Back Injuries

[csu87]

After a couple weeks of pain, and a week or so of skin numbness and weakness in the legs, I went in to the DR to find out i have a herniated disc that is pressing up against the nerves in my back.

Ive got exercises and stretches that are supposed to help out, but wanted to see if anyone has dealt with this before and has any suggestions.

[E90bedi]

Originally Posted by csu87

After a couple weeks of pain, and a week or so of skin numbness and weakness in the legs, I went in to the DR to find out i have a herniated disc that is pressing up against the nerves in my back.

I've got exercises and stretches that are supposed to help out, but wanted to see if anyone has dealt with this before and has any suggestions.

I'm dealing with something similar. My brand new 2016 M4 got T-boned after a month of having it, as a result I have a herniated disk in my lower and a few bulged disk in my upper neck area. I'm in physical therapy right now, but some people have recommended to work out and focus on our core muscles and a chiropractor.

[Mywifes335]

Originally Posted by csu87

After a couple weeks of pain, and a week or so of skin numbness and weakness in the legs, I went in to the DR to find out i have a herniated disc that is pressing up against the nerves in my back.

Ive got exercises and stretches that are supposed to help out, but wanted to see if anyone has dealt with this before and has any suggestions.

My wife has it. Not much can be done. Also depends on which vertebrae the herniated disc is between.

PT and chiro help but not cures.

[John Tanglewood]

Check this article, has some good preventative exercises you can do when you're done with PT

http://breakingmuscle.com/mobility-r...age-and-injury

[overcoil]

Herniated disc from doing deadlifts.
Never saw a doctor. Satisfied with my recovery.

I wouldn't use a chiropractor for herniated disc.

[Irishsig]

I don't have a herniated disc but I do have foraminal spinal stenosis (somewhat common), basically the narrowing of the spine which can cause pinched nerves.
As I got older it was happening more and more.
The pain is debilitating.
I'm bedridden for the first couple days when it occurs then I can start slowly gimping around like a 90 year old man, but the slightest twist of the spine during this period and I get a full body shock of shooting pain.
Bad enough where I let out a yelp every time and have to control my breathing so as not to have my back tighten up too much again and cause more pressure against the nerve.
It's especially difficult for someone like me who is active and fit.

After a couple bouts with this I was given a book by Pete Egoscue "Pain Free".
It really changed my quality of life.
It basically explains how most injuries can be managed with the proper daily exercises/stretches AND posture.
The exercises are forms of basic yoga stretches/posses.
It also goes over how improper posture or gate in your walk can and usually does affect other areas of your body.
It's broken down into chapters that target specific injuries/parts of the body and discusses which exercises are best.

After doing the exercises 20 min every morning for a couple months I was mostly pain free for 5 years.
It's something that will need to be my daily routine for the rest of my life, SO worth it though.
Just had another bout 2 months ago only because I was too sedentary at work in a crap chair.
But I'm back to normal again and have added other stretches to my morning routine.

I recommend this book to any of my friends with back injuries which seems to be more and more.
Probably due to poor posture and sitting at a desk staring at a monitor for hours on end without taking breaks to walk around and stretch.
I found this is what worked for me, but everyone is different.
Good luck with your progress.

[csu87]

Originally Posted by ScottSinger

Herniated disc from doing deadlifts.
Never saw a doctor. Satisfied with my recovery.

I wouldn't use a chiropractor for herniated disc.

What did You do for your recovery?

I'll check that out Irishsig

[Navy Doc]

Originally Posted by csu87

After a couple weeks of pain, and a week or so of skin numbness and weakness in the legs, I went in to the DR to find out i have a herniated disc that is pressing up against the nerves in my back.

Ive got exercises and stretches that are supposed to help out, but wanted to see if anyone has dealt with this before and has any suggestions.

I have dealt with herniated disc and have treated many patients with the same. First thing is stop all offending activities. Let your body guide you in this. This does not mean lay in bed for the next week...... That's the last thing you want to do. I recommend that you follow along with your doc's regiment of exercises and stretching. Some NSAIDs (Motrin, naproxen) could help. These conservative treatments are not over night fixes. May take 4-8 weeks dependent on severity and if your following the regiment properly. Even then you may not respond to these treatments. Severe herniations may require surgical interventions. I would look at this as last option. If you are lucky and get relief with the conservative treatment then continue and add strengthening exercises to the regiment. Increase weight/resistance as you get back to your normal self as pain permits. I have found with many of my patients that they re-injur themselves because they can't wait or won't wait for their body to heal. Also consider what I call lifestyle changes. Take a look at your posture. How you stand. How you sit. Does your mattress provide adequate support, do you use proper body mechanics when at work/play. Get rid of the gut......if you have one. Strengthen your core.

