Pain from a herniated disc can make even the simplest movements in your daily life challenging. But you don’t have to tough it out or let it determine how you spend your days. Physical therapy for a herniated disc can help you return to your regular activity level and give you the confidence to maintain it long term. And at TRIA, you can make an appointment with a physical therapist without a referral, so you can get straight to treatment and start feeling better.

Physical therapy for sciatica uses personalized exercise, hands-on therapy and education to reduce pain and improve function. Our physical therapists are experts at using the latest techniques and technology to help you build strength and confidence while keeping your pain under control. Plus, with locations across the Twin Cities and western Wisconsin, there’s always a convenient place to get care.

A herniated disc can cause a variety of symptoms, including pain, numbness and muscle weakness. Physical therapy treats these symptoms with a combination of targeted exercises, hands-on therapy and other therapeutic techniques. This helps relax and strengthen the muscles that support your back, which can relieve discomfort while teaching you to move in ways that may help prevent future pain and injury.

If you’re struggling with pain from a herniated disc, it’s important to keep moving. Your back is very strong and heals through motion. Although it may be uncomfortable, moving less can actually make your symptoms worse.

Physical therapy is almost always the best first course of treatment for back pain, including pain caused by a herniated disc. Our physical therapists will create a personalized therapy plan designed for your specific symptoms, guide you through specialized exercises and gradually increase your level of activity as you recover.

Anyone with back pain is a good candidate for physical therapy. In fact, physical therapy is often the best treatment for symptoms of disc herniation. You might benefit from physical therapy for a herniated disc if you’re experiencing symptoms like:

• Pain that radiates through your back, buttocks or legs
• Pain that radiates through your neck, shoulders or arms
• Pain that worsens at night or during activity
• Tingling, numbness or weakness in an arm or leg

Moving your body is one of the best ways to improve herniated disc pain. Pain can often be a result of working the body in ways or at intensities that it isn’t used to. Doing exercises that expand your body’s tolerance for movement can relieve pain, make your back more resilient and increase blood flow through the area to promote healing.

Our physical therapists will guide you through exercises tailored to your specific herniated disc symptoms and help you gradually increase your level of physical activity as you recover. We may also give you a personalized exercise plan to do at home so you can continue to recover between physical therapy appointments.

Manual therapy can help relax the tissues around your spinal nerves and make them less sensitive. Manual therapy can also teach you about how your body works, which can help you move in ways that are more comfortable for your back.

Our physical therapists will use their expert touch to prepare your body to better benefit from the other treatments in your plan. Manual therapy can provide immediate pain relief on its own, but it’s usually combined with exercise to achieve lasting results.

In some cases, certain lifestyle factors and health conditions can contribute to tension and pain caused by a herniated disc. Our physical therapists will give you guidance around topics like sleep, stress management and healthy movement habits so that you can move more comfortably and reduce the sensitivity of your nerves.

If your herniated disc is causing nerve root irritation, your doctor may recommend medications like steroid injections or nerve membrane stabilizers to help reduce pain and inflammation. The effects of these medications are temporary, but they may help you be more comfortable during other treatments.

Depending on your herniated disc symptoms, your physical therapist might recommend transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation (TENS). This is a type of treatment where electrodes are placed on your back and used to send mild electrical pulses to your spinal nerves. TENS can temporarily relieve pain by turning off the pain signals that your irritated nerves are sending to your brain.

TENS isn’t painful. People usually say it feels like a mild tingling, prickling or buzzing sensation. It may be recommended alongside other physical therapy treatments to support your recovery.

Integrative medicine is a type of holistic treatment that uses the body’s natural healing ability to relieve pain and accelerate recovery. We offer many different types of integrative medicine that are scientifically proven to provide health benefits, including yoga therapy, acupuncture and pain management. These types of treatments are often done alongside other types of physical therapy to complement your care plan.

Physical therapy appointments for a herniated disc are typically around 45 minutes long. At your first appointment, one of our physical therapists will take a detailed history of your symptoms, perform neurological and musculoskeletal exams, and guide you through a few exercises to see what helps your symptoms. Using this information, we’ll create a personalized treatment plan, including things you can do at home to keep healing between sessions.

For all of your appointments, including the first, plan to wear clothes that make exercise more comfortable. Clothes designed for movement will help you stay cool and allow you a full range of motion for stretching and exercising.