Lower back disc pain

[def90]

You might be going to the gym on a regular basis but what are you actually doing for core exercises/workouts? I see a lot of guys that spend the whole session at the gym doing chest, back, arm and leg exercises but don't touch their core at all.

 

[DuckDogDr]

I was in the same boat as you. Injured initially bowling on a date… then would flair up randomly almost to the day on a yearly basis…
Then I had the bright idea of moving furniture for a quick $100…. Cost me $95 in copay and meds at the ER that night.

Rest and steroid injections .. I was back to normal life…

Fast forward 5 years wrestling a cow (used to be a large animal vet) … torqued my back.. then that afternoon I went to change the oil in my truck .. heard a loud “pop” … felt better for all of 10-15 minutes… then I had to call my dad to come drag my ass out from under the vehicle.. literally couldn’t move..that was on a Wednesday..

Friday I had lost all feeling in my left leg… couldn’t stand up or walk .. had emergency surgery for completely herniated disc..

Biggest take aways from my experience…
**See a neurosurgeon ** not an orthopedic

Ask friends who work at your hospital who the BEST is… not the favorite.. there is a big big difference in the 2…the surgeon with the best “name “ is often times the young hotshot fresh out of school that all the nurses want to bang..

The best in skill and least complications is the hard ass retired marine that doesn’t put up with skit in OR.. luckily mom was friends with the radiologist who read the post op films before and after every surgery.. and every repeat surgery… he said hands down every time if it was my kid… it’s the old marine..and I’m very happy with that choice.

Biggest thing is keep the weight off around your core ..and you’ll know when you’re ready for surgery .

 

[jpkoepse]

Look into Anterior Pelvic Hip Tilt.. tight hip flexors/psoas can cause your hips to tilt forward. Can cause a lot of tightness in lower back that can become easily aggravated. Worth looking into. Less sitting and a lot of stretching. Maybe also a "Pso-Rite". Has helped me.

 

[Robertham1]

I have a herniated disk from
Years ago, and when it was first giving me issues I did some physical therapy, which consisted of building up lower ab muscles and obliques. Made a huge difference over time

 

[DuckDogDr]

I hate to see that other guys have similar issues but it also makes me feel better that I am not alone. It scares me that I have these issues at such a young age (31) and I wonder what I will be dealing with as I get older. Im not opposed to surgery if that is required, but obviously would like to find a natural remedy if possible. My chiropractor is also a physical therapist and he has given me a lot of stretches to loosen my hip flexors and hamstrings. He also said my ankles are tight and need stretching. Hopefully stretching will give some relief. Thanks for all the responses to my post

@Boydo90
I had my surgery when I was 27

 

[KYHunting]

Hurt my back trying to lift more than one person should ever. Now exercise is the best pain relief. Probably should have it looked at just afraid they will make it worse.

 

[IBen]

When your hip flexors, IT band and hamstrings are tight it can present as excruciating lower back pain that will wake you up from a dead sleep, or worse keep you up all night. This stretch changed my life. Get a jump rope, resistance band or even a length of paracord. Sit on the ground with your feet straight out in front of you. Loop the rope/band over one foot. Lay back, flat on the ground. Keeping your legs straight use the rope to pull your looped foot straight up over your head. When you get to the point where it starts to really pull your hamstring to the point of being uncomfortable don't bend your knee. Keep your leg straight and loosen the resistance just a bit. Hold it there for a count of 20. Using the rope/band for resistance, slowly allow your straight leg to fall to one side across your body. Your hips will need to roll to allow for this and if you're not limber your shoulder opposite your leg is going to come up off the ground a little. Add resistance by pulling on the rope/cord again until you really feel it in your hamstring. Hold for a count of 20. Lift your straight leg back up and allow it to fall to the other side, essentially "opening up" your hips. Add resistance and hold for 20. Repeat the whole process with your other leg. (Probably a youtube video for this somewhere.). My lower back pain was bad enough to keep me awake at night and I thought for certain I needed back surgery. After doing this religiously for a couple of weeks my back pain was gone. If I don't stretch it comes back but quickly retreats when I start the stretching again. I hope this works for you.

This sounds similar to the stretch band training i was doing while in college track and field. It was a very regimented system of stretches. http://www.flexbandonline.com/Getting-Started.html

 

[IBen]

I havent had any major problems with my back but have read this whole thread. No one has mentioned zero drop shoes, not for everyday but just to go for a three mile walk every now and then with a minimal pair of shoes is something Ive done and has helped other people I know. Any back problem ive had has been related to sitting and for me that means driving. I worked as a packer in Alaska last fall for 45 days and I don’t use a hip belt at all with average pack weight around 40 lbs not counting some long pack outs. I was in a tent for 43 of those days with a torso length foam pad and the only chair i sat in was a pipercub and 206, not a single twinge in my back whatsoever or upper neck despite never being on a flat surface or chair and having a 9 # rifle constantly slung over one shoulder. In fact my back had never felt better! so I think just being active and increasing activity day to day is a good place to start. One thing that has always helped my hips being flexible is leg swings which was always part of my warmup when playing any sport

 

[TN VOL]

It may seem counterintuitive but the best exercise for lower back pain is doing deadlifts. Chiropractors and traction stretches will alleviate some issues temporarily. When my back pain returns is when I’ve been laying of the lifting. You don’t have to go for PRs or 1 rep max. A moderate weight with slow negative movements work best for me. Good luck with your recovery.

