Lower Back Pain Rehabilitation in London

Home Treatment for Herniated Disc and Lower Back Pain Rehabilitation in London

Have you ever felt that suddenly you woke up in the morning there is a back pain, which you never had? 1

Gradually, this back pain may increase and start interfering with your daily activities.

You may feel pain especially while sitting, standing or lifting weight.2

The condition worsens if the pain radiates to your extremities, depending on the vertebrae affected.3,4

This type of back pain is termed as herniated (or slipped) disc.

A severe form of this pain may also exert pressure on the nerves while coughing or sneezing4.

 

Would you like to improve and get rid of your lower back pain and sciatica pain?

Learn how HayleyJanDr ChristianMichaelaElizabeth Tiffany , M Taylor and Franco successfully rehabbed their back injuries and beat their back pain.

Contact me now by clicking on this link HERE  and I will personally get back to you.

What is Spinal Disc and How Does it Impact Your Back Pain?

Anatomically, the spinal discs are spongy and donut-shaped located between the vertebrae.

They are elastic made up of cartilage and have a gel-like centre (nucleus pulposus) and an outer ring (annulus fibroses).5

The disc mainly acts as a shock absorber, especially during strenuous activities.

The disc starts degenerating with age.6

This may cause the vertebrae to slip out of its natural position, thereby putting pressure on the spinal nerves.4

Which is the most common site in your back for slip disc?

Herniated disc can occur anywhere in the vertebra, but it is most common in the lower back (lumbar spine).4

What can be the causes of disc herniation?

Let’s discuss below a few common causes of disc herniation: 7,8,9,4

  • Advancing age: As your age advances, the disc loses its elasticity and shock absorbing capacity.

This may lead to bulging of the disc out of its normal position.

  • Poor posture: Lifting heavy weight without taking into consideration proper posture may also cause disc herniation, especially in the lower back.

Sitting down in front of computer also increases the risks.

And as you can see carrying heavy weight in one hand shifts your body on one side creating pressure on your spine

Both actions of carrying a hand bag on one shoulder or weight in one hand in time will create muscle tension, major postural imbalances and increase your spine injury risks.

  • Overweight and obesity: An increase in weight exerts an excessive stress, especially on the lower back, thereby leading to disc protrusion.

  • Sedentary lifestyle: A non-active lifestyle reduces the elasticity of the disc, which may cause the disc to bulge.

  • Injuries and health events: Exercising using poor form (see my CrossFit article just as an example but, there are more risky sports), inadequate preparations for marathon, triathlon, or charity runs, and competing in sports.

How does herniated disc affect your daily life? 

You may have lower back pain, weakness, numbness and tingling sensations in the region affected.4, 10

Sometimes the bulged disc may compress the nerves, which may cause pain to radiate in your arms or legs.4

Is the pain in your lower back worrying you? 

Apart from physical distress you might also feel an emotional distress in the form of stress and anxiety.11

How can you diagnose herniated disc?

Your health care provider may perform neurological examination to check for the presence of herniated disc.

Other diagnostic tests mainly include: 12

  • Radiological examination: X-rays are helpful in the initial stages of the condition to rule out fractures.
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI): MRI is the test of choice as it is 97% accurate in confirming herniate disc.
  • CT Myelography: Another diagnostic method to confirm the presence of herniated disc.

How can you treat herniated disc?

You can manage the herniated disc by taking medicines and undergoing a customised back pain exercise rehabilitation.

Surgery should only be considered if the conservative measures fail to provide relief. 12

Your provider may prescribe you: 12, 13, 14

  • Pain killers: Over the counter medicines, such as ibuprofen, to relieve pain.
  • Epidural injections: These are injected in the space around the spinal cord, and are considered as one of the best treatment options for herniated disc.
  • Muscle relaxants: Muscle relaxants help loosen up the muscles.

However, these medicines should always be taken in prescribed dosage as they have drowsiness and fatigue as the side-effects.

  • Antidepressants: Apart from relieving stress, anxiety or other psychological symptoms, antidepressants also relieve pain.

Are you eating healthy?

Do you follow customised and healthy diet habits?

This question is very important when considering lower back pain.

Skipping meals or not eating a healthy diet can decrease the elasticity of disc and hence cause disc protrusion.17

To manage disc herniation, it is very important to take care of the amount of vitamins and minerals consumed as they play an important role in healing of the damaged tissues. 23

You should avoid food that may increase your weight. 15

Eating right food is the key to maintain healthy spine. 24

For example yogurt and bread should be avoided as they cause an increase in weight.15

A substance called glucosamine sulphate is important for the maintenance of collagen elasticity.16

Omega 3 fatty acids is another nutrition component that repairs the degraded disc.15

In order to speed up your recovery, address any personal challenges, and to be effective in supporting your lower back-pain rehabilitation goals, – nutrition must be finely customised.

