Bulging Disk? Herniated Disk? The BIG LIE you need to know.

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Pain Management

[JP-inzq]

My dad was recommended to get back surgery. He went to several Dr's before deciding to get it done. While he was in the waiting room waiting to be called in for surgery, he saw so many people in pain and misery who already had back surgery, he began talking with them and he saw how miserable they were. He figured he didn't want to be like those people either, so he walked out of the Dr's office. He then happened upon a book about Yoga and began do it what the book described. He did yoga every single morning the rest of his life and even began jogging and eating healthy. He's now in his 80's and very healthy for his age. I can only imagine the lessor quality of life he'd have experienced throughout his life, if he'd had back surgery. Food for thought.

[manestage]

I swear this channel is a ministry! God bless you guys. You are so sweet, optimistic, and helpful! I just found out this morning I have bulging discs. I was getting intense burning in my right leg and numbing toes. Whatever I have to do without surgery, I'll do. Thank God the doctor told me my case is not severe, will likely just require some physical therapy, and just recommended I see an orthopedic spine doctor. I'm grateful that the pain is really something that I experienced twice within the last two years. I don't know what "triggers" it.

[lindaakillingsworth]

I am having my 7th lumbar surgery on Feb. 17th. This is not something that I take lightly! I didn't just wake up this morning and decide I just wanted to have surgery again. The damage to my back started in the 80s and continues to this day. A lot of people say to me " your nuts I'll never have back surgery" or "they'll never cut on me", but let me tell you the truth of the matter ; when you hurt so bad that even your thought process is interrupted or you can't even get out of bed without help you will be grateful for that surgery! The one bit of advice I will share is to be sure and find the right surgeon. One that has a good success rate. If I had had Blake Pearson in the beginning maybe this wouldn't be number 7!!!

[kendo]

10 days ago I could hardly walk. Really painful lower back pain. I happened on some of these kinds of videos, and began stretching every morning and night, along with a few other techniques. With that and also in process of dropping a few pounds, I have absolutely no pain today. Thanks so much to you guys for these videos, you have helped me immensely!

[westone_official]

Bob & Bratt, just came here to say; you guys helped me prevent getting surgery! Already had surgery once in my 20s for herniated disc with a left leg barely functioning. 10 years later, it started again, and doctor confirmed it was another herniated disc. You guys put up a video on how to fix it on your own with exercises. It was another video u did. Within no time the herniated disc was GONE. Thanks for spreading these medical truths. Keep it up. Bless.

[kristiekononen]

I’m 40years old with bone spurs and L4L5 and L5S1 disc herniation. I did aggressive therapy for months with no relief. I’m one month out of surgery and it has changed my life! I can actually walk from the bedroom to the kitchen with no tears!

[eastcoastkickz]

Just found out i have a bulging disc at 21 on my lower lumbar so now im here

[vesaliusnotdead]

I´m an orthopaedic surgeon, dedicated exclusively to spine surgery. What these two gentlemen say is absolutely true. It will take some time but the concepts shown in this video will be the state-of-the art. Congratulations

[rickykeller]

I injured my back in 1993. I was 33 years old. Dr wanted to do surgery, second opinion was no surgery. I started stretching and had a series of epidurals. For the better part of 10 years I had pain, drop foot, and tingling in both trunks. I kept active and slowly I began to feel better.I still have symptoms but I feel 70% better than I was. I am now 60 years old still no surgery, still working on construction equipment. Every year we learn new ways to treat and strengthen. Surgery is an option only when I can't walk any more.

[smithenstein]

I tried everything first. Put up with chronic pain for 8 years. Became addicted to pain killers, quit my job, put unnecessary stress on my family and marriage. Had the surgery. Never been better! Never looked back!

[mrs.p.studge]

I love you guys! I'd like to add... I'm 1 month post op of ACDF and Dural tear repair. During the surgery they found a Dural tear under the herniated disc because the herniated was so old and massive. The Dural tear causes more pain than the herniated discs. I'm so very glad I got the surgery because I feel so much better. I've been told "everyone has a a bulging or herniated disc but they don't feel pain so you shouldn't either". So I took the pain for 10 years and stopped complaining. I have a new doctor, went to him for shoulder pain and he knew it was from my neck... Within 1 week I was at the neurosurgeon's office and a 2 weeks after that I had surgery. My neck was so bad.
Again, I love you guys, but this type of thought can be damaging to the patient.

