top of page

Bob and Brad Hand Massager

$74.99

Bob and Brad Air 2 Massage Gun

$69.99

Bob and Brad's Pull Up System

$44.98

Bob & Brad Booyah Stik

$49.95

Bob & Brad Knee Glide

$89.95

Bob and Brad C2 Massage Gun

$69.99

Bob and Brad Q2 Mini Massage Gun

$59.49

Bob and Brad Resistance Tube Bands Set for Workout

$24.99

Bulging Disk? Herniated Disk? The BIG LIE you need to know.

This article is a transcribed edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in January of 2016. For the original video go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClylSTLubvY&t=1s

Bob: Today we’re going to be taking about the big lie, which comes in part from this book called Paindemic. This was written by Doctor Melissa Cady. She’s a doctor of osteopathy and she wrote a chapter in this book called The Disc, I believe it is, and that chapter alone might be worthwhile getting this book.


Brad: It’s a good chapter. If you have back pain and you’re thinking about getting an MRI, you should read it.


Bob: Right, MRI, or if you’re thinking about having surgery, you want to. We’ll talk more about this book in the future, but right now, let’s talk about the big lie. First off, let’s say you’re having back pain. You go in and you have an MRI, and they found out you have a bulging disc or herniated disc. You’re going “oh my God.”


Brad: Right, you’re all excited. I better get surgery.


Bob: The thing is that’s probably the last thing you want to do because the problem is, what you’ll find out, this study – we’re going to show a couple studies – is shown that some people at a certain age have a bulging disc, and they have no pain at all. So, let’s go to the chart. So, if you have a bulging disc, what they did is they did MRIs on people. They did MRIs on people who were having no symptoms whatsoever, they had no signs or symptoms of pain. They did it on people in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s. What they found out is that 30% of the people in their 20s had a bulging disc.

Brad: No symptoms. Active people.


Bob: 40% in their 30s – no symptoms, had a bulging disc. All the way up to when you’re in your 70s, 77% of people had a bulging disc, but no pain.


Brad: And you can see it gradually goes up with age.


Bob: It’s a part of aging, it’s a deterioration process.


Brad: It’s like getting grey hair.


Bob: Or putting on a few extra pounds. So, are you going to get surgery when you get grey hair brad?


Brad: No.


Bob: The other thing was disc protrusions, which is a disc herniation. On the disc herniation, the same was true, Brad. At age 20, 29% of the people had a disc herniation and had no symptoms. All the way up to 80, 43% had a disc protrusion or herniation and no pain.


Brad: So, if you think about it, you have back pain, and you may have had that herniation in your disc for 10 or 15 years prior without any symptoms. Then you get back pain, and it may be from a different cause, you get an MRI, and they see the herniation or the protrusion and point the finger at that. You have the surgery, get it taken care of, and still have the pain.


Bob: Yes, because it wasn’t from the herniation. So, we’ll talk a little more about that, but right now Brad is going to show what a bulging disc would be like. First off you have the disc itself.


Brad: We’re going to look at L5 and L4, two lower vertebra.

Brad: This red bulge here represents a bulging disc or herniated disc and now if we look at these two vertebrae, and we’re going to take it out and show a model of those.


Brad: This cup represents one of the vertebrae, this is the other. The green ball represents the disc itself. This is a healthy disc. It moves, it has some mobility in it, so that you can move your spine as we all do.

Brad: Particularly if the bugle is in the back where most bulges are, when you bend forward, it often makes it worse. Or when you lift weights with poor body mechanics and seated with poor posture and that bulge can eventually turn into a herniation.

Bob: A herniation is when some of the inner material of the disc spills out back.

Brad: A disc is just like this. You can see there’s material under this, it’s a thicker liquid, but it can come out and cause that bulge and that’s a problem that you do not want to have.


Bob: It’s a problem that is not really a problem unless it pushed out the back and hits a nerve, Brad.


Brad: Right. I guess what I meant to say was when it gets this far out, and it’s extreme, and creating pain and whatnot.


Bob: So when should you have surgery? There are times you should. One is if this bulge or herniation is pushing against your spinal cord, which is running right down in this hole of the back of the vertebra. The other one is if it’s hitting one of the nerves coming off on the sides. If it hits that nerve, it could give you some pain down your leg and if it’s causing you “foot drop”, where you start getting weakness in the foot, that’s usually a sign that you’re getting pressure on the nerve and it’s pushing on the nerve itself. There are three instances. One, is it pushing on your spinal cord. It will tell on the MRI, you’ll see that. Two, was it pushing on one of the spinal nerves. Or three, is there a mass in there. I mean if you have cancer or some type of mass growing.


Brad: Right, sometimes it’s benign and they get in there to remove it and it takes care of the problem quickly.


