Good spine therapists will teach you how to bend, lift and twist to break your old bad habits and prevent further stress to the disc. These therapists should also work to teach you about engaging core strength and the exercises necessary to maintain this strength.
“Nerve flossing” is also important. As I said earlier, the nerve acts like a cable over a pulley. Surgery always forms some scar tissue. You will want to move the nerve while the scar is “setting up” to prevent adhesions to the nerve. This is “nerve flossing” and is important to do in the first six weeks.
Nerve flossing is simply the same action as the stretch of the hamstring muscle. This movement also stretches the nerve root itself. The key is to gently stretch the root without increasing inflammation which will cause greater nerve pain. This is the art of medicine.
Dr. Corenman
Donald Corenman, MD, DC is a highly-regarded spine surgeon, considered an expert in the area of neck and back pain. Trained as both a Medical Doctor and Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Corenman earned academic appointments as Clinical Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and his research on spine surgery and rehabilitation has resulted in the publication of multiple peer-reviewed articles and two books.