[qspring]

I've had a ruptured disc L5/S1. Symptoms were sciatica down the left leg, random shooting pains, could not sit for prolonged periods of time.

For pain management, you can:
1. Go to physical therapy - where they will teach you stretches and exercises to strengthen your core
2. See a pain management specialist - to develop a medication program to help you cope with any pain
3. See a spine/neuro specialist to discuss if surgery will alleviate the pain.

Ultimately time will tell if you need to take the last option above. I waited 6 months before finally agreeing to surgery and trying all the above options. At my worst, I would get a shooting pain that made me collapse to the floor and the pain med dosage was being upped on a weekly basis to deal with the pain.

If your disc is only bulging right now, your body will slowly bring it back into place. A chiropractor can offer temporary relief by decompressing the spine, but will require frequent touch ups. You'll need to make a conscious effort not to put pressure on that part of your spine. No deadlifts until it is completely healed. This could take up to 6 months to a year. Stretching and core strengthening can also help.

Feel free to PM if you need any more tips. Back pain and surgery is no joke. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemies.

[08njSTEP]

I've had 2 ruptured discs and 2 surgerys. 1st was @25 and I left hospital same day and was recovered within 2 weeks. 2nd I was 35 and doc nicked my spinal sheath. Spent 4 days on morphine pump and 30 days no walking/sitting/standing. Took 6 months to regain physical conditioning and had pain and numbness in my leg for about 3 years. Looking back I would have tried physical therapy before 2nd. 1st was surgery no questions. I was told before 1st that I would have another operation within 10years. Was 9years 3 months. My main recommendation is find a world class doc for operation. Someone who deals with pro athletes routinely. My 1st doc was that and 2nd doc was a small town guy. 2 totally different results. My other caution is use ibuprofen on full stomach and never exceed max daily use of Tylenol(permanent liver damage). Good luck on this long journey and strengthen that core.

[overcoil]

Originally Posted by csu87

What did You do for your recovery?

I'll check that out Irishsig

Intitialy rest - no workouts - could hardly walk.
Made an effort to lose weight, aimed for getting my stomach flat by eating clean and no excess calories - I think that was a very important factor, excess weight worsened things and may have been the cause. Also no medications.
When the sharp pains subsided started working out.

Things I didn't do:
Downward dog stretch or Cobra
Leg Press
Cable wide grip pull down
No stomach crunches

Things I did:
Walking ( could not run, impact hurt )
Hanging narrow grip from pull-up bar, as much as I could.
Standing calf raises
Standing on one leg - lift other leg to chest
Probably best exercise was lying on your back on the floor and bend your knees to 90-degree angle resting heels on a chair.

Three weeks to a month I was fine.

[Andrewthefirst]

Op- above is all good advice.

Also I'd suggest getting a physio to check for contributing factors such as tight/knotted hamstrings or buttock muscles. problems here can directly impact the back.

[UncleWede]

Originally Posted by Andrewthefirst

Op- above is all good advice.

Also I'd suggest getting a physio to check for contributing factors such as tight/knotted hamstrings or buttock muscles. problems here can directly impact the back.

THIS.

[csu87]

Well I implemented a lot of stretching/light yoga into my daily routine this weekend and my back had been feeling pretty good. That is until I sat at my desk for most the day today.

Been doing lots of stationary recumbent bike exercises, tons of core exercises, been doing flat back bench (light weight, feet up on bench to remove any pressure on the spine) and some body weight exercises with no noticeable issues coming from that. Only downside is the ego hit when the little guys are loading up more weight than me.

I'm not usually one to take things slow when it comes to injuries though. Just trying to keep at least 90-95% of the size and strength i had before this.

[Irishsig]

Forgot to mention earlier some of the other changes I made after my last incident was to buy some memory foam pads for the lower lumbar & tailbone on Amazon.
They just attach to most office chairs, they help out quite a bit.
It beats investing a small fortune on some of those specialty lumbar chairs.

