Can someone shed some light for me as to what a herniated disk is? One of my buds has anywhere from 2 to 5 herniated disks (it depends what doctor he goes to ?!?) and he is always complaining about throwing his back out etc. I was wondering that if I tried to get him to go to the gym with me when I do back and biceps if maybe some light back excercises might help the poor guy make his back better. My gues is that what he needs is to make the muscles around the injured joint stronger so that they can support it better. I want to help the guy, but I don’t want him to get hurt even more in the process. Any ideas? Thanks!
Just bumping this thread up, as my dad has the same problem and I’d like to offer him some help.
The bones (or “Vertebrae”) of the back are separated and cushioned from each other by cartilaginous “disc” (very similar to those that cushion the bones of the leg from each other at the knee). These disc are held in place by very strong connective tissue “bands” that run to, and from the vertebrae to the disc AND up and down the spine. With force and shearing injury, these bands can be weakened and/or broken and the disc can “slip out” from the intervertebral space, often inpinging on on nerves (therein lies the pain!). These disc can also be torn (like the knee cartilage) and can cause “slipping” of vetebral bones, thus the “going out” of the back. The Orthopedic or Neurosurgeon (I hope we have one who post who can descibe the procedure better than me!)will either remove the herniated portion of the disc OR remove the complete disc and fuse the adjacent vertebrae together AND/OR support the torn connective tissue scaffolding with synthetics. While exercise most certainly (via building up supporting muscles of the back)HELPS, the herniated disc, and resultant back problems is a bear to treat (even with surgery). That’s because of the the backs role in supporting the central axis of the body. Hope this helps.