Ouch. Been down the bulging disk route. I think the disk space narrowing is part of a really insideous condition called "aging", it sucks.

I had really good results with physical therapy. I think it was called McKenzie PT. I was back in the pool within a week. Later the bike, then later run. Hey, that's the order of a triathlon. Post recovery I pay a lot of attention to core strength and stretching my hamstrings and hips.

My bulging disk case was 8 years ago and I have been able to compete at a level even higher than before the injury. In hindsight, it was developing over a fairly long time but just took the scary pain down the leg to get me to address it. Good luck.

I've been diagnosed as well with almost the same
- Arthritis and degenerative disc disease in L4/L45
- Disc space narrowing in the same region
- no buldging disc though

From my side it's bad news. I'm 44 and have had this problem for the past 10-15 or so years. degenerative meaning year after year it's getting worse. I have been strictly a cyclist - been racing for almost 25 years now. Mainly mountain bike racing, a bit of road racing as well as cyclocross - nothing tri related so no running or swimming. My back pain started off just being uncomfortable on the bike, but over time it got worse and worse to a point that racing was just too painful and it no longer was fun. I pretty much had to stop riding competatively due to my back pain. I then sought out specialist - went to PT a few times and later was diagnosed with the above - I started gettting cortozine (sp?) injections in my back and that worked for a short time initally. I was usually ok to do a race within 30 days of getting a shot and could race with much less pain, but the pain was still there. I went thru about two years of getting 3 or so shots a year all timed before a series of a few races so I was able to do a few MTB races in the spring and then a few cyclocross races in the fall. Once I could feel the pain coming back, my season was over. I also wan't thrilled with getting several shots a year in my back for the rest of my amateur athletic life.

This past year I finally gave in and saw a chiropracter. I had avoided this for so long - I was one that just didn't believe in them and thought that once you went, you were stuck for life, but I was at my last resort if I wanted to be involved in any sort of athletic competition. I was recommended to a Chiro in my area that trained under the Chiro that handled the Discovery cycling team so I at least felt comfortable he was a bit cycling/sports related. One visit and I was sold. He has helped me greatly - I've been able to do a full season (for me considering I have 3 kids and coach soccer) of cyclocross racing. I actually just started running for the first time in my life a few months ago and can do so without any sort of back pain. Granted, I still have some discomfort and back pain, but it has become much more managable - enough that I'm considering trying a few mountain bike races in the spring and since I'm hanging out here often on ST, starting to get involved in some Tris to see how I manage.

So, my opinion is you will want to seak out professional medical help with it, but don't limit yourself to one profession. I started out with a physical therapist, then onto a medical back specialist and then finally what I considered the quack Chiro - which I now wish I would have went to the quack first! If anyone is a Chiro here - I mean quack in the nicest sence :)

Good luck
Michael

I think everyone who goes to the Dr. with back pain gets diagnosed with degenerative disc disease if they have an MRI. So don't go thinking this means you will be in a wheelchair in three years.

I had it about 4 years ago, went to the physical therapist, they used the San Francisco spine institute rehab program, which is a fancy way to say "Dead Bug Exercises done properly." It has worked for me so far, I get a light flare up occasionally, and get a bit more vigorous on the dead bugs.

At the time he was showing them to me, I figured it was the biggest waste of money I had yet pursued. It worked though.

I've got DDD in C5-6-7. Just had a procedure done Oct 19th (laminotomy). Basically it involved removing some bone spurs, and honing out a portion of the vertebrae to make room for the nerves that were being compressed. Dr. said this should be good for 5 to 10 years (individual results may vary). I'm glad I did it, I feel really great--instant relief. I was initially looking to get the degenerative discs replaced with artificial discs--but my insurance wouldn't cover the procedure for cervical--but they would cover it for lumbar.
Good luck!! feel free to pm with any questions.

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______________________________________

"thoughts become things, choose the good ones"

Here is my story:

http://www.bnasurg.com/

Click on the video.

Let me know if you have any questions, I can be reached at simon@bouldercoaching.com

By the way Dr V is a sub 10 hour IM athlete himself!

All around a great guy with a clear understanding of promoting an active life style. A few ST's have gone to see him.

