I feel for you. I'm at about 6 weeks post op. Same surgery. I felt great at 2 weeks and then had a major setback simply getting in the car and adjusting my pants (of all things). After the setback I could barely walk. The doc shot me up and gave me oral steroids and was confident I did not re-herniate. Fortunately he was right. Now at about 6 weeks my back feels pretty good and I'm back to riding outside (as of today). The setback did effect my left leg but the that continues to improve daily.

My recommendation would be to take it very easy for the first month. Although the setback I had was silly, I did do an indoor cycling session (light) two days before and had a deep tissue massage at PT the day before. I think that weakened my back muscles and they simply couldn't engage correctly when I moved.

Always remember that you had major surgery. It may have been minimally invasive but it was still on your spine.

Good luck!

I've unfortunately gone through a similar surgery. My recovery was fairly smooth, although I don't run at all (too dangerous for me with my back situation), just swim and bike. I blogged about it a bit in 2013 when it happened. Personally I was back on my indoor trainer spinning very lightly at three days post op, but was consulting with my Dr the whole time about the appropriate level of activity, so don't take my example as ideal for your case.

http://josephabank.blogspot.com/2013/01/bump-in-road-there-goes-l4l5.html
http://josephabank.blogspot.com/2013/05/columbia-triathlon-2013-1st-overall.html

Same story, had a complete laminectomy/discectomy 8 weeks ago - no fusion . Was training for my 7th trip to Madison and 10th Ironman overall. There are differences in surgeries and differences in recovery. Not sure if you had a minimally invasive surgery or, like mine, a 5 inch incision in order to complete the operation.

I have moved from walking 1 mile at week 2 of recovery to now walking 4.25 miles (still have my Fenix 3 measuring my walks) with 5 x 1 minute jogs within the walk every day. I swim 1000 yards (slowly, with no flip turns) and water jog with a floatation belt for 10-20 minutes every other day. My only guide has been pain, and I don't have any "pain". I have a numb right foot, which travels up my shin as I fatigue, and a pinching feeling in my right glute - nothing compared to when I massively ruptured my disc and laid on my garage floor with a paralyzed right leg and major concern of cauda equina.

The only limit my surgeon has put on me at this point is no heavy weight lifting. My plan is to be back at Ironman WI in 2017 - long recovery, but I will be there.

Also currently recovering, from similar lumbar (first) and cervical surgery (second). 6+ weeks from the first all numbness and pain in my leg is gone (walking close to 100%), though lower back still fairly weak. 1+ weeks from neck surgery, too early to tell success but am slowly getting better. Best advice here is to take it slow and very easy. As you get better and don't have the immediate pain responses in the first few weeks following surgery, it's very easy to overdo things (I did, though don't think it caused any significant problems) . . . so take it very easy and give time for all of the traumatized area (spine, nerves, bones, muscle, ligament, etc.) time to recover. Good luck with the recovery!

Sorry to hear and as others have said recovery is so individual.

I had L5 S1 done in 2006 (I'm 37 now). I have plugged along with plenty of issues since, but have kept going. I still have nerve issues in my leg. Right now I'm in the 12-14 hour range with heavy bike focus. I plan to sign up for my first IM (MOO) here next week or so.

Am I a bit scared my back won't hold up? Absolutely. Do I think I should be able to do it? Yes. I've spent a few years slowly ramping up and seeing what reaction I have to higher volume. What I haven't yet done is ramp up the run volume. That's the kicker as obviously I'll have to run a lot to do an IM well. The good news is for me is I have lots of good run background.

I didn't want to "complete" an IM. I wanted to prepare to have a KQ type effort and I think I can definitely be in that sort of shape.

---

24 Hour World TT Champs-American record holder
Fat Bike Worlds - Race Director
Insta: chris.s.apex

What type of heavy lifting has your doc told you to avoid? And of how long?

Had two of these surgeries in 2008 on bottom three disc. Back training 2 months after, mostly swimming, eased into running and riding at about month 3. I did NOLA and Augusta 70.3 in 2009 with no issues. Good luck, don't rush it!

He wasn't specific - I have an appointment next Monday (my first with the surgeon) and should get more information.

I just finished reading a book titled "The Rise Of Superman" which discusses flow psychology and how extreme sport athletes have pushed the limits in their sports. Obviously, some of the push is what is possible after injury. Seems like the old story - believe something is possible and IT IS. My recovery will be much more patient, but I do know I will recover.

