Healing over time naturally??

[Jason B]

Has anyone ever heard of someone having long-term disk based problems such as DDD and eventually healing on their own? Through exercise, weight loss etc?

I'm very curious if given the right nutrients and physical therapy whether or not the disk has the ability to repair itself.

I ask this because I seem to have good days and bad days with my DDD at L4-L5. Sometimes its almost like I have a semi-normal back and other days I am ready to have a ADR thrown in there! I just wonder if there are specific things going on physiologically which contribute to a "good" or "bad" back day which could be reproduced over the longterm in an effort to mend my disk without surgery.

[Alastair]

Hi Jason,
it is well known scientific fact that if a patient has a tear in a disk, sometimes with six months total rest it can heal up by itself.

It's also difficult to be practical about this, because how many of us can have a torn disk diagnosed and also afford to have six months total rest on the off chance that you might be the person whose body heals extremely well in this way.
Best,
Alastair

[Jason B]

I could certainly see that happening with a tear, but take me for instance with about 2 years worth of DDD symptoms.

I went jogging for the first time in a year a couple days ago and expected to pay a dear price in pain terms, but I had one of my best back days in months the day after. I just don't get it.

Then I tried a bike ride last night (trying to get back in shape) and my back was pretty sore this morning.

I'm just trying to correlate these things and understand the mechanics and physiology that's going on inside my body to try and rehabilitate this thing on my own while I lose some weight in hopes to avoid surgery.

[tmont]

This is a question that's been torturing me these last few months as well, as despite a clear evaluation for ADR by DR B, I've become practically asymptomatic over the last 2 months.

I was told by the surgeon who did my nucleotomy that disc material can regenerate in about 2 years' time in young people--others here have told me that it's rare. I guess I'll just have to look at my next MRI and see how it compares to earlier ones.

Jason, a word on biking: not surprising you're sore after leaving it for an extended length of time. Even the most ergonomical setups are tough on the back, and how you hold yourself on the bike is really important.

After my fusion, I went to a foot specialist to have special orthopedic soles (I intended to keep runnning at the time--silly me), and when I told him I biked, he led me into a room full of biking and video equipment and told me to hop on and start pedaling.

He filmed me both biking, and running. We went over the images together. He works with high-level athletes, and said bikers with chronic or recurrent backpain often weren't sitting their bikes well. He corrected my position and showed me how to minimize strain on my trouble spots (neck and back) while biking. You might want to give some though to how you ride if your back still hurts afterwards, and see if anyone can 'analyze' your position for you...

[luvmysibe]

My naturopath believes in the body's regenerative power, with the caveat that it depends on the type of and extent of damage and the nutrients needed for repair. I agree to some extent, but it could be an extremely slow process, and other body parts (functions) could be harmed due to compensation in the process.

[annapurna]

Tears in disks can heal over time, with the proviso that the annular material lost is likely to be gone forever and the torn and healed area is likely to be weak forever after. Those two together could lead to DDD or future tears.

DDD, at my best knowledge, is permanent and does not naturally reverse. You can go through more and less stable periods as the disk degenerates. You can also have a disk degernerate to a point then not change significantly from there for many years/decades.

[Harrison]

Jason, I have a lot to say and ask -- but only have a few questions for you to noodle:

- what is the difference between biking and running, in terms of the muscles used as well as spinal twisting?

- do you find that all vertically-oriented exercise is OK on your back?

[tmont]

what is the difference between biking and running, in terms of the muscles used as well as spinal twisting?

Back-wise, it's not so much a question of muscle use as spine position. Even with a straight handlebar, your back will be somewhat curved. The way you hold yourself, and the way you're centered, as well as height of the seat in relation to handlebars affects the space between the vertebral bodies and stretches or compresses accordingly. Sitting the wrong way or having a bike poorly adjusted in relation to individual morphology can be a killer for the back and neck--especially low back and low neck regions, according to sports doctor. You really need to be well-seated and have a good technique.

There is little-to-no impact in road biking, whereas running is a constant series of jars and jolts throughout the body. However, when you run you're mostly vertical and thus not subjected to both the hunching and twisting of bikers who need to look over their shoulders to make sure they're not about to get hit whenever they make a turn.

Rule of thumb from this doctor: 'bad feet, bad knees--get off the track and onto a road bike. Bad back--better the track than the bike, but try Nordic walking istead of running'

Just one opinion