I would 2nd this. If you took an x-ray of everybody walking down the street, they would say each of them has degenerative disease. You need to work on loosening your psoas. Sitting at a chair for a few decades shortens it quite a bit. Work on flexibility and strength before worrying about any type of surgery -> unless you are in so much pain you can barely function and you have lost feeling in your legs. Then you may require surgery.

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Ride Scoozy Electric Bicycles
http://www.RideScoozy.com

Dead bug? Best core exercise name ever.

Thanks for all the comments from everyone so far. I had a moment of dread when I was talking to the GP, but it seems there is a good chance I can PT through this in a short amount of time and hopefully stave off re-occurrences with better workout habits. Again - thanks for relating the personal stories as the doc is a nice guy but I think golf is an extreme sport for him so I wasn't able to get much of a read on what this may mean for my lifestyle.

This could be my story. And I actually talked to Simon and his wife prior to having Dr V do my own surgery.

Yes, DDD is a common issue among aging athletes, but if you are in real pain and want to continue your active lifestyle, it is prudent to at least consider a surgical solution. I know that I wasted 3-4 years of increasing pain before I actually found out what was wrong and how to address it.

Other ortho's and spine specialists told me that my running days were over.......V said that I absolutely could continue to swim, bike and run and that has been the case. I only wish I had found him sooner.

Don't assume that core work or stretching a particular muscle will fix everything......it may.....but it doesn't hurt to look into all options, even the ones that don't seem as appealing to you. The surgery was not that big a deal.

Best of luck.

G

G

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It's a little like wrestling a gorilla.........you don't stop when you're tired.........you stop when the gorilla is tired.

I've got the same thing and have for decades. It's not in any way a certain pronouncement of the future. In fact, now in my early 40s I'm almost symptom free. There is no longer any back-based limiter on my lifestyle and this includes very heavy squats and deadlifts in the gym as well as cycling and running.

You may be in for a future of off and on pain, some severe, a lot of it minor, but the fact that the Xray showed some disc degeneration just means that you are in the same boat as about 50% of the people in their 30s or 80% of the people in their 40s.

I have something going on similar to Simon's. I had 2 herniated (bulged) discs and had surgery in Aug. Thought it was fixed for 5 days then the pain started to come bad and 2 wks after surgery I had another MIR done that confirmed the disc re-herniated itself. Im trying to avoid a 2nd surgery, but it might be inevitable for the pain Im having. I have my story on my blog at 3xrob.com There is a pic of my first MRI I believe. Looks close to Simon's from what they showed.

-Rob

Thanks for your input. I think I have similar situation after viewing video. Do bone spurs grow back after the endoscopic decompression? If so how long generally will this treatment last? Which discipline is the major culprit, the pounding of running or the flex position on the aerobar? Can it be prevented/treated thru PT if so which method do you follow, ie Egoscue, McKenzie, etc.?

Again, thanks for your time and wish you continued health and success.

Egoscue has been helping me

I use egosgue some, but got more help from Kelly starrett (ready state) and upright health you tubes. Since 2009 ther is much on internet free aOr very cheap. My hip flexors, glutes and hips were big problems for low back Good luck with yours.

Diagnosed with the same issue about 20 years ago. Surgeon told me that my running days were over and that I might be able to postpone surgery with some physical therapy. Long story short, I did the therapy, but most importantly lost some extra weight I had been carrying around. Since the surgeon told me that, I have ran many many miles, completed numerous tri races of all distances and continue to swim bike and run. 61 years old. I think everyone has degenerative disc disease to some extent.

I’m in the club also. I’m 48 and starting having neck pain around a year ago. I went to see a specialist and I have DDD in my neck, although I don’t recall between which bones. Doc said mine isn’t too bad, so I went to see a physical therapist who gave me exercises to help with neck mobility.

The biggest things that have helped my condition:

* Buying a standing desk platform so I can work standing or sitting down. My posture is better when I stand. When sitting, the platform raised my monitors so I’m looking straight ahead or slightly up. I never noticed I was always looking slightly down before.
* Using a lacrosse ball to massage my neck and upper shoulders. I stand against a wall and move the ball around that area, really leaning into it.
* Sleeping without a pillow.

The absolute biggest aggravators for my neck DDD are if I look downwards for long periods at a computer screen or swim a lot. Although with swimming, it helps if I switch my breathing side.

Fortunately, mine has been manageable. I also recently found out I have mild arthritis in my feet, but that’s a different story...