Bulging Disc: Proven 5-Step Rehab Plan (Explained by a Specialist)

To get a copy of Will's new book, Thriving Beyond Fifty, you can find it on Amazon below:

In this episode, leading over-50's and sciatica specialist physiotherapist, Will Harlow, reveals his proven 5-step rehab process for bulging disc recovery.

This tried and tested rehab process has helped hundreds of Will's clients to achieve a full recovery from bulging discs in the lumbar spine. Watch the video to learn more about it.

To get a copy of Will's new book, Thriving Beyond Fifty, you can find it on Amazon below:
(Amazon Affiliate links)

[deboraiurasoc]

Hey everyone. I just wanted to encourage you guys to not lose hope because disc bulges CAN heal. I'm in my 20s and I was in major pain every day for about 6 months from a L5-S1 disc bulge (confirmed after having an MRI on my lower back).
I was in horrible pain every day, the whole day, no matter what I was doing.. sitting, walking, trying to fall asleep etc. Sometimes it would take me even 2-3h to fall asleep because the pain was so bad. I had constant back pain and pain in my right leg (especially my thigh, around the joints and calf). I am sharing this so you can understand that I was in such bad pain and I healed! And I know how desperate I was to find some advice from someone that actually healed from this so I hope this is gonna help someone..
I am not 100% healed, I still feel pain once in a while.. for example after sitting for too long (ex 8h at work) or if i don't move my body for a couple days (like jogging or working out) but I would say I am 95% healed and for me it's like a miracle, after living in pain for 6months! I've been 95% pain-free for about 1 month and a half!!

Things that I tried and worked for ME:

1. I changed my diet. I tried to adopt an anti inflammatory diet:
- the only meat I eat is chicken (max 5 times a week). You can also eat turkey, it's actually even better;
- I stopped eating sweets, fast food, processed foods.. especially icecream, chocolate bars, sodas, aliments that have added sugars (and most of them have it, check labels before eating sth), pre-cooked/frozen foods etc.
- I ate a lot of vegetables&fruits (fried, steamed, smoothies etc).. about 70% of what I ate was vegetables and fruits
- less white flour, white rice and more whole wheat flour, brown rice etc;
You can find a lot of info about anti inflammatory diets, recipes etc online. I started an anti-inflammatory diet about 1month before my pain started to decrease.

2. I made an anti-inflammatory juice and I drank 1 shot a day for about a month. If you want, you can ask your dr first, but I felt ok the whole time..after all it's just natural ingredients. If you want the recipe for the juice let me know and I'll write it down in the comments. (it's mostly ginger, turmeric, aloe vera, apple cider vinegar etc). I feel like taking this juice helped very much, i started feeling some improvement after the 1st week. Idk if it was specifically the juice cuz I was doing more stuff so I am not sure.

3. I started moving my body almost everyday. I would either go jogging (1-2mi) or even just walking for 2-3mi. Or I would just do some exercises at home for 10-15 min. There are a lot of videos with exercises online, but one thing i wanna mention is to find exercises for your specific disc bulge cuz some people would just say "stretches for back pain/ disc bulge" but they can make ur pain worse, cuz they are not good for your specific disc bulge.
As I was saying, mine was a L5-S1 and 1 thing you MUST stop doing is bending down with your back or lifting things with ur back. IF you have to bend down or pick sth up, bend ur knees and go down on your heels if that makes sense, don't bend your back cuz that's pushing the bulge even more on your nerves and that causes the pain.. The dr explains everything really well in this video . I recommend watching the whole video as I tried to implement everything he was saying in this video and I feel like it really helped me.


4. I went to chiropractic adjustments and physical therapy this whole time (and still going). I started with 3 times a week, then 2times a week and now once a week.

5. ! I am doing Spinal Decompression. (I did it 6 times in about 1m and a half. Now I am doing it once every 2 weeks but this is sth for ur chiropractor to decide.) I feel like this also helped a lot cuz I've started feeling improvements since I started doing it. In the beginning for about 2 weeks it felt like my symptoms got even worse and after that I started feeling a lot better. But again, I was trying out so many things that I don't know what helped or what made it worse. But you should definitely try the spinal decompression.

6. I took a natural supplement that my chiropractor recommended. It's called Devil's claw and it's literally $8 at Walmart. I starting taking it about a month before I started feeling better.

7. I tried to sleep more on my back, or on my side with a pillow between my legs, I bought a cervical pillow, I tried to have a better posture etc.

Also I feel like it's really important to have a good and positive attitude. I was really down and discouraged in the first 3 months and in those months I literally didn't feel any improvement.. I was in major pain the whole time. I really think that the body can't heal when you're just upset all the time.. it's like you're not allowing it to heal. I know it's hard to be positive when you're in such bad constant pain.. but try to make an effort, it's gonna be worth it.

And also, I believe in God and I constantly prayed to receive healing and I declared healing over myself in Jesus' name. And I would thank for the healing that I received (even if at that time I was in pain). Believe you will receive healing. Have faith! God doesn't want you to suffer.

