That is it, the final full working week of 2024.
It has been a full on one in the clinic with trying to co-ordinate builders, electricians and plasterers. I have learnt more about building and structural engineering in the last 10 days than I ever wanted to know.
Who would have thought that an early 1900’s building would throw up so many challenges, from chimney stacks to fireplace hearths and wooden structural beams.
I’m hoping we will have some respite coming into the New Year, but I want to thank you for your patience and navigating Pyrford Road and the rear entrance of the West Byfleet clinic.
Many of you will be settling down this weekend for Christmas, we have two more days in the clinic, we are open Monday and Tuesday. Then back in the clinics on Monday 30th. If you want to pop down, please let us know, our team are here to help.
This time of year, is like no other, the whole world starts to slow down, relaxes and takes their foot off the pedal. A wonderful moment. However not so good for back pain.
Sometimes back pain is kept at bay by the constant cortisol and adrenaline surge, this fuels the contraction of the muscles and by always being on the move it doesn’t get a chance to kick in.
But after a couple of days of relaxing, doing less and not exercising as much. This can cause back pain to rear its ugly head, so ensure you are being active, taking regular walks, doing your core and glute exercises.
A slipped disc is a common injury to have at Christmas time due this fact. But can a slipped disc heal on its own?
If you cut yourself then this can heal on its own and if you stub your toe and bruise your toenail this can heal over a period of time. You don’t tell your body ‘Heal yourself’. It happens automatically which is due to the autonomic part of your nervous system.
This means it happens outside of your conscious control, when you are sleeping your lungs are breathing and your heart is beating. You need this to happen, just as you need the cells in your body to work without you thinking about it.
With that in mind, surely a slipped disc can heal on its own.
There are three parts to an injured disc.
- Disc compression: if you take a jam doughnut and put this between your hands and apply some pressure, the jam will press into the dough but it won’t bulge the sides or come out of the doughnut. The same thing happens with our disc if we put pressure on it over a long period of time. The disc will take up stress and it can damage the annulus fibrosus, this is the ‘dough’ part of the doughnut. You can imagine if this keeps happening it will weaken the disc and leave it susceptible to more damage. This is the classic Christmas injury, ‘ah my back is fine, it tightens up now and then, but on Boxing Day I tried to do the fun 5k run and my whole back went into spasm, and I dropped to the floor.’
- Disc bulge: This is where the jam presses into the dough and causes it to bulge out. You can see the doughnut is not circular anymore and there is a bulge of jam. It’s not coming out of the dough. This is a dis bulge where the nucleus pulposus (aka the jam) comes through the layers of the annulus fibrosus and this bulge causes a lot of inflammation, spasm and pain. It can press on nerves and can cause sciatica.
- Disc prolapse: aka the slipped disc, fun fact: discs don’t slip. This is where the jam comes out of the doughnut and is hanging off or sometimes even not connected and floating around in the spinal canal. The part of the disc can break off, this is called sequestration.
If the disc does break off, then this will be reabsorbed and broken down in the body.
However, if the disc is bulging can this heal?
The short answer is NO. The disc will never go back to normal, when the annulus fibrosus heals there will be scar tissue trying to repair the cartilage. This means the disc is weaker, it will also have lost some of its nucleus (the jam) meaning it will be less hydrated and this provides the soft cushioning in the disc.
A dehydrated disc is then thinner and more prone to damage unless we get the pressure off the disc and rehabilitate the core.
One of the issues I have with disc prolapse treatment is that they never address the underlying cause of why the disc prolapse occurred in the first place. Was it an unstable pelvis, subluxation of L5, poor lordosis in the lumbar spine, hip issue?
The medical solution is to give an injection to numb the nerve or do surgery, usually a microdiscectomy to chop the bulge out.
If I gave you a jam doughnut and said ‘squeeze this’ and the jam comes out, and I just wipe the jam away, has the problem disappeared? No, because your hands are still squishing the doughnut, why not ask you to take your hands off to allow the pressure to come off the doughnut?
With an injection you are still left with an issue, in fact if it works, you will feel less pain but still have a problem. You will go back to lifting, sitting and doing your day to day. Well guess what happens when the injection wears off? You could be worse off because the pain was helping you to avoid doing the activities that made it worse.
The best result you will get is when there is disc compression or a disc bulge, there is a good chance if you can decompress the disc that some of the nucleus (jam) can come back in to the disc. But if the pressure is too severe and the disc has prolapsed it is impossible to get it back to normal.
This labours the point, but it is vitally important to get your spine checked at least once per year to avoid this happening. As soon as you feel a warning sign in your back, this is the time to get it checked.
How do you heal a bulging disc?
The aim when healing a bulging disc is to decompress the disc.
You can use a decompression machine for this. This is a piece of equipment we have in the clinic that allows the body to decompress spinal disc problems in the neck and low back. IN the low back a belt goes around the bottom of the back and one above where the disc is compressed and gently tractions the body down to alleviate pressure on the spine.
This is safe and effective. Much safer than invasive spinal surgery.
Otherwise, you can do some decompression exercises at home:
- Childs Pose-this allows the base of the spine to flex and the hips to open up as well relieving pressure on the low back. Just be careful not to round the back too much as too much flexion can cause problems with the disc. Do this 3 times and hold for 30 seconds.
2. Cat camel exercise-this opens and closes the vertebra and by doing that alleviates pressure on either side of the disc. You want to roll the hips back and forward whilst extending and flexing the neck and upper spine. If you do this 10 times for 3 sets you should feel the low back loosen.
3. Lumbar cushion-put a cushion or bolster under the base of your spine and lie on it for 15 minutes with your knees bent and feet on the floor. The cushion will force the lumbar spine in to a lordosis which is good for the disc. If you feel any pain or discomfort then stop.
4. Hanging decompression-this is a popular way to decompress the discs in the back. Find a wide door frame and hold on to it. Then try to put your weight through your arms and let your body hang down. You should feel the low back open up and this will relieve pressure on the base of your spine. You can do this for 30 seconds at a time, 3 times.
If you are struggling with a slipped disc and want to talk to someone, please email info@westchiropractic.co.uk and we can send you one of my books on how to manage slipped discs at home.?
Book a consultation with a Chiropractor here
If you do know someone who wants more advice, please send them our details. You can send them this assessment as well to diagnose their back pain. It is a great tool to understand where your back pain is coming from, it is free and takes 60 seconds. Click here for assessment