*Desk Jockey Therapeutic Grade Lumbar Support Cushion for Lower Back Pain, Driving Seat
*Aylio Coccyx Orthopedic Comfort Foam Seat Cushion for Lower Back, Tailbone and Sciatica Pain Relief

[Reborn_]

Get a standing desk. Sitting at work is terrible.

[csu87]

Originally Posted by Reborn_

Get a standing desk. Sitting at work is terrible.

between my multiple back injuries and issues, standing for long periods of time has never been a good thing for me.


Some updates on the back, still fucked. Heading back to the DR next week for a checkup on it.

Been doing all the exercises ive been given by both my PT and my Sister-In-Law that is a PT. Back is still sore all the time, and super tight 90% of the time.

I havent been a lot less active though than normal, so that may be hindering my progress. Been doing lots of cardio and light weight work.

[qspring]

Originally Posted by csu87

between my multiple back injuries and issues, standing for long periods of time has never been a good thing for me.


Some updates on the back, still fucked. Heading back to the DR next week for a checkup on it.

Been doing all the exercises ive been given by both my PT and my Sister-In-Law that is a PT. Back is still sore all the time, and super tight 90% of the time.

I havent been a lot less active though than normal, so that may be hindering my progress. Been doing lots of cardio and light weight work.

It's going to take a while to heal- think months instead of a few weeks.

If you're noticing it is incrementally getting better, then continue with your program. If you're worse, then shoot for a more aggressive plan.

Hope you can get by without surgery!

[csu87]

Originally Posted by qspring

It's going to take a while to heal- think months instead of a few weeks.

If you're noticing it is incrementally getting better, then continue with your program. If you're worse, then shoot for a more aggressive plan.

Hope you can get by without surgery!

yeah i knew it would take a while, but i was hoping for some results by now. Not worse, just not any better.

[bmw1racer]

I've got bad disks at L4 and L5.

Physical therapy helped a lot... Most of the exercises were to build up core strength to try to take some of the load off of the spine.

[radiofrequency]

Originally Posted by Irishsig

I don't have a herniated disc but I do have foraminal spinal stenosis (somewhat common), basically the narrowing of the spine which can cause pinched nerves.
As I got older it was happening more and more.
The pain is debilitating.
I'm bedridden for the first couple days when it occurs then I can start slowly gimping around like a 90 year old man, but the slightest twist of the spine during this period and I get a full body shock of shooting pain.
Bad enough where I let out a yelp every time and have to control my breathing so as not to have my back tighten up too much again and cause more pressure against the nerve.
It's especially difficult for someone like me who is active and fit.

After a couple bouts with this I was given a book by Pete Egoscue "Pain Free".
It really changed my quality of life.
It basically explains how most injuries can be managed with the proper daily exercises/stretches AND posture.
The exercises are forms of basic yoga stretches/posses.
It also goes over how improper posture or gate in your walk can and usually does affect other areas of your body.
It's broken down into chapters that target specific injuries/parts of the body and discusses which exercises are best.

After doing the exercises 20 min every morning for a couple months I was mostly pain free for 5 years.
It's something that will need to be my daily routine for the rest of my life, SO worth it though.
Just had another bout 2 months ago only because I was too sedentary at work in a crap chair.
But I'm back to normal again and have added other stretches to my morning routine.

I recommend this book to any of my friends with back injuries which seems to be more and more.
Probably due to poor posture and sitting at a desk staring at a monitor for hours on end without taking breaks to walk around and stretch.
I found this is what worked for me, but everyone is different.
Good luck with your progress.

This...avoid surgery at all costs, greater than 50% of all fusion patients will still live with chronic pain requiring opiate painkillers. I went to physical therapy initially and practice yoga religiously, after a disc was torn as a result of a motorcycle accident 30 years ago. Since then I have been able to do triathlons and competed in the Ironman. The bicycle can become your friend, once you are up and able to move, start cycling, it's non destructive and a great sport. If you don't want to buy a bicycle go to spin class, just make sure you adjust the bike to fit you. Good luck!

[08njSTEP]

I agree with bike but not all surgeries do fusion. Neither of mine did. I wouldn't do fusion unless there are bone issues. Even without fusion there will be some loss of flexibility.