exercise with an injury

annabell136

I had been doing really well with exercise until February when I got a herniated L3-L4 disc. This impinges on the Sciatic nerve causing a lot of pain. I am trying to keep moving as much possible although I have been unable to do my normal exercise routines. My doctor kept telling me to give it time and didn't even want to do anything to see what the problem was or anything to treat it. Finally two months in my chiropractor sent me for an MRI which showed the herniation. Finally my doctor has conceded to refer me for physical therapy and I am working with a great therapist. I was wondering if anyone out there has had the same thing and what did you do to 1) keep exercising, 2) deal with the pain, and 3) aid healing.

Thanks.

Hype

I didnt have the same thing.

BUT

I did have - well still do - a wedge fracture in my spine. I was unlucky that I had about 3 weeks of the pain before they found out what was wrong with me. I was told to carry on with normal life but to take it easy. I ended up seeing a consultant a month and half later, I then ended up in Physio for three months. This finished last September and they told me I was fine to take up exercise again and running.....Not until about 6 weeks ago was I finally able to take inpact on my spine.

I was on bed rest for nearly a year as the injury was 1 - too painful and 2 - it wasn't advised with the injury i had.



If i was you, i would rest up and if your worried about your weight, just use this site to watch your calories Also if your ok with walking, just walk alot

picturesing

Oh I feel ya! Last October - I ruptured L5-S1 - it was like a lightening bolt struck my lower back....and was told to wait 6 ficken weeks and it would get better! I know my body and I KNEW it was bad....but I had NO choice - at 6 wks I asked my doc "can I have an MRI now???" and of course it showed the "bad" rupture AND 2 bulging discs. He set me up with a surgical consult immediately. Of course I'd been seeing my chiro and taking pain meds, but only when I absolutely had to! Hate them. Tried an epidural and WOW - great relief of the severe pain, but after 4 wks it began to wear off - but at least I was able to start working out - started with Yoga (as I could barely walk) and eased myself into it. 3 wks ago I had my discectomy of the L5-S1 - whew! Doc shared it was a bad ruture and that I should experience great relief coz it was hitting my spinal cord in 2 places! I hate that it took SO long to 1)diagnosis the rupture and 2) to proceed with treatment. But that's commom practice - DUMB!
I did TONs of web searches and learned alot - and it is (unfortunately) common practice to "wait and see".
I'm so sorry you are going thru this as I know exactly how you are feeling. Ask for a surgical consult - either with a neurosurgeon or orthosurgeon that specializes in backs. My surgeon was fantastic. The surgeon is the best one to make recommendations regarding proper treatment and usually are not "cut" happy and won't recommend it as first treatment of choice. Try to get an epidural going - it will at least take the edge off for a while.
Im working hard on strengthening my "core" as there are still 2 bulging discs AND I have degenerative disc dz - I want to do all I can to protect my back - don't want to ever go thru that pain again!!!!
You will have to advocate for yourself and stand your ground to get the best treatment possible!
Best of luck to you!!!

bdurham10

I was diagnosed with a herniated disc about 6 years ago. It took 5 years for my back to heal ! I too was prescribed physical therapy, and I don't know that my experience there was helpful. In fact, it seemed to cause more inflammation which caused more pain. It was ruining my life! I was tired, grumpy, stressed out all of the time. It had an effect on every single aspect of my life. Work, relationships, everyday activities...they all seemed so hard to deal with because I was in so much pain. My back didn't start feeling better until after I quit physical therapy and focused on very light stretching and core strengthening exercises that my body seemed to be able to tolerate and respond better to. Listen to your body, it will let you know when you have pushed yourself too hard. Most of what my physical therapist made me do was making it worse. Your physical therapist (and this is in no way intended to state that your physical therapist cannot help you) doesn't know what your pain feels like and how your body will respond to different the different exercises and stretches so just make sure you don't push yourself too hard or you will prolong the healing process. I truly believe that the one key factor in the healing process is time.

Even after my back was feeling better, I still had sciatica. I was never able to get rid of it until I got the wii fit plus. The balance board shows you where your balance is and forces you to focus on correcting any balance issues that you may have. I tended to favor one side of my body over the other which probably caused the tiny shift that can pinch the sciatic nerve and cause the shooting pains. After about 1 week of regular wii fit plus activities, my sciatica was GONE!!! Not only was it gone, but it remained gone! I was very intrigued by the results and I was so glad to get rid of my pain. I felt like a normal person again!

I still get some inflammation in my lower back every now and then, but I never experience the kind of pain I was once in. I would be very interested in knowing if wii fit plus was able to help anyone else's back issues and provide relief for sciatica. Let me know if you try it. I try to tell everyone that has back pain about it to see if it can help them too.