The good thing about treatment for a herniated disc is that it is possible even without surgery. If the injury is not that severe, and if the right conditions for healing can be provided, this is entirely possible. However, if the pain does not go away and the spinal segment does not move with time it can become stiff and lose its mobility. This will also stop your healing mechanism from working the normal way.
Manual therapy and exercise
There are several ways in which manual therapists would work with you in cases such as these. Whenever they see a case of herniated disc the first thing that they do is look at the kind of overall function that is performed by the body in question.
This can be called the first step in manual treatment for back pain. They may use stretching techniques that would make the muscle spasm easier for you to bear. After that, they would move your joints with their hands. This is done so that they can be mobilized. This mobilization is critical for someone like you because it helps you move with a greater degree of freedom. The natural healing mechanism of your body also works much better this way.
Looking at structural imbalances
It is wrong to think that a herniated disc concerns only your spine. Most osteopaths look at your entire body and this includes your hips as well. They understand that when one part of the body is not working the right way it means that parts associated with it would feel the brunt of movements. This is because they have to generate that extra force for the movement to happen. This means that there is imbalance in the body and this is what the doctors and healthcare practitioners are looking to correct in these cases.
The importance of simple movements as exercises
Whenever one says the word exercise people normally let out a groan. However, the term exercise here does not mean ones that you do in the boot camps. The exercises normally start after you are able to move the spine again and your structural imbalances are addressed. These are just simple movements that we are talking about over here. These are supposed to make your muscles in that region stronger so that they can provide better support to your spine. This also means that less pressure is being put on the disc. This is how the doctors and healthcare practitioners create an environment where the body is able to heal itself. This repairs your injured disc as well.
Conclusion
Disc herniation normally happens at a definite level. There are a couple of discs that are located at the very base of your spine – these are known as L5/S1 and L4/L5. These are the ones that are mostly affected in these cases. These spinal segments are really strong. In case they become stiff with the passage of time it can be really hard to get the pressure off them. This also makes it hard to get the spinal segment moving again. This is where alternative treatment such as IDD therapy disc treatment can prove to be rather crucial.
