How should I exercise if I have a herniated disc?
PT Health Life – In addition to taking medication, participating in sports activities can help reduce persistent pain caused by disc herniation. So what sports should patients with disc herniation practice and what should they pay attention to?
1. Causes of disc herniation
There are some main reasons:
- Movement: Due to work, movement, overwork or poor posture.
- Age: As the aging process progresses, the intervertebral discs and spine become dehydrated, degenerate, and become easily damaged.
- Suffered a back injury.
- Suffering from congenital diseases such as kyphosis and spinal degeneration.
- Genetic factors.
- Overweight and obesity: The greater the body weight, the higher the burden on the spinal discs, especially in the lumbar area.
- Due to occupation: People who do manual labor, carry heavy loads, or have poor posture are at high risk of getting disc herniation .

2. Benefits of exercise for people with disc herniation
Exercise for people with disc herniation plays an important role in the treatment and recovery process for patients. It brings practical benefits, including:
- Helps relieve pain and pressure from herniated or slipped discs.
- Strengthen the back muscles and hamstrings to reduce pressure on the spine, preventing pain and the risk of recurrence.
- Improves the strength of muscles such as the abdomen, buttocks, and waist, helping to improve the health of the spine.
- Increase the space between discs to push displaced discs back to their original position and improve pain.
- Supports optimizing the effectiveness of medication use and exercise, helping to enhance the treatment process.
3. Exercise is good for people with disc herniation
To prevent disc herniation from causing pain and recurrence, patients need to avoid heavy sports that require a lot of physical strength and can increase pressure on the spine. Instead, gentle exercises should be performed, especially for the back and abdominal muscles.
- Practice yoga
Not only does yoga relax the mind, it also helps stretch muscle groups in the body, but also improves the flexibility of bones and joints, thereby helping to reduce the risk of joint pain.
Performing yoga movements for 10 to 60 seconds can help reduce pressure on the patient’s back. Yoga also improves blood circulation, helps provide nutrition to cartilage and joint tissue, and helps reduce pain.
- Swimming
When swimming, the body must coordinate rhythmically between the movements of the arms, legs, back, abdomen and balance the body’s gravity. This activates and tightens the back muscle groups, helping to protect and strengthen the function of the spine, making it stronger.
Swimming also helps improve pain for people with disc herniation, especially when performing breaststroke.
- Plank exercise
Plank is one of the most effective on-the-spot exercises, effectively affecting many areas of the body. For people with L4 – L5 disc herniation, performing the exercises correctly will not only bring many health benefits but also improve the condition, reducing symptoms of numbness and pain.
The patient lies on his stomach, resting his elbows on the floor. Using your elbows and toes as fulcrum, lift your entire body so that it lies in a straight line, trying not to sink. Hold the position for 30 seconds, the body must be stable, not bent. Slowly lower your body to the floor with light breathing. Perform the movement about 10 times for each exercise.

4. Notes when exercising for people with disc herniation
When exercising, patients need to pay attention and follow the following instructions to ensure safety and effectiveness:
- Before starting any exercise program, consult your doctor or physical therapist.
- Warm up your body carefully with stretching movements to reduce the risk of injury and avoid muscle tension in the neck, shoulders and nape area.
- Limit any exercises that may cause pain or pressure on the cervical and lumbar spine areas.
- Avoid doing high impact activities such as: jogging, martial arts and similar activities.
- You should exercise with appropriate intensity and frequency. Take time to rest. Always listen to your body and stop immediately if you have unusual symptoms.
- Combine with supporting sports: yoga, walking, swimming and cycling.
- Do not exercise excessively.
- Exercises to avoid include: lifting heavy weights, twisting or bending, standing and touching your toes…
- Combine breathing, deep inhalation, and sighing to increase the amount of oxygen in the blood and muscles in the body.