Physical therapy is one of the most typical bulging disc treatments recommended, and a lot of people wonder how effective it is and if it’s worth the time and effort you need to put into it.
The short answer is yes, it is worth it and it is helpful, but it is only a piece of the puzzle when trying to heal a slipped disc.
Statistically speaking, therapy is effective about 50% of the time with this health problem, but that is because most people are not told that they need to continue with their exercises even after they are released from physical therapy.
Most physicians will recommend one or two months of therapy to a person who has been diagnosed with a slipped disc, but the fact of the matter is that it can take years for a disc injury to fully heal if it ever does. So, can you see the discrepancy?
Many will experience relief from therapy, but the pain almost always comes back because they don’t realize that the exercises you learn are meant to be continued for the long term if you are interested in achieving the best results. In addition to this, PT focuses on the muscles that surround the injured disc (which definitely has benefit), but it doesn’t directly affect the main problem which is the protruding disc itself.
The purpose of therapy with this health problem is to strengthen the muscles that surround the injured disc, thus removing pressure on the disc so it can heal properly. One of the major functions of the disc is to act as a ligament, holding the vertebrae of the back in proper alignment.
If the disc becomes injured, this function can not occur because the disc is too weak. So, the muscles have to take on this function in order to stabilize the spine. In addition to that, if the muscles that surround the spine are weak, the disc will have added pressure on it and it will become more damaged over time.
So, there is definitely good reason for a person going through a program of PT when they have a slipped disc. The problem is that it takes at least 3 months before a muscle will show considerable improvement in strength, so if you stop after your prescribed treatment plan with your therapist, you aren’t experiencing the full benefit of their care.
In addition to that, strengthening the muscles that surround the injured disc is only a part of the solution. You have to understand that this health problem is very complicated, and if you don’t do anything to encourage the disc itself to heal, the problem will never heal properly even with PT.
There are actually a number of additional treatments that need to be performed at the same time you’re going through physical therapy treatments if you are wanting to experience the best results that last for a longer period of time. You can find out more about the most effective combination of treatments by clicking the following link (herniated disc therapy).
If you’ve found this article interesting, and you would like to get the answers to the 20 most frequently asked questions people have about herniated disc treatments, you can click the following link (treatment for a bulging disc).
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