[EllieM_Travels]

Good advice, and I’m glad you acknowledged the need for surgery if you can’t feel your entire leg down to the toes. I’m definitely having surgery! Minimally invasive. Hoping for the best.

[hotwireman]

20 years ago I started having radiculopathy down my left arm. it felt like ants crawling on me, electric shock, muscle spasms etcetera. The doctors did a lot of shall we say passive treatment before they finally had me go in for the MRI. Before that I went to a chiropractor. The chiropractor x-rayed me, didn't see anything and then proceeded to manipulate my spine by pushing down mid back and then up toward my neck, hard! which in effect pushed all of the already herniated disc material ( which by the way is akin to crab meat, not liquid) out of the disc and further into my spinal cord. The pain, which had already been excruciating, was unbearable.. By the time I had the MRI there was a dent in my spinal cord so the material was not only just compressing an ancillary nerve but the entire spinal cord at that level (C4/C5). I had the discectomy and fusion, after which the pain was gone immediately. I did have a recurrence of pain probably from one of the adjoining structures which had weakened from from the discectomy and fusion, but I had a nerve block to that level and I have not had an issue since. I'm now 61 years old. Neck is ok. Not perfect. Will never be, but pain free. However, because of age related degeneration, I'm having low back pain and sciatica down the left leg, which pain indicates a likely L4 L5 herniation or bulge. I won't be going to any chiropractors, though.

[christine]

After dealing with lots of pain in my left glute and lower back, I finally got an X-ray and physical therapy. Doctors office said it was degenerative changes and therapist guesses it’s a disc. These physical therapists are life savers. They’ve given me a whole arsenal of useful exercises just for my problem. I never knew having this problem weakens the muscles!! I’m building muscles and getting better each day. I’ll never do surgery unless absolutely needed. I saw my mom get so many surgeries on her back growing up and I watched her get worse and worse but she doesn’t exercise which is a huge problem.

[thezzach]

I’m a Disabled Veteran. Due to a military injury, I had a two-level artificial cervical disk replacement 4 years ago. This video came out 1 year before.
After a long recovery and lots of PT, and discipline, I feel much better than I did before the surgery on most days.

[MichaelSkelton]

I had several severe herniations with anullar tears in my mid 20's that was, at that time, EXCRUCIATING to deal with. I met with a good surgeon who looked at the MRI study and essentially said the exact same things these guys said (unfortunately the surgeon didn't have nice theme music like Bob and Brad). He really had a hard time correlating what he saw in the MRI to actual symptoms and pain I experienced. Essentially he seemed unsure where/what to repair, cut or move, without risk of making things worse. I'll never forget that he said he'd seen studies worse than mine where folks had nearly 0 discomfort and referred pain, and then he'd seen nearly perfect studies where folks were in unbearable agony. I turned away from surgery and used PT and smarter exercise habits, and many years later, the back pain has virtually disappeared, except in very rare instances.

[brainfxr]

I'm so glad you published this. I have this discussion in my office over and over, and with primary care doctors. Bulging discs are NOT abnormal, and by themselves do not require surgery. The only things we fix surgically are leg pain or weakness from nerve or spinal cord compression, and movement exacerbated back pain from instability, and that is ONLY if it doesn't get better after exhausting all non-surgical options. Everything else on the MRI is irrelevant. Your description is spot on, and your explanation of when surgery becomes necessary is perfect. Foot drop and incontinence should prompt an MRI and a surgical evaluation right away. Otherwise, give it a few months and try your non-surgical options before going to a surgeon.

[boyfromoz]

I had a herniated L5 and a bulging disc L4 that I lived with for many years with severe sciatic pain (couldn't stand or walk for more than 5mins before I needed to sit). After Physical Therapists, needles in the spine, inversion tables and getting addicted to Vicodin I finally had surgery, was home the same day and pain free since. That I waited so long and lived with that pain for so long was criminal when the fix was so easier.

