Bulging disc causing back pain

Bulging Disc Therapy Treatment: Real Fixes That Work

Back pain spares no one. One day, you’re hauling groceries with a skip in your step. The next, you’re hunched over with a heating pad, wondering if your spine is staging a protest. Surgery isn’t the only answer. Bulging disc therapy treatment can help.

If you’ve been told you have a bulging disc, you’re not alone. The modern sedentary lifestyle, combined with occasional and often intense bouts of activity, isn’t doing our backs any favors.

In this post, we’ll break down what a bulging disc is, how it causes persistent back pain, and—most importantly—how to treat it effectively.

What Is a Bulging Disc?

Your spine is made up of bones called vertebrae, separated by cushion-like discs that act as shock absorbers. These discs have a tough outer layer and a soft, gel-like center.

A bulging disc happens when the outer layer weakens and the disc flattens and protrudes outward—like a tire that’s starting to bulge but hasn’t popped. As the back bones get closer together, they press on nearby nerves, causing pain, numbness, or tingling in the back, arms, legs, and more.

While some people experience no symptoms, others feel the effects in very uncomfortable ways—especially if the bones get close enough together to cause pinched nerve in spine.

You may get diagnosed with spinal stenosis (narrowing spinal column, sciatica pain (shooting back of thigh pain), and even a herniated disc (a leaking disc). These are all related to that disc being compressed and forced out of place.

Bulging Disc vs. Herniated Disc

People often confuse these two. And that’s fair—they’re closely related.

A bulging disc means the disc is pushing outward but hasn’t broken open. But for a herniated disc, think “hernia”. It means the inner gel has actually pushed through a tear in the outer layer. A herniated disc is also called a “ruptured disc”.

Now, this gel is great when it’s on the inside of the disc doing its job. But once it spreads around the spine, it becomes an irritant to nearby nerves, causing increased pain and further disruption of signals.

Both conditions can be painful. 

But herniated disc pain relief may require a more intensive approach depending on how severe the rupture is. The good news is that most small to medium-sized ruptures can heal themselves once the excess pressure on the discs is addressed. And we’re going to tell you how to do that with bulging disc therapy treatment.

But first. Here’s a look at a herniated disc on MRI. Notice how the disc is pushing outward, impacting the structures around it.

Bulging disc therapy treatment

What Causes a Bulging Disc?

Several factors can lead to a bulging disc, including:

    • Aging and disc degeneration

    • Poor posture (Hello! desk jobs)

    • Repetitive motions or heavy lifting (especially if you are physically active in infrequent and short spurts)

    • Trauma or injury (car/bike accidents, a significant fall, workers’ comp injuries, etc.)

    • Lack of core strength (Good posture doesn’t come from forcing yourself to sit up. It comes from having a strong core.)

Even everyday wear and tear can take its toll. You may develop a bulging disc in your back (thoracic or lumbar spine) from slumping over your keyboard or steering wheel for extended periods without adequate movement breaks. Similarly, you can get a bulging disc in the cervical spine (your neck) from hunching over a tablet or phone while lounging too long on the sofa.

And if these bulges are not addressed, they will become much worse herniated discs.

Symptoms of a Bulging Disc

You may experience:

    • Neck pain or stiffness

    • Pain under the shoulder blade

    • Radiating pain or tingling down the arm or back of leg

    • Lower back pain from a herniated disc in the lumbar (lower back)

    • Tingling or numbness in hands, feet, or legs

    • Weakness or decreased mobility

    • A pinched nerve in the cervical spine can also lead to frequent headaches.

Some patients don’t feel pain until the disc puts pressure on a nerve or the spinal cord. That’s often when things go from annoying to unbearable.

Time to get relief fast!

You Deserve to Live Pain Free

Only $49 for the Initial Appointment.

