What a Bulging Disc Diagnosis Means For You

A bulging disc diagnosis can come as a shock to many patients and may sound somewhat frightening to you at first. Questions may be running through your head and thoughts of the worst are inevitable. However, millions of people have received this diagnosis before, and your doctor will be there to answer any and all questions for you to help you cope with the condition. Your doctor may even be able to explain to you what led to your bulging disc and if any other spinal abnormalities exist that you should be aware of and take heed to.

Conservative Treatment Efforts

Upon giving you a bulging disc diagnosis, your doctor will tailor a treatment regimen for you to follow. This regimen may consist of pain medications and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, physical therapy, stretching and light exercise, bed rest, hot and cold therapy, or any combination of these. Results of these treatments will probably not be noticeable overnight, but consistently following your recommended or prescribed treatment plan can prove very beneficial in alleviating your symptoms.

Should You Consider Surgery After a Diagnosis?

If you have just received a bulging disc diagnosis, you should not consider surgery as a viable treatment option unless the doctor tells you an emergency condition is present, such as cauda equina syndrome. On the other hand, if you have performed the various treatment methods advised or prescribed by your doctor for several weeks or months with no avail, you may wish to consider surgery as a viable option. The reason that surgery is not first recommended is that conservative treatments usually help to minimize the symptoms, increase muscle strength and flexibility, and reduce inflammation as the spine adjusts to the disc bulge. There are always cases, though, where conservative treatment does not help to restore proper health and placement of the affected disc in the spine. It is then that surgery is often considered as a feasible method of treatment.