Understanding and Treating Herniated Discs with Physiotherapy
Are you dealing with lower back pain? Have you noticed that pain spreads through your buttocks and into your legs? While back pain can have any number of potential causes, a herniated disc is one of the more common ones, especially when it has additional symptoms in the leg. And when it comes to addressing herniated discs, physiotherapy offers several solutions!
The goal of physiotherapy is to provide relief and improve your quality of life–and that includes identifying the source of your herniated disc and working with you to find a long-term solution. With a personalized treatment plan, the team at Global Physiotherapy can help you recover faster and more effectively.
Today, we want to provide a deep dive into herniated discs: what they are, why they happen, and how physiotherapy can help. Keep reading to learn more–or call our Sherwood Park, AB clinic to talk to our friendly staff if you have any questions!
A Brief Introduction to Herniated Discs
Herniated discs occur when the soft, jelly-like center of an intervertebral disc pushes through a tear in its outer layer. This condition can cause significant discomfort, especially if it irritates one of the nearby nerve roots.
Herniated discs can occur for a few reasons:
Age-Related Disc Degeneration
- Your intervertebral discs dry out as you age, making you more likely to suffer a disc herniation. This is the most common cause of a herniated disc.
Improper Lifting Techniques
- If you try to lift something too heavy or twist while lifting, you can damage one of your intervertebral discs.
Poor Posture, Prolonged Sitting, and Other Contributing Factors
- Several factors can make you more likely to develop a herniated disc, even if they don’t cause them directly. These include repetitive back movements, a sedentary lifestyle, and improper posture.
Similarly, symptoms of a herniated disc can vary. In some cases, a person might develop a herniated disc and not experience any symptoms at all! But if you do experience symptoms, here’s what to watch out for:
- Sharp or dull pain in the back or neck
- Numbness or tingling in an arm or leg
- Radiating pain in an arm or leg
- A sense of weakness in an arm or leg
Every year, around 2% of the population experiences herniated discs. Physiotherapy is vital in helping them find relief, offering targeted exercises and therapies to support recovery and prevent future problems.
Treating Herniated Discs with Physiotherapy
Your first appointment at Global Physiotherapy will consist of an in-depth evaluation, including a complete health history, a discussion of your symptoms, and various movement screens. This assessment helps our team understand your specific needs and develop a tailored treatment plan. We want to provide the most effective interventions to help you feel and function better.
We’ll begin by helping you manage any acute pain. We typically do this with manual therapy, a term for several hands-on techniques that help reduce pain, improve mobility, and boost blood flow to the affected area (which helps with healing). We might also utilize other pain-relieving treatments, such as hot or cold therapy.
Targeted exercises are another key component in treating herniated discs with physiotherapy. We’ll design a personalized program to help strengthen the core muscles supporting your spine. This removes pressure from the affected area, reducing pain and helping to prevent future herniated discs.
Our physiotherapists will teach you proper body mechanics and work with you to improve your posture and become more active. We can also help improve your lifting technique.
Get Started on the Path to Relief Today!
Don’t let pain from a herniated disc hold you back. Schedule an appointment with Global Physiotherapy to receive a personalized treatment program so you can get back to the activities that matter most.