Diagnosing a Bulging Disc

If your chiropractor or other doctor suspects a disc issue, imaging is the next step. You may see:

    • A herniated disc on MRI—helpful for spotting bulges, tears, and nerve compression

    • A ruptured disc on X-ray—though X-rays only show bones, not soft tissue, they can rule out other causes

Our bulging disc specialists at Truspine Chiropractor in San Francisco are trained to feel bulging discs during a physical exam, and we can also order imaging to confirm the diagnosis. You can see the narrowed space between back bones when discs move out of place.

Once we have a clear picture of what’s going on, we can create a personalized chiropractic treatment plan.

You Deserve to Live Pain Free

Only $49 for the Initial Appointment.

Finding the Best Bulging Disc Therapy Treatment For You

The good news? Most bulging discs can be treated without surgery. Bulging discs are a mechanical problem in the body. And we can fix them primarily by improving your body’s mechanics (i.e., your musculoskeletal system) and core strength.

1. Chiropractic Care and Manual Therapy

Gentle spinal adjustments can reduce pressure on nerves and improve alignment, allowing  inflammation to go down so the disc can heal.

Mobilization, stretching, and postural corrections also play a key role in restoring function. Your chiropractor can show you proper technique for lifting, prolonged sitting, and other daily movements. Our goal is to help you experience long-lasting relief from the pain and immobility that’s holding you back. And we recognize that how you move in your daily life impacts the success of any chiropractic care plan.

back pain relief

2. Spinal Decompression Therapy as Bulging Disc Therapy Treatment

Spinal decompression lumbar therapy is one of the most effective non-surgical options for a bulging disc in the back.

We use a specialized spinal decompression inversion table that can target specific areas of your back experiencing compression. Your chiropractor can then guide the machine to gently stretch your spine using this motorized traction table.

That stretching:

    • Creates negative pressure in the disc

    • Encourages the bulging portion to retract

    • Improves blood flow and nutrient delivery for healing

It’s especially helpful if you’re dealing with a pinched nerve in the spine or recurring flare-ups from a herniated disc in the back.

This FDA-cleared therapy can provide some back pain relief from day one. And you can look forward to more significant improvements with continued treatment. When you come in for your consultation, we’ll discuss how many sessions, frequency, and how the bulging disc therapy treatment fits into your chiropractic care plan.

Download our Spinal Decompression Therapy Brochure

Learn how a multi-step treatment program including spinal decompression therapy, laser treatment, chiropractic and healing technologies can deliver up to 100% pain relief.
Spinal Decompression

3. Therapeutic Exercises to Complement Bulging Disc Therapy Treatment

We want to see you live the active and pain-free life you desire. And yes, exercise is a crucial component of a comprehensive plan. Targeted exercises help strengthen the muscles that support your spine. This improves stability and reduces the risk of future injuries.

Your chiropractor will encourage you to commit to a personalized home core exercise program as part of your care plan. The right home exercise can provide long-lasting relief from pain.

We’ll typically focus on:

    • Core strength

    • Hip flexibility

    • Postural alignment

Movement is medicine—but only when done right. That’s why we guide you through every stretch and rep.

4. Lifestyle Modifications

Healing doesn’t stop in the clinic. We’ll also work with you to adjust daily habits that could be making your pain worse.

That includes:

    • Improving posture at work

    • Modifying your sleeping position

    • Teaching you how to lift properly

    • Recommending anti-inflammatory foods or supplements

Sometimes the smallest changes make the biggest difference. We can show simple ways to make improving posture and movement easier. So, you can stick with new healthy habits.

5. Pain Management

In the early stages, it’s okay to use over-the-counter anti-inflammatories or ice packs to manage discomfort. In fact, we may encourage it, depending on your situation. 

If you’re already taking prescription painkillers, we’re not going to tell you to stop them cold turkey.

But remember—pain relief is not the same as healing. When we get to the root cause of that pain with herniated disc therapy, you may find you no longer need your medication. When that day comes, we’ll work with your doctor to taper off.

6. Other Potential Bulging Disc Therapy Treatments

Above, we covered the core of bulging disc therapy. And you may want to consider other complementing therapy treatments that can speed and enhance the healing process.

