I have just recently herniated a disc in my lower back and have the whole pain down the leg that comes along with it. I have tried a light easy bike and a light easy swim but both have caused pain. Any suggestions for a light workout or therapy to relieve some of the pain?
Core work, walking, some stretching and time.
I did the same thing in May. I’ve had a lot of injuries, but nothing has been as aggravating. My doctor stressed that it’s very important in determining the extent of the herniation to get the inflamation down to see if that relieves any of the pressure on the nerves. If it does, then there’s the likelihood (or at least a good chance) that things can right themselves with a little time and being careful. He started me on a 12 day course of Prednosone (steroidal anti-inflammatory). I responded well to it. I stayed on some ibuprophen for a while after that. I still have some numbness down my right shin and very slight pain in the front of my right thigh. Initially, I lost a lot of strength and even had a little atrophy in the right thigh. Things are coming back nicely now.
Good luck with it. You should see a doctor. I wouldn’t trust my spine to the experts on Slowtwitch (myself included).
.
See a doctor- preferably someone in Neuro (merely based on my experiences).
I tried everything under the sun, chiro, meds, lots of McKenzie, PT, etc. and finally got surgery after 2 years of fighting it. The pain is no better now, but my leg is much better (and seems to be stronger).
Don’t mess with this… its not a soft tissue injury that you can “tough out” or overcome by training. You’re tri-life may or not be over (mine probably is) but you can seriously aggravate the problem (like I did) by toughing through it. There are some very good threads on the topic here, search for them and read them all. You will find that everyone’s situation is different and there is no magic bullet, but there is some good advice that may help you diagnose what sets you off and what helps you.
Best of luck, I know what you’re going through, and it sucks.
I speak from experience spending the better part of '06 and '07 couch bound, including 4 steriod shots, courses of prednisone and finally surgery. DO NOT FUCK WITH THIS! Do not workout. I lost almost 2 years of my life to this, and the better part of 8 months unable to have a life. And now I have permanent nerve damage in the calf / foot. You do not want to go there.
Who diagnosed you? Did you have an MRI? What did the doctor tell you? How long ago did you do this?
The ONLY therapy for this is, is to NOT DO ANYTHING, at least for 2 months. Running or riding at this stage will only make things worse, and you can herniate in a microsecond. My doc had me do nothing but WALK for 3 months after my first one. I did everything they told me and STILL ended up with a second go round and surgery.
Nothing relieves the pain but time, sorry to say. And vicodin, lots of Vitamin V 
I am waiting for my insurance company to ok an MRI. Really sucks I have to wait around to have it figured out but that’s life. I have seen my physican and he said all signs point to it. I am currently on a steroid and waiting for the MRI. The pain isn’t real intense but super annoying! Laying around is not my idea fun but if that’s what it takes then that’s what I’ll do. Just out of curiosity how many of you are back racing after all this?
Laying around is not my idea fun but if that’s what it takes then that’s what I’ll do. Just out of curiosity how many of you are back racing after all this?
Every back is different and you will get a thousand different opinions and treatments, especially on ST. However, I believe laying around is the worst thing you can do. Walk and keep moving. If you herniated your disk then the nerve is inflamed and needs to settle down, whether its time or drugs but it doesn’t happen overnight. Keep moving at some level.
I herniated my disk on Jan 1 from a motocross accident. Two weeks of level 10 pain, End of January, still discomfort, pain in quad and weak leg. By month two things were better and I was back to riding and short jogs. Month three at 95% and by April back to racing. 100% recovered. I avoided PT and core work and all the “unnatural movements” they wanted me to do. I also read a book by John Sarno, which helped me move on from thinking about I’m going to hurt my back again and all the other psychosomatic responses people have like, I can’t lift that box it may hurt my back, etc. Once you have really bad back and leg pain its hard not think about it and you always want to protect your back and avoid doing things that you would normally do.
Good luck
You’ve got a lot of different advice, all of it good…but that just points out how different everyone’s experience is with back problems.
There is a time to rest and allow a reduction in pressure/inflammation and there’s a time to move and continue workouts. I know when to do each for my back, but not yours.
I’ve had your problem for over 20 years and it’s pretty much non-symptomatic now finally (without any surgery). But I had at least a decade of hell.
What I have personally learned, that should be true for most people (not necessarily all) is that returning to activity ASAP will speed up the recovery process. I have tried laying in bed until I was better and it was weeks. I’ve tried narcotic pain killers to enable me to move around immediately and recovery time is halved. I’ve had a few times when my back squirted on me in the weight room and I continued working out then walked a mile before laying down and I didn’t need to miss any work days or workouts.
I did have many years in which my limit on the bike was 30 minutes every other day or I’d suffer seriously for it.
As you improve, make sure to put a priority on strengthening the core muscles, increasing flexibility in the hamstrings/glutes and using proper posture when sitting and lifting. Also, adjust the bike fit if necessary so you aren’t rounding your lower back.
Core work, walking, some stretching and time.
I forgot to mention that you may want to think about changing your sports outlook…long term it will always be a weakness, you will have flare-ups, and “pounding” is not good.
A few things that I have learned about herniations. 1st off, there are degrees of herniations. Most herniations “heal” on their own. I have had two surgeries correcting herniations. My first surgery was a c6-c7 fusion for a herniation, and my second was L4-L5 mircordiscetomy. Before having the second surgery I was training for ICDA, and herniated it enough to where I couldn’t train, but didn’t require surgery. I was able to get back to training after intense PT and rest. I did a local Iron distance race later on that summer. Then I got a cold and sneezed and ruptured the disc and it herniated even more and I lost a lot of feeling in my leg and limped around.