I had mine done in 2001, L4 Hemilaminectomy. Recovery time was about 6 weeks to full gas.

The surgery is what prompted me to start doing Tri's - specifically to prove that I wasn't relegated to invalid status. 10+ marathons and 20+ tris later, still good-to-go.

You'll get there. Patience.

---

------------------

- I do all my own stunts

Great to hear about a successful recovery. Thanks also to OP for starting this off.

I'm not sure our stories could be much more similar. Btw, have you seen the forcast for MOO this Sunday? It's killing me. Perfect weather for an IM. This would have been my 4th time and I was feeling really, really good about the race. Whatever, you do what you have to do. I am also targeting 2017 as a hopeful return to IM if possible. I walked three blocks today and it was pretty dicey by the time I got back. I am at day 9 so maybe by two weeks I can hit a mile. Thanks for your info and I would love to keep up with your progress.

I had the same surgery in the same spot last summer. After six weeks, I was back to normal activity. Played some high level rugby this past spring, and I'm just now starting to refocus on distance training efforts.

I will say that finding my previous level of fitness has been a challenge, but fourteen months after surgery, I'm finally getting somewhat close to my expectations.

---

http://Everydadironman.blogspot.com

Yes, the weather looks great. I have a lot of friends doing the race and it will be really nice for them. I will come back with updates as things progress. Biggest thing on the horizon is returning to work (besides work from home) next week. I am a swim coach and have not been allowed on deck since surgery - can't wait!!

It's good to hear all the positive reports coming back. Of course I may be talking to a group more prone to successful recovery. Feel free to keep up with the updates and I'll promise to give updates as I move along.

For those interested in recovery time.
I'm at two weeks post op today. Things are improving pretty well. Went out for a 1.2 mike walk and felt ok. I still have a lot of numbness from my knee down to my ankle but the pain is mostly gone. Just really achey. Mentally today sucks. Was supposed to be racing at IMWI today. Absolutely perfect weather for a race. Had my first check in with Dr. 4 days ago and was disappointed to hear I can't even start PT for another 4 weeks. I'm only allowed to walk. Not what I was expecting to hear.

I have registered just to share my story. I remember my fears before and after the surgery so decided to drop some lines to cheer you up.
Back in 2013 I started to have some lowe back problems and that continued in 2014 and finished with grand finale at familly X-Mas party where I dropped to the floor unable to move or even roll to my side. Couple days later I lost abi/lity to move my left foot.
I had L4-L5 discetomy, laminectony and fenestration (sp?) on January 25th 2015.
I took up sport as a part of PT recpvery program. Before i was rather an overweight couch sloth, only riding my mtb occasionaly.
A month after the surgery I started swimming on regular basis - first 2 weeks only backstroke. Next two weeks backstroke mixed with front crawl. Later on 90% front crawl. I was able to do breaststroke after 3 months or so. I am not going to try butterfly anytime soon:).
After a swim session it was really painful to get out of the pool. After a while I figured that doing some core exercises before going out of the water helped with that.
Two months after a surgery I started nordic walking. Its amazing how much it helped me, both physically and mentally.
3 months after a surgery I went biking on my MTB a couple times. I was stubborn trying to make it work. It was a bad idea. Somebody advised me to try roadbike instead (which I never really liked). Roadbike worked like a charm. The longer the trip the better my back felt next days (up to like 120km, past that point it hurt anyway).
In a fit of stubbornes I signed up for a sprint tri. I dared to only try 3 run trainings before it (up till now running feels...uhm uneasy unless I run with intentionally tensed core muscles). On Augst 8th I have finished my first sprint tri 750/20/5 in 1:28. Right now I am in the mountains preparing for mountain 1/4 (800m climb on bike route, 250m on run). Saturday is the raceday. Oh, and I have already signed up 70.3 next year ;).

As for my back - I still feel uneasy when I run sometimes. It gets painful when I sit for longer than 45 minutes straight. I sometimes get tingling sensation in my foot (I regained the control, though I think not 100% of strenght of foot flexor). I do not feel the pain I have felt for 2 years straight preceeding the surgery.
All in all - It is not the scary as it seems at first. Do not expect miracles though. If I would drop run trainings (I keep them pretty minipmal anyway) I could probably eliminate the rest of symptoms. Both biking and swimming actually help with recovery. If only there were any bike-swim competitions around :).
Oh and do core exercises as soon as you can (use pain as the guide) and daily.

