How Long Does It Take For A L5-S1 Disc Bulge To Recover?
L5-S1 disc bulge recovery time varies significantly between individuals.
Based on rehabilitation research and experience 90% of people will have significantly reduced pain within 6 weeks.
Another 5% will have greatly reduced pain within 12 weeks.
95% of people with an L5-S1 disc bulge will have significantly less or no pain within 12 weeks.
It's Been More Than 12 Weeks And I'm Better But Still Have Pain...What's The Deal?
Even if you fall into the 95% of people who improve significantly within 6-12 weeks, it’s very common to still have mild to moderate lower back pain.
This pain may be present much of the time.
It may be present occasionally.
It may come and go, depending on what you’re doing or what position you’re in.
If you are NOT symptom free after 6-12 weeks you simply need to rehabilitate your disc and lower back.
Bulging and herniated discs change the biomechanics of the spine and often affect back muscle and pelvic girdle strength.
To help your disc heal, to function at a high level, and to be pain-free you need to strengthen the trunk and pelvic girdle muscles while also strengthening the discs.
This is done through a training program that involves specific movements and exercises to load the lumbar discs and tissues and to strengthen the surrounding musculature.
The Crush Back Pain Herniated Disc Programs will walk you through this process, step by step.
If investing in one of the Crush Back Pain Programs doesn’t work for you, use the free Crush Back Pain videos to build your own program. There is enough information to do this effectively.
Remember, this is a process. Time and consistency are required. This is why the programs are 12 weeks long.
Building a strong, pain-free back is not a quick fix. It’s a long-term solution that will pay dividends for the rest of your life.
It's Been More Than 12 Weeks, My Lower Back Is A Little Better But Still Bothers Me A lot...Am I Doomed To A Lifetime Of Lower Back Pain?
No! While 5% of people fall into this category it’s still very common. About 80% of people will experience lower back pain at some point during their life. 5% of 80% of people is A LOT of people.
There are various reasons your lower back pain may not improve as much as you would like over time. Some common reasons include:
- Unknowingly moving in ways that aggravate the disc
- Unknowingly doing exercises and stretches that aggravate the disc
- Moving and exercising less because of the back pain and becoming weaker and less active, leading to a cycle of more pain and less activity
- Depending on physical therapists, medical doctors, chiropractors, massage therapists, etc. to “fix” you and becoming frustrated and depressed when nobody can
- Placing too much emphasis on your MRI, believing you have a “bad back” and are always going to have a “bad back”
These are some common examples. There are other reasons.
When people still have significant pain after 12 weeks it’s common that they start thinking they may have to have surgery.
Even with persistent, longer lasting symptoms surgery is rarely required.
It’s important to know that 90-95% of people with persistent sciatica DON’T require surgery. This is people with persistent sciatica due to a herniated disc. Meaning it is NOT going away within 6-12 weeks. 90-95% of these people STILL don’t need surgery.
If you have a bulging disc WITHOUT sciatica the LAST thing you need to consider is surgery. You’re better off rehabilitating your spine. People with a symptomatic herniated disc treated surgically have a 10-times-higher risk of developing another disc herniation compared to the general public.
Sometimes people do require back surgery. And they can have good outcomes. But surgery is rarely required, around 1-5% of the time depending on what research you are looking at. If you have foot drop, bowel and/or bladder incontinence, cauda equina syndrome, or intractable pain that has not responded to any other treatments, then you should consider surgery.
Hard neurological signs and intractable pain are rare though. Occurring in less than 5% of cases.
Ok, Back Surgery Is Probably Not The Answer For Me...What Should I Do Then?
For longer standing lower back pain caused by a bulging disc there are three steps that always deliver results
- Modifying movement patterns and positions in a way that is healthy for lumbar discs opposed to detrimental. This is basic back hygiene.
- Focusing on addressing and changing what you can opposed to focusing on your MRI. Focus on function instead of a picture of your back.
- Completing a science based disc and back rehabilitation program.
Start with getting rid of anything you’re doing that flexes the lower back repeatedly or flexes the lower back under load.
Next, own the fact that your MRI is only a picture of your lower back at one point in time. What it shows is not as predictive of having lower back pain as you think.
Lastly, start and commit to a program that will strengthen your discs and back. And stick with it.
