Category: Back Pain

Apr 02 2009

Exercises For Bulging Discs - Basic Rules for Every Situation


exercises for a back disc are a necessary part of any healing program. However, a person suffering with a herniated disc needs to proceed with caution when it comes to exercises, because there is a good possibility that you could aggravate your symptoms if you don’t follow some simple rules.

This article will discuss some specific exercises for bulging discs, as well as some basic tips and rules you will need to follow for the best results. Before we can discuss this information, we need to briefly talk about how the discs of the spine work so the exercises we talk about will make sense.

The spinal discs are shock absorbers that separate each set of bones in the back. They are made up of a strong outer covering called the annulus, and a soft jelly center called the nucleus.

The nucleus is very important for our discussion about exercises for a bulging disc, because this is where the discs of the spine store oxygen and nutrients for proper healing.

If you’ve been dealing with this condition for any period of time, you’ve probably heard your doctor tell you that a herniated disc is a very difficult problem to heal, and tends to be quite stubborn. This is because the spinal discs do not have a very good blood supply going to them.

The body normally depends on blood for transporting oxygen and nutrients to an injured area for faster healing, so without normal blood supply, the affected disc has to find another way to bring oxygen and nutrients for healing. One of the exercises we’ll talk about will help with this, but for now, just realize that the nucleus of the disc is going to be very important for this.

A herniated disc develops when the strong outer covering is damaged, and the jelly begins to shift into the weak area of the disc. This creates a bulge, which will tend to apply pressure to the nerves of the spine.

This is actually why a herniated disc can be such a painful problem – the nerves of the spine control everything in the body, and they are very sensitive to any type of pressure. This is also why the symptoms of a disc problem are not usually limited to the back – the pain and dysfunction will tend to travel because of the nerves involved.

Now, there’s one more concept I would like to talk about before we talk more specifically about exercises for a bulging disc. There is one movement in particular that will make a herniated disc worse, so this motion needs to be avoided at all costs when learning and utilizing exercises for a bulging disc.

The movement I’m referring to is bending and rotation at the same time. For example – if your herniated disc is in your low back, you would never want to bend forward at the waist and twist at the same time. The same is true for the neck – you would never want to flex your head forward and rotate your head to the side at the same time.

This position is where the discs are weakest, so you need to avoid it at all costs. What does this have to do with your exercise routine? Well, there are certain exercises that place your back in this position – especially certain stomach exercises.

A common exercise to work the stomach muscles on the sides is to do a sit up while rotating at the waist. Sure, this exercise will target those muscles, but you are placing a lot of strain on the discs of the lower back at the same time. So, if you are living with a herniated disc, this type of exercise needs to be eliminated from your routine.

It’s important that you review your current exercise routine and look for any exercises that place your back in this position. Avoiding them will go a long way in helping your disc heal.

Let’s talk more specifically now about back disc exercises. I’ll be teaching you a simple routine that will help you, no matter where your injured disc is located (in other words, you can use these exercises whether the problem is in your neck, middle back, or low back).

Before you perform any form of exercise, you need to start with a warm up. There are two easy exercises you can do that will not only help you warm up, but are also incredibly beneficial for a herniated disc.

The first exercise I would encourage you to do is to march in place on a mini-trampoline. A mini-trampoline is just a small trampoline (usually 3 – 4 feet wide), and can be found at a sports store (such as Sportmart).

I want to be very clear that I do not recommend that you jump on the trampoline – all you want to do is stand in the center of the trampoline, keep your head looking straight forward and your arms at your side, and simply march in place for 5 minutes each day.

This exercise forces your body to balance, which strengthens and warms up the small muscles surrounding the back. These muscles are very important for providing support to an injured disc, which is why it will help with your problem.

After you perform this exercise, I would encourage you to do a simple exercise using a therapy ball. A therapy ball is one of those large balls you see in health clubs or physical therapy clinics. Simply sit on the ball, keep your head looking straight forward and your arms to your side, and gently bounce up and down for 5 minutes each day. I want to stress that the bouncing should be done gently – do not get crazy with this, or you could aggravate your pain.

