Spinal disks are rubbery cushions situated between the individual bones, or vertebrae, of your spine. The space and protection these disks provide each vertebra allows you to bend, twist and reach. Relative to its tougher exterior, the center of each disk is somewhat soft. Strain or injury can cause a disk’s exterior to rupture, allowing its insides to push out through the opening. It’s also possible for spinal disks to herniate by moving out of place, which is sometimes referred to as a slipped disk. While diet isn’t usually a component of traditional medical treatment for herniated disks, what you eat can affect your recovery experience.
Risk Factors
You have an increased risk of a herniated disk during middle age, a time when most people are relatively active but their disks have begun to suffer from age-related degeneration. You also have an increased risk of a disk injury if you have a physically demanding job. Being overweight is another risk factor, because excess body weight stresses your lower back, which is where herniated disks most often occur. Disk herniation in the lumbar spine occurs 15 times as often as disk herniation in the cervical spine, or neck, according to the Mayfield Clinic for Brain & Spine. A herniated disk is least likely to occur in the thoracic spine, or the middle to upper back region.
Medical Treatments
Herniated disk diagnosis usually involves a series of movement assessments and diagnostic tests including spine CTs and MRIs. The first methods of treatment are usually rest, pain medication and physical therapy. Physicians commonly prescribe nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications, or NSAIDs, to patients suffering from a sudden herniation, such as can occur when lifting something heavy. Muscle relaxants and narcotic painkillers are also sometimes prescribed for a herniated disk. Often, these basic treatments are enough to heal a herniated disk and allow you to return to your normal level of activity, according to MedlinePlus. Steroid injections and surgery are options for the few patients who require further treatment.
Anti-inflammatory Diet
A balanced, nutrient-dense diet can go a long way to support your body’s internal recovery. While it may not take the place of a pain medication or physical therapy, offering your body high-quality nutrition when you have a herniated disk or other inflammatory injury helps facilitate healing. Inflammation is your body’s natural reaction to injury, but it can be an additional source of pain, pressure and heat. Certain foods, including those high in saturated fat, sugar and refined carbohydrates, can exacerbate inflammation. Foods with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, including brightly colored fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, oily fish and anti-inflammatory spices such as ginger and turmeric, promote the repair phase of injury recovery.
Considerations
While your dietary choices can affect your body’s ability to heal a herniated disk with minimal medical intervention, your overall diet — if it causes you to carry excess body weight — can impact how frequently you experience disk injuries. If you’re overweight and have a herniated disk or chronic lower back pain, your health care provider is likely to recommend dietary changes and increased activity as part of your long-term treatment. Maintaining a healthy weight through diet and exercise reduces the chances you’ll experience another herniated disk, according to MayoClinic.com.
References
- MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: Herniated Disk
- MayoClinic.com: Herniated Disk
- Mayfield Clinic for Brain & Spine: Herniated Lumbar Disc
- Better Health Channel: Illness — Tips to Help You Recover
- Los Angeles Times: To Soothe the Body
- Canadian Living: The Anti-inflammatory Diet
- The Physiotherapy Site: Inflammation
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