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Table of Contents
5 Exercises for Herniated Disc Recovery
5 Exercises for Herniated Disc Strengthening
3 Exercises for Herniated Disc Weight Loss
How to Get a Physical Therapy Referral for Herniated Disc Pain
Bonus: 3 Herniated Disc Stretches
Exercise is often recommended as a first-line treatment for aherniated disc.A herniated disc cancause many symptomsincluding pain, numbness, burning, and arm or leg weakness, depending on the location of the spinal disc involved.
Exercises may be started in the days after a herniation. As your symptoms subside, strengthening exercises may be recommended.
The spinal discs are round, pillow-like structures that separate and cushion the vertebrae in your spine.A herniationoccurs when the gelatinous center of one of these discs (called the nucleus) pushes through the firm outer layer (called the annulus).
This article will outline some of the most effective exercises and stretches to address a disc herniation in the neck or back.
Herniated Disc
Staying active and avoiding bed rest after a disc herniation is very important. Start slowly and focus on gentle movements that don’t lead to pain. In particular, emphasize the techniques that cause your symptoms to move out of your arms or legs and centralize in the spine.
Here are somecommon recovery exercisesto perform in the days after a herniation.
Rest on the Belly
This simple technique often provides some relief immediately after a disc herniation in your low back:
Choose the Right ExerciseIt is very important to avoid exercises that cause your nerve pain to increase or spread into your arms or legs. Recovery exercises should reduce your symptoms or cause them to centralize toward your spine.
Choose the Right Exercise
It is very important to avoid exercises that cause your nerve pain to increase or spread into your arms or legs. Recovery exercises should reduce your symptoms or cause them to centralize toward your spine.
Prone Press-Up
If resting on your stomach alleviates some of the symptoms in your leg, you may want to try the following exercise, which also is beneficial:
Backward Bend
If getting on the floor is challenging, the backward bend exercise is an easy adaptation that can help you recover from a low back herniation.Do it in the following way:
Cervical Retraction
Lateral Neck Flexion
This technique has been shown to reduce the effects of a disc herniation in the cervical spine.Lateral neck flexion is done as follows:
Once your acute symptoms have begun to subside, it is important to incorporate strengthening workouts into your routine. These techniques add support and stability to your neck and back. They may also prevent a recurrence of your disc herniation symptoms in the future.
Try these exercises to increase your overall strength.
Side Plank
This core exercise, outlined below, targets the oblique muscles in your stomach and thegluteus medius muscleon the side of your hip:
Bird Dog
Dead Bug
This challenging exercise, outlined here, targets thetransverse abdominus muscledeep in your stomach. Do it as follows:
Shoulder Row
Shoulder rows target the scapular muscles that surround the shoulder blades. Keeping this area strong helps reduce the pressure on the discs in your neck. Perform it as follows:
Bridge
The bridge exercise, which is outlined below, targetsthe gluteus maximus muscle, which provides support to your lower(lumbar) spine:
8 Exercises for a Pinched Nerve in the Neck (Cervical Radiculopathy)
Maintaining a healthy body weight is one of the hallmark ways to manage a herniated disc and prevent symptom recurrence.This is becauseexcess pounds place added strainon the spinal discs and can lead to worsening symptoms. Along with eating a healthy diet, these exercises can be useful for losing weight.
Walking
While walking about 250 minutes each week is recommended to lose weight, any amount of movement is better than inactivity.Try to slowly build up your exercise duration each week or break up your walking into multiple, shorter sessions each day.
Swimming
Regardless of which stroke you choose, swimming is another excellent option for weight loss following a disc herniation. This form of aerobic exercise is particularly useful as it has less of an impact on the spine than other forms of exercise.
It is recommended that people looking to lose weight swim for 30 minutes on most days of the week.
Strength Training
Strength training is beneficial for people trying to lose weight. Building muscle mass increases your metabolic rate. It also causes your body to burn fat faster when you exercise.The ideal strength training routine should last about an hour and should be completed 3 to 5 times weekly.
A physical therapist can help create a well-rounded strength training regimen that is safe for you to complete after a disc herniation.
If you are experiencing symptoms after a disc herniation, there are several types of activities and movements to avoid. These include:
In addition, it is important to avoid any exercises that cause your symptoms to spread (peripheralize) farther down into your arms or legs.
Physical therapy (PT)is one of the best ways to improve the symptoms of a disc herniation. Studies have shown exercise-based physical therapy leads to reduced pain and disability after a lumbar disc herniationand improved pain levels after a herniation in the cervical spine.
Physical Therapy as Treatment for Lower Back Pain
Timeline for ReliefIt is important to have realistic expectations about the healing time associated with a herniated disc. While exercise and PT are often helpful, it may take eight weeks or more to experience lasting relief.
