herniated disks and exercise?

HonestBuddha

Hi everyone! What exercises do you do with herniated disks and when you have weak legs?

kim_m_kk

go see a good doctor and get an MRI and see what is really going on. The weakness can lead to something called drop foot it is permanent. I had compressed nerves from a ruptured disk. I did everything to make it better including losing 50lbs. In the end I had surgery. This was a good decision in my case. I felt better immediately. I could not exercise other than short walk or some gentle pool exercise. It was awful.

Azdak

If you have a diagnosis, you can have a therapist design a program to allow you to exercise and also develop a base of core strength and stability that may allow you to do more aggressive exercise in the future.

If you want to do something, I would feel comfortable recommending step ups using a 10" step (search you tube for form tips--but ignore that fact that many of them might have the person stepping up on higher levels--like a gym bench). That's a pretty gentle exercise and you will know pretty quickly if you have any nerve pressure issues (obviously, stop doing the exercise if you feel any pain/numbness radiating down the leg). Once you have mastered your form, you can start holding dumbbells in your hands to add more resistance.

You can also trying going some glute bridges.

But, long-term, you really need to have a supervised or individually designed program to build a base.

LovingLife_Erin

I have major neck issues and so agree that speaking to a doctor about this is the best path. What I'd suggest is:

1. If you don't already have a specific diagnosis, get one.
2. Ensure that you are being active in getting treatment for it. If that means physio, great! Ask them what sort of other exercise they would recommend.
3. Don't try to push through the pain. There is good pain, and bad pain. Make sure you know the difference, and do not ignore bad pain.
4. If you can speak to a rehab doctor, do so. They might be a good source of information for this sort of thing.
5. If, and only if, you are cleared for exercise then make sure that you stick with low impact stuff. Try out the recumbent bike, elliptical, or just walking. See what doesn't bother you and do that. If you can swim... try swimming. If kicking bothers you, then focus on your arms, or even try water running. Aqua aerobics is also amazing. On land, I can't jump or do half the stuff we do in class, but in the water, I'm a jumping machine! My class also does a lot of jumping squats and lunges, which is great for building leg strength. I'd really suggest you check some difference aqua classes out and see if they work for you.

That's just what I suggest, based on my own experiences with spine issues and nerve pain.

Good luck!

airborne18th

Echoing everyone else.. do PMR.. even if it is just for 10 visits to get the basic stretches and exercises..

Weakness in legs means balance issues. Water is your best friend as long as it is water that is easy to get in and out of. The biggest thing is don't sit around and lay in bed ( I have spend years on and off in this mode ). Standing is better.

and you said plural herniated.. Be careful with any surgical advice. Multi-level lower back surgery has a very low success rate. .. I would exhaust every non-surgical avenue first.