Fit and active people who developed herniated discs - what are your stories?

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SuperJo1972
SuperJo1972 Posts: 113 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have a protruding/herniated l5-s1 disc and 2 other bulging ones directly above. I'm in pretty bad pain, which began around july and is just getting progressively worse. I'm hoping to get a treatment plan from my surgical consultant, but even if surgery is agreed it could take 1-2 years to get it through the NHS (I don't have money to go private).

I'm just wondering how you kept your fitness up and if you were ever able to get back to your older activities?

I miss strength training and yoga. God help me, I even miss interval training.

Replies

  • bekgirl5
    bekgirl5 Posts: 15 Member
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    I've been there. I've been struggling with herniated discs since I was 17. I finally had surgery around 2 years ago (on L5-S1) and it was the best decision for me - I had done tons of rounds of steroid epidurals, meds, PT, you name it. Surgery made all the difference for me. Now I stick to as much low impact workouts as I can, to avoid re-injury. Lots of road cycling and mountain biking, hiking, walks, yoga, lifting weights at home. I've found that my back is very sensitive if I put on any weight, like when I did during my pregnancy. I just stuck to low-impact routines after my son was born to get my strength back. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions! Good luck.
  • SuperJo1972
    SuperJo1972 Posts: 113 Member
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    Thanks for your reply.

    It is great to hear a success story. It's easier to find horror stories rather than success stories.

    I got the okay for a microdiscectomy. Thankfully he didn't insist on injections first, although it may take a while for the op as I'm on NHS waiting list now. But having light at the end of the tunnel is making the pain more bearable.

    I put on a lot of weight through comfort eating and inactivity. But as you say it can make thongs worse, so I'm recommitting to get to my goal weight and stay there. I logged everything today and I'm going to focus to lose weight before surgery and on to get down for the sake of my back in later years.

    I'm hoping to get back to everything exercise wise. I was especially worried about never being able to do weights again, but the consultant seemed quite positive.

    What kind of weights do you do?
  • Slug62
    Slug62 Posts: 7 Member
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    I do feel for you. I was in agony with my back this time last year. Consultant diagnosed bulging disc. I couldn't even walk properly. Months of physio, suggestions of an operation or epidural injections. Put loads of weight on through comfort eating and inactivity .... I used to love running, but it was the pounding that had compounded the issue. This went in for months, all of last year. I went from someone who would work out five times a week, either to to Davina DVDs, or do a 45-min run followed by 15-min weights, to nothing.
    Decided that if I couldn't exercise, at least I could control my weight, so joined MFP on Jan 1. I was v heavy but started walking, even though it hurt my feet. Impact, eg Davina, was no good, so in the end I bought a cross-trainer. I found music that I could move to the beat on the cross trainer.
    Combination of no impact cross trainer, walking, mindful weight training and strict diet means I have lost 39lbs and my back is a lot better. I have now bought a a stairmaster and a treadmill to vary the routine. I treat the treadmill with respect, take the running easy because my back can still be sensitive. Road running is out, maybe forever. But the point is that although the problem is still there, low impact exercise IS possible, gradually.
  • CarlydogsMom
    CarlydogsMom Posts: 645 Member
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    I herniated four discs when I was turning 30 years old. A couple weeks after "that sneeze from hell" I woke up with sciatic nerve damage all up and down my right leg, it was horribly painful. I had about six months of back-and-forth with doctors debating what was "really" wrong, while the nerve damage slowly....very slowly....got better, but did settle permanently in my right foot (I now have "dropfoot" where it's hard to slowly/quietly place the ball of your foot down when you walk).

    I would visit a neurosurgeon and almost beg him to operate. To his credit, he said "no" because I had too many problematic discs, and one surgery really wouldn't do much, AND I was slowly getting better. His philosophy was "think of back surgery as a way to make you feel less worse, not necessarily as a way to make you feel better." Mind you, this was in about 1992 or 1993, so over 20 years ago. Hopefully back surgery has improved since then!

    After about 6 months of this--no doctor really doing much of anything at all, other than giving me some muscle relaxers that I was sick of taking, my parents told me to try a chiropractor.

    This remarkable chiropractor I found literally saved me. I went to her 3x per week, visiting a massage therapist beforehand who would loosen up my back muscles, then I'd go get straightened out. After a few months of that (and it was painful, let me tell you; being "straight" was not something my back was used to), it all of a sudden clicked. I stayed "straight" and my back has been great.

    I'm now 53, nearly 54; gone through a bunch of stuff over the last 2.5 decades. But I just started weightlifting a couple years ago. With care, I can squat, deadlift, bench, row, overhead press, you name it. I have some general weakness on my right side, which I'm trying to balance out with single-leg exercises, and I had to really nail down my form, and I'll never be a powerlifter. But so what. I'm happy to be able to throw a bit of weight on my back and squat, or deadlift almost my bodyweight....I'm ok with that.

    Now, I don't recommend a chiropractor or don't want to suggest doing anything your doctor isn't recommending, at all. This is just my story. My chiropractor was the first person to take an xray (all the other doctors took MRIs or CT scans). The xray showed bone spurs on my vertebrae; the vertebrae were clearly not in alignment, and probably had not been in alignment since I was in puberty and doing gymnastics (big mistake! But Olga and Nadia were every girl's heroes back then!), it takes a very long time for your bones to develop spurs. So, using chiropractic to adjust my spine from neck to tailbone worked FOR ME. Matter of fact, this chiropractor knew I didn't have insurance so didn't charge me. I paid her whatever I could when I could, but it sure wasn't much.

    I am probably in better shape than I was in my 30's at 54. When my back was bad and my dropfoot REALLY bad, I couldn't drive; couldn't sit in a car for more than a half-hour---it was terrible. I really thought that my life as I knew it was over, and that I'd be an invalid my whole life.

    The only thing I can say is BE PATIENT. Do what you feel you CAN do, and know that it just takes time for backs to heal properly. You do NOT want to push yourself into something you physically can't handle. I was almost going to see a psychiatrist I was at the point where I was almost depressed about my life because of my back. But right about then, the chiropractic adjustments kicked in and all of a sudden, things were on a trajectory of solid improvement.

    Just be patient, do what you have to do. I will say that if you're not getting any solid answers from your doctors, try to find other doctors to get second opinions (but go with your gut instinct--and listen to your body). Good luck. Things will get better!

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