Herniated Disc Help

[LiquidMercury]

Well about 12 weeks ago I herniated my L5 and am working on the rehab of it. I went to a chiropractor and did Vax-D treatment, adjustments, and e-stim and the pain was alleviated some, but ultimately it's not going to really fix the problem. I'm curious if any of you have herniated a disc and if so, how did you go about fixing the issue that allows you to still compete? Any and all insight/help would be greatly appreciated.

[thuggish]

Have you ever looked into reverse-hypers?

[Ken "Skip" Hill]

I have herniated the same disk 5 times. I am not a powerlifter but a bodybuilder. If you want more information from me, let me know. Last one was about 3 weeks ago after about 3 years of no problems.

Skip

[theroymccoy]

I've herniated my disc three times. The first was from seated bent over laterals and it went away on it's own after a month. The second was from doing deads without a belt and it slowly transition into sciatica and lasted for 6 months. The third was from wearing inserts in my right shoe and not my left. I just did a lot of "hanging off a bar"; I literally spent an hour in the gym and doing minute-intervals of hanging with wrist straps. The next day I felt fine and broke a PR on deads. There you have it.

What helped with the hanging was to mindfully relax your low back as mine tended to tighten up and take away from the stretch.

[thedunhill225]

Herniated or slipped? Herniated means the disc ruptured. I herniated three, 1 minor and two bad, doctor wanted to do a spinal fusion but I refused that rt now and instead have a micro disc ectomy, they went in and trimmed the disc down so it wasn't pressing on the spine. Did not stop the back pain but has helped with the leg pain. Injured Jan 1,2010 and just had surgery this past may. It did and still does suck. I can't squat, can't dead and don't know if I will ever be able to. There are huge diffs in herniations, some can have one, and never know and another person can have one press on the spine and have it be debilitating.
This sounds almost like you are making a self diagnosis...have you had an MRI? What is your docs recommendation?
I wish ya the best man.

[mister69]

Have you seen a sports medicine orthopedic?

I herniated my l5 and was sent to pt.

Hope you feel better!

[SAHD]

My Doc was pretty good and explained exactly how the disk is made like a donut and has about 80 little structures that act like walls to hold it to the right shape etc. Basically for 8 weeks after the injury he stated not to lift more than 10% of what you normally lift.
He then gave me some simple exercises to do and also some very good other advice re recovery etc.

If this is new to you then I am happy to share.

[mister69]

My Doc was pretty good and explained exactly how the disk is made like a donut and has about 80 little structures that act like walls to hold it to the right shape etc. Basically for 8 weeks after the injury he stated not to lift more than 10% of what you normally lift.
He then gave me some simple exercises to do and also some very good other advice re recovery etc.

If this is new to you then I am happy to share.

Good info sahd.

Sent from my DROIDX

[5spotbullseye]

I initially herniated my L5/S1 disc 4-5 years ago deadlifting. I dealt with it on & off, until it happened last October once again. With this rupture came ALOT of sciatica pain....pretty much in total agony. I was bedridden for a few weeks, and I had several occassions where I was shaking uncontrollably on the floor from the nerve pain. Heavy duty pain medications didn't touch it.

I ended up having a microdiscetomy in January. It ended up being a great decision for me. I have practically ZERO after effects.....hitting the gym harder than ever....only smarter. I'm obviously MUCH more aware of what I'm doing now because I never want to go through with that again.

I've also learned that deadlifting and free bar squats are not as critical as what I originally believed. My legs and back have continued to grow, despite the lack of these proven mass building movements. You just need to be creative....and stubborn.

[BryanB]

I'm sure I have something similar. I haven't touched any weights for close to 3 months. I have my doc referral to the spine cline, just waiting on the MRI approval. No amount of chiro or PT has helped. The occasional Oxycodone still helps. My pain all started in mid July

[mister69]

I initially herniated my L5/S1 disc 4-5 years ago deadlifting. I dealt with it on & off, until it happened last October once again. With this rupture came ALOT of sciatica pain....pretty much in total agony. I was bedridden for a few weeks, and I had several occassions where I was shaking uncontrollably on the floor from the nerve pain. Heavy duty pain medications didn't touch it.

