bulging discs in neck (vertebrae 3 and 4)?

Question

i just got the results from an MRI i had done today. i have bulging discs at vertebrae 3 and 4, with some degeneration. what can i do about it? can u slow down the degeneration process? is physical therapy all i can do to fix this? advil and alleve do nothing for the pain....help!!!!!

Answer 1

Your best bet is to get into PT...see a therapist with either MDT or manual therapy experience. TENS, massage and hydrotherapy are fine for pain control (although sometimes heat makes pain from a bulging disc worse)...but they will NOT change the disc.

You should also consider some lifestyle changes...namely, if you smoke, quit (it is seriously THEE worst thing you can do for your neck or back outside of using poor posture). Avoid caffiene, drink plenty of water...and most importantly, focus on your posture.

Don't get hung up on the fact that you have "some degneration." About 25% of people have demonstration of at least one disc in the neck or low back by the time they reach 30...nearly 100% have it by the time they reach 60. In otherwords, it does not necessarily correlate with pain.

Answer 2

I have something similar. You can do physical therapy. Also, maybe cortisone shots at the point where it hurts, I had these in my back. Short of surgery, which should be a last resort that is about all you can do. Often, the pain will start getting better on it's own.

Answer 3

Herniated discs can probable sparkling up themselves, see you later as you do what the surgeon and actual therapist say precisely. With that many discs worried, surgical treatment is very generally a danger, whether for people who do what they allow you to be conscious of, there's a risk you will limit it.

Answer 4

Don't even think of surgery until you have at least a year of conservative treatment, which can consist of pain killers, massage, hydrotherapy (whirlpool), heat, cold, and TENS unit (electrical stimulation). Neck braces are not used too much anymore.