About 8 years ago I had a bulged disk (L5) and went through PT for it. At the time being over weight I was told to lose weight and exercise and the back pain would go away. Well here I am 8 years later, 55 lbs lighter (178 lbs 6’0"), finished 2 HIMs, and 1 IM (under 11 hrs), 4 marathons, and several other events. Success? Well kind of. There is no pain while doing most of the exercises, but when switching from one to the other is when the problems come in. If I am running and have to stop to tie my shoes (or clean up dog poo) then I have to struggle for the next 1/2 mile until my back calms down until I can run OK again.
If I stretch forward I can stretch it out well and am fairly flexible. If I stretch backwards (back bends) I can loosen that up and have no problems that way. The problem comes when I stretch backwards and then try to bend forwards or vise versa. That is when I think I am going to die…OK that is a little far but it is on the verge of tweaking again even when I go slowly.
It does get a bit better the more I work out (back exercises help) as most of the pain comes more in the offseason than during the season. But does it ever go away? I am not interested in surgery as I have not heard too many good things about that and at 32 that is not too exciting.
Thoughts? Well I know I will get those, but are there any solutions?
Thanks in advance for any and all feedback. This has been VERY frustrating for years.
The bulging is supposed to go down as the disk “dessicates” a bit. I could
be wrong there or the Dr could have been simplifying.
IME it comes and go. Doing core work helps a lot, which is why
it sucks more in the offseason. Sleeping on bad beds really tears my
back up. Vitamin I (ibuprofen) and pain killers when required
seems to work.
My goal is to hang on as long as I can until they approve and improve
artificial discs for adjacent implant.
If I am running and have to stop to tie my shoes (or clean up dog poo) then I have to struggle for the next 1/2 mile until my back calms down until I can run OK again.
Thoughts? Well I know I will get those, but are there any solutions?
Your comments bring two things to mind: don’t bend over, bend at the knees; and your back is better, but not 100%, perhaps running is not a good idea. And “yes” I’ve made this difficult decision myself, so I know you can make the right decision also.
Some discs actually will get better. I have seen presented at radiology meeting before and after pics from MRIs. The disc can sometimes be resorbed or gets desiccated and no longer shows as a herniation. Also saw a case in person just this past fall.
I had a series of epidural shots in c5 and c6. The shots were loaded with anti-inflammatory agents. It works for some people. It didn’t for me–disc is too far gone. I’m having it replaced within a month.
Some discs actually will get better. I have seen presented at radiology meeting before and after pics from MRIs. The disc can sometimes be resorbed or gets desiccated and no longer shows as a herniation. Also saw a case in person just this past fall.
Doesn’t happen in all cases, mind you.
…and was that person you saw…and presented at meeting…an IM athlete?
Going through the neck for C seems like less of a problem than going
through the abdomen for L and S. If you have other information I’d
be curious to read about it.
Oh, and these things can’t be approved on a “state” basis. Supreme Court
has pretty much ruled on that definitively.
Some discs actually will get better. I have seen presented at radiology meeting before and after pics from MRIs. The disc can sometimes be resorbed or gets desiccated and no longer shows as a herniation. Also saw a case in person just this past fall.
Doesn’t happen in all cases, mind you.
Motocross accident on New Year’s day. MRI said hurniated disk and another buldging disk. MAJOR pain the first week and have recovered to the point I’m running 30 min but mentally I feel worried about going longer and reinjuring. At this point I think I’m back to 100% physically now I just got to build up mentally and quit thinking my back is “going to go out”. Stop reading all the back crap on ST and get going. Prolonged back pain after the physical healing is mostly in the head.
After today I know I’m probably 100%. 30 min run then played in the big waves in Hawaii and got rolled several times like a pretzel.
There is no cure. Sounds to me like you need to learn proper mechanics to be able to tie your shoes, etc. putting the minimal stress on your bad disks. Talk to your PT about this problem.
just wondering if the pain is actually coming from the SI joints. many doctors seem to over look this joint. after years of dealing with herniated disks (i thought that was causing my pain) it turns out that a few cortisone injections in my SI joints solved the problem. just a thought.
Ahh…dont bend over to tie shoes or pick up dog poop squat down like your supposed to keeping the natural arch in your back. Simple solution. In PT we teach that to all back patients. It’s simple use of proper lifting/body mechanics. Even a caveman can do it. It’s not just for heavy lifting that you lift properly. When you have a back problem it’s all the time. It takes the same amount of time to lift or bend properly. It’s simply a matter of putting it in to practice and doing every single time, even to tie your shoes or lift a dropped pen off the floor.
That seems simple, yet recently I was in PT for ITB and was asking about my back as well and they said that I need to work on bending forward and that was one of the stretches. Thought it would be a good time to do it in the middle of a run to help stretch out more often. Of course they said only stretch forward for now and never backwards until the pain stops…well seeing that it has been going on for about 8 years that seems like I would never stretch backwards again which doesn’t seem right. Did they give the wrong direction?
I have been wondering on the bed thing. How do you know if you have a bad bed? We thought we bought a good one (11 years ago), but really had no idea what we were looking for.
I am going to change it up next year and keep training through the offseason, just at a much reduced amount. Usually I quit biking and swimming and keep running (have to run the dog) and pick up weight training. Time to mix it up next year.
Sacroiliac Joint and yes google will help. After a few doctors in the last 5 years I found a guy who immediatly found the problem, mostly through talking to me and simple but detailed palpation of my lower back and hips. Oddly enough not many of the other doctors ever really put their hands on me. It seems that infammation around the joint (there are a lot of big tendons around the joint) is rather common.
Great job on the weight loss. Maybe it is time to check back in with PT? I had great results with McKenzie (sp?) PT for a bulged disk about 7 years ago. I have worked a lot more on flexibility since then, especially my hamstrings and hip flexors which were pretty tight.
A patient with a “spondy” is entirely different than a patient with a disc derangement and/or herniation. A spondy is something that any qualified manual therapist (PT, DC, ATC) or Ortho would have picked up on in Dirk’s case especially now days with the information we now have regarding presentation of such a condition in younger active individuals.