I ended up having a microdiscetomy in January. It ended up being a great decision for me. I have practically ZERO after effects.....hitting the gym harder than ever....only smarter. I'm obviously MUCH more aware of what I'm doing now because I never want to go through with that again.

I've also learned that deadlifting and free bar squats are not as critical as what I originally believed. My legs and back have continued to grow, despite the lack of these proven mass building movements. You just need to be creative....and stubborn.

I agree on the free squat and deadlift.

I was always a firm believer these are a must have ..but now after my back issues will have to stick to hammer strength rack pulls.that dc and skip use and some sort of hack squat or leg press.

[5spotbullseye]

I agree on the free squat and deadlift.

I was always a firm believer these are a must have ..but now after my back issues will have to stick to hammer strength rack pulls.that dc and skip use and some sort of hack squat or leg press.

Yep.....my legs and back are still growing just fine without them.....and I'm not having my wife put on my shoes for me in the mornings.

That reminds me................HERE'S A TIP FOR YOU MORNING LIFTERS. My surgeon, as well other references on lower back injuries, stated that unnecessary stress on the lower back in the morning is not a good idea. Why? The discs are in their most hydrated state when you wake up. Over the course of the day they lose something like 95% of thier fluid. So, they're already subject to high pressure in the morning....working your lower back in the gym only adds to it. For those of you who have lower back issues....ever notice how your back feels so much tighter in the mornings? That's why....

[mister69]

Great tip!

[SAHD]

Also if you work in a job with high vibration such as on a boat or truck driving then avoid back workouts on those days as the fluid will have been pushed from the disk and you will have no padding.

[LiquidMercury]

I have herniated the same disk 5 times. I am not a powerlifter but a bodybuilder. If you want more information from me, let me know. Last one was about 3 weeks ago after about 3 years of no problems.

Skip

That'd be great!

I appreciate all the help so far everyone! Unfortunately I don't have access to a reverse hyper (one piece of equipment I wish we had that we don't).

Have you seen a sports medicine orthopedic?

I herniated my l5 and was sent to pt.

Hope you feel better!

Nope, insurance won't pay out for it anymore so I'm attempting to do self-rehab. I've run myself through Functional Movement Screen as well as Assess and Correct and I definitely have some imbalances that I'm trying to fix.

Herniated or slipped? Herniated means the disc ruptured. I herniated three, 1 minor and two bad, doctor wanted to do a spinal fusion but I refused that rt now and instead have a micro disc ectomy, they went in and trimmed the disc down so it wasn't pressing on the spine. Did not stop the back pain but has helped with the leg pain. Injured Jan 1,2010 and just had surgery this past may. It did and still does suck. I can't squat, can't dead and don't know if I will ever be able to. There are huge diffs in herniations, some can have one, and never know and another person can have one press on the spine and have it be debilitating.
This sounds almost like you are making a self diagnosis...have you had an MRI? What is your docs recommendation?
I wish ya the best man.

The MRI showed/Chiropractor said herniation. I've alleviated the daily pain for the most part and have since stopped going to the chiro (insurance stopped paying) so now I'm tackling this with a variety of mobility, flexibility, and stability work/assessment. Unfortunately the chiro didn't really do much as far as giving me advice on how to fix the problem.

My Doc was pretty good and explained exactly how the disk is made like a donut and has about 80 little structures that act like walls to hold it to the right shape etc. Basically for 8 weeks after the injury he stated not to lift more than 10% of what you normally lift.
He then gave me some simple exercises to do and also some very good other advice re recovery etc.

If this is new to you then I am happy to share.

Again I'd be happy for any advice. I understand the structural implications of a herniated disc but any advice towards recovery would be great.


Other notes:
Currently doing FMS and A&C to help diagnose/fix structural imbalances in my soft tissue that may be affecting me.
I have a TENS unit that I can use and do use when the pain gets bad
I've mainly been using a SSB to help strengthen my core and erectors, I feel this is a wise approach and may have been a cause of the issue in the first place.