Can a herniated disc heal?

 

 

Short answer is: Yes. If the conditions are right. Those conditions are water, nutrients, and oxygen delivered to the disc. And a low pressure inside the disc to bring the herniated portion of the disc back to where it belongs.

What you can do to meet these conditions.

Diet/supplements- Your body can't utilize nutrients if they are not readily available in your body!

Water- Drink water. So simple it almost doesn't need to be said. Except that's exactly how we think, so we over look it.

Oxygen- Similar to water in that it's so simple that we forget about it and aren't intentional in doing it. Take time to breathe. Really breathe.

Good job! You got the material in your body but you still have to get that material to the disc. Now you have to cycle through high and low pressure in the disc to deliver the oxygen, water, and nutrients and to help pull disc material (nucleus pulposes) back to reduce a bulge or herniation. This pressure can be accomplished through exercise. Walking is one of the best exercises you can do. Exercise can be tricky though. The window between too much and too little exercise can be very small. Any exercise at all can be difficult when you have pain shooting down your leg and you feel like someone is hitting you with a cattle prod. Non surgical spinal decompression utilizes the bodies natural way of healing the disc, but makes this process more efficient and more comfortable.

It takes time to heal. You can't get around that. With treatment it takes about 3 months to heal completely. Pain can decrease well before that but the structure won't be stable and your one sneeze away from aggravating it again.

The intervertebral disc or simply the disc is an avascular structure between each vertebra of the spine. Avascular meaning no blood vessels. Which means your heart does not pump blood with oxygen, nutrients, and water directly to the structure. The disc gets those important essential item from a processes called diffusion. Moving from high to low pressure. Think about a sponge in a bucket of water. Smash the sponge with your hand and the water that was in the sponge gets pushed out from the increase in pressure. Now remove the pressure by taking your hand off and the sponge fills back up with water. All living tissue needs a steady supply of oxygen, water, and nutrients.

What doctor to see for a herniated disc?

Chiropractors- are the most aligned with the natural process and can advise on all the things that can make a difference in the successful recovery of a herniated disc. And if they have a decompression table in their office to administer decompression therapy provide the mechanical stimulation necessary to heal the disc.