Herniated discs can be extremely painful and disheartening for anyone who experiences them. These bulging discs are the result of pressure on the spinal column, which causes some of the jelly-like substances inside to press out from between the bones of your spine. As you might imagine, this is incredibly painful. Fortunately, there are many things you can do to manage herniated discs and relieve pain. As one of the more common solutions to alleviating back pain and reducing inflammation, many people with herniated discs look into getting a massage as a way to alleviate their symptoms. Does a massage worsen a herniated disc? That is what we will explore in this article! Keep reading to find out more!
Can Massages Make Herniated Discs Worse?
Do you have a herniated disc? If so, then you know how painful it can be. Fortunately, there are treatments that will ease the pain of a herniated disc. One of these treatments is massage therapy. Massage therapy is effective because it helps to relax the muscles and relieve pressure on your spine. This relieves pain and promotes healing. A massage therapist can help to relieve your pain by massaging the affected area with oils or lotions. The oils and lotions help to relax muscles and promote blood flow to the area. This helps to promote healing and reduce pain from a herniated disc.
What Is A Herniated Disc?
Herniated discs occur when the gel-like substance between the vertebrae in your spine that cushions the bones dries out and separates, causing the disc to rupture and press on the spinal cord. A herniated disc can occur almost anywhere in the spine and is one of the most common causes of back pain. The symptoms of a herniated disc include back pain, sciatica, muscle weakness, and shooting pain with certain movements. If a person has a ruptured disc, they can experience back pain, leg pain, or weakness in their leg. This is because the ruptured disc is pressing on the nerves in your spine and causing pain in these areas. It is possible for a ruptured disc to heal on its own and not cause long-term issues with your spine.
How Does Massaging Help With Herniated Discs?
- Massage therapy helps to relax muscles and promote blood flow to an area. This helps to promote healing and reduce pain from a herniated disc.
- The oils and lotions help to relax muscles and promote blood flow. This helps to promote healing and reduce pain from a herniated disc.
- Massage therapy will help you feel better, but it is not a cure for your back pain. It is always important that you follow up with your doctor after receiving massage therapy treatments for your back pain, especially if you are younger than 40 years old or have other health issues that may be aggravated by massage treatments.
- Massage therapy may cause additional back pain. For example, if you have a herniated disc in your lower back, then massaging the area may cause more pain in this area.
- It is always important to speak with your doctor about whether or not massage therapy is right for you. They can help you determine what type of massage therapy treatments will be most effective for you and help to determine the best time to receive treatment.
- It is also important to remember that if you do have a herniated disc, massaging will not make the pain go away. If you are in pain, you should seek immediate medical attention.
- If a herniated disc occurs in your lower back, then you will often feel pain in the area between your buttocks and your hip bones. This is because the nerves that run through this area are pressed on by the herniated disc.
- It is also possible for a herniated disc to occur in your upper back, which can cause pain in the upper part of your chest and shoulder blades. It is important to know whether or not massaging will be helpful for you if this type of herniated disc occurs in your upper back because it can be very painful and may cause more stress on the nerves that run through this area as well as other areas of the spine.
- Massage therapy will help to reduce some of the pressure on a nerve that runs through an area where a herniated disc has occurred, but it will not eliminate all of this pressure from occurring because there are nerve bundles that run through many different areas throughout the spine and cannot be completely eliminated from occurring.
- You should speak with your doctor about whether or not massage therapy may help with other types of back pain as well as other health issues before beginning massage therapy treatments for any reason because different types of massages may have different effects on different people’s bodies, so it is important to discuss all options with them first so they can best determine what type of massage therapy treatment will work best for you.
- It is important to understand that while massages can be very relaxing, they do not always completely eliminate the pain that you are feeling in your back.
- Massage therapy is often very useful for relieving the pain of nerve damage from a herniated disc or other health issues that occur in the lower back and spine because it helps to break up these areas of tension, which will relieve some of the pressure on a nerve bundle that may be occurring there as well as other areas of the spine.
Other Ways To Manage Herniated Disc Pain
1. Stretching
Stretching is an important part of rehabilitation after a herniated disc injury. When a disc is damaged, it loses the ability to hold its shape. This means that it will not be able to support the weight of the body. The muscles and ligaments in your back may not be strong enough to support your back if you have been sitting for extended periods of time, or if you have been lifting heavy weights with poor posture. Even when you are not lifting heavy weights, poor posture can result in muscle tension that can cause further damage to your spine. To help prevent further damage, as soon as possible after a herniated disc injury, begin performing stretches every day.
2. Physiotherapy Treatment
A physical therapist can help with rehabilitation after a herniated disc injury by helping you regain strength and flexibility through gentle exercises designed specifically for people with injuries such as herniated discs. These exercises will help strengthen the muscles around the area where your disc has ruptured so that they are able to support the greater weight without causing additional damage or pain to your spine. If these exercises do not adequately improve strength and flexibility, then more intense physiotherapy treatment may need to be used.
3. Stretching Exercises for Herniated Discs
The exercises below are designed to help improve your flexibility and strength in the muscles around your spine. While performing these exercises, keep in mind that you should not be pushing down or forcing your body into the movements, but rather using only muscle tension to move your body through the movements.
4. Strengthening Exercises for Herniated Discs
The exercises below are designed to help improve your strength and stability in the muscles around your spine. While performing these exercises, keep in mind that you should not be pushing down or forcing your body into the movements, but rather using only muscle tension to move your body through the movements.
5. The Importance of Stretching Exercises
Stretching is an important part of rehabilitation after a herniated disc injury. When a disc is damaged, it loses its ability to hold its shape. This means that it will not be able to support the weight of the body. The muscles and ligaments in your back may not be strong enough to support your back if you have been sitting for extended periods of time, or if you have been lifting heavy weights with poor posture. Even when you are not lifting heavy weights, poor posture can result in muscle tension that can cause further damage to your spine. To help prevent further damage, as soon as possible after a herniated disc injury, begin performing stretches every day.
Conclusion
While it’s true that massages can worsen herniated discs in some cases, they can also help improve pain and reduce inflammation. In most cases, symptoms like back pain and sciatica will subside after a few days following a massage. However, if you experience new pain, or your pain worsens, you should contact a doctor. In general, it is safe to get a massage if you have herniated discs, but it’s important to make sure you choose a licensed, reputable massage therapist. Remember, follow these tips to ensure you get the most out of your massage!
