The following comments are of a general nature and do not apply to everyone’s personal situation. Your personal situation can only be assessed by a competent health professional.
The General principles apply to cervical/neck as well as lumbar disc issues, compression issues, and other spinal complaints.
Do not have surgery until you have read this!!!!
PAIN CONTROL:
This is the major motivator for people seeking treatment for back complaints and needs to be addressed first obviously.
Herniated discs are very painful and those with this condition often seek any solution to alleviate their pain and when desperate, surgery often seems like the best solution. Unfortunately, life is not so simple and while surgery can help in some cases, it can also cause further problems down the road such as damaged nerves or scar tissue – and this can lead to opioid or another drug dependency to manage the residual pain. Recent research has shown that surgery may be counterproductive and results show that those who do not have surgery have better long term outcomes than those who do.
Surgery is an irreversible procedure. Also, research shows that Opioids and Nonsteroidal, like Ipuprufen, do not work long term and can retard the healing process. These drugs can cause other problems such as heart attacks /kidney and liver disorders and have also been linked to early-onset dementia. Research has shown opioids and opioid-like medication although the useful short term can make the pain worse over time.
For safe effective pain control, I recommend Acupuncture and Herbal Supplements as the best natural options for treating pain. Specialized Distal Needling Acupuncture ( DNA) in particular has had a very good record in reducing pain levels but they must be engaged regularly and as soon as possible after sustaining the injury. Having DNA every or every second day is best for good results. DNA interferes with nerve loop feedback mechanisms that keep the pain receptors stimulated . It reduces nerve stimulation . DNA is called Distal as the arms and legs are the preferred areas to be needled and not the local area of damage. DNA is more effective than dry needling for this purpose. Although all Acupuncturists claim to treat pain not all do DNA so shop around to find out who does.
REDUCE PAIN AND INFLAMMATION
With Pain goes inflammation and vice versa so a supplement pain management needs to be commenced immediately for any disc problems. I realize that that Pharmaceuticals are required for acute pain but supplments can be used as well for a better effect .
Acute Pain-
I suggest that the following supplement formulas be taken in large doses together with each other –
- Fusion Curcumin Advanced – 2 caps x twice a day or more as adult dose or Ethical Nutrients triple pain relief 2×2 or more
- Fusion Pain and inflammation formula- 2 caps x twice a day or more as adult dose
- Herbs of Gold or Ethical nutrients Magnesium powder – twice a day as directed
Take supplements 2 hours away from pharmaceuticals to minimize interference. Work up to high doses . Minimal doses will not usually produce a result .
Why take them when you are taking pharmaceuticals ?? Answer: they work better to heal the discs, there are generally no side effects and there is more effective pain control if taken for long enough ( eg more than 12 weeks ) . Studies have shown long term use of Natural Anti-inflammatories to be more effective than pharmaceuticals. ( based on 12-week studies ) .
Reducing inflammation is critical and not only does reduce it allows the body to heal, but it’s much easier to do the other treatments when your pain has decreased.
So if using pharmaceuticals you may reduce your pharmaceutical medicines once pain relief is received. Pharmaceuticals interfere with Acupuncture treatments in a way that is not properly understood so reducing dependence is important to ensure Acupuncture effectiveness .
REBUILDING :
Key words are nutrients and microcirculation . .After pain and inflammation are controlled and this may take some time, then you can reduce the dose of the pain and inflammation supplements and just keep on with minimum doses to keep pain under control. You may have good days where you can reduce the dose or bad days where you may need to increase the dose
Other supplements like high dose fish oil and Grape seed extract ( to improve microcirculation ) may now be added. I would recommend 7.5ml of high-quality fish oil twice a day for its anti-inflammatory effect and Grape seed extract as directed. Anthenogel brand is a good one to look at although expensive .
Taking Blackmores Bio disc – take max dose daily -would be good to add to the program now as this formula supplies essential nutrients for healing discs in an all in one tablet if that is more convenient.
Pain indicates inflammation, so some people may find that they need to be on natural anti-inflammatories for some time if not years. There is usually no side effects and most natural products can be used indefinitely. Discs can take anywhere from 6 months to two years to heal depending on their severity and how Quickly the body heals. The more supplements that are consumed the quicker the results for healing as these nutrients are required for the regeneration of the disc. Regeneration of the disc will be retarded if there is inflammation present and pharmaceuticals are used. Healing is all about nutrients and microcirculation.
Got no money for supplements? Then the healing process will take longer. Sorry but that is the way it so takes what you can with the first two on the acute list being the most important.
Better to take some supplements in large doses than a lot of supplements in small doses. Note this statement. Many get on the internet and look for a magic formula or supplement and find they need to supplement low dose due to the cost of the supplements.
This is a big mistake! Results are not forthcoming with low doses of supplements or cheap brands .