This exercise pumps every disc in your back, which transports new oxygen and nutrients into the disc for faster healing. This is the exercise I was referring to earlier when we were talking about how important the jelly in the center of the disc is.

Finally, let’s talk about stretching and strengthening exercises. Stretches should be done every day, while strengthening exercises should only be done 3 days per week. These should always be done after you have done the first 2 exercises we just discussed.

This article is too brief to give you specific stretches and exercises for bulging discs, but you can get more details, as well as specific stretches and exercises by clicking here (bulging disc exercises).

Mar 30 2009

Cervical Disc Disease - What it is, and What you can do about it

Cervical Disc Disease is a chronic condition of the neck, in which one of the spinal discs in the neck deteriorate over time. This article will discuss the details of what cervical disc disease is, the causes of the health problem, symptoms caused by it, as well as the most effective treatment options available for relief.

But before we talk about all of that, we need to have a general understanding of what the spinal discs are, what their purpose is, and how they function.

The spinal discs are cushions that separate each set of vertebrae in the spine. Their primary purpose is to absorb shock with movement, which prevents the vertebrae of the spine from fracturing and degenerating.

Each spinal disc is composed of two parts – a strong outer covering called the annulus, and a soft jelly center called the nucleus. When discussing cervical disc disease, it is very important that we talk about the nucleus in a little more detail, because this is actually where this condition occurs.

The nucleus, or jelly center of the disc, is very important, because this is where the disc will store oxygen and nutrition in order for the disc to stay healthy. One of the most serious problems with disc conditions is that they are very stubborn to heal.

The reason for this is that the spinal discs do not have very good blood supply, which is the body’s typical way of transporting oxygen and nutrients to the body for proper healing. Because the spinal discs do not receive a lot of blood, they tend to be very difficult to heal, and usually develop into chronic conditions that create long term pain for the person suffering with it.

So, why are we discussing this? Well, because the spinal discs do not receive a very good blood supply, the body relies on the jelly in the center of the disc to stay healthy so the disc can have enough oxygen and nutrients for healing.

This is where we can start to discuss cervical disc disease in more detail, because what actually happens with this health problem is that the jelly in the center of the disc will start to dehydrate. When the jelly begins to lose water, there is less jelly in the center of the disc, and the disc will start to flatten, or become shorter.

This is a very serious problem for the spine, because these discs are absorbing shock, so if they start to lose their height, they are not as effective at this job. So, the brain will start to perceive that there is a problem developing in the disc where this is occurring, and what it will do is start to add additional calcium to the edges of the vertebra above and below the affected disc.

The reason this occurs is because the brain is trying to stabilize this unstable condition, and the way it does that is be eventually fusing these vertebrae together. So, the brain will cause the vertebrae to develop “spurs,” which are just bony extensions coming off the edges of the vertebrae. These spurs will ultimately come together and fuse the vertebrae above and below the deteriorating disc to provide some stability.

Although this process makes sense to the brain, if you actually get to a point where these vertebrae fuse, your spine will actually begin to deteriorate much more quickly because the other joints of the spine above and below this fusion have to work extra hard to make up for the lack of motion in the affected area.

The cause of cervical disc disease is usually some form of trauma. You have to realize that it requires many years for this condition to develop, so usually what happens is that you have an injury to your neck earlier in life (whether it be from a car accident, a sports injury, a fall, etc.), which causes the disc in the injured area to start the degenerative process.

This health problem can also be caused by poor health habits, which leads to toxins building up in the body. For example, we know that smokers are more likely to develop cervical disc disease (and other deteriorating conditions of the spine) because of the levels of toxins in their bodies.

There is also a hereditary component with this condition – if you have a history of arthritis of any kind in your family, you are more likely to develop this condition because cervical disc disease is simply a special form of arthritis that develops in the neck.

