Many patients who are diagnosed with a herniated disc wonder about surgery: Will an operation make my neck or back feel better? Is surgery necessary? Can I choose not to have surgery? Fortunately, many patients soon discover that surgery will not even be considered as a possibility until nonsurgical treatments have proven ineffective for several weeks or months. This article will discuss nonsurgical treatments for herniated discs in a very broad sense. If you require information about your unique spinal health and which nonsurgical treatments will best provide the relief you need, be sure to consult with your physician.

Medication

Some patients who had automatically assumed they’d need surgery for their herniated discs are surprised to learn that their medicine cabinet could already contain a remedy to their pain and discomfort. Over-the-counter, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen are effective at relieving many herniated disc symptoms by reducing inflammation and relieving pain. If you suffer from a cardiovascular or gastrointestinal condition, then your physician may advise you to take an over-the-counter analgesic like acetaminophen instead. If ibuprofen or acetaminophen fails to relieve your discomfort, your physician may prescribe a narcotic pain reliever or muscle relaxant.

Hot/Cold Therapy

The application of heat and/or ice can sometimes prove very effective at relieving the symptoms of herniated discs. Applying ice to the neck or back (at the site of your herniated disc) can reduce inflammation and relieve pain. A heating pad, on the other hand, can increase the flow of nutrient-rich blood to the area (in order to promote healing) and relieve muscle tension. Your physician may advise you to alternate between heating your neck or back and icing it, or he or she may recommend using one or the other exclusively.

Physical Therapy

Working with a physical therapist to increase the strength and flexibility in your neck or back could provide many long-term benefits. A stronger neck or back can better support the spine to relieve some of the pressure that’s contributing to your herniated disc, and can help prevent other spinal conditions from forming in the future. Your physical therapist may employ other treatment techniques, such as transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), massage therapy, and posture modification exercises.

Surgery

If a nonsurgical treatment regimen hasn’t provided the level of relief you require, you may need to consider undergoing herniated disc surgery. While nonsurgical treatments aim to relieve the symptoms that occur when a herniated disc causes neural compression, the goal of surgery is to decompress the affected neural structure. This can be accomplished either through traditional open back surgery or with a minimally invasive procedure. Both types of herniated disc surgery come with certain risks, all of which should be thoroughly discussed with your physician before you consent to any type of surgical procedure. It may be wise to consult with another physician to ensure that you do, in fact, require surgery and that your condition was even correctly diagnosed to begin with. If you’re still not comfortable with undergoing an operation, ask your physician if there are any other conservative treatments or alternative therapies that you can try.

Patrick Foote is the Director of eBusiness at Laser Spine Institute, the leader in endoscopic spine surgery. Laser Spine Institute specializes in safe and effective outpatient herniated disc surgery.

Patrick Foote is the Director of eBusiness at Laser Spine Institute, the leader in endoscopic spine surgery. Laser Spine Institute provides safe herniated disc surgery. http://www.laserspineinstitute.com/herniated_disc/treatments/

Author Bio: Patrick Foote is the Director of eBusiness at Laser Spine Institute, the leader in endoscopic spine surgery. Laser Spine Institute specializes in safe and effective outpatient herniated disc surgery.

Category: Medicines and Remedies
Keywords: herniated disc surgery