    • For the Graston technique, a highly-trained professional uses specialized tools to break up adhesions in your muscles and fascia. This enables better movement and wider range of motion.

    • Massage therapy can also enhance flexibility, break up adhesions, and stimulate blood flow, helping nutrients move where they’re needed to promote healing.

    • With a nutrition plan, we discuss how improving the quality and overall nutritional value of your diet can promote natural healing. We can even develop a personalized plan to support healthy nutrition habits.

The Bottom Line: Healing Is Possible

Living with a bulging disc doesn’t mean you have to live with constant pain.

With the right combination of chiropractic care, spinal decompression therapy, exercise, and lifestyle changes, you can get back to doing what you love—without pain holding you back.

If you’re tired of temporary fixes, let’s talk. We’ll help you find the root cause, build a tailored plan, and start your journey to living pain-free.

You Deserve to Live Pain Free

Only $49 for the Initial Appointment.

Herniated Disc: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatments

What is exactly a herniated disc?

It is a problem with one of the rubbery discs that sit between two strong vertebrae. These two strong vertebrae hold the disk in between. Sometimes, this disc can start to move and shift. This can happen if you place some extra stress on that disc through some sort of movement or impingement. Sometimes, this moving or shifting can lead to feeling back pain and even radiating pain.

Herniated_Disc_Treatment
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Can a herniated disc heal on its own once you do have it? 

The simple answer to this question is sometimes it can and sometimes it can’t. It depends on how significant the herniation is. A smaller herniation can tend to go away on its own. While a moderate to a bigger herniation can cause a little bit of extra stress. In that case, you may need some outside help, and that’s where Chiropractic comes in.

To get to the root cause of pain and discomfort, schedule an initial consultation, including a comprehensive evaluation and first treatment.

Can a chiropractor heal a herniated disc?

Yes, the chiropractor uses a series of techniques to heal a herniated disc. About 70% of these discs are made of water and as they are alive, they can regrow. Doctors then put the disc back into place. But it’s not as simple as just kind of poking it back in. A chiropractor will use some techniques to guide the disc to go back in between the two vertebrae. Now, the techniques that a chiropractor can use will vary.

The most common technique is the deflection distraction technique, which makes use of a chiropractic table. The Chiropractic table will move up and down at the posterior end, where the lower back is. The pumping mechanism of the table will allow the nutrients to flow to the disc. It will also allow the water and the nutrients to get to the disc for its proper healing. So, an MRI is the best way to diagnose a herniated disk than an X-ray. An X-ray will only look at the bone while an MRI will look at the water weight. And so the expert will be able to see the soft tissue through that.

The experts look at the vertebrae bones and the spine in the MRI. If they find lesser room between the two vertebrae, that means the disc has kind of pushed out. The experts want to bring the disc back in over some time. They can do it through this flexion-distraction and the pumping mechanism of elongating the spine. Experts give some exercises and stretches that are in conjunction with the injury. The recovery time may vary depending on the severity of the discs and the exercises.

What activities should you do or which ones should you avoid? 

Let’s start with the avoiding ones, which will be any sort of high-impact exercises. So don’t get involved in running, jumping, box jumps, and jump rope in case of a herniated disc. The pounding and the high impact of these exercises will cause more stress at that level. Exercises and stretches that may be more indicated may be low-force ones, for example, the Cat-Cow stretch or a forward fold. These exercises kind of decompress the lower back and take pressure off the disc. The common one we recommend for patients is to lie on their stomachs on a fitness ball. This exercise can help to open up the back. It can also open up the disk space to give it a little bit more room. So these are activities which you can do but again, it’s all on a case-by-case basis.

Want to learn more? Here are some articles we think you’ll find helpful.

Can you massage a herniated disk?

Unfortunately, no. The disc is deep enough that our hands can’t necessarily reach it. But these exercises and stretches and therapies will help in a more non-direct way.

What is the most common treatment for a herniated disc? 

Preference is given to flexion-distraction and chiropractic adjustments for the herniated disc. In case of any radiating pain or nerve pain, acupuncture can work for that injury. The treatments for nerve pain depend on where the nerve pain is. A lot of times, nerve pain paired with your herniated disc could be nerve impingement.

