Advice welcome

jplay86

I’m not new to fitness. However I have digenerative disc disease and spinal stinosis. My doc had warned me against doing any lower back lifting what so ever. I’m fairly strong and love to workout. I have been told that swimming and walking will help strengthen my lower back but so far nothing has happened. So I guess I have to rely a lot on diet at this point to shed the extra fat. If anyone has any ideas on how this is achievable I would appreciate the advice greatly

malibu927

The good news is MFP sets you up to do just that, lose weight strictly through diet. Set your goal to a modest deficit (a pound a week, depending on your stats) and eat the amount of calories it gives you, plus at least a portion of you exercise calories if you do get out.

AlyssaPetsDogs

Hi! I have DDD too and I also am 8 months post op from a Microdiscectomy/hemilaminectomy at L4/L5. I still have to take things easy and have difficulty lifting heavy things (so I avoid it) as well as I get flare ups from too much twisting or motion that aggravates the lower back. I have been walking a ton and recently started hitting the gym to do the treadmill at a higher incline. I still have to be careful.

It is discouraging. I have various exercises I learned in PT to help strengthen the core because that’s a huge thing to keep the discs safer. I would take this very seriously though and listen to your doctor. I’m 24 so I have to use my back for many years to come so I am trying to stay active but not exacerbate anything. I really do not want to need a fusion anytime soon. I remember how miserable it felt when my disc was so herniated I couldn’t walk - I don’t want to take any risks. I’m sad that I can’t go back to my other things I liked to do (cycling was great, but I need to strengthen my core more otherwise it aggravates me. For now, it’s swimming and walking and eating healthy!

Best of luck! Feel free to add me if you ever want to talk/complain about back issues!

kommodevaran

You'd have to rely on diet for weightloss anyway - it's much easier to avoid eating something than to burn off the extra calories. Set a reasonable calorie goal and stick to that like glue, and you lose weight; exercise isn't necessary.

1houndgal

Swimming is the best excercise for your back. I know this personally as I have a number of spinal issues.

I joined my local ymca as they have a nice Jacuzzi spa, swimming lanes for lap swimming, and a shallower area for lessons and water fitness classes.

I started when I was barely able to walk a few years ago. Now I seriously lap swim for 1 to 2 hrs @ five days a week. I went from a "potato person" to an "athelete"/"swimmer".

I am grateful to the YMCA to helping me to get to the place, where I need much fewer pain meds and am off opiate pain meds. I often recommend the YMCA to people.

MegaMooseEsq

I generally think that most people are best off treating weight-loss and fitness as separate but complementary goals. There are a lot of external factors that can impact your ability to exercise, as you're seeing, but you can almost always control what goes into your mouth. There's a lot of great advice in the stickies here - good luck!

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300319/most-helpful-posts-general-diet-and-weight-loss-help-must-reads

lorrpb

How long have you been swimming and walking, what exactly are you doing, and how are you measuring your strength to determine that "nothing" has happened?

MostlyWater

What about cardio - or barefoot cardio? Zumba, etc.

jplay86

lorrpb wrote: »

How long have you been swimming and walking, what exactly are you doing, and how are you measuring your strength to determine that "nothing" has happened?

I have been walking for about 2 years now and swimming off and on for 1 of those. The way I gauges it is basically how much normal wear and tear my back can handle. The twisting and turning etc... I was under the impression that if it was getting better it wouldn’t trouble me as much. That hasn’t been the case. Sometimes it’s worse. Sometimes its consistent but never better. I had 2 spine injections and I’m not feeling that anymore so I’m trying to keep the process as natural as possible

jplay86

MostlyWater wrote: »

What about cardio - or barefoot cardio? Zumba, etc.

That’s too strenuous for my back issues. It would aggravate and inflame my lower back. I wish I could though

MichelleSilverleaf

I wonder if seeing a physiotherapist or similar type person could help, in this case? Maybe they could give you a clearer idea of what you can do to get the results you want while being mindful of your conditions.

jplay86

MichelleSilverleaf wrote: »

I wonder if seeing a physiotherapist or similar type person could help, in this case? Maybe they could give you a clearer idea of what you can do to get the results you want while being mindful of your conditions.

I’ll have to check on that! Thanks

tuolon

Sorry, but I have to put my two cents in. I don't have back problems, but my lower back hurts when I swim. I swim for about 1 to 2 hours a day. After I swim for a long time, it hurts when I twist to breathe with the front crawl and hold my head up to breathe for the breast stroke. I do back streches to make it feel better. I also swim on my back to ease the pain. Swimming on my back does not cause me to have back pain. You really need good form to swim without back pain. I would suggest getting professional advice on your swimming technique before you do long streches of swimming.

jplay86

tuolon wrote: »

Sorry, but I have to put my two cents in. I don't have back problems, but my lower back hurts when I swim. I swim for about 1 to 2 hours a day. After I swim for a long time, it hurts when I twist to breathe with the front crawl and hold my head up to breathe for the breast stroke. I do back streches to make it feel better. I also swim on my back to ease the pain. Swimming on my back does not cause me to have back pain. You really need good form to swim without back pain. I would suggest getting professional advice on your swimming technique before you do long streches of swimming.

