Herniated Disc Therapy: How Helpful Is Therapy For Helping My Pain?
Physical therapy is one of the most typical bulging disc therapies recommended, and a lot of people wonder how helpful it is and if it’s worth the time and effort you have to put into it.
The short answer is yes, it is worth it and it is beneficial, but it is only a piece of the puzzle when trying to heal a bulging disc.
Statistically speaking, PT is helpful about 50% of the time with this condition, but that is because most individuals are not told that they have to continue with their exercises even after they are released from therapy.
Most health care providers will prescribe one or two months of PT to a person who suffers with a bulging disc, but the fact of the matter is that it normally takes years for a disc problem to fully heal if it ever does. So, can you see the discrepancy?
Many will experience relief from physical therapy, but the pain almost always returns because they don’t understand that the exercises you learn are meant to be done for the long term if you want the best results. In addition to this, therapy focuses on the muscles that surround the affected disc (which certainly has benefit), but it doesn’t directly address the main problem which is the injured disc itself.
The purpose of physical therapy with this condition is to strengthen the muscles that surround the injured disc, thus removing pressure on the disc so it is able to heal properly. One of the major purposes of the disc is to act as a ligament, holding the spine in proper alignment.
If the disc becomes injured, this function can not occur because the disc is weakened. So, the muscles have to take on this function in order to stabilize the spine. In addition to that, if the muscles that surround the spine are weak, the disc will have additional pressure on it and it will become more damaged over time.
So, there is certainly good reason for an individual going through a program of therapy when they have a herniated disc. The problem is that it takes at least 3 months before a muscle will show considerable improvement in strength, so if you stop after your recommended treatment plan with your therapist, you aren’t getting the full benefit of their care.
In addition to that, strengthening the muscles that surround the injured disc is only a part of the solution. You have to understand that this condition is very complex, and if you don’t do anything to encourage the disc itself to heal, the problem will never heal properly even with therapy.
There are actually a number of other treatments that need to be done at the same time you’re going through physical therapy treatments if you want the best results that last for a longer period of time. You can learn more about the most effective combination of treatments by clicking the following link (treatment for a herniated disc).
If you’ve found this article helpful, and you would like to get the answers to the 20 most frequently asked questions individuals have about herniated disc treatments, you can click the following link (herniated disc therapy).
Tags: bulging disc therapy, bulging disc treatment, herniated disc treatment, treatment for a bulging disc
