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I've heard* that the discs in your back cannot repair themselves -- they have no blood flow. So strengthen your "core", because if you squeeze those discs (thru

by Tempest1981 10y ago

I've heard* that the discs in your back cannot repair themselves -- they have no blood flow. So strengthen your "core", because if you squeeze those discs (thru bad posture) year after year, eventually they deteriorate. Then your nerves get pinched, and the pain can be insane. * Not a doctor. Let me know if they self-heal.

madengr 10y ago
I did physical therapy for lower back pain & sciatica. I was told the disc do have blood flow, just not much, but they will heal after being squished. It takes months for my back to heal if I screw it up, so maybe that's what's going on.
lllr_finger 10y ago
As someone dealing with an extruding disc right now I hope they heal. In all seriousness, my research and speaking with specialists is that bulging or extruding disc do have blood flow and they will eventually reabsorb. Even sequestered discs with no blood flow will reabsorb. The tricky part is dealing with the symptoms while not worsening the issue. Even after an epidural steroid injection, I've been told it could be months before my very large extrusion is gone. So it is a very slow process. The good news is that some research shows that your body can actually be better at absorbing the larger extrusions.
dahart 10y ago
They self heal, slowly, as long as they can. In order for them to self heal, they have to stop getting squished at all, for long periods of time. I never knew the importance of core exercise until I squished some discs and experienced pinched nerves. Core exercises build up the muscles around the discs and can help prevent them from getting squished. But you have to also find out which activity is squishing them, and stop that too. Exercise alone won't do it. Pain is the first part of what happens. Pain nerves run along the outside of the spinal column. Motor control nerves run inside the spinal column, so the second part is the pain goes away and your muscles stop working properly. That's the really scary part. Even though the pain can be bad, as long as you feel pain, you're closer to healing than after the pain goes away and you develop a funny walk or can't do pushups anymore.

madengr 10y ago

I did physical therapy for lower back pain & sciatica. I was told the disc do have blood flow, just not much, but they will heal after being squished. It takes months for my back to heal if I screw it up, so maybe that's what's going on.

lllr_finger 10y ago

As someone dealing with an extruding disc right now I hope they heal. In all seriousness, my research and speaking with specialists is that bulging or extruding disc do have blood flow and they will eventually reabsorb. Even sequestered discs with no blood flow will reabsorb. The tricky part is dealing with the symptoms while not worsening the issue. Even after an epidural steroid injection, I've been told it could be months before my very large extrusion is gone. So it is a very slow process. The good news is that some research shows that your body can actually be better at absorbing the larger extrusions.

dahart 10y ago

They self heal, slowly, as long as they can. In order for them to self heal, they have to stop getting squished at all, for long periods of time. I never knew the importance of core exercise until I squished some discs and experienced pinched nerves. Core exercises build up the muscles around the discs and can help prevent them from getting squished. But you have to also find out which activity is squishing them, and stop that too. Exercise alone won't do it. Pain is the first part of what happens. Pain nerves run along the outside of the spinal column. Motor control nerves run inside the spinal column, so the second part is the pain goes away and your muscles stop working properly. That's the really scary part. Even though the pain can be bad, as long as you feel pain, you're closer to healing than after the pain goes away and you develop a funny walk or can't do pushups anymore.