Back condition
A slipped (herniated) disc happens when the soft centre of a spinal disc bulges or leaks through its outer ring and presses on a nearby nerve — classically sending pain down the leg. Here's the reassuring part: most slipped discs improve without surgery, and the right treatment makes sure yours heals properly.
Tap any that apply to you — this is guidance, not a diagnosis, but it tells you how quickly to act.
A disc pressing this hard on the nerves needs prompt attention. These signs suggest compression of nerves that control more than pain — and saddle numbness or bladder and bowel changes are an emergency today, because delay risks permanent damage.
Good news — nothing urgent on that list. Most slipped discs like yours settle over weeks. An assessment confirms the diagnosis, rules out mimics and gets your recovery properly guided from day one.
Spinal discs are the cushions between your vertebrae — a tough outer ring around a soft centre. From our 30s onwards they gradually lose water and resilience, and a moment of overload can push the centre through a weakened ring. The usual contributors:
Worth knowing: many slipped discs cause no symptoms at all and show up incidentally on scans. A disc on an image is not automatically the culprit — which is why examination comes before imaging.
That radiating leg pain has its own name and its own page. More: sciatica →
For the first days without red flags: short relative rest, then gentle movement — short, frequent walks beat both bed rest and hero workouts. Avoid heavy lifting, deep bending and long sitting; change positions often, use heat for the muscle spasm, and simple pain relief from your pharmacist. Most slipped discs begin easing within a couple of weeks — and if yours doesn't, that's exactly what we're here for.
Followed the early advice and still hurting? Duration changes what to do next — tap the one that fits:
Early days — and the odds are on your side. Keep gently mobile, protect your back from lifting and long sitting, and watch the warning signs above. If leg pain, numbness or weakness are prominent, don't wait the full two weeks — nerve symptoms deserve earlier review.
This is the assessment window. A disc still causing leg pain after two weeks deserves a proper diagnosis — confirming the nerve involved, guiding physiotherapy, and calming severe pain with targeted treatment so you can actually rehabilitate.
Past six weeks — or worsening — the calculus changes. Persistent nerve compression is exactly the situation where imaging and targeted treatment earn their keep, and where waiting longer can narrow the options. Same-day appointments are usually available.
Treatment starts with a proper diagnosis — examination and nerve tension tests, with MRI on-site when it will genuinely change the plan. Then, the least invasive option that works:
Whatever the recommendation, our specialist walks you through the options, the risks and the expected recovery before anything is decided.
Tap a card to reveal the truth:
Discs love variety and hate sustained compression. The protective habits: lift with bent knees and the load close to your body, break up sitting every 30–45 minutes, build core and hip strength so your discs aren't doing the stabilising alone, keep your weight in a healthy range — and if you smoke, know that quitting is one of the best things you can do for your discs' nutrition and healing.
Most do. The bulging fragment shrinks over time and the inflammation around the nerve settles — the majority of slipped discs improve substantially within four to six weeks with guided activity and physiotherapy. What matters is confirming yours is one of the majority, and treating the pain properly while it heals.
No — and that's because nothing has actually slipped out of position. The disc stays where it is; what happens is that its soft centre bulges or leaks through the outer ring. It can't be manipulated back, but it can shrink and heal, which is exactly what treatment supports.
Not always. Our specialist can usually diagnose a slipped disc from your history and examination, including nerve tension tests. MRI is arranged — promptly, on-site at Mount Elizabeth Novena — when nerve symptoms are significant, red flags appear, or a procedure is being planned.
When significant nerve compression persists despite proper non-surgical care, when weakness is progressing — or urgently, for loss of bowel or bladder control. Even then, modern treatment means keyhole endoscopic discectomy through a tiny incision, removing only the fragment pressing on the nerve, with most patients home quickly.
Usually, yes. Gentle walking keeps the spine moving, feeds the discs and calms nerve sensitivity — most people recover faster moving than resting. The exceptions are guided by symptoms: if walking sharply worsens leg pain or weakness, that's information our specialist wants to know about.
Same-day appointments are usually available. Call or book online — our team will take it from there.
