Spine journal · 11 guides
Long-form answers on slip disc, decompression and spinal rehabilitation
Written in clinic, from the questions patients actually ask before starting treatment — how long decompression takes to work, what an MRI report really says, which exercises make a bulge worse, and why some sciatica stalls in physiotherapy.
All articles
Guides, in plain clinical language.
Every article links back to the relevant condition and treatment pages so you can go from the question to the protocol.
Treatment timelines
How long does spinal decompression take to work?
Session-by-session timeline for non-surgical spinal decompression: when leg pain starts to centralise, when numbness fades, and how many sessions a disc bulge usually needs. Written by Back2Health, New Delhi.
Technology explained
Spinal decompression vs traction — what is actually different?
Traction pulls with a fixed weight; spinal decompression is computer-controlled, cycles the load and adapts to muscle guarding. Here is what that means for a disc bulge, and how to tell which one a clinic is selling you.
Safety
Is spinal decompression safe? Risks and who should avoid it
Non-surgical spinal decompression is low-risk when the patient is screened properly — but it is genuinely contraindicated in several conditions. Full list of contraindications, side effects and red flags from Back2Health, New Delhi.
Recovery
Slip disc recovery time without surgery
How long a slipped disc takes to heal without surgery, stage by stage — acute phase, centralisation, rehabilitation and return to gym or heavy work. Realistic timelines from a Delhi spine clinic.
Exercise
Exercises to avoid with a slipped disc — and safer replacements
Sit-ups, toe touches, heavy deadlifts and aggressive hamstring stretches reliably aggravate a lumbar disc. Here is the avoid list, why each one loads the disc, and the safe replacement for every movement.
Disc biology
Can a bulging disc heal on its own?
Many disc bulges do resorb naturally — but not all, and not without conditions being right. What resorption depends on, when to wait, and when waiting costs you nerve recovery.
MRI decoded
Understanding your MRI report: what disc bulge and protrusion actually mean
Plain-English translation of lumbar MRI language — bulge, protrusion, extrusion, sequestration, annular tear, modic changes, foraminal narrowing — and why the report rarely matches how much pain you feel.
When treatment stalls
Sciatica not improving after physiotherapy — the usual reasons
Six clinical reasons sciatica fails to respond to physiotherapy — wrong pain generator, untreated disc pressure, missed piriformis or SI joint involvement, and protocols that never load the tissue. What to change next.
Daily habits
The best sleeping position for a slip disc
Side-lying with a pillow between the knees, or back-lying with support under the knees, unloads a lumbar disc overnight. Mattress firmness, pillow height for cervical discs, and why mornings hurt most.
Workplace spine
Why a desk job produces L4-L5 back pain and disc bulges
Sitting raises intradiscal pressure well above standing, and eight hours a day of it loads L4-L5 and L5-S1 more than most gym work. Workstation fixes, movement dosing and the rehab that actually prevents relapse.
Compare your options
Spinal decompression vs spinal fusion surgery
Non-surgical spinal decompression compared with spinal fusion surgery — recovery time, risks, cost, eligibility and when fusion is genuinely the right call.
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