RehabFAQs

how to rehab disc degeneration

by Kylie Schuster Published 2 years ago Updated 1 year ago
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Regular aerobic exercise, such as walking, swimming, or taking a low-impact aerobics class, has been shown to help relieve pain, promote a healthy body weight, and improve overall strength and mobility—all important factors in managing DDD.Jan 8, 2018

Medication

As a contributing factor to the development of degenerative disc disease can include lifestyle choices such as obesity and not maintaining a healthy activity level, low-impact aerobic exercise can be an important component of an effective treatment plan. Low-impact exercise can elevate the heart rate, which improves circulation.

Procedures

Aug 20, 2019 · You may want to try alternative treatments for DDD, but first get the clear from your doctor. Alternative treatments can help you cope with back pain and help you increase your daily activities, but they may interact with other treatments for DDD. Examples of alternative treatments for DDD: Acupuncture. Biofeedback.

Therapy

Apr 29, 2020 · Exercise for Disc Degeneration. Yes, that's right, degenerative disc disease treatment may include exercise! The number of people that have been told their spine or discs will become further damaged from squatting, deadlifting, …

Self-care

May 01, 2020 · The 6 Best Home Treatments for Lumbar DDD 1. Degenerative Disc Disease Exercises. Exercising the right way is essential to relieving pain and recovering from DDD. 2. Lower Back Traction. Lower back traction (also known as spinal decompression) can quickly relieve your back pain... 3. Self Massage. ...

Nutrition

Applying heat to the low back improves circulation, which reduces muscle spasms and tension and improves mobility. Ice packs can reduce inflammation and numb mild pain. It can be helpful to apply heat before physical activities to relax the muscles, and to apply ice after activity to minimize inflammation. See Heat and Ice Therapy

See more

Dec 21, 2018 · CURE 4: Natural Remedies Acupuncture. Acupuncture is one of the best-known remedies for degenerative disc disease. It is one of the proven... Massage therapy. Massage therapy is another natural treatment that people have been swearing by since ages. A good... Work on correcting your posture. While ...

How to lessen pain from a degenerated disc?

3. Adopting Good Posture Watch how you sit and stand throughout your day. Switching positions periodically can also reduce excessive pressure on any one part of your spine. 4. Sleeping Better Excessive tossing and turning and sleeping on your stomach should be avoided if you want to reduce the risk of pain from disc degeneration.

How can I slow down my degenerative disc disease?

There are two types of medicine to start with. The first is acetaminophen, which will help with the discomfort. Arthritis medicines, such as aspirin or aspirin-like medicines (called anti-inflammatories or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs), can also be taken.

What is the best treatment for degenerative disc disease?

What helps degenerative discs?

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Can you reverse disc degeneration?

While disc degeneration can't be reversed, there is evidence that exercise, lifestyle changes and careful management of your back pain can contribute to better quality of life.

What is the best exercise for degenerative disc disease?

The Best Exercises for Degenerative Disc DiseaseYoga. Often, we see yoga prescribed as the miracle drug of exercises with exaggerated claims being made about its effectiveness. ... Psoas Muscle Stretches. Targeting the psoas muscles can relieve some back pain symptoms related to DDD. ... Water Aerobics. ... Stationary Bike. ... Walking.Nov 20, 2017

Does exercise help degenerative disc disease?

Try walking, water aerobics, yoga, Pilates, and stretching. Lifting heavy weights or running marathons might not be a good idea if you have significant disc degeneration or many DDD symptoms. Instead, your goal should be regular, moderate exercise, which will help strengthen your muscles, bones, and joints.Jan 18, 2019

Is walking good for disc degeneration?

Degenerative disc disease is a term used to describe conditions in which there is progressive damage to the intervertebral discs. Walking can help treat degenerative disc disease since it's a mild form of physical therapy, which is good for your spine and joints.Jan 3, 2022

Is walking good for degenerative disc disease?

Aerobic exercise. Regular aerobic exercise, such as walking, swimming, or taking a low-impact aerobics class, has been shown to help relieve pain, promote a healthy body weight, and improve overall strength and mobility—all important factors in managing DDD.Jan 8, 2018

What activities should I avoid with degenerative disc disease?

People with degenerative disc disease should avoid staying in one position for long periods of time. They should not lift, twist, bend, or reach if these activities cause pain. It is also a good idea to avoid stress, because stress can heighten pain symptoms.

How can I strengthen my lower back with degenerative disc disease?

2 Easy Exercises for Lumbar Degenerative Disc Disease Pain ReliefTowel Hamstring Stretch. Tight hamstrings limit the motion in your pelvis, which in turn can place additional stress on your lower back and therefore exacerbate your symptoms. ... Stationary Biking.

