Herniated Disc - What It Is & What You Can Do About It

[svartberg123]

Thanks for the video, a really good explanation what is a herniated disc.

[rchirodoc]

@svartberg123 You're welcome.

[gnortonshores]

Hello, Can drinking plenty of water, milk and osteo-biflex juice help to heal the discs? I have been having an ache in my thoracic spine and doctor ordered an MRI but nothing abnormal was found. The pain does not radiate but stays in the mid-back and pain is not sharp. Exercise does not aggravate it and back has gotten stronger but I just want to know if water, good nutrition etc can help heal discs in case that is the problem and it was missed on the MRI

[rchirodoc]

@gnortonshores It certainly helps, but I doubt that a disc problem would be missed on an MRI, so I wouldn't think that would be the problem.

[ThePetersen101]

Hey Doc, when you mention your success rate at 86% is that meaning 86% of people eliminate pain or 86% of peoples discs completely heal via re-MRI scanning? My disc herniation is at L4-L5, L5-S1 and has been concluded as mild and is not toyuching the something or rather wall? I feel my chances of complete healing are high? Thoughts? P.S I'm minutes of purchasing your ebook as I'm a keen weight lifter (power lifting style) and Pro Wrestler. Also 24 years of age, been lifting for 10 years

[rchirodoc]

@ThePetersen101 What I base that on is pain relief for at least 5 years (now it's longer than that for most of my patients). There are a few reasons for that. First of all, we don't do post MRI's because insurance companies won't pay for them if there are no symptoms, and I have yet to find a patient who wants to pay for it themselves. However, I have had a number of patients who had a disc condition, re-injure themselves through an auto accident or something of that nature, take a new

[rchirodoc]

@ThePetersen101 MRI and it shows that the old disc has healed. I've also seen that in cases of disc degeneration. The second reason I base it on that is because research has shown that it takes 2 - 5 years for a disc to heal, and anyone with a disc condition knows that it flares up often. So giving it 5 years without a flare up is a good sign that it has healed. At your age, there is really no reason you can't heal, especially with it being mild.

[joshkweku]

Hi Doc, talking about these percentage means it cannot be healed completely?

[rchirodoc]

@joshkweku No - what I'm saying is that traditional medical treatments are not the answer. Their success rates are low at best, and their only focus is on pain relief, which is fine but that does not correct the problem.

[BLAZENYCBLACKOPS]

Hi doc, on my MRI the doctor pointed out to me that the area between the spin was black, does this mean that the jelly fluid in the disk has completely leaked out. I have alot of pain in my hamstring in my left leg, I'm currently taking pain medication and pt. I'm only 30 and have a family and I don't want to not be able to play with my kids and work because of this condition, any help will be appreciated.

[rchirodoc]

@BLAZENYCBLACKOPS No, that's actually a sign that you have degenerative disc disease (the fluid within the disc has dehydrated, and now the disc is shorter than it should be, so it will compress on the nerve root). You're really young for that, but there are some really good nutritional things you can do for that.

[rchirodoc]

@BLAZENYCBLACKOPS If you haven't already, you can sign up for my free eCourse on my site because I have a good video about that specifically. Just go to my site (which is in the video above - YouTube won't allow me to list the web address here), go to the bottom of the screen where it says "Bulging Disc Resources" and you'll see where you can sign up there.

[ajiteshmohanty8]

hello doctor what is a Prolapsed intervertebral disc? how can we treat it?

[rchirodoc]

@ajiteshmohanty8 You have to find out from your doctor how he/she is using that term, because many people use that term interchangeably with herniated disc. However, some also use it to mean that the disc is sequestered (it is ruptured and the fluid within the disc is leaking out). If it is not ruptured, it will respond to conservative treatments like I recommend. If it is ruptured, you will most likely need surgery.

[ajiteshmohanty8]

@rchirodoc

based on the observations i have a made a complete report of the patients changing physical conditions over the last ten 10 days.... i would like a email you a copy of that...need ur email id please doctor

[rchirodoc]

@ajiteshmohanty8 youtube won't allow me to post my email address here, so you can go to my website and use the Contact Us button at the bottom of the website.

[steckleinjr]

on my m.r.i it looks as if the jelly oozed out of the donut. will a trampoline still help?

[rchirodoc]

@steckleinjr It sounds like the disc has actually ruptured, which is the only type of herniated disc that almost always requires surgery unfortunately. I have seen some respond to more conservative treatments, like the exercises mentioned, but that's pretty rare.

