Disc herniation recovery programme in Cluj
A disc herniation is only an EFFECT.
I don't treat the place that hurts. I look for the real cause: I test which muscles aren't working the way they should and why, then we work with P-DTR and kinetotherapy, in a programme.
- Radu Conea
- Fitway Kinetoterapie Cluj
What a disc herniation feels like
- The pain “zaps” like electricity or runs down your leg or arm.
- Numbness, tingling or “pins and needles” in your fingers or buttocks.
- You feel you have no strength in your leg or hand.
- You've done kinetotherapy, and the pain comes back when you stop.
- Surgery has been recommended and you want another opinion.
The programme is for lumbar, cervical or thoracic disc herniation. And for a herniation that came back after surgery.
Why a disc herniation happens
“The intervertebral disc is like a gasket that absorbs the shocks of the spine.”
The gasket holds as long as the pressure comes evenly.
Okay, but what happens when it no longer comes evenly?
The muscles around the pelvis no longer contract evenly. The pressure in the joints changes. That disc, or several, get much more pressure on one side.
The disc bulges out and presses on the nerve root. That's how the herniation appears.
With a lumbar herniation, on the side of the herniation, the lower back muscles end up tense and shortened. On the opposite side, lengthened and weak.
And why don't they contract evenly anymore?
The central nervous system uses muscles like tools. It decides which ones work and which ones rest. And what makes it decide is trauma: a sprain, a fall, an operation, a blow to the head as a child. It doesn't matter if it was 5, 15 or 30 years ago.
The body doesn't forget. It remembers the place that got hurt and wants to protect it.
That's why the herniation comes back when you only treat the place that hurts.
A disc herniation needs work, not rest
A disc herniation isn't treated in bed, watching Netflix.
“The intervertebral disc is like a sponge that absorbs nutrients when pressure is put on it.”
Meaning the disc only gets fed when pressure is put on it. When you move.
In the acute phase, when the pain is at its peak, the body needs protection and correct positions, not aggressive exercises made up on the fly.
After the acute phase, we work. And yes, with weights.
How much, meaning the intensity (weights) and the volume (repetitions), we find out from testing.
I had a disc herniation too
L4-L5, 10 millimetres. The flare-ups kept coming back for years.
I got the same protocol as five other people, with herniations in different places. We all did the same exercises.
That's how my obsession started. I went ultra-specialised.
Over time the herniation shrank to 5-6 millimetres, and now it no longer shows.
What the recovery programme looks like
Biomechanical assessment
About an hour. You tell me what hurts, when it hurts, since when. And what other pain you've had over the years. That's where the gold is.
I test
The big muscles that link the lower body to the upper body. Which ones are weak, which ones are normal, which ones are tense.
I test. I do NOT guess.
P-DTR
I treat the places your body is still protecting, even if you forgot about them long ago. Then I retest on the spot, so you see what changed.
Kinetotherapy
In the kinetotherapy sessions I watch you move. I find out where it hurts, when it hurts, which movement doesn't work. At the next P-DTR session I treat exactly what I found there.
Therapy without kinetotherapy is therapy by guesswork.
“It's like taking a stick and poking a wasps' nest, to see if there are still wasps inside.”
How long recovery takes
A programme lasts about a month and a half to two months. Nothing is rushed.
At around two months we retest. So you see the progress and I know what to change.
Some herniations need more. I have a client with a 12 millimetre herniation who did three big programmes before it fully cleared.
I can't tell you in advance whether a programme will solve the situation fully or only partly. That's why we test and retest.
What people who've had a disc herniation say (reviews translated from Romanian)
“I came to Radu for P-DTR therapy with a lumbar herniation, with quite strong and persistent pain. […] I was really amazed to see where the pain had started: an ingrown toenail operation on my foot, back in childhood!”
“Radu saved me from the symptoms of my disc herniation and showed me exactly what, how much and how it needs to be done to keep it under control.”
“I had been in a sciatica flare-up for 3 months and was starting to believe surgery would be the only solution. […] I started P-DTR therapy and kinetotherapy a month ago and I can say my pain has gone away by 70%.”
I don't promise anyone the same result. It depends on the situation. That's why we test.
What it costs
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The first step: the biomechanical assessment 200 RON
About an hour. This is where we find out where your pain starts. The assessment is paid separately from the programme.
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Essential Programme 3.000 RON
4 P-DTR sessions and 6 kinetotherapy sessions.
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Extended Programme 4.500 RON
6 P-DTR sessions, 10 kinetotherapy sessions and weekly check-ins. It can be paid in two instalments of 2.250 RON. For a herniation with a major motor deficit, meaning muscles that have lost a lot of their strength, I only work with the Extended Programme.
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Intensive Recovery 8.100 RON
10 P-DTR sessions, 20 kinetotherapy sessions, a 3-month nutrition plan and monitoring. 2.700 RON per month, for 3 months.
We choose the programme together, after the assessment. I guide you and suggest options, and you choose.
We don't work with the Romanian public health insurance (CNAS), so referral notes can't be used here.
Contraindications
We don't start the programme if you have:
- active infections, with fever.
- cancer in an acute stage.
- recent vertebral fractures.
Questions about disc herniation
My doctor recommended surgery. Is there any point in coming for the assessment?
The decision to operate is yours, together with your doctor. I don't make it for you. Not every herniation has to be operated on, and not every herniation recovers. It all depends on the situation. At the assessment I show you what is happening with your muscles right now, something an MRI image has no way of showing.
Do I need to bring my MRI?
It's not mandatory. If you have it, bring it and I'll look at it.
Can I go to the gym with a disc herniation?
After the acute phase, yes. “Avoiding heavy weights just so it doesn't hurt is like trying to avoid the wind. However much you avoid it, sooner or later it gets you.” How much you lift and how, we find out from testing.
Anyone who gives you a fixed number of kilos without testing you is giving you the safest number for them, not the best one for you.
Can I try just one session?
You can, there's a single P-DTR session too, at 600 RON. But one session on its own can't know everything that needs treating. That's why I work in programmes.
I live in another city. Is it worth the trip?
People have come from Reghin, Târgu Mureș, Sibiu and Oradea. The harder something is to get, the more you want it.
0757 693 543 · Str. Alexandru Roșca nr. 5, Cluj-Napoca
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Biomechanical assessment 200 RON
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Essential Programme 3.000 RON
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Extended Programme 4.500 RON
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Intensive Recovery 8.100 RON