  • Besides taking the pain medications your doctor recommends, try: 1. Applying heat or cold.Initially, cold packs can be used to relieve pain and inflammation. After a few days, you might switch to gentle heat to give relief and comfort. 2. Avoiding too much bed rest.Staying in bed can lead to stiff joints and weak muscles — which can complicate your recovery. Instead, rest in a po…
See more on mayoclinic.org

Alternative Medicine

  • Some alternative and complementary medicine treatments might help ease chronic back pain. Examples include: 1. Chiropractic.Spinal manipulation has been found to be moderately effective for low back pain that has lasted for at least a month. Rarely, chiropractic treatment of the neck can cause certain types of strokes. 2. Acupuncture.Although resul...
See more on mayoclinic.org

Preparing For Your Appointment

  • You're likely to start by seeing your family doctor. You might be referred to a doctor specializing in physical medicine and rehabilitation, orthopedic surgery, neurology, or neurosurgery.
See more on mayoclinic.org

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