Secondly, if at all possible go to a Sports Spine specialist, I went to Rush orthopedics in Chicago. I went to several other Nuero’s before I went to Rush and kick myself for doing so. As soon as the Dr. from Rush walked in, sat me down and did a simple test he knew what was wrong. He confirmed with the MRI and gave me the choice of more PT or the Microdiscectomy. He said he gave me the choice because most are hesitant towards surgery. Me, I said asap, the pain was terrible and the pain meds take a toll. The surgery was a snap. It was night and day. I had some lingering nerve irritation for a few weeks but i was able to sleep and began training about four weeks post op. I am now pain free and have more flexibility than this time last summer.
So, get the MRI, get to a specialist as soon as you can. If you can get to a surgical specialist even better. If you don’t like what they have to say, then seek a second or third opinion. Be your own advocate. Limit the activities that irritate the nerve, this will just cause you more uncomfort. good luck with it and it will get better.
Find a good doctor and do everything they tell you. Don’t mess around with this or you’ll regret it.
My herniated disk became a nagging chronic pain for years until it finally became so bad that I was laid up in bed and off work for six months. I had to have the disk removed and my spine fused.
I listened to my doctors and my recovery went really well. My back is now stronger than ever, but I still lost far too much of my life to back problems.
Everybody’s back will be different, but from what I was told to do and from what I have heard of others, sitting or laying around is the worst thing you can do. However, doing anything that will put pressure on the disk or bend your spine will probably be a recipe for disaster. Walking is the best thing you can do in most cases as it mobilizes your spine, gets blood flowing, lubricates the joints and helps the herniation correct itself.
I stress again though… find a good doctor and listen to what they say. You’ll undoubtedly need to make some short term sacrifices, but trust me when I tell you they are nothing compared to what you’ll ahve to deal with it you don’t listen to the doctor.
Good luck.
I have L4-L5 damage from an accident, and some that had started from degenerative discs. I have several other discs that are degenerative. Right after my accident, the pain was so terrible that I couldn’t sit, walk, or sleep, never mind train. I thought (hoped) it would magically go away, but it never did. I visited a lot of doctors and emergency rooms, had MRI’s etc. some who recommended surgery and fusion. The best thing I did was buy several books on back problems. The books taught me what is causing the issues, and taught me how to live with my back and to adapt my lifestyle - everything from how I sat, what I sat on, to how I lifted boxes, etc. I got on anti-inflammatories, went to a lot of massage and physical therapists, and used a chiropractor carefully. I worked on my core and stretching every day. Lost all the weight I could.
It took me three years before I took my first step out the door to run or ride my bike (I started on my by walking on my treadmill some time before that but as low impact sa I could get). One year later I competed in two IM’s in a year. I did IM for another 5 years before calling it quits, and during that time probably ran an additional 2 marathons a year, and did another 5-8 additional triathlon events per year, and more. In other words, it’s possible to come back, I did it, but it took a LONG time and a LOT of work on my part (and years of pain since I chose the non-surgery route). But I never fully came back, and I knew my time was limited.
I don’t really compete in triathlon anymore (I may again in the future), but I still try to train every day. My back still gives me problems, specially if I’ve been doing something to agitate it like raking leaves, sitting poorly, lifting stuff, or if I gain weight and forget to work on my core. I live with back discomfort almost every day, but fortunately rarely have (severe)pain. Hopefully your situation is not chronic.
I understand that today’s surgery technology has really come a long way. I sometimes think about surgery and might one day pursue that route. BTW, studies show that long term surgery is no better than not having surgery and instead strengthening core, losing weight, stretching, and learning to live with your back - maybe this has changed.
Not do anything for 2 months??? That is a very one eyed approach!
We treat patients with lumbar related injuries all day, and that is one thing we do not suggest! It may lead to further complications and lack of lumbar mobility-increasing difficulties with future treatment.
First things first-seek out a specialist, not a General Practitioner!, have the scans and ask as many questions as possible.
Treatment wise, we ususally start patients on hydrotherapy (pool based) exercises until symptoms reside somewhat and mobility increases. This includes lots of pool walking, glute and hip work and plenty of stretching.
After, a gym/home based core strengthening programme that incorperates Transverse Abdominus and Multifidus actiavtion and control, glute work, and plenty of stretching of hamstrings, hip flexors, glutes, and adductors. It is important to have the correct muscular balance about your lumbar spine to ensure this does not happen again.
If you need help with this, do not hesitate to ask!
And if anyone is wondering what my quals are, I have been an Ex Phys for the last 8 years treating this all day everyday!
Warning- Bull crap allert!!!
If you indeed do have a significant disc herniation, you are unliklely to achieve any significant improvement solely by mind control and getting in touch with your emotions. See a doctor and remember that >90% of disc herniations will improve over 3-6 months without surgery. If it hurts, don’t do it right now.
I had problems with back, nerves and tight painfull hamstrings for 2 years. I am no medic but a few things I just experienced
-Try to walk a bit daily if it doesn’t hurt. It really helps.
-Bike: put the saddle back and add spacers as much as you can. Open up the hip angle. Try to spin, if no pain, keep doing it. It really helped me to stay fit. Try the spacers!!! That can make a huge difference.
-Avoid long continuous time sitting on chairs!!! If you have to sit, try to get up every hour, stretch the legs by walking around. Even if it is only for a few minutes. If you have the option to not sit, lay down or keep standing.
-Absolutely NO running if back is still painfull. But I guess you already understood that.
-Maybe aqua jogging/running? I know someone who has lower back problems now, and he uses it and it seems to work.
-Keep being active as much as possible! Sometimes the hamstring pain got worse the day after I did too much. Otherwise, pain was a good indicator of overdoing. As long as there is no pain, try to keep moving. Good luck.