01
My legs are more numb than my back hurts
Numbness runs all the way down
from the buttock to the thigh and calf.
If you find yourself stopping
mid-walk more and more often
Herniated Disc (Lower Back) · Spinal Stenosis
Is it your back, or your legs? Is surgery the answer? We make that call together, based on imaging and numbers, not hunches.
Do days like these keep coming?
Many people who come to us with back and leg pain have already been to several other places.
And this is what we hear most: "One place tells me to have surgery, another tells me to just put up with it. Which is right?"
That confusion is understandable. With back problems, even the name can differ from one place to the next. Is it a herniated disc, or spinal stenosis? The two differ in cause, in how they progress, and in the order of treatment.
02
Standing up from a chair is the hardest part
After sitting for a long time,
it takes a while before I can straighten up.
03
I have to stop while walking
After a short walk my legs feel like they'll burst,
so I have to rest before going on.
04
Numbness keeps me up at night
Even lying down,
I can't find a comfortable position.
A different name means a different path
Which of the four above sounded most like you?
If standing up is hard and the pain shoots down your leg, it's closer to a herniated disc.
If you end up stopping while walking, it's closer to spinal stenosis.
A different name means different things to check and a different order of treatment.
With a herniated disc, the part that pushed out can shrink over time.
Spinal stenosis, too, does not always get worse if left alone.
The evidence is in our columns on ruptured discs and spinal stenosis.
Still, we don't decide from this table alone.
We also look at how far down the numbness goes. If your whole leg is numb, the cause may be something other than your back.
The clues below are a starting point. The diagnosis is confirmed with imaging.
Progress varies from person to person.
1
If standing up
from sitting is hard
Main Symptoms
- • It usually affects one leg
- • Lying down makes it worse; bending forward feels okay, but straightening up catches
- • It pulls when you sneeze or bear down
Diagnosis Pattern
Closer to a herniated disc
Recommended Treatment
Nerve pressure and alignment, together
While treating the inflammation and pain, we also look at your alignment to see why the disc was pushed that way.
→ We record the numbness and pain shooting down your leg and compare over time.
2
If you end up stopping
while walking
Main Symptoms
- • It can affect both legs
- • You can't stand for long, but sitting or lying down feels fine
- • It starts gradually, over months or years
Diagnosis Pattern
Closer to spinal stenosis
Recommended Treatment
Working toward longer walks
We reduce the strain and inflammation on the nerves and help your body share the load.
→ We measure how long you can walk without stopping and compare it at every follow-up visit.
We check this before anything else
If you have these signs, our treatment is not the right place to start
Weakness that keeps you from lifting your toes or the top of your foot, changes in bladder or bowel control, or unusual sensation around the inner buttocks.
If you have even one of these, you should first go to a hospital that can assess you for surgery, not to us. In that case, we won't start treatment. We'll refer you right away.
These are the kinds of problems that become hard to reverse if steps are skipped.
Treatment Process
Treatment follows this order
1
We find the cause
We check the clues in your symptoms and look at your alignment with a posture analysis. When needed, we review X-ray, CT or MRI in partnership with the radiology clinic on the 2nd floor of the same building. At this stage we sort out whether it's a herniated disc or spinal stenosis, and whether there are any emergency signs. We don't make a treatment plan without checking the imaging.
2
We help blood flow back to the pinched nerve
A pinched nerve is wilted, like a plant that hasn't been watered. We approach it in three ways. Acupuncture and electroacupuncture widen the blood vessels so blood can flow, Chuna (Korean manual therapy) loosens stiff areas with a pumping motion, and pharmacopuncture (herbal acupuncture) helps clear swelling. When needed, we also use herbal medicine based on blood and body composition tests.
But on days when the inflammation is severe, we don't do Chuna. That day we use pharmacopuncture only and save Chuna for next time.
As of September 2026, we have performed Chuna 14,286 times since opening.
3
We make walking part of treatment
We don't tell you to stop walking. Together we decide how to use a back brace, how to rest before the numbness starts and then walk again, and how much to walk each day.
