Most of the patients that are referred to our practice, present with the diagnosis of “disk herniation” at one or multiple levels in their neck and/or lower back. You should be aware that disk abnormalities are quite common even in healthy individuals and usually, their occurrence is not disconcerting. However, the symptoms are an early sign that should not be ignored.Most of the times it means that your spine is somehow “stressed” and you need to take some therapeutic measures. The indications for spine surgery are quite strict and specific and when they are not met, proper physiotherapy is the best way to restore your health.
Modern physiotherapy does not aim at normalizing imaging findings, e.g. alleviating a disk herniation, but rather approaches the human organism as a functional unit in a biopsychosocial context. It aims in improving the mobility and stability of the spinal joints and educating the person to adopt healthy lifestyle habits (proper body posture, ergonomics, normal body weight etc.), in order to achieve long lasting positive results.
Every disk herniation has a different clinical presentation and therefore a unique therapeutic management. A complete assessment of the problem and an individualized treatment plan is the key to a positive outcome. For more information, please read the following segments.
CONCLUSION: Do not focus your attention on the imaging abnormalities. Focus on the mechanism that provoked the disk herniation and change the cause of the problem. Your body will respond in a positive manner.
