Japanese Acupuncture for Herniated Disc

I recently lifted a large bucket of water incorrectly and felt a painless “pop” in my lower back. I assumed that I had pulled a muscle. Over the next 3 weeks, I tried to stretch it out and applied several healing techniques but my symptoms progressively got worse. Finally, I had severe pain in my right leg, a symptom known as sciatica. Then, I knew that I had herniated a disc.

A herniated, or bulging disc is when the soft tissue between the vertebra becomes injured and swollen and begins to exert pressure on one of the spinal nerves. In some cases, the tough outer surface of the disc can tear or break, allowing the soft inner nucleus to be extruded out of the disc and into the vertebral recess and the spinal canal. It’s a very painful condition but in 90% of the cases, a herniated disc will heal on it’s own, over 6 to 8 weeks of conservative treatment. During that period, the body’s natural healing energy goes to work, dissolving the herniated tissue and repairing the disc that remains in tact, a process called resorption.

To help reduce pain and buy time while the body heals, a steroidal epidural injection can be very helpful. This is a process of injecting a small amount of steroidal anti-inflammatory into the injured area to reduce inflammation and swelling and make the healing process considerably more comfortable.

Japanese acupuncture can also help to speed the process of resorption. In the case of an acute injury like this, I recommend treatments every 3 or 4 days. When applied correctly, acupuncture will ease the pain and help to direct the body’s healing energy to the affected area in the back. In Japanese style acupuncture, after an injury like this, we treat the Kidney and Liver channels as well as local points along the lumbar spine.

Other important healing techniques are cold packs to reduce inflammation, and complete bed rest for the first 2 or 3 days. After about 3 days, it’s best to resume a reduced schedule and try to stay vertical as much as possible. Walking is the exercise of choice (lots of it) and sitting is to be kept to a minimum. After 2 or 3 weeks, a gentle stretching program is recommended. After 6 to 8 weeks, it’s important to begin a strengthening program to prevent recurrance. In most cases, injury to the spinal discs is due to weak back muscles.

For a health care practitioner, an injury like this is very humbling. It reminds us that we really don’t know as much as we thought. And it helps to make us more compassionate with the suffering of others. Pain is a great teacher and helps to bring us down to earth and come face to face with our mortality and the frailness of the human condition. At times, we all have illness or injury which serve as an important “reality check” for us all.

Thank you for visiting my blog. If you have questions about acupuncture and shiatsu, or if you have a specific health concern, please contact me at:

Bart Walton, L.Ac.
Licensed Acupuncture & Shiatsu
Portland, Oregon
503/939-5805