The symptoms that are most commonly associated with cervical disc disease are neck pain and stiffness, shoulder, arm and hand pain (which can be experienced as sharp pain, burning, pins and needles, or even numbness), weakness in the arms or hands, headaches, chest pains, fatigue, blurred vision, ringing in the ears, among other symptoms.

What’s interesting about this health problem (and any condition related to the spine) is how the pain can travel away from the problem area (in this case, the neck). The reason this happens is because the nerves of the spine are exiting the spine right behind the spinal discs. These nerves control everything in the body, and if a disc starts to flatten, it will apply pressure on the nerve directly behind it.

When this occurs, whatever the nerve controls will start to malfunction, because the nerves of the spine are very sensitive to this type of pressure.

So, the ultimate question is, what can you do about this? Well, most doctors will prescribe medications (usually anti-inflammatory medications, muscle relaxers, and pain relievers), physical therapy, pain injections (such as cortisone or epidurals), and surgery (as a last resort).

Unfortunately, many of these treatments only provide temporary relief, at best. One of the things I’ve learned after working with thousands of patients suffering with this condition is that it usually requires a combination of treatments to provide the best results, and most doctors are not aware of this.

If you would like to learn more about the most effective combination of treatments that are available for cervical disc disease, you can click here (cervical disc disease) for additional information. This is a website that I’ve developed to teach people how to heal a bulging disc, but the information I provide there will also help a person suffering with cervical disc disease.

Mar 26 2009

Symptoms Of A Bulging Disc - Typical Symptoms and Therapies

herniated disc symptoms can be very serious, and can lead to a lot of disability. This article will discuss the most common symptoms associated with a bulging disc in each region of the back, as well as a few recommendations for what you can do at home for relief.

But before we discuss the symptoms, we need to first have an idea of how a bulging disc causes pain. The spinal discs are cushions that separate each set of vertebrae in the spine. They are shock-absorbers, and they are each made up of two main parts – a strong outer covering called the annulus, and a soft jelly center called the nucleus.

If you take a close look at the back, what you will see is that the spinal nerves are located directly behind each disc. These nerves are very important, because they control everything in the body.

When a disc bulges, the outer covering of the disc tears, and the jelly begins to shift from the center of the disc, into the region where the disc has been injured. This results in a bulge in the disc, and unfortunately, the disc will usually bulge right where the nerve is located.

This causes pressure to be applied to the affected nerve, which is truly what causes the majority of the symptoms associated with a bulging disc.

In fact, one interesting fact about the discs of the spine is that they do not have the ability to feel pain sensations – in other words, even if the disc is injured, you are unable to feel it. This makes sense when you consider that the discs are absorbing shock all day long – if you could feel this, you would be in pain all day!

So, the question is – if this is true, why can this condition cause so much pain? Well, the answer is because the nerves are affected – the aggravated nerve is actually what causes all of the symptoms.

With this in mind, let’s discuss the most common herniated disc symptom that can occur in each region of the spine. Let’s begin with the neck, and work our way down.

A bulging disc in the cervical spine (neck) will typically cause symptoms such as neck pain and/or stiffness, headaches, shoulder, arm and hand pain (which may be experienced as sharp pain, burning, stabbing, numbness, or a pins and needles sensation), dizziness, ringing in the ears, blurred vision, thyroid problems (which can lead to weight problems), chest pains, and even heart palpitations (a sensation that your heart is pumping strongly in your chest).

This is a good example of what I was mentioning earlier – as you can see, these symptoms can include much more than neck pain. The reason for this is because these areas of the body are controlled by the nerves in the neck, and pressure on a cervical nerve from a bulging disc will cause these parts of the body to malfunction.

The most common back disc symptoms for a thoracic disc (mid-back) are mid-back pain, shoulder, arm and hand pain (same as with the neck – the type of pain can vary), traveling pain around the rib cage, chest pain, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, neck pain and tension, headaches, and digestive problems (the nerves in the thoracic region of the spine control the gall bladder, which is a very important organ involved with digestion).