1.2 mile walk 2 weeks out is good progress. So feel good about getting out there, the time out there and the distance. You'll be amazed how quickly you'll cover that distance and more at a much faster pace as each week goes by. Took me 4+ weeks for all of the numbness to go away. Pain was faster, but occasional flare-ups just from over doing it.

I'm nearly 8 miles post lumbar surgery and 2+ cervical surgery and was able to walk at my regular speed without any pain after 4-5 weeks. Just got cleared to remove the cone of shame from latest surgery, so excited about every little improvement. I think starting PT after 6 weeks is pretty normal - just about to start it myself.

Missing the race really sucks though. Refund or rebate for next year?

Thanks for sharing and congrats on your first sprint tri! Curious - have you tried any strength training (free weights) to help with recovery?

I have consulted two PT trainers. One of them was all for it, the other was against. I had no weight training experience beforehand so I decided to just do exercises with my own body weight. The risk of wrong technique causing new herination seemed to great.
First exercises I started I did still chained to the bed. PT showed me some isometric exercises which I could do without moving from bed with absolutely minimal movement by contracting some muscles in controlled fashion (she taught me proper technique under USG). Later on I moved to some easy stretches and core exercies. Bird dog exercises worked great for me. It was always my second thing to do after waking up (first being isometric tensing of abs and back to be able to get up after the muscled relaxed during the sleep). Then planks, push ups, pull ups, etc.

How long after surgery did you start doing planks, push ups, etc.?

Side planks I could do painfree after about 2,5 months. Front plank took me way longer for some reason - 5 or 6 months affter surgery, same for push ups. Pull ups were ok from the day I actually mounted the bar :D so hard to gauge it in relation to surgery time -the limiting factor was ability to drill 8 holes in reinforced concrete ceiling. I also did quite a lot of different exercises with exercise ball gradualy increasing strain on the back muscles. Its really good to find some competent PT to guide you through the recovery. I consulted mine like once a month - to correct form, give new exercies etc.

No refund or rebates from WTC 3 weeks before an event. I never bought the insurance either, never thought I would need it. In my head I would like to try IM again next year but I'm not sure body will allow it. Will wait until January or so and see what Dr. And body says and then see what is still open.

You have gotten lots of good stories but keep in mind that the people for whom it didn't work out so well aren't checking out slowtwitch. They are checking out the pain-relief website forums.

In my all too much experience, if you had a certain thing that caused your issue you are pretty likely to recover well. If you had degenerative disc disease and there isn't much left, then you probably won't do so well. Myself, I had degenerated discs and my surgeon recommended fusion, I wanted to try and discectomy first. It worked, I swam the best I ever had 8 months after the surgery. But the problem returned quickly after that and I needed a fusion.

While I don't have pain like before, my prospects of being an ironman participant aren't good. My prospects of resuming my previous marathon swimming career are also not good.

I wish you the best of luck, hopefully you are like the folks saying they are back at pretty much their full potential.

i experienced a C5/C6 disc rupture in early 2009. i had just run a PR half-marathon, was a week out from a full marathon, and had just started week 5 of P90X. was on a roll and kicking ass.

well, week 5 introduced one-arm push-ups. struggled thru the first day. right arm (tricep) was really sore the next day, though i had pulled the muscle. a couple more days of that, thought the injury was more serious than that. after a week, had to seek out my orthpod. x-rays and and MRI later revealed a disc rupture. figured had to have already some some degenerative damage due to age, but thought the one-arm push-ups put me over the edge. was in ALOT of pain in my right arm; the pain moved from my tricep to lower arm to wrist. numbness in fingertips. was so bad i was taking two 750 vicodins every 4 hours.

went from kicking ass to a dead stop in activity.

seems the MRI report referenced issues both at C4/C5 and C5/C6, focusing on the former. visited a neurosurgeon who proposed, get this: going thru my throat, past all the vital stuff (like aorata, carotid, trachea, esophagus...) to remove the damaged disc, replace it with a graft from a cadaver, and fuse the C4/C5 vertebrae. needless to say, i'm dying here and hearing this ? i was crushed.

second opinion was quite different. a MUCH more thorough exam revealed that the issue was indeed at C5/C6. surgeon #1 would have not corrected my issue.

third opinion was same as the first. went with #2.