 

Would you like to improve and get rid of your lower back pain and sciatica pain?

Contact me now by clicking on this link HERE  and I will personally get back to you.

 

Have You Thought of Exercising to Manage the Back Pain?

Customised exercises prove to be very effective reducing the lower back pain, and strengthening and stabilising the back muscles.19

Therefore, the back-rehabilitation exercises should be considered as the primary act-on method for managing back pain irrespective of the region of spine affected.

A typical exercise plan consists mainly of three phases.19

Let’s briefly discuss each of the three phases:

Phase I: Acute Phase

The acute phase is also called the protective phase because the aim is to reduce pain and inflammation by relieving the mechanical stress on the back. 19

Pain relief can be achieved by: 19

  • Medication
  • Proper rest
  • Maintaining proper body positions
  • Placing no extra stress on the back as it may delay the healing
  • Selected movement and exercises

At the end of phase 1 you will experience: 19,25

  • Decreased pain
  • Reduced spasm in muscles
  • Able to maintain a stable position for longer time

Phase II: Sub-Acute Phase

Once your pain has started to reduce, you can progress to the next phase of rehabilitation also called the repair phase.19

In this phase you will mainly work upon: 26

  • Improving the daily activities
  • Stretching the muscles
  • Maintaining the strength and stability of the spine
  • Performing and improving difficult activities, such as bending, with ease
  • Becoming more confident, optimistic and happier

At the end of phase 2 you will experience: 26

  • Improved flexibility of the spine
  • Stronger muscles of the back, pelvis and abdomen
  • Ability to maintain difficult positions
  • Improved range of movement (ROM)

Phase III: Rehabilitation Phase

Once your body has come into the recovery phase you can now effectively move to the final phase of sciatica pain rehabilitation or remodelling.19

In this phase you will mainly work upon: 26

  • Cardiac conditioning
  • Restoring and maintaining the strength of spinal muscles
  • Restoring and maintaining the flexibility of spinal muscles
  • Improving range of movement (ROM)
  • Performing weight bearing activities

At the end of phase 3 you will experience: 26

  • Optimum mobility and flexibility throughout your body
  • Ability to perform lunges, squatting, weight lifting and other activities with ease
  • Perform jogging, at least light running, swimming and other cardio activities
  • Move proficiently and with easy in all three plans of motion
  • Confidence, optimism, more happiness, trust in your ability, and long-term clarity

Are all back exercises good for relieving pain?

Studies have shown that exercises are not as effective in relieving pain when compared to physical activity.

You must be wondering that what is the difference between exercise and physical activity.

Exercise are prepared and structured in such a way that it involves repetitive concentric, eccentric and isometric muscular movements.

Physical activity includes any form of exercise, which involves pain relief in the muscles of back. 27

The effect on physical activity on relieving pain in back depends entirely upon the cause of back pain.

Cause of 85% back pain is unknown, which can only be confirmed after diagnostic tests, such as X-ray or MRI.

General physical activities are recommended unless the cause is confirmed because, physical activity carries re-injury risks.

Once the cause is confirmed we advise you what specific physical activities must be implemented to reduce pain and assist you in your daily activities.

However, performing exercises incorrectly can aggravate the back pain.

Be it any form of exercise, an effective and customised exercise programme can lead to healing of tissues in the back.27

Do you exercise regularly?

We have often heard exercising every day keeps you healthy and free from diseases and conditions.

Studies have shown that a gradual increase in physical activity decrease the risk of death by about 20% to 35%. 28

Not only healthy people can benefit from physical activity, but people with any disease or conditions can also gain benefit from it. 28

As your condition improves, the level of physical activity should be increased.

Regular physical activity can also help in weight reduction, thereby, getting rid of adverse conditions. 28

Physical activity also has a positive impact in reducing stress, anxiety, depression and other psychological disorders. 28

Hence, physical activity is like drugs for the body, which help in increasing the healing of tissues in the body. 28

Have you noticed that some of the exercises are causing your back pain to increase?

There are certain exercises, which you need to take care of as certain exercises may aggravate the back pain. 27

Let’s have a look at a few of the most common exercises, which most of us do unaware of the fact that these are affecting our back: 28,29,18

  • Leg lifts: Lying on your back and raising and lowering the legs puts extra strain on your legs and may cause strain in the muscles.