How can I prevent degenerative disc disease from getting worse?

Keys to Preventing Degenerative Disc Disease.Live an Active Life and Include Exercise.Use Good Form and Employ Body Mechanics.Stop Smoking or Better Yet, Don't Start.Get to and Maintain Your Ideal Weight.Balance Manual Labor and Being Sedentary.Take a Dietary Approach.Prevent DDD the Old Fashioned Way.May 10, 2020

What is Degenerative Disc Disease

Degenerative disc disease ( DDD) has been previously known as wear and tear or a thinning of the discs in the spine due to them breaking down. First off, this is simply not true for 99% of you.

You can Relax!

So I hope you are already starting to feel better about this "disease" so we can reduce its threat level a bit and understand it is a normal process. This is not a traditional disease, it isn't going to kill you, it isn't going to disable you (insert deep breaths here).

What to do if you have Disc Degeneration

Often these individuals are told their spine is fragile, weak, and they need to take it easy due to their "age/condition". Often prescribing lack of ability (stop exercising) is the same as prescribing disability, not good! This is one of the principles outlined in our FREE LOW BACK GUIDE.

Exercise for Disc Degeneration

Yes, that's right, degenerative disc disease treatment may include exercise! The number of people that have been told their spine or discs will become further damaged from squatting, deadlifting, running, or other forms of exercise has astonished me.

How does Exercise Help?

Let's get back to the disc degeneration though. How is exercise going to help disc degeneration? Well, here's how. Just like muscles, without exercise the discs receive no stimulus and lose circulation and blood flow thus thinning out and becoming weak.

How 72 Year Old Doneta Beat DDD

Here is an example of an incredible lady Doneta who had DDD and sciatica who was motivated to resolve her low back pain, and how she did it! Watch this!

Summary for Disc Degeneration

So what does this mean? Use it or lose it! A specific spine rehabilitation program could do wonders for these individuals which includes slowly progressing spine loading exercises that have been identified for them with some walking/jogging or other cardiovascular related activity incorporated.

What is the best treatment for degenerative disc disease?

Typical pain medications used to treat the low back pain include acetaminophen, NSAIDs, oral steroids, narcotic drugs, and muscle relaxants. Each type of medication has strengths, limitations, and risks, and the patient's particular low back problem ...

How to heal lower back pain?

For the vast majority of patients, the only way to achieve long-term healing is active exercise, which usually includes a combination of strengthening, stretching and low-impact aerobic exercise. Quitting smoking.

What causes back pain?

Pain from degenerative disc disease is caused by a combination of instability at the motion segment and inflammation from the degenerated discs. Both the instability and the inflammation have to be addressed for the back pain treatment to be effective. The treatments for degenerative disc disease are either passive (done to the patient) ...

Does degenerative disc disease get worse over time?

The vast majority of people with degenerative disc disease experience low back pain symptoms that flare up periodically, but don't get worse over time. For those people, the main goals for managing lower back pain caused by degenerative disc disease are usually: Achieving enough pain relief to be able to engage in lower back pain exercises ...

Can degenerative disc disease be treated with surgery?

Most types of surgery for ongoing, debilitating pain and loss of function from degenerative disc disease are fairly extensive, so it is usually in the best interest of most patients to manage their low back pain using non-surgical approaches and self-care. Over time, the low back pain and other symptoms of degenerative disc disease will usually ...

What is the best treatment for low back pain?

In addition, heat and/or ice therapy, acupuncture, behavioral therapy, and other therapies often provide enough low back pain relief to allow the patient to progress with his or her exercise and rehabilitation program. advertisement.

How does an epidural help with back pain?

An epidural injection into the spine delivers steroids that can provide low back pain relief by decreasing inflammation in the painful area. TENS units. These devices deliver mild electrical stimulation that overrides the painful signals sent to the lower back.

How to relieve pain from a spinal disc?

2. Boosting blood circulation to your lower back, bringing healing nutrients – faster and better. This takes care of the inflammation. 3. Relaxing of your aching muscles in the lower back.

How do spinal discs help the spine?

Your spinal discs absorb shock to the spine. Just like in your car, they reduce the effect of “traveling over rough ground” to prevent injury or trauma when we do everyday movements like twisting, flexing, and bending. Imagine your discs go through a lifetime of wear and tear.

What causes a bulging disc?

2. Cracks and tears in the outer layers of the spinal discs – the gel-like material inside the nucleus of the disc leaks out, which leads to bulging discs, ruptured discs, and fragmented discs. Visualize your spine as a chain where it is just as strong as the weakest link.

How to relieve back pain?

