Slip Disc Physiotherapy at Home in Swargate, Pune

"Slip disc" is the everyday name for a disc in the spine that has bulged or herniated and may be pressing on a nerve. The disc does not actually slip out of place, and in many people the herniated part shrinks over time. Our slip disc physiotherapy guide describes the condition; this page is about managing it from home in Swargate.

Reading the MRI report without panic

MRI reports are written for doctors, and words such as "degeneration", "protrusion" or "indentation of the thecal sac" sound worse than they often are. Disc bulges show up on the scans of many adults who have no pain at all, so a report only makes sense alongside your symptoms and examination. The physiotherapist will go through it with you, explain which findings match what you feel, and point out anything your doctor should look at more closely.

The first painful days

• Find the positions that ease the leg or back pain and use them often: lying on your side with a pillow between the knees, or on your back with the knees bent over pillows.
• Get up and walk briefly every hour or so if you can, even if it is only across the room.
• Put off long sitting, lifting and repeated bending for now.
• Repeat the movements the physiotherapist found helpful, and drop any that send pain further down the leg.

Back to lifting work

Plenty of people around Swargate lift for a living: porters and traders at Market Yard in Gultekdi, shop staff handling stock, and anyone carrying water cans and cylinders up an old staircase. Going back to that work is a staged process. Once the leg pain has settled, the physiotherapist builds strength in the trunk and hips, then rehearses lifting with light loads at home, such as a bucket of water or a bag of rice. The weight and the number of lifts go up as your back copes. The real sacks or crates come last, and only once the lighter steps feel fine the following day.

How you lift matters as much as how much: feet apart, the load close to the body, turning with the feet instead of twisting, and asking for help with anything awkward.

Sitting work needs the same gradual approach. Shopkeepers and riders often find the first long stretch on a stool or a scooter seat brings the pain back, so the plan builds sitting time up in steps, with a cushion or rolled towel behind the lower back and a short stand every so often.

Leg symptoms from a disc are covered in more depth on sciatica treatment in Swargate, while back pain physiotherapy in Swargate suits pain that stays mainly in the back.

When the disc becomes an emergency

Occasionally a disc presses on the nerves that control the bladder and bowel. Trouble passing urine, leaking, numbness around the saddle area, or weakness in both legs means going to hospital without delay.

Mukund Nagar has its own slip disc page, and our guide to exercising safely with a slip disc lists what to watch for. You can book a home visit, or read about physiotherapy in Swargate first.