If Pain is the issue concentrate on supplements for that –once the pain is better than swap your program to the rebuilding phase later. This may take time so please be patient !
Pharmaceutical medication is ok in the initial stages of treating a painful inflamed disc problem but prolonged use will retard the healing process as pharmaceuticals retard the healing biochemical pathways used by the body to heal itself. Yes, that is right, painkillers do just that, kill pain, but do nothing for rebuilding the metabolic pathways to help with nourishing the tissues. Only natural supplements and microcirculation can do that.
Ok, if you really have no money for supplements then take pharmaceutical pain killers or anti-inflammatories. Don’t beat yourself up over this, just do the best you can and concentrate on the diet and exercise programs. Your healing will just take longer.
Special note on spinal spurs: if not too large then Silicia and Vit K are specific for this issue as Silica together with Vit K helps to remodel bone. Having an alkaline diet ( 80% veg and fruit ) is critical here for these abnormal calcium issues .
One final note on supplements- If your natural health practitioner is selling you a product for say $40 and you find a similar one on the internet at $25 – please ask the question “what’s the catch” , is it the same ??
The catch is that it is not the same high-quality product and hence a waste of time for effective results. If the product is exactly the same ok buy it! Beware of false claims on the internet or “magic products that will reduce your pain”. Usually, they are ineffective and not backed by good research. All of the products mentioned in this article have good research and clinical efficacy to support their use. Support your local health food store – sign up for their frequent user program and save!
BODY WORK THERAPIES
In treating or maintaining it is good to have an active exercise therapy and it is good to have a passive therapy as well. Acive Therapies are work that you do such as remedial exoercises whereas passive therapy is about having something done to you to help rebuild. Although Acupuncture is good for the pain it does not affect the structure, so passive structural work is required to take the pressure off of discs and the surrounding areas. Various bodywork therapies are useful here and in my opinion here are some of the best for treating this condition passivley are –
- Craniosacral Therapy ( CST )
- Myofascial Release Therapy ( MFR) – very specific
- Osteopathy
Structural balancing is the key approach is the best overall for treating these conditions as they go to the core of why they started in the first place. More notes on structural balancing below.
Please do not go to a massage therapist or any bodyworker that is brutal in their approach i.e. “no pain no gain” approach. Avoid Chinese or Thai massage clinics as they will make the situation worse in this situation! The main thing is to have gentle but effective therapies to help alleviate pain and to balance body structures. Practitioners who do the above modalities are high skill pracitioners with years of training . They know how to work with the body and what it requires to move to better function.
Aggressive therapies will not work in the long term for treating your condition. You need a nurturing approach and bodywork that works with your body –not on your body. Oil-based rub massage may feel good and are good for stress relief but in my opinion are not as good at the others mentioned for treating this condition as the key is to correct fascial and structural imbalances. You may feel good after the massage but will not gain anything .
If you are in pain then your body is not Healing! Microcirculation is reduced when the body is in pain so any therapy that reduces pain is a good thing. When your body is out of pain then the circulation to that body part increases – hence promoting the healing of that body part.
Also, one more herniated disc “myth” is that the herniated disc is causing the pain. While the pain may be caused by a herniated disc, it can also be something else.
In fact, MRI analysis of people without pain was shown to herniated discs and the opposite is also true, where people have back pain but no herniated disc.
The point is, if you have a herniated disc, try all or some of these treatments, preferably in stages, individually, so you know what works for you, but don’t be surprised if the pain isn’t caused by the disc. I believe all spinal manipulations should be avoided when trying to heal discs as this is not treating the root cause of the problem .
MUSCLE BALANCE THERAPY
This is top of the list of things to look at after adressing the pain issues because it focuses on eliminating the underlying cause of the problem. Remember this, something caused the disc to herniate in the first place. and that was usually years of uneven compression and torsion because of muscle imbalances. ( this is usually the case, but i realize some disc problems are due to trauma or accidents, etc ) Other causes may be long term nutritional deficiencies that affect connective tissue .
The best muscle balance therapy is a combination of Active pilates work and specific exercises to strengthen weakend muscles . This can be done after having some structural work or when the pain eases to a level where you can do some exercises . Pilates is best here while the disc is regenerating as pilates can move joints through a full range of motion without compressing tissues. Going to a Professional Pilates instructor is highly recommended. Athough i am a fan of yoga , yoga in this stage can severely aggravate the problem. Similarly, be wary of Personal Trainers who “can work around the problem” unless the PT’s are Pilates or rehab specialists. Weight training can be done but needs to focus on structural rebalancing of muscle groups .