This exercise can also be used as a diagnostic test for lower back pain.

  • Forward bend: Forward bending can be tough especially if your hamstring muscles are tight, which may further place stress on the lower back. 28
  • Overhead weight lifting: You may be performing lifting weight overhead to strengthen the shoulders, however, this can compress the spine and hence, should be avoided.

What changes you should do in your body mechanics to improve disc herniation?

Poor posture is a common cause of disc herniation.

You may change your posture according to your everyday activities. 30

Bending to lift heavy weights, for instance, is one of the most common activity most of us do every day that can lead to disc herniation.

Bending and twisting are other compensatory movements 29.

However, these faulty postures can be corrected by following proper postural techniques.30

It takes time as you will require to re-educate your body segments and muscles but, the process is worth it.

A good or correct posture means maintaining a straight spinal curve, thereby reducing strain on the spine.

A strained spine can lead to compensatory movements while sitting, standing or bending. 30

There are many muscle involved in maintaining the strength and stability of back.

However, two major spine muscles, lumbar multifidus and transversus abdominis, maintain the stability of the vertebrae.

These muscles also work together to protect the lower back. 31

However, keeping these muscles dormant for a long time can lead to back pain. 32

These muscles can be activated by ultrasound and biofeedback followed by exercises.

The aim of the exercise is to regain the strength of all your back muscles while achieving balance. 31,32

 

Would you like to improve and get rid of your lower back pain and sciatica pain?

Contact me now by clicking on this link HERE  and I will personally get back to you.

 

Would you like to enhance a herniated disc recovery?

Studies have shown that sooner you start taking care of your pain or take any sciatica pain rehabilitation programme, the better are your chances to get rid of the pain.

We are proud to say that all our clients have had an amazing pain-relieving experiences with us.

If you already suffer from a herniated disc and you have a clear diagnosis my team take into count each and every detail of your back pain condition.

I will provide you with a comprehensive postural, fitness, movement behaviour at work, home and while you are away with business trips, health and nutrition assessment, followed by your customised and effective back rehabilitation programme.

Would you like to improve and get rid of lower back pain and sciatica?

Contact me now by clicking on this link HERE ,  and I will get back to you.

 

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References 

 

1. Weisman MH (2012). Inflammatory back pain. Rheum Dis Clin North Am.Aug;38(3):501-512.

2. Gordon R, Bloxham S (2016). A systemic review of the effects of exercise and physical activity on non-specific chronic low back pain. Healthcare (Basel).Jun;4(2):22.

3. Casser H, Seddigh S, Rauschmann M (2016). Acute lumbar back pain. Dtsch Arztebl Int. Apr;113(13):223-234.

4. Amin RM, Andrade NS, Neuman BJ (2017). Lumbar disc herniation. Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med. Dec;10(4):507-516.

5. Prithvi Raj P (2008). Intervertebral disc: Anatomy-physiology-pathiphysiology-treatment. Pain Practice. Jan.

6. Brzuszkiewicz-Kuźmicka G, Szczegielniak J, Bączkowicz D (2018). Age-related changes in shock absorption capacity of human spinal column. Clin Interv Ageing. 13:987-993.

7. Ma D, Liang Y, Wang D, et al (2013). Trend of the incidence of lumbar disc herniation: decreasing with aging in the elderly. Clin Interv Ageing. Aug8:1047-1050.

8. Suri P, Hunter DJ, Jouve C, et al (2010). Inciting events associated with lumbar disc herniation. Spine J. May10(5):388-395.

9. Frilander H, Solovieva S, Mutanen P, et al (2015). Role of overweight and obesity in low back disorders among men: a longitudinal study with a life course approach.BMJ Open. Aug 5(8):e007085.

10. Yeung JT, Johnson JI, Karim AS (2012). Cervical disc herniation presenting with neck pain and contralateral symptoms: a case report. J Med Case Rep. Jun 6:166.

11. Kayhan F (2016). Mood and anxiety disorders in patients with chronic low back and neck pain caused by disc herniation. International Journal of Psychaiatry in Clinical Practice. Nov20(1).

12. Massa RN, Mesfil FB (2017). Herniation, disc. NCBI. October.

13. Pandey RA (2016). Efficacy of epidural steroid injection in management of lumbar prolapsed intervertebral disc: A comparison of caudal, transforaminal and interlaminar routes. J Clin Diagn Res. Jun10(7):RC05-RC11.