along the way in between, had a steroid epidural to take the edge off the pain. got me down to one 750 vicodin every 4 hours. much improved, but still needed surgery.

so, had a cervical laminectomy 5 weeks after the injury. entered thru my neck, removed a bit of the C6 vertebra, removed only the bulging part of the disc, leaving the rest. sewed me up, back at home drinking a latte by 4pm.

walking only for 6 weeks (walked so much even my dog got sick of it), added easy bike on the trainer after that for 6 weeks. after 12 weeks, got a full recovery bill of health. numbness in fingers gone.

did a iron-distance race that october (beach to battleship ).

i was very lucky with the outcome. had lost a fair bit of muscle mass in that right tricep due to the nerve impingement from the disc. that took quite awhile to regain strength, but finally got there.

dr. alphono aldama in houston at methodist hospital is my hero

3 weeks post surgical update
Went back to work this week and it was OK. Monday was rough and I was ready for the day to be over. As a school administrator I am able to sit, walk, stand when needed but it was still rough. It got a little easier as the week went on. Today I was able to get in a 2.1 mile walk in under 55 minutes. Moving right along.

My big worry now is not doing something stupid or a freak accident. Had a pep fest at school yesterday and a teacher hit the back of my leg as a joke. She wasn't aware I had back surgery. Fortunately she hit the bad side and I was supporting myself with good leg. Had she hit the strong side I would have hit the ground. Still can't support myself on left leg.

Tiger Woods just had his second microdiscectomy:
http://espn.go.com/...another-back-surgery
Looks like he'll be out for awhile.

4 month post op update

For those who care or might go through something like this. Things have been going well since surgery. I have been doing PT twice a week with an emphasis on lifting. Will start doing this on my own in a few weeks. Have been doing swim, bike and run for the last month and am feeling pretty good on all. Back gets a little tight on my bike and that messes with my head more than anything. Swimming is going well- 3x/week for 30-45 minutes. My biggest worry is running and all the pounding it brings on. Been running 3 miles 2x/week all of December and hit 4.5 today. Much slower pace and plenty of walking sprinkled in. So far been feeling good. Started back with an organized training schedule as of the 1st of the year and will be around 7-8 hours a week for the next few months and will build from there. Expecting and planning to finish IM Boulder in August.

outstanding, bro. keep after it. good luck with the IM.

i had a L5/S1 rupture in Feb 2010, full surgery to repair after legs went numb.
Things went well post-op, recovery was good and i took my time. Got back into biking etc.
Had a flare up in 2013, had MRI and no follow up from Dr which i assumed meant things were fine.

Sept 2015 had nerve pain in butt again, two trips to ER later and a new MRI, turns out disc is bulging again, and had been since 2013 incident.

On the fence whether I should have surgery again. I can bike, walk, and do basically all daily activities, but i do get SOME pain. I'd like for things to be 100% and never have to worry about it, but I dont know if that is a pipe dream.

Currently training for upcoming road season, worried that surgery will write season off entirely or make it so i can no longer ride again.

If i were to go through with surgery, being in great shape right now, what are the realistic timelines to get back to on the bike training? 6-8 weeks?
That could have me back and training by early April for the start of the season in late May.

Thanks,

Do you do any kind of core work and PT? I was fortunate with my incident that my wife works for a health insurance company and has access to about every facet of the medical community (i.e.) surgeons, neurologists, ER docs, PT. What I was able to determine is that surgery is seldom the first option. I was able to get it so fast due to the physical condition I was in (trained for IM) and the seriousness of my symptoms. Since it got to the point I was in constant pain and was collapsing when walking it made for a quick decision. If I could have done rehab and would have been able to get around they would have reccomended PT. By and large everyone I talked to agreed with PT and core work the body would absorb the bulge. Even with a rupture my surgeon acknowledged the body would likely absorb it with time. Reason for my surgery was the amount of pressure from the rupture on my nerves was causing a lot of issues. Should you have surgery? If I were in your spot or if I find myself in your spot it would not be my first option. I would definitely go the rehab route first. I am amazed how much weight they have had me lifting during PT and it seams to be working really well. Time will tell I guess. As I said earlier I am at 4 months post op. My ride on Saturday was a 45 minute trainer ride. I doubt I could go much more than an hour at this point. I'm not so sure 6-8 week return is realistic but I guess that depends on your goals, distance, time etc. Best of luck with whatever you decide.

