Herniated Disk Therapy

If you’ve experienced a herniated disk, you know how much pain this can cause.  Commonly referred to as a “ruptured” or “slipped” disk, a herniated disk causes leg and back pain, often leaving a patient virtually immobile until herniated disk therapy can be undergone. For patients, it’s a frustrating, painful, and often lengthy process that must be undergone before returning to life as usual.  Herniated disk therapy isn’t a short process.

There are several options for herniated disk therapy.  A lot of it depends on how long the patient has been experiencing problems.  Herniated disk therapy also depends on the intensity of the pain.  A doctor is the only one who can truly advise the best type of herniated disk therapy for a patient.

The first type of herniated disk therapy is the most conservative type of treatment.  Usually, doctors recommend physical therapy as the first type of herniated disk therapy.  This physical herniated disk therapy can last from anywhere from six to twelve weeks.  At the end of this time, if the herniated disk therapy was not successful in accomplishing pain relief, a doctor may recommend surgery.  This is usually the last resort. 

Before recommending surgery, doctors also suggest several herniated disk therapy options to relieve pain and allow the patient to return to the routine of their every day lives.  Conservative herniated disk therapy options include physical therapy, epidural steroid injections, pain medications, and rest. 

There is no set time of how long herniated disk therapy should last.  Although six to twelve weeks is a reasonable average, it all depends on the individual case.  A doctor usually exhausts every option possible in herniated disk therapy before recommending surgery.  Sometimes, however, surgery is the only option if a patient continues to suffer from pain that can’t be alleviated by other herniated disk therapy methods.