In the lumbar region (low back), the most common symptoms are low back pain and weakness, pain traveling down the leg (this pain can be a sharp pain, burning, stabbing, pins and needles, or numbness), leg weakness, knee pain, problems with the bowel or bladder, and sexual organ dysfunction.

So, when these symptoms occur, what can you do to relieve them? Unfortunately, most of the therapies doctors usually recommend are not as effective as most would like them to be. They may provide temporary relief, but long term relief is not common with the typical treatments.

Most doctors will recommend medications (usually pain killers and muscle relaxers), pain injections (such as cortisone and epidurals), physical therapy, and surgery (as a last resort, usually). The reason these therapies do not usually provide long term relief is that they are mainly focused on numbing the aggravated nerve.

This may sound good on the surface, but if you do not address the cause of the problem (the bulging disc), the pain will inevitably return.

After working with thousands of patients who suffer with this condition, I’ve found that there are actually a number of therapies that do address the disc itself, and a combination of these therapies are usually most effective at providing results.

In addition to this, there are a few things you can do from home for relief from back disc symptoms. The most common mistake I see people make with this condition is that they want to use heat for relief.

This is actually the worst thing you can do – ice is always the best choice when you are experiencing pain. Ice will numb the nerve, and reduce the inflammation in the affected area. Heat, on the other hand, will just aggravate the nerve and lead to additional swelling around the nerve, which causes the pain to last longer than it needs to.

When using ice, apply it over the injured disc for 15 minutes, and wait at least an hour before you apply it again. You will need to repeat the treatment multiple times for the best results, and if you’re in a lot of pain, expect to use the ice consistently for at least 3 days before you experience considerable relief.

If you would like to learn more about the most effective therapies you can use to alleviate back disc symptoms, you can click here (herniated disc and symptoms) for the full details.

Mar 12 2009

Effective Back Disc Exercises For Fast Relief

back disc exercises can be helpful or harmful, so it’s important that you follow some basic guidelines for exercising with this problem. This article will cover some simple exercises that you can do for bulging disc healing, but before we can talk about that, we need to briefly talk about how a spinal disc functions so these recommendations make sense.

The discs of the spine are cushions that separate each set of bones in the back. Their primary function is to act as shock-absorbers, which prevents the bones from absorbing this shock and helps you avoid quite a bit of pain.

Each disc is made up of two parts – a strong outer covering called the annulus, and a soft jelly center called the nucleus. This structure basically resembles a jelly doughnut.

When an individual has a bulging disc, the strong outer covering of the disc tears and the jelly begins to shift out of the center into the area where the disc is weakest. This results in a bulge in the disc, which applies pressure to the spinal nerves.

This is really why this problem is so painful and debilitating – the spinal nerves control everything in the body, so when they have pressure applied to them, not only is it painful, but whatever they control in the body will begin to malfunction.

One of the most frustrating things about healing a bulging disc is the fact that the discs of the spine do not receive a good amount of blood flow. The body normally depends on the blood to transport oxygen and nutrients to an injured area for faster healing.

However, because the discs of the spine do not receive a good blood supply, they can be very stubborn and frustrating to heal efficiently.

This is actually a very important point to discuss when talking about back disc exercises, because the discs of the spine receive their oxygen and nutrients in a very different way. Remember how we were discussing the fact that each spinal disc has a jelly center?

Well, this jelly center is very important, because the disc will actually store oxygen and nutrients in this jelly for proper healing. So, one of the exercises we’ll be covering will be helping to replenish this oxygen and nutrient supply so you can experience faster healing.

Alright – now that we have that background, it’s time to talk about some specific exercises for a herniated disc you can do. I’m actually going to give you a routine that you can do, which I use in my clinic for the fastest and best results.

The first exercise I will recommend will require the use of a mini-trampoline, which is a small trampoline that’s about 4 feet wide. They’re very inexpensive, and you can find one at most sports stores.

