Herniated Discs and How to Fix
Can Physical Therapy Help Fix My Herniated Disc?
Herniated discs are a common, yet challenging issue that many people experience, leading to significant discomfort and impacting your daily activities. The spine consists of vertebrae cushioned by these intervertebral discs that serve as padding and shock absorption. When these discs are herniated, their soft, gel-like cushion pushes exteriorly through structures in the posterior side of the spine. This can lead to pain with certain movements such as bending forward or backward, potential compression of nearby nerves that may lead to numbness and tingling down the arms or legs, and weakness. Whether it be from degeneration, injury from repetitive overuse, or improper posture leading to the injury, a herniated disc can greatly affect our lives. Here at Symmetry Physical Therapy, we help to address all the problems associated with a herniated disc and get you back to doing the things you love, pain-free.
The main goals in physical therapy when dealing with a herniated disc is to reduce pain, and restore healthy movement patterns. Through the manual techniques and technology we use here at Symmetry, including Dry Needling with electrical stimulation, WinBack Tecar Therapy, and other joint mobilizations and soft tissue mobilizations we can help to kickstart the healing process and decrease the pain you are experiencing. Reducing the pain allows us to strengthen and stabilize the muscles around the herniated area of the spine, supporting the segment and improving spinal mobility and strength.Visit our team located in Downtown Miami/Brickell to create a specific treatment plan for your body and help you get out of pain.
What Causes My Herniated Disc?
This soft, gel-like structure can be pushed out of the annulus which is the tough surrounding of the disc. This may be caused by a variety of factors. Degeneration of the disc is one of them. As we age, these discs lose their hydration, as they dry out over time, they become more prone to an injury. Improper movement patterns under load. Bad form while lifting can contribute to a potential tear in the annulus and a protrusion of that disc, this can also happen with loading of the upper extremities if you have a load that causes stress to any of the segments of the spine. Injury caused by repetitive movements may also contribute to disc herniation. Participation in activities that repeatedly stress the disc and spinal structures including high-velocity twisting and rotation activities may lead to a herniated disc.
The good news is that you can support and potentially prevent a herniated disc by stabilizing the postural muscles in your upper and lower back. This can help us to decrease the amount of pain we are experiencing and get us back to pain-free movements.
How Can Physical Therapy Help Rehab My Herniated Disc?
Conservative management such as physical therapy is the most effective way to manage the symptoms of a herniated disc and promote full recovery. There is supportive evidence showing the effect of dry needling, manual therapy, and exercise in the rehabilitation of disc herniation as compared to surgical intervention. Herniated discs are typically graded by assessing the severity of the herniation. The prolapse or grade I indicates a mild herniation with minimal symptoms. Grade II or extrusion shows a significant displacement where the disc is closer to the nerve root. Grade III or sequestration involves a severe herniation of the disc and is generally accompanied by neurological symptoms and radiating pain symptoms. Our treatment at Symmetry Physical Therapy is based on a comprehensive approach with a combination of treatments tailored to each patient.
Dry Needling for Disc Herniations
Physical therapists use dry needling to help heal injured tissues. Used in combination with electrical stimulation, dry needling helps in cases of disc herniation greatly. By processes that help increase opioid production by the body and increase adenosine which helps to block pain in tissues. Additionally, when the nerves near the herniated disc become irritated or compressed secondary to inflammation, the dry needling with electrical stimulation helps to decrease the inflammation around the nerve and to decrease the pain receptors in the area making the body less irritated and ready to initiate movement training in the next phase of physical therapy. These benefits combined act to decrease pain and drive more efficient repair responses by the body. For these reasons, recent evidence suggests that running electric stimulation is important to maximize the results of dry needling.
What Else Can Help Me to Rehab From a Herniated Disc?
The Winback machine, which utilizes Tecar technology can be especially beneficial when suffering from back pain from herniated discs. By promoting healing through deep tissue warming and stimulation, this therapy promotes the body’s reparative responses by increasing blood flow and helping to remove inflammation around the injury site. The radiofrequency energy created by the machine helps target the affected area and release muscle tension from the surrounding guarded muscles. As a result, patients will experience decreased muscle guarding, and less pain, along with more mobility and elasticity of the tissues.
Joint mobilizations provided to create a distraction or space within the joints also help to reduce pain and centralize the herniated disc. When creating space between the segments of the spine, you are allowing decompression of the herniated disc, temporarily reducing pain and allowing uptake of the gel-like substance back into the spine.
Can Exercises Also Help Me?
Once we have incorporated all these treatments and the pain has begun to decrease, we must target the root cause of the injury. Weak and unstable supporting muscles may lead to additional stress on the disc and spine.Strengthening the muscles identified as weak during our physical therapy assessment is crucial for improvement. Specific exercises such as McKenzie Extension Progression exercises focus on extension of the spine and are designed to centralize and localize the pain to a smaller area. These exercises theoretically help to assist in movement of the disc away from the nerves in the area, and back between the vertebrae which helps to reduce pain.
Dealing with a herniated disc and back pain can significantly impact your daily life and abilities. Fortunately, with the help of physical therapy, you can alleviate pain, improve mobility, and prevent future complications. By targeting the underlying issues and promoting improved movement patterns, physical therapy is essential for managing back pain resulting from disc herniations. If you suspect you have a problem with your back/spine and are looking for conservative management from a Physical Therapist, come see us at Symmetry Physical Therapy, located in the Miami/Brickell downtown area, where we provide an in-depth assessment and treatment strategies so we can help you return to a pain-free lifestyle.
Feel free to give us a call at (305) 331 2277 to schedule an appointment.