What Is A Slipped Disc?

A slipped disc can actually mean a variety of different problems that affect the disc, being more of a “layman” term.  The reality is that the disc never actually “slips”.  Generally, though a slipped disc means a problem with the intervertebral disc in a segment of the spine. Commonly, it is the lower segments of the low back (lumbar spine) or the lower segments of the neck (cervical spine) that are affected.

Who Suffers From Slipped Discs?

Typically it occurs between the ages of 30 and 50 although this is often when symptoms start to become more disrupting to the individual. In reality, the causes of the slipped disc seem to be an accumulation of events that at some point have to reach a crescendo and cause you, the patient to visit a medical professional for help.

How Long Do They Take To Heal?

Typically the common “official” answer would be somewhere between 1 and 3 months, however, what do you mean by “heal”? If heal means “symptoms to subside” then it could be closer to the 1 month than the 3.  However if by healing you mean in the same sense a cut would heal, closer to the 3 month period assuming you answer yes to the following question:

Have the factors that lead up to the “slipped disc” been eliminated?  If not then the disc realistically will not heal properly in this timeframe.

Why Is My Back/Neck Slipped Disc Not Recovering Properly?

The answer is almost undoubtedly because you have not properly identified the cause of the slipped disc.  Unfortunately, modern medicine in this country all too often seems to be content with an approach akin to burying one’s head in the sand.  That is to say, if you can’t feel any pain, there isn’t a problem – hence the overzealous use of steroid injections & pain killers.

In short, if it is not recovering properly, you haven’t gotten to the root cause of the problem.  If there has been no thorough examination including imaging then this is almost certainly the case.  As without such information, it is more or less impossible to truly understand the condition and daily stresses on your spine.  And without this understanding, you cannot create an effective strategy to get real, lasting recovery of a slipped disc.

What Can I Do To Help My Slipped Disc Heal?

First and foremost, treatment to help speed up the reduction of inflammation and specialist treatment to increase the tissue healing should be done.  Secondly understanding which factors have lead to the slipped disc in the first place and minimizing these where possible (this is where imaging should really come in).  Following this, the correct sorts core exercises are the best way to really help a disc heal in the long term.

What Treatments Can I Get For Slipped Disc?

Below is the standard treatment progress that you should expect. To be honest, in my experience we were dealing in the past with the cases that this did not work for, really tough cases.  I personally do not think some of these approaches make sense especially given the waiting time scales often involved, however, it is important to acknowledge that these standard approaches are the norm in general.

Rest

Typically slipped discs are dismissed as a muscle strain, (we will shoot a video on this to explain the problems of such a misdiagnosis). “Rest” has different meanings but usually, it means a couple of days off work with pain killers and in the early stages this normally does the trick. If there is a specific cause I would normally say this is a reasonable approach, especially if you are not one for private treatment to accelerate the healing process.

Physiotherapy

This is often for the more chronic case, where rest has not done the trick, or rest has helped but the problem returned.  Unless seeing a private physio, physiotherapy normally means home exercises.  And in my experience, if this is really a slipped disc, these exercises will actually be making the underlying issue worse, although short term they will often provide relief (again we will shoot a video to explain why this is the case). Commonly these exercises include “stretching the back muscles” and “knee hugs”.

Injections

Normally if the two above fail a few times, imaging will be done (typically MRI) and if the findings are correct, injections will be done to “numb the pain”.  There are a whole host of injections that can be done, the most common is the cortisone or steroid injections.  Generall, injections for a chronic problem are in my opinion a last ditch effort before surgery, and you should seriously weigh up the pros and cons of proceeding with your advising consultant.

Surgery

There are too many surgical options for slipped discs to discuss here but they range from “shaving off some of the disc”, to spinal fusion.  Again, this is the last attempt to solve a severe slipped disc and therefore is an irreversible decision, please do make sure you are fully informed of all the risks and pro’s and con’s.

The Mayfair Clinic Slipped Disc Treatment

Our approach at The Mayfair Clinic to the treatment of slipped disc is really a three-fold, surgery and drug-free plan.  First and foremost using specialist equipment we work to significantly reduce pain and inflammation and improve the healing of the tissues in and around the disc’s spinal segment.  Typically this will take 6-12 sessions over 3 to 6 weeks depending on chronicity.  During this time we will advise that for a better long-term solution, Spinal Imaging should be done (this is of course voluntary but is always our recommendation).

Once we understand the deeper spinal stresses of the patient, we work with you to advise on lifestyle & exercises to combat underlying spinal issues that have lead to the slipped disc.  An element of maintenance treatment is advisable in certain circumstances and often quite enjoyed by patients.