I do a lot of core work 3x a week; plank, hollow rock, etc. and had restarted doing the PT stuff I was given post-op the first time round.
My surgeon is fully ready to go, I could call and have surgery in less than 10 days, but he too thinks unless its "impacting my daily life" I should hold off. The definition of "daily life" though may not be aligned between the two of us, with him seeing it as ability to go to work and walk around, and me seeing it as competing on the bike at a high level, and weight training.

I'm hopeful the disc will reabsorb on its own, though its a slow process it seems and i cant even begin to find any sort of timeline of how long it could/may take. is this a weeks/months/years thing? I dont know if you have any personal insight or comments you've received.

In mid Jan 2013, I had a microdiscectomy for my L4/L5 disc (my 3rd such procedure, which sucks). I was back on my trainer 3 days later. I was back on the road 6 weeks later and in good shape. Did my first road race of the year mid April and was in at least as good form as before. So I'd say that the timeline for getting back shouldn't be the deciding factor for surgery based on my experience. For me it wasn't really an option, I had clear foot drop and neuropathy symptoms (and debilitating pain) that made the call to do surgery easy.

 

I do a lot of core work 3x a week; plank, hollow rock, etc. and had restarted doing the PT stuff I was given post-op the first time round.
My surgeon is fully ready to go, I could call and have surgery in less than 10 days, but he too thinks unless its "impacting my daily life" I should hold off. The definition of "daily life" though may not be aligned between the two of us, with him seeing it as ability to go to work and walk around, and me seeing it as competing on the bike at a high level, and weight training.

I'm hopeful the disc will reabsorb on its own, though its a slow process it seems and i cant even begin to find any sort of timeline of how long it could/may take. is this a weeks/months/years thing? I dont know if you have any personal insight or comments you've received.[/quote]
What I was told was that the body will usually absorb a bulge or even a rupture in about 8-10 months. Not sure if that is an accurate number or even true, but I heard it from both my surgeon and neurologist.

Resurrecting the zombie thread. I'm scheduled for two-level (L4-S1) discectomy on the 25th. Surgeon was 51-49 on trimming the bulges vs.fusion, and we decided to try this first. He managed to talk me out of surgery for almost two years, saying I'd know when it would be time. This has been going on for five years with varying degrees of management (PT, core work, chiro, injections, blah, blah, blah)...right now it's hell on earth. While I strangely don't have the severe leg pain that most people with nerve issues due, my low back is just a mess. My surgeon tends to be pretty aggressive with recovery so we'll see how it goes. Hoping for swimming/trainer in a month, running in 6. In the meantime a crap ton of walking on the &$^# treadmill. At least I'll get caught up on TV shows.

Anyone have any updates or anyone else new out there?

Really not trying to derailleur this thread, but curious as to what causes one to need such a surgery? And is there anything from a preventative standpoint to do to try to avoid it.

From all the replies it sounds like its more common than I would of thought.

Don't sit at a desk.
Do work that has you changing things up regularly.
Don't do caffeine.

I'm nearing the end of year 4 of recovery from ruptured disc L4/5. Similar to you, I never had shooting leg pain. Instead, centralized low back pain, mild foot drop and denervation from pressure on the nerve root. Although I was quite wary of surgery, I was ready to consider it as a route out of the hell I was living. Consulted with two neurosurgeons. One recommended wait and see, based on the fact that the nerve damage was (at that time) now chronic. The other recommended against surgery, explaining that absent acute issues regarding nerve root pressure, the primary objective of surgery is pain relief from sciatica-type pain, which I did not have. That surgeon felt that surgery was likely to cause more harm than good. Both advised that if I experienced certain neurological symptoms, to get to an ER immediately.

While I tried a time-limited course of oral steroids to control inflammation, I did not do the shots. I have some complicating factors that may have led to adverse reaction. Additionally, research literature does not seem to support these as an evidence-based practice. Some studies indicated that even if the shots provide temporary pain relief, they could cause scarring that would create other complications.

Instead, focus was on other pharmacological and alternative pain management strategies, PT and through trial and error, learning what activities to avoid. Chief among those has been sitting. Just can't do it for more than about 15-20 minutes at a time without adverse consequences. Four years later I've been able to return light intensity training. Running is the most difficult, due to the nerve damage. I have to be especially vigilant about completing flexibility and mobility exercises on a daily basis.

Good luck with your surgery. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy.

