Myth
That scary MRI finding is in half of pain-free people
A bulge on a scan is not a life sentence for your back.
Why people believe it
A scan report with words like bulge, degeneration or herniation reads like a diagnosis of doom. Once you see it, every twinge feels like proof it is falling apart.
What is actually true
Large imaging studies keep finding the same thing: disc bulges, degeneration and even herniations show up in huge numbers of people who have zero pain. These findings are often just how a lived-in spine looks, like grey hair. The picture rarely matches how you feel.
What to do instead
Treat the whole you, not the picture. Most backs calm down when the area gets space and gentle movement instead of fear and stillness. Supported decompression takes pressure off the disc and the muscles around it, and things usually settle over a series of sessions.
Feel it for yourself at a Gravity Stretching studio
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