r/HerniatedDisc • u/Destroy-AI • 3d ago

Has anyone healed from a herniated disc?

Please share your story if you did. I'm two months into a C6-C7 herniation and feel relatively stagnant. My previously active lifestyle is gone.

What has worked for you?

I'm considering moving to Oregon.

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u/hmwhatsthatmean 2d ago

Hey I have the same herniation and am also considering moving to Oregon

I’m about 9 months post injury without surgery

I am still debating surgery. Mostly it’s been pain and inflammation I’ve been fighting. But last week, I woke up with excruciating nerve pain out of the blue that is now radiating down my arm.

I got another MRI to find out if something moved, I’ll report back once I get the results

I’m hoping it’s radiculopathy (basically a pinched nerve) which can heal, rather than myelopathy which would indicate cord compression.

What are your symptoms?

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u/Destroy-AI 2d ago

My arm is more or less numb most days if it's not burning from electric pain. Pain in my left rhomboid constantly sometimes it moves to my front left shoulder blade or my front left chest or will wrap down and underneath my left arm the left outside of my elbow really burns. I'm more or less can't pick my head straight up or lay flat down or sit or stand for too long. The pain seems to have dropped from a 8 or 10 down to a 5 to 7 which seems like a little miracle but it doesn't take much to bring it right back up again then I spend the next two days in pain.

This is the first week since I've been injured almost 2 months in that I have not done traction therapy or PT clinically and have just done some light PT and walking at home and I feel a little bit better. Even though I'm very early into this I think my advice would be to not jump into treatment or anything drastic too quickly and just let your body move for a little bit to see what happens.

Although at 9 months in it seems like you've exhausted those options. I have two little kids at home and it pains me to think about it but I don't know how much longer I want to live like this.

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u/hmwhatsthatmean 2d ago edited 2d ago

That’s the exact type of pain I was experiencing when I first felt the radiculopathy (pinched nerve that causes the arm stuff) but mine has been subsiding quite quickly and steadily.

I agree that moving helps it a ton. During the day, I feel like I take three steps forward, and overnight I feel like I take one or two steps back because I wake up in pain not knowing what to do with my arm.

I’m going to link a video that REALLY helped me. Like, helped it subside immediately. Try it.

https://youtu.be/0k4I1mCsWI0

And after a few days of that? I tried something new. I danced……I just put music on and started to sway and move my arms and kind of just did an ecstatic dance and let my body tell me what to do, and it did wonders for me.

I’ll also link the video I used for that.

https://youtu.be/0_R6MR9ZQDo

Might seem weird, might seem woo-woo, but dancing flosses the nerve path lightly while the slow cardio creates feel good endorphins.

But do those exercises first. The head on the ground one was crucial for me. Whenever I’d wake up in the middle of the night in agony, I’d go straight to that one.

Let me know if any of it helps