Once the herniated disc gets pushed on and squeezed, it can start to push out along the adjacent nerves. These nerves can start to cause pain down the arms or even down the legs. Nerve pain indicates that your herniated disc was a little bit more significant. And hence it needs a little bit more attention.

The nerve pinched can present in many different ways. It can be a sharp shooting pain, it can be numbness, it can be a tingling, and it can be muscle weakness or fatigue. For example, if it’s sharp shooting pain down the leg, that would be called sciatica pain and that would be the sciatic nerve. If it’s going down the posterior part of the leg, sometimes there’s a weakness in the leg, and experts can check that with muscle testing. Sometimes they may see that the herniated disc is causing numbness down at the feet. It can be a case of some nerve impingement. Here, the nerves do not get the proper flow, and doctors should address this at that time. And for that, experts start to add in other therapies such as laser therapy and acupuncture. These are good adjacent or complementary therapies if you have the nerve portion as part of your herniated disc issue.

To get to the root cause of pain and discomfort, schedule an initial consultation, including a comprehensive evaluation and first treatment.

What is the treatment for an L5-S1 herniation?

An L5-S1 herniation means that there’s a herniated disk at the lowest part of your back. Now, that can cause impingement of a nerve or a series or a bundle of nerves. Sometimes with L5-S1 herniation, you’re going to see a sciatica impingement or the sciatic nerve being impinged. This can cause sharp shooting pains down the posterior of the leg. And this pain can go all the way down to the foot. Now, there are treatments for this as well. Of course, chiropractic is going to be number one. Chiropractors make sure that they take pressure off the disk through chiropractic manipulations or chiropractic adjustments, or spinal adjustments. This will help take pressure off immediately and give you more long-term relief.

Are there any self-care treatments to try at home for L5-S1 herniation?

Experts also try to provide some short-term relief as well through Palliative care. This includes figure four stretching, lacrosse ball rolling and foam rolling. And these are more treatments to help alleviate pain while at home. You can take a look at our separate blog about the top five sciatica exercises. It would be a great beginning point to see if we can get some at-home care.

What is the treatment for herniated disc at C5-C6?

C5-C6 is close to the lowest part of the neck, and treatment for a herniated disk at C5-C6 is another big request we generally see. In case of nerve impingement; one can feel the pain down the inside of the arm, down all the way into the fingers. Now, that can present in many different ways. It can be a sharp pain, it can be tingling and it can be numbness. And that also needs to be addressed along with the herniated disc.

Again, the preferred treatment for the herniated disk at the C5-C6 is going to be chiropractic care. We want to immediately take pressure off of the disc, off of the nerve. Secondary would be using massage techniques down into the arm, using ART or Active Release Technique. It releases the muscles that follow that nerve all the way down in the arm. And finally, laser therapy can help immediately reduce inflammation at the nerve level. This therapy also gives you instantaneous relief.

What is a treatment for a bulging disk? 

Herniated disc and bulging disc are very synonymous. So the treatment would be very similar for a bulging disc. Primarily it is chiropractic care, and possibly acupuncture and laser therapy as well. If there’s any sort of nerve impingement with that bulging disc.

We at Truspine Clinic in San Francisco offer Chiropractic and Acupuncture therapies. We also offer Shockwave and Laser Therapies as per the requirement.

Have you or anyone you know suffered from a herniated disc? We would like to know more about your experience. To get to the root cause of pain and discomfort, schedule an initial consultation, including a comprehensive evaluation and first treatment.

Herniated Disc – Symptoms, Causes, Prevention and Treatments

Home » bulging discs

A herniated disc, also known as a slipped disc, is a relatively common condition. It can occur on any part of the spine, but most often affects the lower back or neck region.

Herniated disk most commonly develops as a result of the normal aging process. Other causes include overuse and trauma to the spine. Genetic factors also have a big contribution to the development of disc degeneration and sequence herniation.

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