Herniated disks.

Do you know which discs you herniated? I ruptured three discs (L4-L5-S1) 7 years ago, and pinched my sciatic nerve which was very uncomfortable.

Basically your discs are like jelly donuts and with too much force they pop. Initially, I also thought I rupture mine skiing, but in all likelihood, that was just one of the many factors that contributed to it. I was running six days a week which was very hard on my body and also spending several hours a day sitting which was causing lots of tension in my hamstrings that caused a pelvic tilt. So my advice to you is to take a look at your everyday environment, as there are likely many factors that may have contributed to your injury. Once you can identify what change in your lifestyle you can start recovering. I know for many people, overtraning one specific muscle group while ignoring rest, flexibility and whole body exercises can take a big toll on the body.

Unfortunately, this injury took me a long time to recover from, and to this day if I ignore or am too busy to take care of my back I still have some symptoms. However, don't let that discourage you, because in many ways hurting my back really made me take a look at my training and lifestyle and ultimately I did come back stronger than ever. I was able to do some sports within 6 months of my injury, however, it took me 1.5 years to get competitive again.

I seeked help from many different types of treatment. Obviously, the first I would recommend is a physio, which I'm sure you're doing already. If you're open to it you can also try some more alternative treatments, I also found chiropractic to be very helpful, but you have to make sure you're seeing the right one. I dabbled a bit in accupunture that could help you too. Most recently, I tried something called IMS, not sure if its available in the US, but found it surpprisingly effective.

In terms of exercise, don't jump back in too soon. First thing you need to do is be able to activate your core, having strong abs and lower back muscles are key to protecting your spine and avoiding re-injury. Then I would suggest work working on functional exercises with little weight or resistance. Doing movements that you will use in everyday life, and sport. For example, at this point don't worry about how much you can squat, because you need to work on what is transferable to your routine.

If you are looking for cardio make sure its low impact and does not put pressure on your spine. I found water running most effective as it did the same movements as running but didn't hurt me and also engaged my core. Make sure you're giving your entire body a good stretch, many people like myself hurt their backs because of tight glutes, quads and hamstrings. I can't stress enough how crucial improvig my flexibility was for my recovery. My chiropractor and physio both did extensive PNF stretching on me which helped me get back to my 'normal'.

I know how frustrating it is to have a big injury, and trust me, if you take care of your body it will recover, but its going to require lots of patience. Good luck with it all, and fire me a question about it anytime.

So, july 9th 7th I have an appointment with my normal doctor for some sort of physical then on the 9th I have surgery.
Recovery will be about 4 weeks to get back to my normal lifestyle but it depends when I will be able to get back tp sports. Im going to train as hard as I can so I can get back skiing and come back harder then ever. Same with lacrosse. Next year I gonna come back stronger and faster than I have ever been in my whole life.


Im pretty sure its L5 s1. Its either that or the one above it.

Good luck with the surgery. I am little surprised to hear that someone your age is required to have surgery.

Any idea to what specifically caused the injury?

Download-My-AppsGood luck with the surgery. I am little surprised to hear that someone your age is required to have surgery.

Any idea to what specifically caused the injury?

Yeah I was surprised until they told me the reason. I think it could have happened from me tripping from walking backwards or something and landing on my ass. Which was like 2 years ago because after that day whenever I lifted for a longer period of time or had to bend over a lot right where the disk is felt a little irritaded. Then it probably got more irritated as I kept running every once in a while then skiing all of the time

The straw that broke the camels back I think was playing lacrosse though. Just because there is so much sprinting and bending over it finally put so much stress on my back that the disk could take it any more.

It was ckind of a group decision between the surgeon and my dad because my dad went through getting steroud injections for 4 years and it stopped working after a couple of months.

The surgeon said that the disk is bulging out so far that its bbasically like kinking a garden hose and making my leg weak to the point where if we wait any longer there could be significant nerve damage if there isn't already.

Sorry if none of this makes sense im a little 2turnt right now.
Also the surgeon had the same surgery when he was 20 so he kind of knows what its like and he was even around the same age and wishes he would have done it sooner.
He was just in cpllege and had to postpone it 9 months so he would be able to do it during the summer.

Also I just typed this on mobile. So pretty proud of myself on that one.

bump because thread got moved for some reason.

Yes, sorry. We re-merged some forum categories. Mr.Bishop will likely post an explanation at some point.

Sounds rather drastic.
I'd talk to chiropractors, yoga teachers, massage therapists. You got to do some searching, speaking and thinking.

HetrocarvSounds rather drastic.
I'd talk to chiropractors, yoga teachers, massage therapists. You got to do some searching, speaking and thinking.

While health issues are often overlapping, and I have used all of the above methods to deal with certain aspects of my injury. Someone like a yoga teacher, who probably has maybe a few weeks of training, regardless clinical experience is not qualified to really give any input other then a few stretches, and even at this point they are possibility unaware of the specific limitations of OP's condition.

That being said, I agree that they longterm solution to this is not simply surgery (I'm not saying you shouldn't have surgery). But to maintain a healthy back after such a dramatic injury you need to look at all contributing factors, far beyond just rupture disc.

Download-My-AppsWhile health issues are often overlapping, and I have used all of the above methods to deal with certain aspects of my injury. Someone like a yoga teacher, who probably has maybe a few weeks of training, regardless clinical experience is not qualified to really give any input other then a few stretches, and even at this point they are possibility unaware of the specific limitations of OP's condition.

That being said, I agree that they longterm solution to this is not simply surgery (I'm not saying you shouldn't have surgery). But to maintain a healthy back after such a dramatic injury you need to look at all contributing factors, far beyond just rupture disc.

