Therapy for a Bulging Disc to Avoid Surgery

The spine is made up of vertebra separated by discs. These discs have a tough outer layer and a soft gel-like inner layer. Degeneration of discs causes them to bulge or protrude from their normal space. Bulging discs may lead to a herniated disc, in which the disc's outer layer breaks open and the inner gel-like center oozes out and irritates nerves. Therapy is available to keep bulging discs from becoming herniated discs and to help avoid surgery.

Therapy

• See your doctor or physical therapist about special exercises to help a bulging disc. Your therapist guides you through range-of-motion and flexibility exercises to help strengthen muscles that surround the disc. Learn proper ways to lift or reach that does not exacerbate the disc.

  Apply cold packs to the disc area for five to 10 minutes three or four times a day to reduce inflammation or swelling. Heat is applied one or two times a day to loosen stiffened muscles around the bulging disc.

  Take over-the-counter medications such as ibuprofen to alleviate pain caused by a bulging disc. Your doctor may prescribe short-term pain medicines. These drugs are for short-term use only because of their risk for dependence. Muscle relaxants may be prescribed for stiffened or tight muscles surrounding the disc. Take precaution when using muscle relaxants as they cause significant drowsiness and should not be taken when driving or operating machinery.

  Your doctor may recommend corticosteroid injections for severe inflammation from a bulging disc. Injections are placed right at the area of the bulging disc and pain and inflammation are reduced quickly. Injections are limited to about three per year because of severe side effects that accompany continual steroid treatments.

Chiropractic Care

• Your doctor may recommend spinal manipulation from a chiropractor to help avoid surgical treatment. Your chiropractor uses stretching techniques to pull vertebra apart, allowing a bulging disc to move away from any nerves it may be touching. You lie on a special table that stretches the spine. This treatment is called traction.

  The chiropractor uses ultrasound therapy and electrotherapy to reduce pain and inflammation of a bulging disc. A gel-like substance is applied to the area of the back where the bulging disc is located. An ultrasound machine is turned on and a wand from the machine glides over the gel on your skin. Sound waves enter through the skin and promote blood flow and healing to the area. The chiropractor places electrodes on your back and small electrical pulses are released into your back area. These electrical pulses block pain signals to the brain, alleviating pain caused by the disc. Five to 10 sessions of treatments may be necessary to heal a bulging disc.