How Beneficial Is Physical Therapy As A Bulging Disc Therapy?
Physical therapy is one of the most common treatments for a bulging disc recommended, and many wonder how beneficial it is and if it’s worth the time and effort you have to put into it.
The short answer is yes, it is worth it and it is beneficial, but it is only a piece of the puzzle when trying to heal a bulging disc.
Statistically speaking, therapy is beneficial about 50% of the time with this health problem, but that is because most people are not told that they have to continue with their exercises even after they are released from physical therapy.
Most doctors will recommend one or two months of therapy to a person who has been diagnosed with a bulging disc, but the fact of the matter is that it can take years for a disc injury to completely heal if it ever does. So, do you see the discrepancy?
Many will experience relief from physical therapy, but the pain almost always returns because they don’t realize that the exercises you learn are supposed to be continued for the long term if you want the best results. In addition to this, PT focuses on the muscles that surround the bulging disc (which certainly has benefit), but it doesn’t directly affect the main problem which is the slipped disc itself.
The purpose of physical therapy with this health problem is to strengthen the muscles that surround the affected disc, thus releasing 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 additional pressure on it and it will become more damaged over time.
So, there is certainly good reason for a person going through a program of PT when they have a herniated disc. The problem is that it takes at least 3 months before a muscle will show noticeable improvement in strength, so if you stop after your recommended treatment plan with your physical therapist, you aren’t getting the full benefit of their care.
In addition to that, strengthening the muscles that surround the affected disc is only a part of the solution. You have to understand that this health problem is very complex, 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 other treatments that need to be performed at the same time you’re receiving 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 (treatment for a bulging disc).
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 bulging disc treatments, you can click the following link (herniated disc therapy).