Useful information! Thanks

tuolon

@jplay86 i forgot to tell you what stroke that i use on my back that eases lower back pain. It is the elementary back stroke. That is when your arms stay in the water and you do tickle-t-touch with your arms (hands to your leg side, then, move your arms to tickle your arm pits, then, move your arms back to a t position, then, move your arms back to your leg side) and your legs do the whip kick (which is basically the breast stroke kick on your back).
Today, i tried doing the back crawl for 45 minutes to see if that caused back pain. I could feel it in my lower back muscles, but there was no back pain. I could try swimming for a month to see if i do have lower back pain while doing the back crawl. If anyone wants me to do it, let me know. Or else, i may just do it and put an update on this thread. I haven't decided if i am going to do that yet.
Also, treading water with your hands out of the water for a minute is a good workout and doesn't hurt your back. I try to do it for at least a few times everytime i swim.
I wish the best of luck to everyone.

jplay86

No don’t try anything that will make it worse. I’m not sure I understand what your explaining though. Maybe if you post a link to a visual of some kind so that we can see it. That would be awesome. Like a YouTube video. Thanks for that info non the less.

tuolon

@jplay86 here is a video of the elementary back stroke. https://youtu.be/WPgt7djgloQ
I wish i had other suggestions of exercises you could do, but i only swim. I hope this helps. If you don't try it, i understand. Swimming can be a hard sport to learn for anyone. I wish you only the best.

tuolon

@jplay86 you could sign up for a private lesson at the ymca to teach you just this stroke and i bet you could achieve swimming this stroke in just one session. Just an idea. Or maybe you don't want to risk trying something new with your back pain. maybe you should talk to your doctor. Im sorry, i hope i am not doing more harm than good.

jplay86

tuolon wrote: »

@jplay86 here is a video of the elementary back stroke. https://youtu.be/WPgt7djgloQ
I wish i had other suggestions of exercises you could do, but i only swim. I hope this helps. If you don't try it, i understand. Swimming can be a hard sport to learn for anyone. I wish you only the best.

Thanks! I will definitely try this! And I’ll let u guys know how it works for me as well!

tuolon

I am not a doctor. Anyone with lower back pain should consult a doctor and a physical therapist. I should have never given advice. I am just an ordinary person. Maybe you should not try this new swimming stroke with back pain. Please talk to your doctor or physical therapist. This advice i gave is stressing me out, i need to leave mfp. I wish everyone well.

1houndgal

jplay86 wrote: »

No don’t try anything that will make it worse. I’m not sure I understand what your explaining though. Maybe if you post a link to a visual of some kind so that we can see it. That would be awesome. Like a YouTube video. Thanks for that info non the less.

Lots of great swim instruction videos on YouTube. I watch lots of swim videos to get ideas of things to try, or things to fix, etc.

Grnhouse

DDD is serious. Please listen to your doctor. Take it slow whatever you do and listen to your body. I’ve had some great PT help me w my lower back and build core strength. It’s a slow journey so be careful with any weight lifting. Swimming helps a lot and jus5 walking in the water.

jplay86

Grnhouse wrote: »

DDD is serious. Please listen to your doctor. Take it slow whatever you do and listen to your body. I’ve had some great PT help me w my lower back and build core strength. It’s a slow journey so be careful with any weight lifting. Swimming helps a lot and jus5 walking in the water.

What types of pt are you doing? I was doing stretching and bands but it didn’t help me much. I maybe for like a 3 week time period then I didn’t feel anything getting stronger. How bad was your back when u started?

1houndgal

jplay86 wrote: »

I’m not new to fitness. However I have digenerative disc disease and spinal stinosis. My doc had warned me against doing any lower back lifting what so ever. I’m fairly strong and love to workout. I have been told that swimming and walking will help strengthen my lower back but so far nothing has happened. So I guess I have to rely a lot on diet at this point to shed the extra fat. If anyone has any ideas on how this is achievable I would appreciate the advice greatly

Try water jogging if water walking is too easy for you, deep water aerobics, and doing slow lap swimming. I have DDD, spinal stenosis and sacroilliac joint dysfunction and lap swimming has really helped me. I weaned myself off my pain meds.

If your pool has a nice jacuzzi spa, consider trying it before and/or after your swims your dr approves.

I love my YMCA! I love swimming, because I keep it fun, which makes my longer workouts easier to do.

jplay86

Thanks. I was curious about these but wasn’t sure if it was too strenuous. Well outside of swimming. This was very insightful