How long is the duration of a herniated disc?

Defnition

The duration of how long the disc herniation symptoms last varies greatly and is influenced by a number of factors. For example, the individual severity of the herniated disc, the respective height at which the herniation occurs, the symptoms and ultimately the therapy can have an influence on how long a herniated disc lasts. A herniated disc is a very serious disease, which lasts relatively long until a complete recovery.

In order to achieve a quick recovery it is therefore of great importance to follow the recommendations of the treating physician. A herniated disc is a disease of the spine in which parts of the disc enter the area of the spinal canal where the spinal cord is located. This is usually caused by damage to the structure and stability of the intervertebral disc due to prior loading.

Duration of the healing process

A herniated disc is a serious, severe disease with a relatively long prognosis for healing. Depending on the therapy, a complete cure to freedom from symptoms can take several months. In most cases, a herniated disc is treated “conservatively”, i.e. without surgery.

In most cases such a therapy is sufficient. It is difficult to give a blanket answer on how long a complete healing of a herniated disc takes, as this depends on many factors and can vary greatly from individual to individual. A herniated disc is a serious disease that takes some time to heal.

How long the recovery takes varies from patient to patient and is difficult to predict in general. On the one hand, the recovery time depends on how severe the herniated disc was. If it is a mass prolapse, i.e. a pronounced herniated disc, a significantly longer recovery period can be assumed than in the case of a less serious finding.

In addition, the duration of recovery depends on the form of therapy. In most cases, a herniated disc is treated exclusively conservatively, i.e. with medication and physiotherapy. If the instructions of the treating physician regarding rest (possibly with bed rest), movement exercises (e.g. physiotherapy or sports exercises in the further course) or painkilling medication are not followed, the course of the disease may be further delayed.

It usually takes at least four to six weeks until complete recovery, sometimes the course of the disease can extend over several months, depending on the patient’s general condition, age and concomitant diseases. Even a conservative treatment by the attending physician and physiotherapist can extend over several weeks and months. Surgical therapy may be considered if there is no improvement after about four weeks of conservative therapy.

However, it should be considered that there is a relatively high risk of a new herniated disc with such operations, so that the long-term success of an operation is not necessarily superior to conservative therapy. This topic could also interest you: Sport after and during a herniated discThe description of the acute phase of a herniated disc refers to the symptomatic initial phase of the disease. In addition to pain, other symptoms such as paralysis or paresthesia can occur, which often show improvement after a few weeks.

The acute phase can last between one and six weeks, depending on the individual course of the disease. Here, a suitable therapy, which has been agreed with the treating physician, is decisive for the individual course of the disease as well as for the duration of the acute phase of the disease. If the conservative therapy fails, the acute phase of the herniated disc can also last for a longer period of time. In these cases, alternative treatment options (e.g. PRT – periradicular therapy) should be discussed with the treating physician in order to positively influence the course of the disease.