A herniated disc in your back can cause a wide range of sensations, including mild tingling and sharp, stabbing pains. If you're dealing with this issue, it's important to seek help for it right away. Your health practitioner can advocate a variety of forms of treatment, including chiropractic adjustments and massage, that can help to address the problem without requiring surgery. In the meantime, you should make sure that your daily activities don't worsen the issue and increase your discomfort.

If you're physically active, you may wish to consult your health practitioner about which activities are safe based on the specific nature of your ailment. In general, though, you should avoid these physical activities.

Basketball

Basketball can be an effective workout for burning calories and strengthening your muscles, but the impact that occurs when you jump in the air and land hard on the ground can be detrimental to the health of your back when you're suffering from a herniated disc. This jarring impact may cause the disc to put more pressure on the surrounding nerves, which can dramatically increase your pain. Exercising when you have this condition should be about stretching out your back, not temporarily contracting it, so it's best to stay away from basketball.

Bicycling

Bicycling doesn't share the risk of sharp impacts with basketball, but it's generally not a good idea for those with herniated discs unless specifically recommended by a trusted health practitioner. When you ride your bike, you typically arch your back. If the herniated disc is located in your lower back, your arched position can increase the pressure on the problematic disc, perhaps even pushing it farther out of alignment. You might not immediately notice any discomfort, but a sharp pain may be prevalent as soon as you move into an upright position after getting off your bike.

Yoga

While it's true that many yoga poses can help to lengthen the spine and promote spine health, you can't take the risk of joining a yoga class when you have a herniated disc. Poses in which you arch your back may lead to similar problems that you could experience while riding a bicycle, for example.

Additionally, if your abdominal muscles aren't currently strong enough to keep your back straight when it's outstretched in poses such as the plank pose, your lower back could dip and pinch the herniated area. It's always a good idea to consult your health practitioner about any forms of exercise that you intend to pursue.