In my experience professional and experienced Physio/ Pilates instructors are the best for rehab in the initial stages of rehabilitation and therapy should be commenced as soon as possible after initial diagnostics and when the pain has diminished somewhat . I recommend initially a number of one on one personal sessions with a qualified and experienced Pilates instructor that just does Pilates for a living, and has a passion for the art.? Classes may be done later but a specific pilates and or muscle balancing program must be undertaken for each individual , as what caused your problem will be different than others .
Ask the instructor for some simple home based exercises that can be done that can help alleviate stress on the discs and useful for pain control . In our opinion compliance with home exercises is poor and many lack motivation to continue exercises week after week. To create balance in the body may take some time to correct so weekly or personal instruction is useful and will help keep the motivation going .
Conversely just attending classes or personal instruction without doing exercises at home will not bring the desired results . One needs to build up a home based program even if it is just 10 minutes a day.
Since discs can take up to two years or more to repair so patience is required and just doing one pilates session a week for a few weeks is not really giving the system a go to affect change to tissue and muscles. Try 6-12 months of Pilates before you make up your opinion as to whether this is working for you. I went to Pilates classes for two years before I could say that I was back in shape after my herniated disc problem. It took that long to repair and cost me a fortune – but it was worth it – not going under the knife ! Yes I was in agony like anyone else at the beginning so I know what it is all about !! I still do daily home exercises to keep things under control.
If you have had a discectomy i.e. a disk repaired or removed then the same rules apply. The problem with surgery is that the affected area becomes less mobile as vertebrae fuse and tissues consolidate. An analogy here “this means that there is a permanent kink in the rubber hose. The shock load is no longer evenly distributed through the spinal segments which means there will now be excessive loading in other areas which in time can lead to pressure on those discs and vertebrae.
An example is if L4/L5 is affected the neck vertebrae can go out of balance as well as the hips as a reflective reaction .
It is a well known fact amongst professionals that those who have had surgery are prone to having problems occur elsewhere at a later stage ( sorry we do not want to sound pessimistic but just need to illustrate the need for prevention)
The key to preventing excessive loading to other areas and potentially causing disc problems is to maintain flexibility and develop the core muscle groups. Ongoing Pilates and other exercise combinations may be useful here for maintainance once the disc has healed .Since there is no one exercise therapy that suits all then one may need to try a variety of approaches . For example tai chi is very useful for healing some back problems where other exercises may be a problem . Tai chi or Qigong exercises is generally very gentle and can be a great addition to prescriptive exercise .
While we are on the subject of balance it is always good to have a foot/gait analysis done by a podiatrist . Lower limb biomechanical problems can lead to major imbalances in tissues and affect the skeletal system. Similar leg length discrepancies will have a major effect on the spine and neck .
A trip to the podiatrist who can do a computerized foot analysis is very worth while.
Remember the keys are to – Develop the core corset. strengthen weakened muscles, stretch tighten muscles etc . Developing the core will take pressure off the disc and assist the area to heal. Any pressure on the disc will impair microcirculation .
Hydrotherapy. This is very helpful in maintaining mobility and may be useful in combination with everything else especially in the intial stages of rehabilitation . A physiotherapist advice is useful here .
The expert in this area of presciptive exercise is the Professor Emeritis of Spinal Biomechanics at Waterloo University in Canada,- Dr Stuart McGill. His website is http://www.backfitpro.com. He is a renowned expert in this field and we can thoroughly recommend his DVD’s and downloads . For a look at what he is up to go to U-tube for some video clips. His book for the layperson -Back Mechanic is one of the best reads on back pain and worth the price !
Example program from his book include – Plank pose /hovers , Side bridges , bird dogs , – google these and have a look at the pictures . Do not do these without supervision as they need to be done in an exact manner.
DECOMPRESSION
You may need to reduce the amount of compression placed on the discs by
increasing the space between the vertebrae and you can accomplish this with
inversion therapy and other forms of decompression.
By the way, it’s important to point out that decompression therapy works best when it’s combined with targeted stretches and exercises. The reason is, without them the
tight muscles of the torso and along the spine limit the amount of improvement you can achieve and they also tend to pull tight again. So you’ll definitely want to do the
right stretches and exercises, based on the muscle imbalances you have, before and after inversion or other decompression.
An inversion bed is used for decompression and is found at a lot of physiotherapist and pilates clinics. Please do not try to do inversion at home unless you have the right equipment and someone to watch you. Getting stuck in an inversion machine is not much fun and getting out the wrong way can make your situation worse and can cause further damage to discs .
DIETARY CHANGES
While it may not seem like a “treatment”, it can work wonders. What most people, even doctors fail to recognize is, the importance nutrition plays in
healing a herniated disc by supplying nutrition to tissues and joints. Fruits and Vegetables contain minerals like calcium and mangnesium that a critical for disc repair .
Most people don’t get enough of the nutrients necessary for optimal health and poor nutrition and nutritional deficiencies can prevent your body from
healing, whether it’s a herniated disc or any other condition/disease.
