Recovering from major back issue

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swheate2014
swheate2014 Posts: 22 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Hello! My name is Shannon, and I've been attempting to regain my athleticism for the last few years, but have been held back by a persistent lower back problem. I've had physical therapy, epidurals, chiropractic adjustments, and even had to be hospitalized last summer. I'll never give up, but getting back on the wagon so many times has been tough.

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  • lowcarbog
    lowcarbog Posts: 42 Member
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    Hey! Hang in there and get back to exercising slowly. Back issues can linger forever! Good luck!
  • larryc251
    larryc251 Posts: 143 Member
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    I'm very familiar with lower back problems. My bottom 3 discs are damaged and I will eventually need surgery. I found that out when I was 22, I'm 25 now, but luckily for me my 3 epidurals have helped tremendously and i don't have too much issues anymore.
    *knocks on wood*
    Only a matter of time before mine goes back out
    Hope things get easier for you though!
  • katiedoo82
    katiedoo82 Posts: 277 Member
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    Oh gosh I feel your pain....have severe lower back pain for last 3 yrs non stop. Had surgery 8 yrs ago as disc burst in back so was emergency surgery at time. Now waiting on a two level fusion in January ...and trying to eat healthy in order to help with recovery. Have lost 50lbs in last 10 months trying to ease the pain, but no joys. Now facing the knife in Jan again. Dreading the recovery phase. But like you, I will not give up ...had physio, chiro, hydrotherapy, osteopathy, u name it, I've tried it. it's just another bump in the road...albeit a big bump but Anyhows. We will get there!!!
  • mrstemoxtle
    mrstemoxtle Posts: 6 Member
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    You can do it
    I have had major back issues since I was 18 after 2 major car accidents
    I'm not giving up I need to loose 100+
    And right now I'm down 32/100 :smiley:
    Walking daily
  • swheate2014
    swheate2014 Posts: 22 Member
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    Thank you for the encouraging words, everyone! I'm off my pain medicine and back to working out today. Fingers crossed!!
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
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    In my teens I lifted something that was way too heavy and managed to hurt my back. At the time I simply worked through it and pretty much stayed in pain for the next twenty plus years off and on because of lack of decent medical insurance, and the inability to pay for anything major to be done (not to mention the downtime at work it would have caused). Then about a dozen years ago I did it again, lifted something I should not have and managed to re-injure the same area again. This time I crushed/bulged my L4/L5 so badly it was causing excruciating pain. I won't go into detail, but months later and a surgery later to have part of the disc removed, I ended up on my feet again and working but I never went back to a physical job. I stayed at a desk job, went home to my recliners, and did no exercise whatsoever.

    In early 2015 I realized I was 115 lbs overweight, had high blood pressure, and decided to start my journey here at MFP. Well it wasn't but about six months into it that I was walking and managed to re-injure that old injury. They shot me full of steroids and I was back at it a couple of weeks later. Then two weeks went by and I did it again. This time the steroids helped less and I was close to needing surgery again. I finally rested and got it healed after a few weeks and realized that yoga was a big help. I can't recommend i enough. Especially the stretches for your back. Google "yoga for back pain" and things like "stretches for sciatica". I do them before and after every workout now and have spent the last eight months working on my core to strengthen my lower back as well. It's working so far.

    My point is this. Stay away from heavy lifting unless your doctor specifically says it's ok for you. Consider body weight exercises instead. Walking is good, maybe even jogging once your core is strong enough. But work that core as many times a week as you can stand, and hopefully in six months you'll be back to doing whatever you want (within reason if your injury was a permanent one).

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