Column How to Prevent Disc Herniation: Important Points to Keep in Mind in Your Daily Life

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02.14.2025

What is disc herniation?

The intervertebral disc is made up of the nucleus pulposus, which is inside the disc, and of the annulus fibrosus, which encloses the nucleus pulposus.

As a result of genetic factors, aging, or the strain of daily life, the annulus fibrosus sometimes cracks and the nucleus pulposus protrudes outward, damaging the intervertebral disc in the process. This condition is known as disc herniation. A herniated disc in the lumbar region is referred to as lumbar disc herniation.

Characteristics shared by the persons predisposed to disc herniation

Patients prone to disc herniation tend to have a low degree of hip joint flexibility as one of their main physical characteristics.

Whenever the body reclines forward, the hip joints and lower back bend during the movement. We know that in the absence of low back pain, the hip joints will perform a larger movement, while if low back pain is present, the lumbar spine tends to be displaced significantly more. When the lumbar vertebrae move more, there is greater stress applied on the discs, and this stress is one of the causes of disc herniation.

Important things to be wary of to avoid disc herniation

Based on the above, it is important to exercise caution in your daily life regarding the following points in order to avoid disc herniation:

・Work on increasing the flexibility of your hip joints.

・Work on increasing the flexibility of the muscles around your buttocks.

・Perform movements stooping forward with the pelvis sufficiently tilted.

・Avoid sitting for prolonged periods of time.

Recommended Exercises

Exercise is another effective way to prevent disc herniation.

Exercises to increase the flexibility of the hip joints ①

1. Starting position: on all fours, make sure that the back is not rounded or arched.

2.Maintain that position while slowly pulling your buttocks backward.

Be cautious not to move the pelvis or round the hips while doing this movement.

3.Stop pulling your buttocks before your back becomes rounded or your pelvis moves, and return to the starting position.

Be sure to perform this series of movements in a slow and deliberate manner.

Exercises to increase the flexibility of the hip joints ②

1.Starting position: Sit with both knees bent and feet apart at about the width of your shoulders (middle photo).

2.Slowly move your hip joints by bringing your knees down.

3.Be careful not to let your buttocks up when you bring your knees down, and avoid twisting your hips.

How to stand up

This is a way to stand up that places less strain on the lower back, with a solid pelvic and hip motion.

1.Tilt your body forward as if you were holding a stick between your stomach and thighs.

2.As you lean forward, lift your buttocks when you feel the weight on the soles of your feet.

*Be careful not to bend your hips when lifting your buttocks.

3.Once you have lifted your buttocks, extend your legs with the help of your knees and hip joints.

*Be aware that your knees and hip joints should be extended at the same time.

Treatment at our clinic

If you are diagnosed with disc herniation, it is important not to leave the condition untreated, and to this end you should get a diagnosis from a specialist. Early detection and appropriate treatment can prevent the condition from aggravating and even cure it completely.

Our clinic offers the Cellgel Method, a treatment that repairs damaged intervertebral discs.

With our cellgel Method, a special drug is injected that fills in the cracks in the disc, before turning into a gel in those cracks, thus providing a fundamental cure. It is characterized by the fact that the volume of the disc is not reduced and the drug remains in the disc as a gel-like implant after treatment, thus preserving the disc.