---

No coasting in running and no crying in baseball

Quick update - had my surgery, two-level L4-S1 discectomy, performed by Dr. Clayton Dean @ Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore. Great doctor - would highly recommend. Has a great bedside manner, especially for a neurosurgeon.

Back is sore from the surgery, of course, but only on Advil and a very low dose of Tramadol (avoiding Percocet). It was a little tough to sleep last night but all-in-all I can't complain. The pain is NOTHING like the nerve pain when it was flaring up.

4 weeks of walking only and then I follow up with my surgeon, where I would be expected to be able to hop on the trainer and swim. I'm going to be smart about this, so will take it easy.

I'll post again regularly so we have another "record" of someone going through this.

I wish you a speedy recovery. For me it was a huge relief to be past the surgery anxiety.

I would be pretty cautious with swimming at first. Or rather with turns. 2 years past the surgery I still avoid flip turns and sometimes flare up my back from trying to turn too quickly at the end of the pool. There is something in turning in water 180 degrees that puts quite a strain on the lower back. So if you want to swim just stop at the end of the lane and turn with caution.

All in all expect a lot of ups and downs. In my recovery I had weeks with pretty severe symptoms. It all gradually gets better, just the change is not linear.

What's a flip turn?? :-)

Yeah, I have every plan on taking it easy with the hope of being fully functional by the time the weather gets warm.

There is a great book that has been recommended on ST in the past called "Foundation: Redefine Your Core, Conquer Back Pain, and Move with Confidence".

What you will learn from this book is that the genesis of common back problems can be traced back to the evolution of human movement. The spine was not "designed" for bipedal movement and the forces this type of movement puts on vulnerable joints. Because of this, "preventative" training has to do with strengthening your posterior chain (back muscles, hips, gluts, hamstrings), avoiding spinal loading (bend at the hips NOT the back), and, probably most important of all, avoiding twisting while under load (bent at the back and twisting at the waist). The goal of this is to avoid putting your spine in vulnerable positions while also having strong support (posterior chain) to stabilize things if you are ultimately forced, or accidentally end up, in that position.

After I read this book I started seeing poor movement all around me. It's amazing how many people put their spines into vulnerable positions. It's not surprising to me to see how common back problems are.

As a side note, I had an L4/5 discectomy/laminectomy back in 2006.

Day 4 update:

I'm really sore where the incisions are, but still haven't needed any major pain meds so I've avoided the stomach/GI complications associated with that. Sleeping fine with muscle relaxant and a low dose of Tramadol, plus my course of Motrin 800s. Drove a car a few miles yesterday and we went out to lunch for a bit to watch the Terps basketball game - that was probably a little too much on me and I came home and fell asleep for like an hour on the couch. Taking it easy today - back to work at my W@H job tomorrow. I'm sitting right now in my home office with very limited pain so that's a good sign.

More later this week...thanks for reading!

Good luck! I had my microdiscectomy in 2007.

I wish I could say it "worked" but at least I can feel my left leg again. The pain will never go away. BUT, I still train, I still race and I live my life. I guess that mean it "worked." Even if it takes a few tramadols and flexirils to get by, and a epidural every now and then... and some prednisolone in between.

The only advice I have is to pay attention to what sets you off (once you are healed) and avoid those things. There is no magic cure. Oh, and TAKE IT EASY for a few months post-op. I was walking with a cane for about 6 weeks and starting running at 8 weeks. Bad idea. Your fitness will come back with 6 months off. I promise.

Thought I would give a quick update.

First posted on this thread back in '15. I am now 18 months from my surgery. The road back has been very slow - on purpose. I started with long walks and then added 1 minute of jogging (controlled heart rate based on Maffetone - due to lack of any other reason to pick a heart rate) with 9 minutes of walking. Each month I added 1 minute of jogging and subtracted 1 minute of walking. I had a one month set back at 5 minutes jogging and 5 minutes walking. After I was able to complete a month of 8 minutes jogging and 2 minutes walking for 80 minutes I went to all jogging - still at a heart rate of 118. At 12 months from surgery I raised my heart rate to 128. At 14 months I raised my heart rate to 137 (1 year out from IMWI 2017). My swimming and biking took a similar, slow recovery. I raced twice last summer, both sprints. The first race I did a hard swim, really hard bike and a jog - felt fine. The second race I did an easy swim, moderate bike and a really hard run - felt fine.