[jamesstepp]

I have a ruptured disk L4-L5 from a weight lifting accident when I was 19yo. Pain was pretty extreme. I discovered that the pain is caused by inflammation push against the nerves, bad enough to drop me t my knees. I discovered this because I took an anti inflammatory horse pill that a friend of mine had due to kidney stones, and my pain lessoned considerably. What I did from that point is lift weights, just nothing to do with my back or spine. Working my legs, arms, chest etc. so I did not put strain on that part of my body. When lifting weights your body releases a natural anti inflammatory and by working out other parts of my body it cleared the pain from my back. Now just working out like that, and sleeping with a thick pillow between my legs to keep my spine aligned, is all I need. I knew at the time that getting a spinal fusion was not going to solve the issue and figured it out on my own.

[youhopeirot]

Big thumbs up for this video. The following long rant is to help other people who have injured their lower back and think they may have a herniation or slipped disc, and are lucky enough not to need surgery. There is another way.

Three weeks ago exactly on my last dead lift I heard three distinct and loud pops from my lower back(so loud i heard them over the music in my headphones). I dropped the weight just inches off the ground and knew immediately I had done something very stupid. I tried to push out an extra rep at heavy weight and my form slipped. I felt like I was going to black out for a good 5 minutes. I couldn't bend over and after another 5 minuted I had a lot of trouble removing the weights from the barbell and re-racking everything. I managed to hobble to a chair and continued to feel light headed for at least 10 more minutes. Finally I mustered up the courage to head home. Being that I don't have insurance or money to spend on a doctor visit I did what most people do and consulted the internet. My worst fears were confirmed. Everyone who has experienced the same thing as me suffered either slipped or herniated discs.

I was devastated, but I knew if I had any chance at recovery I had to be proactive about my injury and do everything I can to rehabilitate myself. Immediately I began icing my lower back and taking ibuprofen. For the first two days I didn't do much of anything else, but slowly I felt the pain subsiding and my rage of movement increasing slightly. The next day I laid down and rolled on a tennis ball and then a wooden practice hockey ball, very gently. That afternoon I had a localized cryotherapy treatment and i continued icing and taking ibuprofen. I began doing light stretches the next day in bed and on the floor(cat/cow, child's pose, sphinx pose, etc), and after rolling on the tennis ball and hockey ball i used a supernova ball and a foam roller. Then I went in the pool. In the water my ROM was much better and my pain was dramatically decreased. I was careful but I started by doing leg swings, trunk twists and using the steps in the pool to elevate each leg for a stretch. I let the water assist me while i tried to bend forward for a toe touch and realized I had a long way to go.

Over the last three weeks I have been doing these things every day, ibuprofen and icing less and less. I did go for one more localized cryotherapy and EDM massage treatment which I feel helped quite a bit. I began lightly exercising with a resistance band after about week 2 and started building back up walking longer distances. The first day I walked half my usual route with the dog(about 1.5-2 miles) but by the third or fourth day I was able to walk the full 3.5-4 mile route without feeling any pain after. Still every day using the foam roller, ball, stretches and exercises.

I have been very meticulous about not re-injuring myself. Taking things slowly and only slightly progressing each day. A few days I have done no exercises and only stretched(lazy days are necessary too). Today I walked the dog 4 miles, jogged around the backyard for 20 minutes and hit the heavy bag(lightly) for another 30 minutes, cycled for an hour at a relaxed pace and went through a heavier resistance band routine. No pain, basically full ROM. I am healing better using active and intelligent rehabilitation and PT techniques than I ever thought I could. Initially I thought I would never be able to touch my toes again. Today I can with no pain. I only feel some slight soreness in the morning when I wake up and some sort of sting when rolling on the hockey ball(the kind of good pain that brings relief after like it is breaking up stiff tissue).

My plan is to take at least another 2-3 weeks of this path, slowly progressing every day and reassess how I feel then. If I am not completely pain free with full ROM and no A.M. soreness or tension when stretching by week 6 I am going to see a Dr/get an MRI (I will have saved enough money by then). The point to all of this is exactly what the video states. Surgery should not be the first option and these gentlemen along with many others on youtube have shared a wealth of knowledge that can help you recover better and faster than you ever thought, as long as you are careful and take it very slow. I took my time to write all this because it has been a profound and very eye opening experience in my life to not over-exert yourself and to not jump into anything. In the past I went the surgical route for plantar fasciitis and in the end the only thing that actually helped was to ditch the soft squishy high arched shoes and regain strength and mobility in my foot through PT and weight loss. Hopefully this helps anyone coming here looking for hope, I know that when I first hurt myself I thought it was going to be a major life changing issue. Good luck.