2. Lower Back Traction. Lower back traction (also known as spinal decompression) can quickly relieve your back pain through increasing the space between the vertebrae. Lower back traction basically pulls the top half of your body and the bottom half – away from each other.

Does DDD get worse?

Just because DDD includes the word “degenerative” in it, doesn’t mean that your symptoms will get worse . While it’s true that disc degeneration may progress over time, the pain you are experiencing can be dramatically reduced and even eliminated, especially if you help your body using the natural methods listed here.

What is the best way to strengthen the spine?

Strengthening exercises that build lower back and abdominal muscles to maintain healthy postures and better support the spine. Strengthening exercise programs might include a customized physical therapy program, dynamic lumbar stabilization, tai chi, Pilates, or others.

How to help lower back pain?

Exercise and Physical Therapy 1 Stretching exercises for muscles in the low back, hips, and pelvis, as well as the hamstring muscles. Tightness in these muscles places more pressure on the lumbar spine and contributes to low back pain. 2 Strengthening exercises that build lower back and abdominal muscles to maintain healthy postures and better support the spine. Strengthening exercise programs might include a customized physical therapy program, dynamic lumbar stabilization, tai chi, Pilates, or others. 3 Low-impact aerobic exercise that elevates the heart rate to improve circulation and deliver nutrients and oxygen necessary for healing the body’s tissues. Examples of aerobics that are gentle on the spine include walking, swimming and water aerobics, stationary biking, and running on an elliptical.

What is the best treatment for sciatica?

Physical Therapy and Activity Modification. Physical therapy is often suggested or prescribed to help maintain healthy mobility in the spine. A thorough low back exercise program should include a combination of: Exercises for Sciatica from Degenerative Disc Disease Video.

What is the best pain reliever for nerve pain?

Aspirin (Bayer), ibuprofen (Advil), or naproxen (Aleve) are common pain medications that can relieve inflammation that contributes to discomfort, stiffness, and nerve root irritation. Acetaminophen (Tylenol) is a pain reliever that interferes with pain signals sent to the brain.

How to reduce inflammation in muscles?

Ice packs can reduce inflammation and numb mild pain. It can be helpful to apply heat before physical activities to relax the muscles, and to apply ice after activity to minimize inflammation. See Heat and Ice Therapy. Manual manipulation.

What is manual manipulation?

Commonly associated with chiropractic care, manual manipulation is a popular pain management method for low back pain. Practitioners use their hands to apply force and pressure to the back, hips, or other areas, with the goal of reducing tension in the muscles and joints.

How long does a steroid injection last?

When effective, an epidural steroid injection may alleviate pain for a couple weeks up to one year. Watch: Epidural Steroid Injections for Back Pain and Leg Pain Video.

How to heal a degenerative disc?

Massage therapy. Massage therapy is another natural treatment that people have been swearing by since ages. A good massage by an expert helps to improve blood circulation and releases the mind and body stress. This remedy works, particularly for degenerative disc disease lower back.

What is degenerative disc disease?

Degenerative disc disease is when any changes in the spine disc cause pain ( 1 ). Lower back pain, at times, is a degenerative disc disease hereditary in nature. Drying out of water and cracks due to minor injuries are the degenerative disc disease causes. Some of its common symptoms include lower back pain, pain in the buttocks or upper thighs.

What supplements can help with degenerative disc disease?

Fish oil, turmeric, St. John’s Wort, Valerian, turmeric, flaxseed oil, and ginger are some of the best-proven supplements. You need to take the doses as per doctor’s recommendations for how to cure degenerative disc disease naturally.

Can you wear a back brace for degenerative disc disease?

Rather, you take precautions and avoid the disease altogether. While a back brace for degenerative disc disease helps in some cases, there are certain conditions such as multilevel degenerative disc disease and advanced degenerative disc disease that require medical attention.

What are the best foods to eat to prevent a swollen ear?

Green leafy vegetables such as kale and spinach. Fiber-rich foods like artichokes. Sources of magnesium such as whole grains, beans, fish and lean meat. Healthy fats such as olive oil. Calcium-rich foods such as yogurt, cheese, and milk. Vitamin D foods like egg yolks.

How to get a good posture while sitting?

While you sit, keep your back straight and shoulders relaxed. You can take the help of a cushion behind your back to get the posture right. Also, keep your feet flat on the floor. While walking, balance your body weight equally on both the legs.

Does obesity cause back pain?

Obesity will never be in trend, neither will it benefit your health in any way. At times, overweight is the reason for your back pain and getting rid of the extra weight is an apt answer to how to cure degenerative disc disease naturally. It will help your stomach and back relax.

How to strengthen the spine?

Watching What You Eat. Your spine and its adjacent parts need certain nutrients to remain healthy. Focus on eating foods rich in bone-strengthening calcium and vitamins C, D, and B12.