I have signed up for IMWI 2017 and feel relatively good right now. I am up to 25-30 miles of running (my biggest fear), 100-120 miles of riding, 5000 yards of swimming per week - will build through the summer. I still have "pain" in my right foot - I don't think it will ever go away and can get some stiffness in my lower back depending on the day. All-in-all I am able to do what I want and at this point don't see a reason to stop training/racing.

Good luck with your recovery. Stay patient, consistent with what works for you and listen to your body.

I had 2 level discectomy done at Union - it worked great for 9 months. Then had Clay Dean perform a 2-level fusion.

I sincerely hope your results are better than mine. Best of luck.

He did my discectomy - we'll see.

What went wrong with yours? (if you don't mind my asking...)

Day 15 update:

I've tried to do some basic walking as exercise and have some back pain when I do that, so I've stopped. I went through a few days where I was breaking out in hives around the incision site, the PA gave me hydroxyzine to take at night and that seemed to calm it down. Probably a reaction either to the sutures or the durabond surgical glue, they tell me.

Still experiencing some nerve pain at L4/L5 - not sure if that's part of the surgery recovery process but I'm hopeful it will resolve itself in time. Driving is much easier now - I'm fine in the car but getting in and out is a little tough still.

I see my surgeon in two weeks - we'll see how that goes.

Had 4 fusions nine years ago. Seven months later i did a sprint triathlon. Last year i did 9 sprint triathlons, 1 CX race, 3 gravel races, 3 time trials, 4 cycling road races, 1 century. I could race longer distances but prefer the pain involved in short fast stuff. I was 61 last year. I run 1 or 2 times a week. I deep water run 1-2 times a week. Running is the hardest on my body but it seems to help my racing a lot. I had one of my best years last year. Swimming seems to help everything biking is my favorite but switching bikes sometimes causes hip problems.
I do have problems from time to time and always worry my back is going to start troubling me again. I pray that i just smell the roses at every training session and race. I happen to be a christian and thank god every night for the time i have been given. Almost losing these things was in some ways a blessing.
I walked with a cane until i was fully recovered , i did not need the cane it just kept people from bumping me, slapping me on the back etc.

mndiver are you still out there? IMWI 2017 is coming soon. I have had one of my better summers of training and am looking forward to getting back to IM racing.

Still out here. I’m signed up for IMLouisville in 2018. Been feeling pretty good. Hope things went well for you at WI.

And my PT program 5 weeks out - zero pain:

From Day-1:

Treadmill (3 x a day every day for 20-30mins).

From 3-Weeks Post-Op Added:

Twice a day, every day, the following (the first 3 exercises are known as the “McGill Big 3” as outlined in Dr. Stuart McGills books):

Bird dogs (6/4/2 each side descending set - 10 seconds each rep)
Side planks (6/4/2 each side descending set - 10 seconds each rep)
McGill curl-ups (6/4/2 descending set - 10 seconds each rep)
“Stir the pots” on Swiss ball (4 sets of 20-30seconds each creating figure 8’s with elbows)
Bear crawls (10 forwards, 10 backwards – 3 sets)
Farmer walks - single side w/ 25lb Kettlebell carry (50 meters each side)
TRX pull-ups (8/6/4/2 descending set)
TRX pull-ups (8/6/4/2 descending set)

From 5-Weeks Post-Op Added:

Lap swimming every second day with snorkel and pool buoy so as to avoid twisting – ~ 500m, and planning to slowly increase mileage every week (started 5-weeks post op).

That’s it for now.

I’ve also increased the handlebar height on my bike in preparation for getting back on the stationary trainer by wrapping these around the bar. This increases the height about 1.5inches so I don’t have to bend over in flexion so much.

Had an emergent discectimy/ laminectomy at L4-5 August 2016. Had acute cauda Equina with foot drop, paralyzed from waist down.Recoverd fairly quickly , started walking on treadmill post op day 2. Back in pool as soon as incision healed but was limited to what I could do as surgeon did not want me to do twisting motion. Deep water running is boring but is great for rehab, I have a waterproof iPod which makes it less painful. Did Ironman x 2 and 5 ultras since then. Started having leg pain last month, mri shows reherniation if same disc( what is left of it) so no running ever for me. Problem is I am signed up for lake placid next year. Has anyone ever power walked a marathon? I am a fast walker already so I think it’s possible. Don’t want to have to suck up cost of entry fee!