As I was saying, there are a lot of things that I tried so I can't really point to sth and say that that's what you need to do, but I really hope this is gonna help someone.
I would've loved to find some tips like these when I was struggling with so much pain.

PS: It was my personal decision to not take any painkillers or other medication during these 6 months. I think I only took about 5 ibuprofens in this whole time. I can say that my healing process was 99% natural: chiropractic treatment, diet changes etc. That's what I was looking for and it definitely works!

If I missed something I will definitely update this comment. Let me know if anything helped you or if u have any questions.
I really hope this will help! Take care and God bless you guys. <3

[so]

Can you please write a book for those of us who have bulging discs under 50, especially for athletes!

[Mebbe]

This young man knows his job. Excellent advice. Definitely worth listening to.

[nomad]

You have helped me way more than my doctor has. Bought the book to show my appreciation. Great info as always.

[vickielewis]

Another great video. Going in for my initial pt visit after dealing with a severe L5 S1 disk issue with painful sciatica for 10 weeks. 75 and active this is a first for me. Tried all meds and walking in water. Lot of pain. Wish I had you. Keep you posted. VL SUBSCRIBED👋👱‍♀️🇺🇲

[annataylor]

Thankyou will.
You are a gift from the heavens
Iv had 18 years of pain from an accident that caused 2 ruptured discs. Ever since, I get horrendous muscle spasms problems with my disc at L5 and awfully painful inflammation with the same symptoms as others talk about in the comments
I have flare ups at least twice a year.
MRI shows signs of disc herniation and severe degeneration at L5. My dr describes this as “ just wear and tear and nothing to worry about”
When my back is at its worst, I cannot even get myself to the toilet which I’m sure drs wouldn’t describe as just wear and tear if it was happening g to them. My most recent spasm and flare up lasted 13 weeks and I’m still struggling ( 4 months later) drs just give me muscle relaxants and anti-inflamation pills
Iv been to physio many times over the years but it’s very generic and they clearly don’t understand because they try to make me do all the things you say are to be avoided
Iv been watching your videos for around 2 weeks now and my improvement is unbelievable
Iv practiced ashtanga, kundalini and somatic yoga for around 30 years (on and off) so I have some understanding of my own body -Iv been told by physiotherapists in the past I must be doing it wrong or I wouldn’t be in pain like I am. That made me doubt myself and feel very bad even though I know my practice always helps Iv also been told he drs and physiotherapists it’s all in my mind. 🤬🤬🤬
Your knowledge proved to me I should have trusted my instincts and I wasn’t doing it wrong after all

I cannot put into words how valuable your knowledge is.
Thankyou 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰and god bless you

And I hope everybody who’s commented who is struggling with pain heals soon. You are clearly helping so many of us
🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
❤️❤️❤️
Xxx

[jamesr]

Immensely helpful to think of rehabilitation in terms of stages and amount of time. Thank you very much!

[renecruz]

I am at stage 3-4 now! Thank you for this walkthrough!

[irenejones]

Thank you!!!! You describe my bulging disc to a tee! You help me so much to understand & how to go forward with my injury much more than ANY of the doctors I’ve seen. You give me hope! 🙏🏻 Thank you!

[sudowns]

Bravo! I have L5 S1 disc bulging. I had a steroid injection two weeks ago and bought an inversion table, trying to do the " Right " exercise.
Thanks much.

[donnaalbrecht]

Fab thanks Will, I have only just turned 50 normally fit, healthy, active and well. We are traveling Australia this year in our caravan and sadly I think I let my core go… and through bigger climbing hikes have a bulge and annular tear in L5 & S1. I was blessed to find you on line a couple of weeks ago and have been loving your education and various programs. A massive thanks for all you do and share.

[badcookerme]

This describes me and my process perfectly. So helpful, thank you!

[Topofthemormingtoyou]

This is the best video I have seen on this subject. Thanks for this.

[perrymcguire]

Great video and very interesting to learn the steps involved in your bulging disc rehab approach. As a direct consequence of these videos, I stopped doing forward-bending exercises - which in-turn provided me with tangible improvements to my condition - which is a long-term condition but there have been improvements.

[SarahLena]

Thank you so much for These Videos!! (29 and sporty girl myself here 😢)

[jillbolt]

As always, great advice 👍.
I have been concerned about overdoing my exercise because I don't want the pain to reoccur. However, I've had to push through a bit of nerve discomfort to gain improvement and strength. My bulging disc doesn't bother me much now, and the sciatica is improving. I look forward to your videos to see if I'm on the right track. Thank you Will 😊

[rashmikumarrastogi]

Super like❤
So realistic!
Psychological health is important too.

[kristymoore]

Thank you, you are making the most sense in this myriad of online info. I’ll be purchasing your book as this is lifelong. I’m in the painful stages of yin’s, but I have hope that I can heal, continue to exercise and get back to hiking, skiing and backpacking. I’m 59.

[alesandro]

Thank you so much for sharing your incredible knowledge with us Sir !
Your advices helped me a lot.
Much love ❤️❤️

[blissfulbaboon]

Thank you for this clear explanation❤.Stuart McGills book BACK MECHANIC is also very helpful