However, you will not be using the trampoline in the way you might imagine – in other words, you will not be jumping on the trampoline. Basically, I’m going to recommend that you simply stand in the center of the trampoline and march in place. This should be a very controlled movement, and you need to make sure you keep your head looking straight ahead and your arms at your side while you are marching.

This exercise should be done for 5 minutes every day. The goal of this back disc exercises is to improve your balance, which strengthens the smallest muscles around the spine. When you strengthen these muscles, it not only balances the spine, but it removes pressure from the discs, allowing them to heal more quickly.

The next exercise I’ll recommend involves the use of a therapy ball, which is one of those large balls you see in health clubs or physical therapy clinics. Basically, you just need to sit on the ball, and gently bounce up and down, keeping your head looking forward and your arms to your side.

This exercise should be done for 5 minutes every day, and it’s best that you do it immediately following the trampoline exercise we just discussed. This exercise is actually the most important one I’ll be covering today, because this is the one that’s going to help bring new oxygen and nutrients to the injured disc for faster healing.

Basically, when you bounce on the ball, you are pumping every disc in the spine. This pumping action (called imbibition) is actually pumping new oxygen and nutrients into the disc, and pumping toxins from the injury out of the disc.

Finally, we need to talk about stretching and strengthening back disc exercises. Stretching should also be done every day, but I recommend that you do your stretches immediately after you do the trampoline and ball exercise. These exercises combined will act as an excellent warm-up and prepare your muscles for your daily activity (which lowers the risk that you will re-injure your bulging disc).

Strengthening exercises, on the other hand, need to be done just 3 days a week. These exercises are slightly more aggressive, so I don’t recommend you begin these until you’ve been doing the stretches for two weeks. The stretches will prepare you for the strengthening exercises, and you should always stretch before strengthening.

In other words, I would recommend that you do the trampoline exercise, then the ball exercise, then stretch, and finally strengthen. This routine will gradually warm up the area around the bulging disc, which ensures the fastest result.

There isn’t enough room in this article to provide you with specific stretching and strengthening exercises, but if you click here (back disc exercises), you can find more information about specific stretches and strengthening exercises, as well as more information about what you can do for relief.

Feb 15 2009

Many Doctors Feel Magnetic Resonance Imaging For Back Pain Ineffective

Patients with very bad lower back pain often undergo X-rays or imaging scans to locate the source of the problem. But new research shows scanning to find the source of back pain may be more harmful than helpful.

Researchers from Oregon Health and Science University in Portland looked at 6 scientific studies made up of nearly two thousand people with lower back pain. They proved that back pain patients who underwent scans didn’t get better any quicker or have less pain, depression or anxiety than people who weren’t scanned. More important, the data found that people who get scanned for back pain may wind up with more pain than those who are not scanned, according to the report published this week in the medical journal Lancet.

About two thirds of adults wind up suffering with low back pain at one point or another in their lives, and low back pain is the second most well known symptom that lands people in their doctors office (upper respiratory problems are first). Research show that more than half the people who see a doctor for back pain undergo X-rays or another imaging study as a result.

The problem, say researchers, is that back scans can bring out physical changes in the back that aren’t really causing any problem. One well known research from The New England Journal of Medicine put 98 people with no back pain into a magnetic resonance imaging scan. Even though all of them had healthy backs, two out of three of them came back with magnetic resonance imaging reports that showed disk problems.

You can see lots of different things on X-rays and magnetic resonance imaging like degenerative disks and arthritis, but these things are very weakly correlated with low back pain, said study author Dr. Roger Chou, associate professor of medicine at Oregon Health. We think we’re helping people by doing a test, but we’re increasing cost, exposing people to radiation and people may be getting unnecessary surgery. They begin to think of themselves as having a horrible back problem and they cease doing exercise and things that are good for them, when in reality, a lot of people have degenerative disks and arthritis and have no pain at all.

