How to Heal a Herniated Disc, without Pills or Surgery, Even if Doctors Have Said Nothing Else Could Be Done
“The pain was horrible, I couldn’t even do simple things, like sit down for dinner, play with my kids, or do sports or exercise like I was used to. I felt like I was never ‘present’, even when I’d be socializing with friends, or playing with my kids, the pain was on my mind 24/7, it’s all I ever thought about ”
Dear Reader,
Are you sick of the aches and pains on your lower back? Or the constant nerve pain that drills deep into your hip and down your leg?
Wouldn't it be nice to get back to living your 'normal life', and just be able to do simple things again? Like bending over to pick up your grand-kids, sit in a car for longer than 20 minutes, or sleep through the night without agonizing pain?
Are you worried about, or living with someone who is facing a potentially dangerous back surgery because of their pain?
If any of this sounds familiar to you, then I urge you to read on…
What is a Disc? And How Does it Get Injured?
A disc is like a tiny jelly doughnut that sits between the vertebrae in your spine. These discs play a very important role, because it allows our backs to be mobile. These soft, fluid-filled objects create hinges for our backs to move, bend, twist, and function as humans.
Hundreds of bio-mechanical research studies show that almost all disc herniations come from a combination of 3 things:
- Too much sitting
- Poor mobility in the spine
- Improper bending techniques
These harmful activities increase pressure on your discs, and over time, the structures give out…
This creates a "disc bulge" also known as a "herniation". (Imagine if I took two hands and squeezed one half of a jelly donut, the pressure would cause the 'jelly' to be forced towards one side of the donut, and eventually cause the jelly to 'burst' its way out)
Disc herniations ARE serious. And can be debilitating.
But in working with hundreds of people in the Bay Area in over a decade heal naturally from their disc injuries, and get back to living their normal lives...
I've found consistently that disc herniations CAN get better, and it only requires ONE thing.
The right conditions and environment to heal.
What do I mean by the right conditions and environment?
Imagine if you had a bad cut in your skin…
But what if you constantly picked at the scab, or left the wound exposed to harmful stressors like bacteria, or dirt…The wound would not heal, it might get infected, and it would probably hurt like hell.
Disc injuries, and back injuries are NO different. But I’ve realized there are SO many people who continue to walk around each day, doing things that are irritating, inflaming, and worsening their condition…
and aren’t even aware of it…
Instead, people are continuing to use products, services, or take advice that not only doesn’t work, but can actually make the pain worse!
Such as:
- Stretching’ of your ‘hamstrings’ or ‘pirifmoris’ muscles…
- Sitting on tennis balls for hours each night
- “Resting” and waiting things out, thinking it will just get better over time
- Doing “core” and “back strengthening” exercises
- Pain patches, magic creams and oils, and ‘electrical stimulation units’ also known as “TENS”
- Thousand dollar devices, braces, or ‘inversion tables’ that might actually cause more harm to your back over time
But what most people do not realize (doctors and therapists included) is that these methods rarely create permanent relief because they do NOT address the underlying “root cause” of the problem…
And some of these methods, such as doing the wrong stretches or exercise, or
Can actually cause MORE irritation, inflammation, and pain...
But instead, by first, creating a healthy environment for the back to heal, and remove the harmful stress OFF the back, can the discs have enough space to breath, and finally have the chance to heal.
Let me share an example of one of my recent clients who last November was on the verge of having a dangerous back surgery…
Claude (age 46) had come to me with a severe ‘slipped disc’ in his back. (slipped disc is another term used for ‘disc bulge’ or ‘disc herniation)
It happened while clearing out heavy objects in his garage one day in early 2016.
Claude had been suffering from the most common, but severe symptoms of a slipped disc…
Which included sharp, shooting pains into his legs, inability to bend forward, and his daily life was constantly being dictated by his pain.
“I tried EVERYTHING under the sun for a year and a half. I tried Physical Therapy, exercises, stretches, heat packs, colds packs, and none of it seemed to work”…
How Did Claude Eventually Get Better?