[scarredkid1]

hi doc.i have a L5 S1 herniated disc (26yrs old) i have had it for one year now.2 days ago something odd happened i couldnt feel it anymore! a miracle i thought..next day i realized it was still there but it improved significantly,now im able to sit down with tolerable pain and able to stretch with fuller longer range of motion.i dont know if its getting better or am i just kidding myself.i was going overseas next month to have surgery on it cause it disrupts my way of life.

[rchirodoc]

@scarredkid1 That's actually very common - it doesn't mean that it has healed, it just means that it has become sub-clinical.

This is why most people continue to re-injure the same area - they think that the condition has healed because the pain has improved, when in fact, it has not healed at all.

I can't say anything about whether you should have surgery or not, but I can tell you that it isn't likely that they're going to want to do surgery if your symptoms have improved.

[chandankhatri1]

Thanks Doc for ur reply

Can you generalize the phases in healing process of disc bulge?

I would really appreciate your insight on the situation I am having that is my pain is irregular i.e I don't feel pain for 1,2 or 3 days and then it comes back.Does it mean that healing is hindered somewhat.

[rchirodoc]

@chandankhatri1 That's too much information to include in this little box. If you want to learn more about it you can read my book. It's common for the pain to come and go like that - when it does that, you're developing scar tissue. Once again, that's all explained in my book.

[chandankhatri1]

hello, Doc

I am suffering from l4-5 and l5-s1 disc herination for 4 months.pain in spine has lessened up to 50% and pain radiating to legs is now confined to left leg only and that too is of very low intensity.I would really appreciate if u cud plz tell me whether my condition is gettng better and am i on the right track for heeling

[rchirodoc]

@chandankhatri1 It sounds like you're improving well, but don't be surprised if you have flare ups along the way too - that's normal during the healing process.

[detox96]

Hi, Doc Had PT, pain mgmt, pain killers, medical massages, accupunture, injections(tons), and lastly neck and back surgery. Nothing has worked, my neck is better after laser spinal surgery however the lower back did not heal properly after laser spine surgery on L4, L5, S1. I currently have burning pain in my lumbar area and it travels down my right leg but first in my groin area and then all the way to bottom of foot. NEVER had this before until after my surgery. What can i do?

[rchirodoc]

There's actually a lot you can still do since you had laser surgery. I would suggest that you sign up for my free eCourse, because it will give you a lot of detail on what you can do from home.

All you have to do is go to my website and at the bottom of the page, click the link that says "Bulging Disc Resources" - you'll see where you can sign up for the eCourse on the left side of the screen.

[bemyforeverandever]

hi doc,

I have been suffering from slipped/ herniated disc in my lower back for the past 2 months and now having severe pain in my left leg above the knee and cant stand or walk for 5 minutes. Is that a common problem with herniated disc ? i have been following ur tips for the past 3 days and i feel better in my back but my leg pain is worse. what should i do now ?

[rchirodoc]

Hi there! I think I just responded to an email you sent to me about the same issue, but in case that isn't you, I'll answer your question here too.

Yes, leg pain can occur with a herniated disc, but it usually occurs at the back of the leg, which makes me believe you may have something else going on in addition to the herniated disc.

I would recommend that you ice the area on the leg where you're feeling pain, following the same rules that you learned for your back.

[rchirodoc]

I would also recommend that you see an Activator chiropractor (as I recommend in the eCourse) for an evaluation to make sure there isn't something else going on with your leg.

[0tohkon0]

hi i bieleve i either have a pinched nerve or a herniated disc according to my dad, who works in nueropathy, kyropractor and sports medicine. he's right now in romania for a buisness meeting, and will not be able to help at the moment. im a sports person currently in judo and wrestling, i wanna get back into training as soon as possible since my back is feeling better(after letting recovery and therapy for 1month) but scared of damaging it again. when do u recommend i can restart my training?

[rchirodoc]

You should actually start as soon as you're feeling better. The worst thing you can do is wait on something like that, because your body will become deconditioned very quickly, and you'll have a much more difficult time adapting to your sport.

You need to start slow and work your way up to your full work out, but if you're feeling better, now would be the time to start.

[0tohkon0]

so it would be ok to start training slowly ? , well thats good i've been feeling kinda depressed just laying around for it to heal. thank you for your help =)

[bbperuxa]

hi my name is laura rivas and im 18 years old an i have an herniated disc and i dont want to get a surgery pls help me

[rchirodoc]

I'm not sure if you have a specific question, but if you're just looking for some overall help, one thing I can do for you is offer you my free 13-day eCourse. All you have to do is go to my website, scroll to the very bottom of the page and click on the link that says "Bulging Disc Resources" - you can sign up there on the left side of the page. It gives a lot of really good information, and should help quite a bit. Thanks! Dr. Ron

[leviathaa1]

l had a herniated discs problem it was really painful and turned my life into a nightmare so l underwent a successful operation. now feel like new born. l strogly advise if your herniation is stubborn.

