Show Notes
Your herniated disc hasn't healed because you've been treating the stiffness, not the injury — and a herniated disc is a load-bearing injury.
If you've got a herniated disc (a slipped disc, disc bulge or prolapsed disc) at L4/L5 or L5/S1 and it still hasn't settled, this session explains why — and how it actually heals. A herniated disc is a loading failure: an injury to the annulus fibrosus, the tough outer ring of the disc. It does heal, automatically, the same way a graze does — but only if you stop aggravating it and start rebuilding its capacity to bear load.
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You'll learn what's actually injured (the disc, but also the facet joints and ligaments of the whole segment), why there's no quick fix and no manipulation that "puts it back", and why the bending-and-twisting exercises so many people are given — knee hugs, cat-camels, nerve flossing — keep the injury irritated. Mike explains why the squat and hip hinge are the two best exercises for recovery: done to a fixed depth, the only thing that changes session to session is the load, so they double as a measure of how healed the disc really is. And the key reframe throughout: how you feel is the worst marker of progress — a back can stop hurting long before it's strong — so your load-bearing capacity, not your pain, tells you where you are. You can come back stronger than before.
🔑 Key Topics Covered 🩺 A herniated disc is a load-bearing injury — and it does heal: it's an injury to the annulus fibrosus, the disc's outer ring. Like any ligament it heals slowly, over months, and automatically — your job is to stop getting in the way.
🚫 Why there's no quick fix: no manipulation "puts a disc back", and the bending-and-twisting exercises so many people are handed — knee hugs, cat-camels, nerve flossing — keep an already-injured segment irritated. Education to stop the daily aggravations comes first.
🏋️ Why the squat and hip hinge are the best exercises: done to a fixed depth, the only thing that changes week to week is the load — so you can build capacity safely and know exactly what your spine is taking, unlike uncontrolled bending.
📊 How you feel is the worst marker of progress: a back stops hurting long before it's strong, which is why people feel "fixed", return to normal life, and flare again. Your load-bearing capacity — what you can squat and hip hinge — is the real measure.
Chapters 00:00 Why your herniated disc hasn't healed 02:00 What is a herniated disc? 06:00 Stop making it worse: the daily habits 09:00 Why there's no quick fix 14:00 Spondylolisthesis and retrolisthesis explained 18:00 Pilates, braces, and starting where you are 22:00 Your disc does heal — here's how 27:00 Progressive loading: you're already moving every day 34:00 Why your QL and hamstrings keep tightening up 40:00 Do scoliosis, pelvic tilt or "bad posture" cause it? 46:00 Why the squat and hip hinge beat everything else 50:00 The squat and hip hinge as your healing test 54:00 Signs your back is actually healing 1:00:00 Why how you feel is the worst measure of progress 1:04:00 The lifelong habit — and why walking is relief, not rehab 1:07:00 A surgical case: what does the operation change? 1:13:00 Wrapping up
#HerniatedDisc #Sciatica #BackInShape #SlippedDisc #DiscBulge #BackPainRelief #SpinalRehab #HerniatedDiscRecovery
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