And while we’re on the subject, one of the biggest myths about herniated discs is that once you have one, the only thing that can be done is surgery.
Nothing could be further from the truth! Numerous research studies have shown that herniated discs can actually heal themselves… imagine that,
the human body healing itself!
An anti inflammatory diet/ or Alkaline diet is recommended with lots of fruit and vegetables ( especially blue berries , cherries and rasberries etc ) and small amounts of protein with each meal. A low glycemic index diet is required as excess carbohydrates promote the inflammatory process and retard the healing process. Red meats are to be avoided as well as they contribute to the inflammatory process. As mentioned avoid all sugars and white products ( bread , white rice , potatoes etc .) .
If you do not suffer from “Heat issues” or bowel complaints then having a diet rich in Chillies which increase circulation in the body may help. You will need to eat chilli rich meals for at least two weeks to see the difference. Winter is the best time to try this out – If you do not like Chillies then have lots of ginger tea during the day as ginger is anti inflammatory and improves circulation
MIND BODY TECNIQUES
Again, another one that is always underestimated is the role the mind,or mental state, has on pain and the body’s ability to heal.
Tons of research has also been done on this subject as well and all of it shows that your mental state; your emotions, feelings, attitude and
beliefs determine whether you are health or sick and whether your body heals or whether it stays in a constant of breakdown.
Learn how to use the incredible power of your mind to not only reduce the amount of pain you feel, but to also ensure you DO heal.
Meditation or Hypnosis is very useful here as it takes months to years to repair discs and if one is in a lot of pain then frustration can set in which adds to stress which can lead to depression in turn retards the healing process.
Stress in general is an impediment to the healing process so the more deeply relaxed one is the quicker the healing will take place. Prolonged pain is a major stressor and needs to be dealt with as a primary importance. Prolonged pain is a major driver for people to have surgery even though surgery has major problems associated with it. If you are in pain you get desperate and try anything to help – this is a dangerous place to be as desperation does not beget clear thinking .
If you are on pain killing drugs for some time remember they retard the healing process so body-mind techniques are very useful here to control the pain. In fact in writing this , this may be the best place to start for some who get easily frustrated , want quick results and are impatient . I understand the pain from either the lumbar or neck can be terrible and this can lead to one making poor decisions . So for some Hypnosis or meditation makes a lot of sense.
HEAT
I know, I know… you’ve used heat before. But most people don’t know
how powerful the use of heat really is. Heat increases Microcirculation which is essential for healing
Heat helps in numerous ways but most people under utilize it or the only use it temporarily and then they stop.
To get the most from heat, use it for 15 minutes at a time, apply it
several times per day and continuously.
In addition to using heat with a heating pad, you can get the benefits by using a hot bath, hot tub or sauna.
Heat can also be administered by a Chinese ”Moxa stick “ which can give dramatic pain relief to those who are chronically affected. These are available from Chinese grocer stores or our clinic .
Get someone in the family to treat you for 5 days straight for 10 minutes on the affected joint and notice the difference!! You can see how to use the moxa sticks on U tube .Heat is indicated but not if there is acute pain or inflammation or where you have just injuried your back. It is indicated for chronic , low inflammation states that have been with you for some time. Especially for neuralgic type pain.
MAGNETS
Are available that can be placed on the area affected and can increase microcirculation and hence promote the healing affect. The North side is used for acute pain and the South side for chronic pain ( long term use .)
Some people find that magnets are “magic” in the healing affects so they are worth having a go .
Here is the best website to go to for magnets http://www.qmagnets.com/
Q magnets are not cheap but they are the best and we endorse these type of magnets for use with any musculoskeletal conditions . Just ring or e-mail these people and mention your condition and they can advise you on the best approach. Do not be skeptical –they do work and if you have a badly herniated disc we would suggest this could be one of the best investments you can make .
Sorry but cheaper pharmacy purchased magnets will not do the job . To heal discs you need : Nutrition plus micro circulation !
Remember surgery is to be avoided at all costs due to complications. Most researchers and those who do not have a vested interest in surgery have found that there is no difference in outcomes over a period of time between those who have had surgery to those who have not! Indeed research seems to indicate that it is better not to have surgery for best outcomes! We have know of people who have had back surgery which has failed and then to be placed on morphine derivative medication for the rest of their life or invalided out of a job due to their situation. Remember when surgery is done it cannot be undone!
If you have had surgery and are reading this and are still in pain then participating in a treatment program is going to keep you mobile and at least prevent further surgery or complications from occurring. I realize that in writing this article that there are some who have been in accidents and disc removal/surgery was unavoidable to prevent further damage to take place. I empathise with your situation and trust this article is of interest to help you for you to maintain your health in the long term and to prevent further deteriation.
Be well
Peter Farnsworth N.D
1/9/2019