Bob: Or a blood clot. There could even be a blood clot growing on the spinal cord. Dr. Cady, she said she knew plenty of physicians and surgeons who would avoid back surgery like the plague, that was one of her quotes. So, it’s something you want to consider, that you want to try some aggressive physical therapy way before you try surgery. It kind of is the last case scenario. Again, don’t get distraught if you’re seeing a lot of things on your X-Ray which is just showing general aging which is conveying a disc protrusion or disc herniation.


Brad: Yeah, I think Bob meant to say MRI.


Bob: Did I? What did I say?


Brad: X-Ray.


Bob: Oh X-Ray, well X-Rays show some of that stuff too.


Brad: Sure.


Bob: Alright, thanks!


If you are having pain associated with a bulging or herniated disc you may want to check out our Sciatica Program for more information.


Visit us on our other social media platforms:

YouTube, Website, Facebook,Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, TikTok, Wimkin

Mewe,Minds, Vero, SteemIt, Peakd , Rumble


Bob and Brad also have a Podcast where we share your favorite episodes as well as interviews with health related experts.


For this week’s Giveaway visit: https://bobandbrad.com/giveaways

Bob and Brad’s Products

Pain Management:

C2 Massage Gun (US) Fit Glide

Q2 Mini Massage Gun (US) Knee Glide

Handheld Massager Back and Neck Massager

X6 Massage Gun with Stainless Steel Head Eye Massager

T2 Massage Gun Leg Massager

Foot Massager


Fitness:

Resistance Bands​ Pull-Up System

Pull Up Bands Exercise Ball

Resistance Bands for Legs and Butt​ Wall Anchor​

Grip and Forearm Strengthener Hanging Handles​

Hand Grip Strengthener Kit


Stretching:

Booyah Stik Stretch Strap


Wellness:

Bob and Brad Blood Pressure Monitor


Bob & Brad Amazon Store and other products Bob and Brad Love


Check out our shirts, mugs, bags and more in our Bob and Brad merchandise shop


The Bob and Brad Community is a place to share your experiences, ask questions and connect with others regarding physical therapy and health topics.


Medical Disclaimer All information, content, and material of this website is for informational purposes only and are not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider.


Affiliate disclaimer: Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. We are highly selective in our products and try our best to keep things fair and balanced in order to help you make the best choice for you.


3,532 views
photo

Back Pain Relief Program

Get BACK to pain-free: Bob and Brad bring you the best information on keeping your back in tip-top shape! Check out our Back Pain Program and you'll be bending like a contortionist in no time

photo

Bob and Brad Products Program

The products we back to help in your quest to live a healthy, fit, and pain-free life.

Sit back and relax as we explain the ins and outs of these products.

photo

Osteoporosis- The Meeks Method

Sara Meeks specializes in the management of low bone mass and skeletal fragility (osteoporosis).

Here she shares her secrets to successfully prevent, arrest or reverse the Patterns of Postural Change.

photo

Neck Pain Relief Program

70% of people will suffer from neck pain at some point in their lives. DON’T be one of them!

Check out our Neck Program with videos and printable PDFs full of at home treatment options.

photo

Stretching & More Fitness Program

From your head to your toes, the Stretching & More Program offers stretches and techniques that will keep you feeling great and help prevent injuries! Add a few of these to your stretching routine today.

photo

Shoulder Pain Relief Program

You shoulder your daily responsibilities, let us shoulder the burden of relieving your pain!

Check out our Shoulder Program for at home exercises to get you back to business!

photo

Sciatica Relief Program

Do you have pain in your lower back that shoots down into your glute and leg?


Our Sciatica Program offers videos to help relieve your pain at home, work, or just out living life.

photo

Total Knee Replacement Fitness Program

Planning knee replacement surgery? Want to improve your range of motion and return to activities you love?

Our Total Knee Replacement Program can help.

photo

Self Massage Program

Two sure-fire ways of relieving tension and sore muscles: massage and humor! We have both in our Massage Program.

Learn to use self massage for a variety of ailments with videos and printable PDFs.

photo

Hip Pain Relief Program

It’s not hip to spend your life in pain. Enjoy a pain-free life with our Hip Program, full of at home treatment options and printable PDFs!

You'll be back on your feet in no time.

photo

Knee Pain Relief Program

Is knee pain slowing you down? Knee pain relief has never been so accessible.

Learn ways to relieve pain at home and feel your best with the videos in our Knee Program!

photo

Plantar Fasciitis Relief Program

Foot pain can affect many other parts of your body without you even realizing it!

Don’t let your pain progress- stop it NOW with our Plantar Fasciitis program! Full of videos for at home healing.

Explore Our Programs

bottom of page