4
We check with numbers
We record your walking time and pain level and compare them at every follow-up visit. If your walking time hasn't improved after the agreed treatment period, or your nerve symptoms are getting worse, we'll recommend a hospital that can assess you for surgery first. Conservative treatment isn't just a way to avoid surgery. It's also a process for finding out whether surgery is truly needed.
Self-check
In 2 minutes, see where your lower back stands
Eight questions help you sum up how your back has been over the past two weeks.
The result doesn't diagnose anything. It gives you a summary to bring to your visit.
Frequently asked questions
Q. Another hospital recommended surgery. Can I still come to you?
A. Yes. But we take things in order. If you have emergency signs (foot drop, changes in bladder or bowel control), we'll tell you plainly that a place that can assess you for surgery comes first. If not, we set a time frame together and check how far conservative treatment can take you. One more thing: our director also had surgery after his L4-5 disc ruptured. Before that, he held out for a year and a half to two years with both Korean and Western medicine, but in the end it didn't work. So when we judge that surgery will help you more, we won't hold on to you. We'll refer you quickly. Surgery isn't for when something sticks out on an MRI. It's for when you can't manage daily life. And even surgery doesn't make you 100%. It makes daily life possible again where it wasn't.
Q. Do I have to get an MRI?
A. Sometimes we can start based on your symptoms and an exam alone. But if spinal stenosis is suspected, or you don't respond to treatment as expected, imaging is needed. In that case you can get it in partnership with the radiology clinic on the 2nd floor of the same building.
질문 4개 더 보기 접기
Q. Is it okay to keep wearing a back brace?
A. When we reviewed the research, we found no solid evidence for the idea that "wearing a brace weakens your muscles." What matters isn't whether you wear a brace, but whether you keep walking while you wear it. We've written it up in Does wearing a back brace for a long time weaken your muscles?
Q. Stenosis means the bone has narrowed. Can acupuncture really help?
A. The goal isn't to widen the narrowed space itself. The goal is to reduce the strain and inflammation on the nerves inside it, and to help your body share the load. We've summarized the evidence, with references, in Spinal stenosis: is surgery the only option?
Q. Is Chuna covered by national health insurance?
A. Yes. Korean national health insurance has covered it since 2019, and before treatment we'll tell you which treatments are covered.
Q. How long will I need to come in?
A. It depends on your condition. At your first visit, we set an expected plan and a check-in point. At that point, we look at changes in your walking time and pain and decide together whether to continue or change direction. We won't keep you coming with no end in sight.
Herniated Disc (Lower Back) · Spinal Stenosis 건강 칼럼
의료진이 직접 전하는 건강 정보입니다.
Column
Herniated disc: do you have to lie down and rest to heal faster?
In an analysis that pooled 10 clinical trials with 1,923 people, there was no difference in pain or function between those who rested in bed and those who stayed active. Here's how to avoid the movements that hurt and get your normal life back when you have disc pain.
Column
Herniated disc: how should you sleep, and how should you get up?
Night is recovery time, when the disc rests and soaks up water again. Contrary to the advice to sleep on something hard, a study of 313 people found a medium-firm mattress worked better. Here are sleeping positions, turning over like a log, and four steps for getting up in the morning.
Column
When you bend forward, your hips should fold, not your lower back
In a study that measured the pressure inside the disc directly, bending forward while standing was about twice the pressure of standing upright, and the same 20 kg box produced more than twice the pressure depending on how it was lifted. Here's how to practice bending from the hip joint, the real star of the forward bend, and five things to change in daily life.
What we're aiming for
An afternoon walking a whole bus stop's distance without a break
An evening carrying groceries without worrying about your back first.
Days spent counting "How many minutes did I walk this week?" instead of asking "Do I need surgery?"
Out of the cycle of repeat treatment, and into a healthy everyday life.
How fast things improve differs from person to person, depending on the degree of stenosis, age, muscle strength and other conditions you may have. And there are certainly cases where surgery is the best option.
Health column
Our articles on herniated discs and spinal stenosis
Each article answers one question we often hear in the clinic.
Feel free to start with whatever you're curious about.