Timeline for Relief
It is important to have realistic expectations about the healing time associated with a herniated disc. While exercise and PT are often helpful, it may take eight weeks or more to experience lasting relief.
Along with strengthening exercises, stretching may also help reduce disc herniation symptoms. As with any technique, starting slowly and avoiding forcing movements that cause pain is important. Try these techniques:
Piriformis Stretch
Low back herniations frequently cause pain in the buttocks. This stretch, performed as follows, targetsthe piriformis muscledeep in this region:
Pectoral Stretch
Stretchingthe pectoral musclesin your chest can help prevent forward-shoulder posture and alleviate strain on your neck. Do it as follows:
Cat Camel Stretch
This stretch helps restore movement in the middle and lower back after a herniation. To perform a cat camel stretch:
Summary
Exercise is one of the more effective, conservative treatments for a disc herniation. Immediately after the injury occurs, specific exercises may be able to centralize and alleviate your acute symptoms. As the immediate symptoms improve, strengthening and weight-loss workouts may reduce the likelihood of recurrence.
A physical therapist can provide an exercise program tailored to your specific condition.
8 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Association of Neurological Surgeons.Herniated disc.Kaiser Permanente.Herniated disc: exercises.Wu SK, Chen HY, YouJY, Bau JG, Lin YC, Kuo LC.Outcomes of active cervical therapeutic exercise on dynamic intervertebral foramen changes in neck pain patients with disc herniation.BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2022;23(1):728. doi:10.1186/s12891-022-05670-6Tufts Medical Center.Herniated disc exercises.Johns Hopkins.Lumbar disc disease (herniated disc).Beaumont Health.Cardiovascular training vs strength training for weight loss.American Academy of Family Physicians.Herniated disc.Svensson G, Wendt G, Thome R.A structured physiotherapy treatment model can provide rapid relief to patients who qualify for lumbar disc surgery: A prospective cohort study.J Rehabil Med. 2014;46(3):233-240. doi:10.2340/16501977-1255
8 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Association of Neurological Surgeons.Herniated disc.Kaiser Permanente.Herniated disc: exercises.Wu SK, Chen HY, YouJY, Bau JG, Lin YC, Kuo LC.Outcomes of active cervical therapeutic exercise on dynamic intervertebral foramen changes in neck pain patients with disc herniation.BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2022;23(1):728. doi:10.1186/s12891-022-05670-6Tufts Medical Center.Herniated disc exercises.Johns Hopkins.Lumbar disc disease (herniated disc).Beaumont Health.Cardiovascular training vs strength training for weight loss.American Academy of Family Physicians.Herniated disc.Svensson G, Wendt G, Thome R.A structured physiotherapy treatment model can provide rapid relief to patients who qualify for lumbar disc surgery: A prospective cohort study.J Rehabil Med. 2014;46(3):233-240. doi:10.2340/16501977-1255
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
American Association of Neurological Surgeons.Herniated disc.Kaiser Permanente.Herniated disc: exercises.Wu SK, Chen HY, YouJY, Bau JG, Lin YC, Kuo LC.Outcomes of active cervical therapeutic exercise on dynamic intervertebral foramen changes in neck pain patients with disc herniation.BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2022;23(1):728. doi:10.1186/s12891-022-05670-6Tufts Medical Center.Herniated disc exercises.Johns Hopkins.Lumbar disc disease (herniated disc).Beaumont Health.Cardiovascular training vs strength training for weight loss.American Academy of Family Physicians.Herniated disc.Svensson G, Wendt G, Thome R.A structured physiotherapy treatment model can provide rapid relief to patients who qualify for lumbar disc surgery: A prospective cohort study.J Rehabil Med. 2014;46(3):233-240. doi:10.2340/16501977-1255
American Association of Neurological Surgeons.Herniated disc.
Kaiser Permanente.Herniated disc: exercises.
Wu SK, Chen HY, YouJY, Bau JG, Lin YC, Kuo LC.Outcomes of active cervical therapeutic exercise on dynamic intervertebral foramen changes in neck pain patients with disc herniation.BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2022;23(1):728. doi:10.1186/s12891-022-05670-6
Tufts Medical Center.Herniated disc exercises.
Johns Hopkins.Lumbar disc disease (herniated disc).
Beaumont Health.Cardiovascular training vs strength training for weight loss.
American Academy of Family Physicians.Herniated disc.
Svensson G, Wendt G, Thome R.A structured physiotherapy treatment model can provide rapid relief to patients who qualify for lumbar disc surgery: A prospective cohort study.J Rehabil Med. 2014;46(3):233-240. doi:10.2340/16501977-1255
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