Need help from others with Herniated disc/Nerve damage

Triathlon Forum
1

I was hoping someone else has/had the same symptoms I do and could help me get a diagnosis.

I herniated my L5/S1 disc in 2005. I have S1 nerve damage, motor function and strength seemed to return to normal but I still have numbness down my leg and foot which doesn’t seem to bother me too much. I did not have surgery, just a steroid shot, which took away some sciatica. I Started triathlons in 2007 and did an Ironman this year so I can’t complain too much, but I am having some bad upper hamstring pain and haven’t had much luck from Dr/PT and was hoping someone could point me in the right direction.

Symptoms (Hamstrings)

When cycling, most of the time my upper hamstrings burn equally on both sides. I would say about 90% of the time I ride. They hurt pushing down on the pedals. I have done one sprint race where this pain was not there. I also have been on a few rides where I didn’t feel the pain. To deal with it I just don’t ride very hard.

When lifting weights (squats, lunges) they feel ok, besides the normal muscle pain of lifting. But the starting the next day to the rest of the week my upper hamstrings are super tight and hurt - even when if I do easy sets, I could even do lunges without weights and they next few days they would hurt. If I use my fingers and push on the muscle/area that hurts, it runs from a bit below my butt to a few inches above my knee. It is a very specific line down my leg.

Running, no problem at all, it seems to only bother me when my leg is bent further so I’m using my upper hamstring. If I didn’t lift or cycle I would not notice this problem.

What others have said:

PT #1 diagnosis - loose/detached SI joint caused by disc herniation. Loose SI joint is causing my hamstrings to overwork. I was told to try an SI beld while riding and when I did I had no pain. I think thi swas a fluke as I tried it again without the same results. The Dr. I was seeing at the time did not agree with this diagnosis.

PT #2 diagnosis - pain is not muscular but neurogical - S1 nerve catching on tight muscle or herniated disc.

Sports Doc - ruled out strain or tear with xray and examination, pretty much dismissed me right away after I said I did one race without pain. Also sent me to PT bike fitter for a checkup as I had already seen the PT before for a bike fit. Doc thought it might be a biomechanical problem.

PT #3- bike fit - adjusted my bike a bit and gave me a couple exercises to do.

What do I think?

I think PT #2 is correct and this has to do with my nerve and not the muscle, I did not have the problem prior to my back injury. I didn’t ride then but I did lift quite a bit.

Does anyone else have this problem? I work very hard at stretching and exercises but whatever i’m doing is not improving the problem. I’m also going to see my orginal back Dr (physiatrist) and see what she thinks…

Thanks for any help.

2

stretching doesn’t do anything - trigger points & ART may help but who knows. You should see a doctor not PT’s if you want a better diagnoses.

3

I sympathize, I am going through the same thing–pretty sure i pulled a hamstring doing some fast mile work, but never recovered (couple other things happened–my kid jumped on me unexpectedly, i started riding a tri bike in a pretty agressive aero position for the 1st time in 6 years, etc) but after a few weeks i realized it was more radicular pain than muscular. my mri is tomorrow, and i am hoping it is fine so i can blame my pirifromis and work on muscles and stretching and ART and graston–i also have to fix my calf (opposite leg) as i pulled it because i have tried to trian through this and was limping a bit because of the hamstring (very high up pain).

my pain is like yours but running seems to be worse than cycling.

anyway, I don’t think your PT #1 makes sense, herniation is between the vertebrae, not at the SI joint.

when you lay on your back, and have someone else lift your leg up (your leg straight but completely relaxed–they do all the work of lifting your leg) as they go higher does that cause your pain? if so, if they lift again but rotate (twist) your leg so your toe points out does that change the pain?

also you can often tell by exam if a muscle is injured, but x-rays can’t see strains, or herniations, they see changes in bone–if there is not obvious shift of vertebrae that is good, but you can still have disc herniation with normal alignment of vertebrae on x-ray

it has been 2 months for me and i mainly care as i have a marathon at the end of the month, but what really scares me is if this doesn’t resolve or gets worse, not sure what i’d do if i can’t get back to riding hard and running hard (although i’d settle for riding hard in a heartbeat)

good luck
jim