14. Slipped disc: Non-surgical treatment options (2017). PubMed. June.

15. Saithanoglu H, Aydin T, Taspinar O (2016). Association between nutritional status and modic classification in degenerative disc disease. J Phys Ther Sci. Apr28(4):1250-1254.

16. Sowa G, Coelho JP, Jacobs L (2015). The effects of glucosamine sulfate on intervertebral disc annulus fibrosus cells in vitro. Spine J. Jun15(6):1339-1346.

17. Zou F, Jiang J, Lu F, et al(2013). Efficacy of intradiscal hepatocyte growth factor injection for the treatment of intervertebral disc degeneration. Molecular Medicine Reports. Apr:118-122.

18. Yazdani AH, Hesari P, Eghbali-Khosro S, et al(2016). Effects of six-week exercise training protocol on pain relief in patients with lumbar disc herniation. J Anal Res CLin Med. 4(1):27-33.

19. VanGelder LH, Hoogenboom BJ, Vaughan DW (2013). A phased rehabilitation protocol for athletes with lumbar vertebral disc herniation. Int J Sports Phys Ther.Aug8(4):482-516.

20. Yang H, Yoo W (2014). The effects of stretching with lumbar traction with VAS and oswestry scales of patients with lumbar 4-5 herniated intervertebral disc. J  Phys Ther Sci. Jul26(7):1049-1050.

21. Ye C, Ren J, Zhang J (2015). Comparison of lumbar spine stabilization exercise versus general exercise in young male patients with lumbar disc herniation after 1 year of follow-up. Int  J Clin Exp Med. 8(6):9869-9875.

22. Sorosky S, Stilp S, Akuthota V (2008). Yoga and pilates in the management of low back pain. Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med. Mar1(1):39-47.

23. Javadian Y, Akbari M, Talebi G (2015). Influence of core stability exercise on lumbar vertebral instability in patients presented with chronic low back pain: a randomized control trial. Caspian J Intern 6(2):98-102.

24. Stokes IAF , Gardner-Morse MG, Henry SM (2011). Abdominal muscle activation increases lumbar spinal stability: analysis of contributions of different muscle groups. Clin Biomech. Oct26(8):797-803.

25. Jeon K, Kim T, Lee S (2016). Effects of muscle extension strength exercise on trunk muscle strength and stability of patients with lumbar herniated nucleus pulposus. J Phys Ther Sci. May28(5):1418-1421.

26. Iversen MD, Choudhary VD, Patel SC (2010). Therapeutic exercise and manual therapy for persons with lumbar spine stenosis. Int J Clin Rheumatol. 5(4):425-437.

27. Minicozzi SJ, Russell BS, Ray KJ, et al (2016). Low back pain response to pelvic tilt position: an observational study of chiropractic patients. J Chiropractr Med.15(1):27-34.

28. Hall H (2014). Effective spine triage: patterns of back pain. Ochsner J. 14(1):88-95.

29. Lee J, Kim T (2017). The treatment effect of hamstring stretching and nerve mobilization for patients with radicular low back pain. J Phys Ther Sci. Sep29(9):1578-1582.

30. Eltoukhy M, Travascio F, Asfour S, et al (2016). Examination of a lumbar spine biomechanical model for assessing axial compression, shear, and bending moment using selected Olympic lifts. J Orthop. Sep13(3):210-219.

31. Elmasry S, Asfour S, Vaccari JPdeR, et al (2015). Effects of tobacco smoking on the degeneration of intervertebral disc: a finite element study. PLoS One.Aug10(8).

32. Gugliotta M, Costa BR, Dabbis E, et al (2016). Surgical verss conservative treatment for lumbar disc herniation: a prospective cohort study. BMJ Open. Dec6(12).

33. M Sedighi, A Haghnegahdar (2014). Surgical verss conservative treatment for lumbar disc herniation: a prospective cohort studyRole of vitamin D3 in Treatment of Lumbar Disc Herniation—Pain and Sensory Aspects: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial. Trial.

34. DL. Belavý,a,MJ Quittner, Nicola Ridgers, et al (2017). Running exercise strengthens the intervertebral disc. Sci Rep. Apr.

35. Kesar N, Atici A, Celikoglu E, et al (2017). Effect of bone mineral density on lumbar discs in young adults. A case-controlled study. Sep;96(35):e7906.

36. Khalil RE, Gorgey AS, Janisko M, et al (2013). The role of nutrition in health status after spinal cord injury. Feb;4(1):14-22.

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