How to Keep Your Spinal Discs Healthy

Your spine is flexible and strong, allowing you to bend and twist and pick up heavy boxes. The discs that separate the bones of your spine make these movements smooth and painless. 

Unfortunately, your spinal discs aren’t indestructible, and if you’re not careful, they can be a source of pain and discomfort, leading to problems like disc herniation and pinched nerves. 

At Addison Pain + Regenerative Medicine in Addison, Texas, our spine expert Dr. John East specializes in finding long-term solutions for pain conditions like back pain and neck pain. But what we really want to do is prevent your pain in the first place.

Read on to find out how to keep your spinal discs healthy to ease your pain now and reduce your risk of pain later.

About your spinal discs

Before we get into specifics about keeping your spinal discs healthy, we want to tell you a little more about these discs and why they’re so vulnerable to damage.

Spinal discs, also called intervertebral discs, are round, gel-filled cushions with a tough exterior that separate each bone that makes up your spine. These discs act as shock absorbers and allow the bones in your spine to glide when you move your upper body.

Daily use and age-related degenerative changes make your spinal discs vulnerable to damage, like disc herniation where the gel-like interior herniates out through a crack in the tough exterior. A herniated disc may cause back or neck pain by irritating or compressing a spinal nerve. 

The body has a hard time healing disc damage due to a low blood supply. Keeping your spinal discs healthy is the best thing you can do to prevent problems.

Keeping your spinal discs healthy

Lifestyle changes are how you keep your spinal discs healthy. This includes:

Good posture

The curves in your spine ensure equal distribution of body weight. Maintaining good posture lessens stress on your spinal discs, reducing your risk of injury.

Physical activity

Regular exercise improves flexibility, circulation, and strength. Yoga and Pilates are good exercises for your spine. 

Proper lifting

Rely on your leg muscles, not your back, when lifting heavy boxes. Use a back brace if you have a job that requires a lot of heavy lifting.

Healthy weight

Excess body weight places more stress on your spine, speeding up the degenerative process. Maintaining a healthy weight is good for your spinal discs.

Correct sleep posture

Your posture matters when you sleep too. Use pillows to keep your spine aligned while sleeping. For example, place pillows under your knees for back sleeping, in between your legs for side sleeping, and under your stomach for stomach sleeping.

We also recommend eating a balanced diet and drinking plenty of water so your body and spine get all the nutrition necessary to stay well. 

Managing a herniated disc

Herniated discs are common and a leading cause of neck and back pain. But a herniated disc doesn’t have to lead to chronic pain. Many of the lifestyle changes mentioned above also help manage the symptoms caused by a herniated disc.

We may also recommend physical therapy, chiropractic care, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to help reduce your pain and improve your spine health and function. 

If you continue to experience pain from a herniated disc, we may recommend injections like platelet-rich plasma (PRP) to support your body’s healing process or epidural injections to reduce inflammation and pain. 

Taking care of your spinal discs now may prevent pain problems later. If you have back or neck pain and can’t get relief, call our office at 972-380-0000 or request an appointment online today. We can create a plan that benefits your spine now and later.