Question: My doctor tells me that I have a herniated disk. Is there anything that you can do to help me to alleviate the pain that is an alternative to surgery?

Answer: Whenever someone reports an injury of this level I always look to see what the cause is which contributed to this condition happening in the first place. If the cause of an injury is never addressed, then any surgery will only provide temporary relief at best. If you were having problems with the steering in your car because of uneven tread wear in the tires and opted to replace your car with a new one but never changed the original tires which contributed to this problem you would continue to have difficulty with steering.

A lot of dysfunction occurred with the body before that disk injury. For example, someone may have a pelvis which has tilted under, thus causing a weak upper torso and hips. When the pelvis tilts under, the natural S curve of the lower back is lost and any lifting maneuvers place additional stress on the lower back muscles which are already strained from the pelvis tilting under.

Although the body has a tremendous ability to compensate, something has to give and inevitably in a scenario like this, the disk gives way. I think of this thin piece of cartilage as being similar to the white glue between two pieces of paper.

The cartilage provides a shock absorbing pad for the bone to glide over. This is a great design which allows for normal movement in the spinal column. This design can change if the pelvis has tilted under, forcing the bones of the spine to do some of the extra work that the muscles of the lower back would ordinarily do. When the spinal vertebrae do this extra work it squashes part of the cartilage.

Other good sources of information on healing and pain free living:
I recommend a book written by Michael A. Greenberg M.D. titled, A Man of Sorrows. This book is a story that explores the nature of healing and humanness. You can download a free brochure from Dr. Greenberg’s website at http://www.anovelvision.com as well as find out more about this recent book.

I also recommend visiting http://www.egoscue.com to read about the Egoscue Method. The Egoscue Method is a Postural Therapy program which involves a series of stretches and gentle exercises. It is designed to treat musculoskeletal pain without drugs, surgery, or manipulation, enabling you to live a pain free and active life now!