How to get rid of back pain?

1. Getting Regular Exercise. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends adults get 2 to 3 hours of moderate-intensity activity per week or roughly an hour or so of vigorous activity daily if you don’t have an existing back condition.

What is the best diet for a syphilis patient?

The FDA recommends a diet that includes green, leafy veggies, citrus fruits, berries, lean proteins, low-fat dairy products, and healthy fats like those found in some fish. 3. Adopting Good Posture. Watch how you sit and stand throughout your day.

Does smoking cause back pain?

Most of the negative effects of smoking can be reversed simply by quitting. Most of the time, back pain from disc degeneration can be managed by keeping muscles that support the spine strong.

How much water should I drink a day to keep my spine flexible?

Stick with the standard recommendation of eight 8-ounce glasses of water per day.

Can you stop disc degeneration?

There’s nothing that can be done to stop the age-related wear and tear affecting the discs cushioning your spine. However, according to Beverly Hills spine surgeons there are positive lifestyle adjustments you can make to reduce or slow the age-related disc degeneration that often leads to increased instances of back pain as you get older. 1. ...

Why does my disc bulge?

If the disc sees a lot of stress, the pressure of the jelly can cause a bulge in the disc, (Figure 4). This bulging of the disc is very common as you get more mature, and almost everyone has some disc bulging in their spines. This bulging rarely causes symptoms and is considered a normal part of getting older.

What is the pain of a herniated disc?

This sudden release of the jelly portion of the disc is called a ruptured or herniated disc because the fragments can cause fairly rapid onset of pain, tingling, numbness or weakness. The pain typically radiates down the extremity and is made worse by coughing, sneezing or having a bowel movement.

Why did Jan Greer want to stay active?

At 78, Jan Greer wanted to stay active and athletic. Herniated disks, stenosis and other degenerative back problems were causing him unbearable pain. When the pain became too much to bear, he turned to Johns Hopkins.

What is the best medicine for arthritis?

There are two types of medicine to start with. The first is acetaminophen, which will help with the discomfort. Arthritis medicines, such as aspirin or aspirin-like medicines (called anti-inflammatories or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs), can also be taken.

How to treat sore neck?

If the symptoms are only stiffness and soreness, they are treated with heat or ice and a gentle stretching program of the neck. If the pain is not relieved, then medication can help relieve the symptoms until the pain subsides. There are two types of medicine to start with.

How long does cortisone last?

In some instances where the neck pain is severe and not helped by the other medicine, cortisone pills for one week may be helpful. The dose of cortisone used is small and typically has none of the side effects of taking prednisone for months (small doses will not thin your bones or make you swell up).

Why do my knees wear out?

The exact reason why the joints of the spine begin to wear out is not known and may be a combination of factors , such as doing a lot of lifting, having a family history of spine problems or having an injury to the spine.

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Degenerative Disc Disease Treatment Goals

Example Progression of Treatment Regimens For Lumbar Degenerative Disc Disease

Active and Passive Treatment Options

Team Approach to Pain Management

Your provider will work with you to develop a care plan that may include one or more of these treatment options.
Treatment includes exercise, medication, physical therapy, pain-relieving medication, and surgery.
Medication

Analgesics: Used to manage pain.

Ibuprofen . Acetaminophen

Procedures

Artificial disc replacement: Procedure which involves replacement of a broken disc with a metal/plastic one.

Spinal fusion: Connecting the affected vertebrae together in order to strengthen the spine.

Decompression: Herniated disc compressing the spinal cord is removed to relieve the compression.

Therapy

Physical therapy:Exercises such as stretching are done to strengthen the muscles surrounding damaged discs and also to improve blood flow and stabilization of the region.

Self-care

Always talk to your provider before starting anything.

  • Heat or cold therapy- cold packs reduce pain while heat packs reduce inflammation

Nutrition

Foods to eat:

  • Calcium rich foods such as milk, vegetables, and nuts
  • Antioxidants such as oranges
  • Omega 3 fatty acids rich foods such as salmon, fish
  • Sulphur rich foods such as onions, garlic, and cabbage
  • Fiber rich foods such as whole grains, nuts, vegetables

Foods to avoid:

  • Processed foods high in nitrites such as processed meat
  • High sugar, saturated fats, trans fat foods
  • Foods containing corn syrup

Specialist to consult

Neurologist
Specializes in treating diseases of the nervous system, which includes the brain, the spinal cord, and the nerves.
Neurosurgeon
Specializes in surgery on the nervous system, especially the brain and spinal cord.
Orthopedic surgeon
Specializes in the surgery of bone and joint disorders.
Primary care physician
Specializes in the acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health.

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