Dr. Chou said people should ask their physicians why a scan or X-ray is needed rather than using pain relief and exercise to cope while a back mends on its own. Most back pain gets better within 30 days if a person takes normal precautions after a pain episode. If back pain goes on for more than a month, or if symptoms suggest a more extreme problem like an infection or tumor, then an X-ray or magnetic resonance imaging may be needed, Dr. Chou said.

I think people should ask themselves whether they really do need it, Dr. Chou said. From a societal perspective, it’s important because we’re wasting an abundant amount of money that could be used for better things. But from an individual patient’s view, doing X-rays and M.R.I.s can lead you down a road that you don’t want to go down.

Some Different Ways To Help You With The Pain

One of the best natural methods is acupuncture. A recent study conducted in the UK showed that people who underwent the acupuncture therapy not only experienced a large reduction in pain, they also were less likely to use pain killers. But, you need to check with your doctor to make sure that you are physically ready to undergo acupuncture. Capsaicin cream is another popular back pain remedy- it is actually an analgesic, which means that it depletes the neuro-chemicals that transmit pain. Be careful when using this as it can cause stinging or burning if you get it on wounded skin or your eyes.

Proper vitamin intake can also help beat a bad spine. Studies have shown that chronic muscle pain is often caused due to a deficiency of vitamin D. You can easily supplement this by eating more cereals and drinking fortified milk. It's also interesting to note that music is an effective form of back relief. How? Most back-related problems are related to stress. This often causes the muscles to get tense and bunch up, thus causing pain. Listening to soothing music can soothe you and cause those tense muscles to loosen up.

You can also treat a bad back with exercise. This method will also increase your body's overall strength and flexibility. Those who have opted for exercise have experienced a decrease in pain, increased mobility and a reduced dependancy on medicines. So the next time your back starts acting up, don't just reach out for the medicines. Instead, meet with your doctor and find out what's actually wrong. Then you can simply find a spine relief method that would actually work for you.

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When it comes to back pain, sufferers can relate that anything goes in the battle to alleviate discomfort. Back pain can significantly disrupt your life leaving you incapable of performing simple activities. And while an evening rest may be a respite for some, for those suffering from back pain, being in bed only leads to restless tossing and turning. It’s no wonder that more and more people turn to back pain medication to allow them a reprieve from discomfort and promote healing.

Feb 11 2009

Back Pain - Which Medication Is The Best?

Treatment for back pain usually depends on the style of back pain in question. Some back pain patients may imply a few pain killers and will feel as right as rain after taking them. Others however may imply a surgery to be performed on them before any kind of relief can be obtained.

If you are affected by a mild kind of back pain, there are a wide range of medications that you can take to aid reduce the pain. The error that most medication takers make is that they only take medication when their back pain commences. They don’t take it continuously. If you want to pass through long term relief from back pain, take your medication devotedly.

The following are frequent medications for back pain;

- Paracetamol: Paracetamol is a pain killer that is most useful in back pain cases that are not too awful. Customarily the dose for adults is much more than for younger folks. As an adult, 1000 grams of paracetamol, four times a day, is acceptable enough to handle back pain in its mildest form.

- Anti-inflammatory drugs: These are drugs that are meant to address back pain issues evoked by inflammation of a muscle or a nerve. Drugs in this range include ibuprofen which can be without problems procured over the counter. Other drugs like naproxen and diclofenac are anti-inflammatory drugs that are taken on prescription.

- Muscle relaxants: Stress related or emotion related back pain drawbacks are dealt with with muscle relaxant medication like diazepam. Diapezam assists to settle tense muscles and reduces pain. Before going on any back pain medication; ensure that it has been prescribed by your doctor. Folks with high blood pressure, heart problems and asthma are admonished to stay away from anti-inflammatory drugs.

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And do not forget that if your pain lasts for more than a day or two, or if the pain is so severe you have trouble sleeping or performing normal activities, it may be time to see a doctor for evaluation.

And one more simple tip - just training your children to eat healthy and exercise daily can help prevent adolescent back pain, and it will help promote a healthier life as well.

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