[rchirodoc]

I definitely agree - there are certainly cases where surgery is the only option. I think the point I'm trying to make, though, is that it shouldn't be your first choice. There are just as many people (if not more) who have negative results with surgery, so everything else needs to be done conservatively first. Most doctors abide by this rule, and very few will recommend surgery as a first option because of the lower success rate typically. But I'm happy it worked for you, though.

[leviathaa1]

It was nearly a year since my first pain had started related to herniation. I took medication, walked a lot but unfortunateley it repeated itself in last summer. When l went to see a brain surgeon again in November 08 he said surgery was the last option for me. l tried physical therapy but it contributed no use. An advanced herniated disc is like a broken glasses you cannot heal it whatever you can do except making it cut out :) by the way the surgeons in my country are so successful.Thank you.

[jhbossman]

Ok what if you have a pretty sizable herniation and the Surgeons recommendations is to have surgery? He told me if I didn't have surgery now I'd probaly have to have a fusion in the future.

[rchirodoc]

Without really knowing the whole story, here's what I would say. the only time surgery is absolutely necessary is if the disc has ruptured OR you have tried conservative treatments (such as PT, medications, pain injections, chiropractic, massage, etc.) and you haven't responded to them.

I will tell you that most surgeons are pretty conservative these days, and I don't think he/she would be recommending surgery to you unless there was a good reason for it.

[rchirodoc]

But I would make sure I had tried everything else possible first, before making that decision.

[Struckgold]

I sustained a herniated disc a few months back which resulted in horrible pain in my buttocks and a continuous agonising pain like having shrapnel in my left thigh and numbness on the outer side of my left foot- it was a truly purgatorial experience. Went to the hospital for an MRI and it had completely cleared up within 10 weeks. The medics seemed surprised at my recovery. I'm delighted tho.

[rchirodoc]

You are very fortunate, because it's usually more stubborn than that.

[returnned]

contd..

I am also doin the exercies nd following the other guidelines mentioned in your ecourse. The pain has come down since i hv strtd physiotherapy(like 4days now) bt i was concernd if this is da temporary nerve thing its related to (as u mentioned in your work) or is it really helpin me with my disc.

Thnx..

[rchirodoc]

Hi there! It sounds like you are on the right track, but you are correct - there is a lot more to complete healing than just physical therapy (although, as I've said in the past, I am a big fan of physical therapy - but it isn't the whole story with this condition). Keep following the steps in the ecourse - it will give you a lot more info. Also, you're very young, and unless the disc fluid is actually exiting the disc into the spinal cord area, there is no need for surgery.

[returnned]

thnx for the reply. Really appreciate your work..

[returnned]

Hi Dr. Ron, I have a herniated disc L4-L5 and L5-S1. The pain has been ther for like six months and i just used to ignore it. When i got the MRI done, the case seems to be quite serious. Orthopaedics have asked me to undergo operation which i dont want to as i m 23yrs of age. I hav strtd physiotherapy in which they give kind of electric shocks (feels like massage).

[hamish1777]

Spend the last hour watching your videos Dr Ron. I herniated my L5S1 about 4 weeks ago. I had a fast MRI, saw a Chiropractor and it seemed to get better. Aafter a recently holiday it started getting progressively worse until today when I cannot walk. I am icing every hour for 10mins. Anything else I can do to reduce the inflammation? I understand the ice helps super charge the blood through the nerves and that is what clears the inflammation. How long should it take to clear?

[rchirodoc]

The ice is really the best thing to begin with. It usually takes about 3 days for a person to really feel the difference, though, so just be as consistent as you possibly can.

[hamish1777]

Ok, been following your advice. I have been putting the blue ice pack directly against my back for no more than 15mins every hour for the last 36hrs. I am actually putting it under my back as I lie down so my whole body weight is on it. On the last application I noticed slight blistering of my skin, like mild frost bite. Have I over done it a bit? Should I wrap the blue ice pack in a tea towel or something?

[rchirodoc]

It sounds like your body could be having a reaction to it, so I would go ahead and wrap the ice pack, and also lessen the treatment time from 15 minutes to 10 minutes.

[aragonlordoftherings]

very informative but i doubt if there is anything to heal the disk back to normal without surgery

[rchirodoc]

Well, there are actually 3 stages of a herniated disc, and the first 2 will heal without surgery, but the final stage (which is called a sequestered disc) does require surgery.