Before we did anything, we helped Claude understand that first he needed to make small, but very necessary changes to his lifestyle.
The long hours sitting at a desk, the stressful driving in East Bay traffic, and the ineffective (and harmful) exercises and stretches were literally killing his back.
But after making these 3 little adjustments…
- Getting a standing desk (this knocked off 4+ hours of sitting at his desk which took a tremendous amount of pressure off his disc)
- Waking up 20 minutes early to go for a walk for 15 minutes BEFORE he rushed into his car to sit in heavy traffic on 580. (getting his blood circulating, and muscles, and discs in his back moving BEFORE he started the day did WONDERS for his back within just 2 days of implementing this strategy)
- STOPPED doing ‘hamstring’ stretching, sitting on tennis balls that he was told to do which was only irritating his injury even further
Claude started to feel a 40% reduction in his pain within just under 2 weeks.
And once his pain reduced, we were now able to figure out the true ‘root’ of the issue…
The treatments included:
- Hands-on “myofascial and soft tissue release” techniques, which broke down scar tissue, and restored natural blood flow and circulation into the most ‘damaged’ areas of his back...
- “Trigger Point” release techniques that took off years of built up tension in his upper back, hips, and thighs. (Releasing tension from these muscles took pressure off back to the point where he was able to stand up straight without ANY pain)
- A targeted ‘stretching’ program that uses the most advanced techniques based leading breakthroughs in neuro-muscular physiology. These stretching methods have consistently shown to work up to 20 times faster, and are MUCH more effective than traditional methods. Claude only needed stretch for 1 minute each day for 2 weeks to regain flexibility he hadn’t seen in years.
- A safe, simple, but shockingly effective strengthening program, which not only KEPT the pain from coming back, but helped him regain the confidence to start running and lifting weights within just 3 months… With NO pain.
Within just 3 months…Claude went from:
Having a date scheduled with the spinal surgeon, to completely getting his life back…
“Now, for the first time, just this last weekend, I watched an entire film with my kids in the movie theatre without having to do things like stand through the entire thing. I find myself no longer constantly thinking about my pain, and I can actually pay attention to my kids, and what’s going on in my life…It’s been just a wonderful change”
Could it be possible for you to live life again without constant back pain or sciatica problems?
These types results may not work for everyone, since everyone is quite different and presents with their own set of unique challenges, body types, and injury history.
Which is why, at Balance and Body Restoration, we offer FREE movement evaluations at our 30-minunte discovery visit.
What is a Movement Evaluation?
A movement evaluation is a head to toe movement screen of your entire body. We can detect muscle imbalances, stiff areas, weak areas which will pinpoint the “root causes” of your problem.
For Claude, we were able to identify his root causes of leg tightness, scar tissue, and lack of soft tissue mobility in his back within his initial 30-minute ‘movement evaluation’.
This is NOT some sales pitch.
I completely understand why someone would feel hesitant, or skeptical about these “discovery sessions” and how it might be one long sales pitch…
I want assure you that it is NOT the case.
This session is PURELY a chance to meet us in person, share your story with us and we can determine if we are a good fit for each other.
Healing from an injury as severe as a ‘disc herniation’ is VERY serious, it takes time, energy, and focus. We only work with people who are as serious about fixing this condition as we are…
But if you are someone who is:
- Health conscious and wants to learn how to heal your back ‘properly’
- Wants to feel like your ‘old self’ again and get back to doing the things you love
- Want nothing more than to get back to your active lifestyle and want to desperately avoid a potentially dangerous surgery
Then you can expect a truly amazing transformation with us!
The first step is to apply for a FREE 30-minute discovery session.
Fill out this quick, 45 second webform, and tell us a bit more about what’s going on, and we will contact you with our availability.
These sessions come on a very limited basis, and unlike most other clinics, we have a LIMIT of 20 visits per week…
This is so we can maximize our time and focus on each one of our clients if you are in pain and want a quicker solution, it is best to book sooner to make sure you can get in now
Apply for your FREE 30-minute Discovery Session Here
Sincerely,
Kevin Mao
Doctor of Physical Therapy