wow!!!! haven't been in here for decade or so! thanks for asking....well....my back is doing great....I took up PILATES and then just stopped doing triathlon etc and just did normal recreational sports and now even some yoga and my back is NOT an issue........and to be fair an ortho surgeon that saw my back some time after predicted this.....that it was all inflammation of surrounding muscles etc etc as opposed to anything wrong with the spine!!!!!!!

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Stephen Perera
Gibraltar, Europe
graphics@gibraltar.gi

So a few follow-up questions. So your back pain is completely gone, and what about the hip pain as well? Do you still do any gardening? If so does it cause any issues? I think before I posted I checked your last log-on time and it was recent so you must still check Slowtwitch on occasion? No triathlons in 10 years but you still follow it loosely?

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Hey Thomas very considerate of you to follow up on this.......

I lead a normal life it terms of my back.....I DO have to be careful with gardening in particular as it tends to put my spine/hips in bad angles when extending as you're e.g raking / sweeping / pruning etc etc......I wonder why gardening is so bad for my back hahaha........so perhaps i get a flare up of a day or so but nowhere near what I use to get......

in summary I quit triathlon (also had to decide to spend time with my baby sons or train - Nicholas born in 2001 and Sean in 2004.....and no I wasnt going to get up at 4am to train at 5am so everyone sleeps whilst i come and go).....PLUS sleeping on my side never on my back PLUS getting into Pilates helped PLUS quitting traditional chiropractic treatments were the key issues I found.......I went to McTimoney method initially and THAT really worked well for me - 'A McTimoney Chiropractor gives an ‘toggle recoil’ type adjustment to Thoracic Spine'

Ironically on yesterday I was at the Gibraltar Island Games triathlon as a marshall in the run route so I attended a race for the first time since I raced myself

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Stephen Perera
Gibraltar, Europe
graphics@gibraltar.gi

The back sure is a weird thing. You can run a marathon and be fine, but you pull out a weed and your out for days. Regardless, glad to hear about your recovery. Sounds like a true success story without major surgery.

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Hello, nice to have followed the thread. What you mentioned some 10 years ago is happening to me these months. Didn't your docs tell you about the lack of your disc L5/S1 however? It interests me much how you are after these years and what about your disc thinness? In my case (extremely thin disc L5/S1) a well-known experienced doctor counselled operation (vertebrae fusion TLIF) while the other said "when there's almost/no disc, you can do whatever sports you like if it is just osteophytes that rub). And I feel exact same symptoms you described a decade ago. Stiffness doesn't help and you cannot run that swift you did. Do you live without this disc and what sports can you practise now. Which are comfortable? Thanks for any answer. Hope to jog in Gibraltar, which we did 3 years ago. Yes - up there - on the Rock ;-)

I have had an l4-l5 herniation since I was 15 from an accident. Don't give up! I see an amazing chiropractor, get trigger point therapy every other week, do lots of stretching and strengthening....sometimes I have to ease up, but mostly it has been ok! I am a 53 yo age grouper, but have qualified and run Boston 20x, have competed in 16 ims, including Kona....all with the herniation. Be willing to adjust, but please, please don't give up on your athletic career!!! Good luck, and hang in there!!!!