Car accidents and impacts from playing sports can lead to many types of injuries. For instance, they can cause herniated discs in the neck. A disc is the cushioning structure between the vertebrae, and it consists of a tough outer shell and a gel-like interior. When the outer shell is torn, the interior can poke out, and this is called a herniated disc. Although many cases heal on their own, in some cases, herniated discs may require physical therapy or even surgery. There are three tips you can follow that can help improve your herniated neck disc treatment.
1. Rest up
Rest is one of the most commonly overlooked healing tools, and it can be very helpful for the treatment of herniated discs in the neck. When your body is moving around, most of the energy it produces is being used to fuel your movement. Unfortunately, this means that there’s much less energy available for the body’s natural healing processes. If you’re resting, though, the body is able to focus its energy on healing. For this reason, you should make plenty of time to rest when you have a herniated disc.
2. Do some light physical activity
Although rest is helpful to the healing process, there is such a thing as too much rest. In fact, moving around can also be helpful for herniated neck disc treatment, but you’ll want to steer clear of activities that stress the neck. Even light physical activity like walking can benefit your natural healing process. It can help increase blood flow, and this allows more oxygen and nutrients to get to the neck. Physical activity also increases the production of endorphins. These are your body’s natural pain reliever, and they can help reduce your herniated disc pain without potentially addictive pain medications.
3. Use a neck support device
Neck braces can also be useful in herniated neck disc treatment. These devices are designed to support the neck, and they can help relieve pressure on the damaged disc. However, they can also lead to weak neck muscles if worn for too long. This means you’ll want to ask your doctor before you start wearing a neck brace, and you should also talk to them about how long you should wear the brace.
Treatment for herniated neck discs is available at SOL Physical Therapy
For people who need physical therapy for a herniated neck disc, SOL Physical Therapy is here to help. We operate out of Oakland, California, and our team can build you a personalized treatment plan for your injury. This plan will be built to use multiple beneficial physical therapy techniques, and some of the techniques in your plan may include:
Don’t continue dealing with herniated discs on your own. Contact our team today for more information or to schedule an initial appointment.
