1-

• Contact Laser Spine Institute
• Request MRI Review
• Medical Spine Seminar

You are here

• Home
• »
• Spine Conditions

Your Bulging Disc and Options for Alternative Treatments

A bulging disc may be completely asymptomatic, or it may be mild enough that alternative treatments are enough to manage your pain. Many people have found relief with yoga, massage, physical therapy, chiropractic work, low-impact exercise, heat therapy, cold therapy, and over-the-counter or prescription pain medication. If these treatments fail to mitigate symptoms of pain, tingling, numbness, and weakness throughout the neck, back, and extremities, your primary care physician may suggest more targeted methods of pain management.

Alternative Treatments for Pain Management

There are a variety of medical subspecialties devoted to helping people attain pain relief, and thus attain a higher quality of life. Pain management specialists might include physiatrists, psychiatrists, physical therapists, and anesthesiologists, among others. These specialists may prescribe any of the below methods for bulging disc pain relief:

• TENS – Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation is a therapy that uses a handheld electric device to deliver impulses that provide pain relief by blocking or scrambling pain signals that travel to the brain.
• Pain Patches – Topical patches release local anesthetics, such as lidocaine. These patches can be worn for up to twelve hours each day to relieve the pain of a bulging disc.
• Epidural Steroid Injections – As opposed to oral medication that delivers dispersed relief throughout the body, injections of steroids like cortisone offer targeted relief from inflammation in the spinal column. The effects of these injections can last for several months when a slow-release steroid is used.
• Ultrasound therapy – This is a type of heat vibration therapy that uses sound waves to reduce pain, improve circulation, and trigger the healing process.

Progressive Options

If both conservative treatments and specialized pain management techniques fail to help you find meaningful pain relief, your doctor may suggest that you consider surgery for your bulging disc. However, you should know that there are alternatives to highly invasive, open spine surgeries. At Laser Spine Institute, we offer minimally invasive, endoscopic procedures on an outpatient basis. We’ve been able to help tens of thousands of people just like you rediscover their lives without back or pain. Contact us to request a free review of your MRI or CT scan from Laser Spine Institute today.

Please note: Laser Spine Institute currently does not perform endoscopic procedures on the thoracic spine.