Exercises for a herniated disc are an essential part of any healing program. However, a person suffering with a herniated disc needs to proceed with caution when it comes to exercises, because there is a good chance that you could aggravate your symptoms if you don’t follow some simple rules.
This article will discuss some specific exercises for a herniated disc, as well as some simple tips and rules you will need to follow for the best results. Before we can cover this information, we need to briefly talk about how the spinal discs work so the exercises we discuss will make sense.
The discs of the spine are shock absorbers that separate each set of bones in the spine. They are composed of a strong outer covering called the annulus, and a soft jelly center called the nucleus.
The nucleus is incredibly important for our discussion about exercises for a herniated disc, because this is where the spinal discs store oxygen and nutrients for proper healing.
If you’ve been living with this condition for any period of time, you’ve probably heard your doctor tell you that a herniated disc is a very difficult condition to heal, and tends to be quite stubborn. This is because the discs of the spine do not have a very good blood supply going to them.
The body normally depends on blood for transporting oxygen and nutrients to an injured area for faster healing, so without normal blood flow, the injured disc has to find another way to bring oxygen and nutrients for healing. One of the exercises we’ll discuss will help with this, but for now, just realize that the nucleus of the disc is going to be very important for this.
A herniated disc occurs when the strong outer covering tears, and the jelly begins to shift into the weak area of the disc. This creates a bulge, which will tend to apply pressure to the spinal nerves.
This is actually why a herniated disc can be such a painful condition – the nerves of the spine control