Herniated Disc

My husband had a herniated disc summer before last, couldn't walk w/o crutches. After I took him to my wonderful chiropractor, he was off the crutches in a week. He took that whole summer off and followed the chiropractor's instructions to the letter. He's fine now. He still goes once a month, though.

I had one a few years ago. I had many people tell me to not get surgery, so I say "NO" on surgery. Instead, I saw an awesome chiropractor & with his therapy, it healed that way. It wasn't a lot of popping and cracking, more pushing it back in place & massage. I also bought an inversion table that I love to lay back on. I am a fitness instructor and after a month I was back teaching a weight class. No problems since. Good luck!

It can be completely avoided provided that a piece of disc hasn't broken off and is now in the spinal canal, but this doesn't seem to be the case with the information given. Surgery rarely gives a long term solution and generally will require more surgeries in the future due to further degeneration.
In most cases that I have seen, the cause of a herniation is typically due to a significant decrease in supportive curves in the spinal column. When support isn't sufficient it puts excess pressure on the region affected and can cause a bulge, herniation and the longer it's there spinal decay.
Restoring these supportive curves with corrective chiropractic is an effective treatment to restore proper motion and movement to the area and take the pressure off the disc to promote healing.
Should your friend decide to pursue this alternative to surgery, our office provides this type of corrective care. It does take time and an effort on your friends part to achieve these results, but we have been very successful in keeping people off the surgical table. Below is the link to our website for your friend to look at to see if we are a good fit and in a convenient location. If not, we would be happy to find a corrective care chiropractor that is closer. Www.healthworkstx.com
If we are a good fit and your friend would like to find out if we can help, all mamasource members can receive their first visit for $27. This includes consultation, exam and any films. If for some reason we can't take the case, we will refer to the most appropriate doctor that can.
I hope this information helps.

I had one pregnant with my second child. The most horrible pain outside of labor pains. I went through physical therapy and almost 4 years later I have very few problems unless I over do it and don't follow lifting guidelines and techniques. Not a fan of chiropractors. Was sent there first and it was a huge mistake. I ended up at spine team Texas and they are wonderful.

Sometimes they can resolve or improve on their own and don't always need surgery, but definitely need to rest! As long as the person continues activity that puts "strain" on that area, it will not heal.
Some conservative things are physical therapy excercises, sometimes traction, intermittant, (there are many places who specialize in this, but need to check them out thoroughly). Sometimes chiropractic care works, (not the 'pop and crack' kind, that can make it worse), but there are techniques for reducing inflammation and muscle tension and decrease nerve compression..

I have personal experience with this and know many other people who have avoided surgery, and if you want to have more information, send private message.

Most likely he will not need surgery. Taking an antiinflammatory/muscle relaxer will help managing pain. I would suggest a physical therapist to position/teach him how to realign spine and relieve the herniation, and prevent from occurring again.

I had a herniated (ruptured) disc (L5,S1) several years ago and was in excruciating pain. Tried physical therapy, but my pain only increased. I am one of the fortunate ones whose surgery provided immediate and complete relief. I have not had any complications or reinjury, but I did follow the dr.'s advice and took it very easy getting back to my regular routine. My understanding is that a bulging disc can heal with time, but that once the disc material has ruptured outside the disc, which is what a truly herniated disc is, surgery is needed. My pain prior to surgery was constant, and I noticed immediately in recovery after surgery that it was gone. If your friend does require surgery, please know that it can be successful. Good luck!

Hi M.,
I had a herniated disc on my spine before and I want to a chiropractor, he did warn me that if that doesn't work I'll need a surgery. Luckily, after a series of chiropractic treatments I was able to walk normally without crutches, the herniated disc was fixed.

P.