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.