★★★★☆
In spite of the fact that I did very often the McKenzie stretches (like a cobra) it didn't help me at all and for a few minutes I felt more pain after the stretch. I even done these stretches before I was unable to walk. Now I found this video of a doctor explaining that if the herniation of the disc is too sideways an alternation of the McKenzie stretches must be done:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tW8tkeAHk24
I've done this and I had no added pain after that but the following days will show if these will calm the pain quicker.
I've read the post about the ball point pen technique and tend to agree that lower back muscles must be stretched and exercised in order to prevent severe back pain. I've tried the swing bar for exercising to prevent back pain but it didn't and had several other lower incidents of back pain. It doesn't have the resistance to train inner abdominals or gain height in the intervertebral disc realising tension as the manufacturer claims by researching. Laying on the floor with the head down and trying repeatingly to raise the upper torso and feet is a good exersise for lower back muscles.
I've tried capsaicin ointment and can cover the pain for one or two days but then I got used to it and it didn't helped with the healing at all.