Yep I definitely already have. Im definitely a little bit bigger so im startex to cut back so I can lose the weight then after the surgery when Im able to run or walk longer distances im going to start doing that.

Holefully it works out haha.

The yoga teacher may have a student that had the same injury as you, and you could get introduced and speak to someone with real experience (students need to tell the teacher if they have any serious injury before the class)... or they could ask their class if they know anyone.. or you could ask the class. Yoga teachers are easy to find. Anyhow I'm sure you could browse internet forums about such injuries. It sounds like you've decided you need this surgery I'm not in the position to say whether you do or don't but to me getting a spinal fusion is pretty serious that I'd personally seek to avoid at all costs. Then again you're not me. Good luck to you.

HetrocarvThe yoga teacher may have a student that had the same injury as you, and you could get introduced and speak to someone with real experience (students need to tell the teacher if they have any serious injury before the class)... or they could ask their class if they know anyone.. or you could ask the class. Yoga teachers are easy to find. Anyhow I'm sure you could browse internet forums about such injuries. It sounds like you've decided you need this surgery I'm not in the position to say whether you do or don't but to me getting a spinal fusion is pretty serious that I'd personally seek to avoid at all costs. Then again you're not me. Good luck to you.

Yeah i wanted to avoid it too but when i talked to my doctor and then the surgeon he really recommended it because he had the same exact thing when he was 20.

How they explained it to me it sounded like they were removing the disk completely at first but now it sounds like they're just going to be clipping the bulged part off and then use pt to strengthen the area and make sure that it doesn't happen again.

Damn. Good luck. Back problems suck. Hopefully you'll come out in good enough shape to kill it on the slopes soon.

ThurnisHaleyYeah i wanted to avoid it too but when i talked to my doctor and then the surgeon he really recommended it because he had the same exact thing when he was 20.

How they explained it to me it sounded like they were removing the disk completely at first but now it sounds like they're just going to be clipping the bulged part off and then use pt to strengthen the area and make sure that it doesn't happen again.

It might be better to speak to massage therapists or chiropractors because they deal with these issues on a daily basis. Just ask them "What do you think of spinal fusions?"

Are there any chiropractic or natural health schools/colleges near you? Perhaps you could speak to a teacher there.

Personally, unless you are in immediate danger or excruciating pain, I would not do it until you thoroughly explore all options. I would delay the surgery myself. But you really need to get self-directed about it. I mean some doctor can tell you to do something, but once you leave his/her office or operating theater.. you are stuck with the results for life and the doctor has taken some money from you're family and government (who may think that throwing money at problems fixes them) -- same goes for alternative therapists too,who might also be running patient conveyor belts. And just because he had it done 20 years ago means nothing (to me it's a red flag.) Run from people who have "done it tough" and want others to do it tough too just because they did... they are victim/villains.

How I see it you'll probably need to relieve pressure on the area and start healing that area. Something like comfrey (knitbone) or even aloe vera (both with allantoin) could be good in that area and could accelerate the healing. Also a nettle root tea or ointment could bring down swelling. Marjoram oil can also help and a vitamin k2 supplement with some sun exposure. Traumeel creme could also help. And obviously finding bodily positions that put no pressure on the area. Does sleeping without a pillow or on your back help? Can you give your spine massages with your knuckles (being very sensitive to any pain that you produce)? Even molecula silver could assist.

Anyhow.... you may just have to do the surgery anyway, if this natural route is not feasible for whatever reason. Quick fixes usually have side-effects of implications. The spine has many nerves branching out from it. The surgery could disrupt that flow. Chiropractors spend most of their time trying to improve that flow by nullifying these "subluxations," and a surgery may disrupt one of those nerve branches and then effect other parts of your body.. permanently. Does the surgeon have a track record of success? Can you speak to his other patients?

Yeah the pain is actuallyfucking horrible haha. Ive been taking painkillers plus ibuprofin for about a month now. Also my right leg is getting extremly weak because the nerve is almost completely blocked off.


The doctor has an amazong track record. (I spoke with a few people who've had him and said that hes very trustworthy) so that really made me feel better about getting the surgery.

But I guess since I cant even do my every day routine without taking norcos the surgery is a good option.

My Dad had the same problem last year. He didnt have to get surgery and he is still not 100% yet.

brendanbectoldMy Dad had the same problem last year. He didnt have to get surgery and he is still not 100% yet.

Do you know how serious his was?

You're going to get a lot of conflicting information on this. Some people will have different perspectives based on their school of thought or own personal experiences. My sciatica was so bad that I could not sit for longer than 30 seconds without extreme pain and I couldn't move my leg more than 20 degrees. One doctor mentioned that I should stay away from surgery because it would likely take away from something else. That being said, I'm Canadian, so the wait time for surgery would likely be longer than the US and I may be taking time from someone who may have needed it more. And the surgeons salary is not based off how many procedures they perform. I made more or less a full recovery, but I still have some symptoms of injury 7 years later (moderate discomfort) despite taking extremely good care of my bosy. Skiing, running and sitting for extended periods of time have likely contributed to this.

It is worth exploring different options, talking to other doctors, chiros or even massage therapists to see their approach to it. But the truth is, it is not their scope to recommend if you should or should not have surgery. While I do agree western medicine has a very limited perspective, looking for the direct link of pain, symptom and relief. Someone like a chiropractor even though they are a back specialist of their own field is not qualified to make recommendations such as that. I have no issues against their field, I have found their treatments to be very effective, hell I nearly studied Chiropractic but each health specialist has a place in their role in rehabilitation, and that has to be respected.

Many professionals have biases, based on their own ideologies and it is very difficult to choose the best source of treatment. I suggest keeping an open mind to some, as long as they have no potential to do more harm. In order to become a 'proven' solution it take years of clinical study and what might work for one person will not work for another.