[LaraBulinski]

Unfortunately herniated discs and arthritis don’t go away, they just lie dormant. For this reason it is important for you to keep the stabilizing muscles of your back as strong as possible – the swiss ball is great for this and there are a myriad of exercises – both with and without wieights – that can be done on it. But this is for when you’re feeling better. For now your best bet is to find a chiropractor who can help mobilize the area and take pressure off the discs and relieve the protective muscle spasm going-on. Spinal decompression may help but has not been shown to be more effective than regular adjustive techniques used by most chiropractors (and it’s pricey). Kinesiology taping can help with the muscle spasm – ask if they do that too. For home care, an inversion table may be of some use, just don’t hang completely vertical to start, only about 45* is good to start and for not more than 5 minutes.