 

[TheGDog]

Bottom 3 Lumbar have 3mm, 4mm, 5mm bulges. And disc tween bottom lumbar and saccrum looked significantly more thin than the others. Mar 1 gonna get an epidural. All that region of prior Trauma injury got majorly inflammed when I caught Covid back in Feb2020-Apr2020. From the inflammation, and all the coughing.. when I had to kick out a deep bronchial cough... my butt wanted to give out from underneath me from the pain of the contraction of the muscle affecting these areas of prior injury... re-inflammed because of whatever the virus was causing with it's crazy high fever it had. I didn't eat for 2 days when it first came on.

Anyhoo FFWD to Apr2020, lungs starting to feel like I'm over the hump, so wanting to now do some activity of some kind since had to eat like crazy to fight it. Then this one isometric machine at the park... sorta like in-between a military-press and an incline bench movement. Typically I could do like 7-10 of em, they have the ratio pretty stout on it for some reason.

This day on 5th rep, that audible "CRICK!" sound of ripping we all know and love which gets followed by the flash of intense pain that makes ya put it back down quickly. Haven't been the same since.


At first was hurting real bad when trying to sit out in the field. Even with a supported predator seat cushion. So that, and the hiking, and the long-driving for hunting... making another injury in that area.. the sacro-illiac junction... also get real inflammed bad. To where like I'm hobbling when I get out of the car after pulling up in the driveway. Some outings takes like 3 days for things to calm back down in all there.

Soo... because of that I'm really crossing my fingers that the epidural can cure the symptoms, because then they'd kinda know where the area of focus should be in terms of potentially going in later surgically to create more space for some of the nerve trunks that come out from those areas, like your periformis.

 

[IBen]

forgot to mention hyperextensions as a key exercise. Similar results from deadlifts and good mornings

 

[TheGDog]

It may seem counterintuitive but the best exercise for lower back pain is doing deadlifts. Chiropractors and traction stretches will alleviate some issues temporarily. When my back pain returns is when I’ve been laying of the lifting. You don’t have to go for PRs or 1 rep max. A moderate weight with slow negative movements work best for me. Good luck with your recovery.

To add to what he's said here. Just be DAMN sure to NOT round your back! Very easy to do when we start pushing the limits. Like, my last time at bat on DeadLifts (which was just a lil bit before Covid hit me in 2020) I was feeling pretty good and pushed it up to like, I think it was around 600 or so? I had like 6 45's on each side. Maybe a 10 and a 5, and the Collar locks. That last one man... I ended up rounding a lil bit. Hurt that saccrum/lumbar junction quite a bit the next day. Probably should have been belted too. But was feeling strong since I'd been doing a lot of scouting and putting in a lot of time that year. So anyhoo learn from the mistakes of others and do like my brother here is suggesting and don't get caught up in that competitive spirit, shift gears mentally and think lighter weight used til failure instead. Less risky. Trust me.. you don't wanna live your life fearful of hopping down off a rock for the shock that it'd bring might hobble you for the day, requiring obscene amounts of NSAIDS.

 

[Newtosavage]

The only thing I will add to the above is that you should probably have an MRI done. If it is a bulged disc, then increasing core strength and spinal decompression can help and even cure it.

If the disc is ruptured, there is no healing it. The only way to fix that is surgery. If it isn't too bad, then orthoscopic surgery can clean it up. I had that done in 2005 and was back at work in a week.
Unfortunately, for me, it didn't end there. I ended up having fusion surgery in late 2009. It was the best thing I have done. Lived with pain for years until I finally had it fixed. Now that being said, I did not have the rod and screw fix (posterior). I went with the anterior (through the stomach). It is a bit more invasive as they have to move your guts out of the way, but they don't have to cut any muscle (they go right between your ab muscles) and they don't have to work around your spinal column (which sits behind the disc). Just a small plastic disc that is screwed in with a bone graft. I was up and walking the evening of my surgery, out of the hospital in 3 days and back at work in 2 weeks (office duty only).

I know a lot of people will try to talk you out of surgery, but today's procedures are very good. Artificial disc replacement is something new now that may be an option as well.

This is excellent advice. I lived with bulging discs that created the situation you have been dealing with, several times before one finally ruptured. And it was a big and incredibly painful and damaging rupture. Surgery was the only option. I've been better since, but four years later still don't have full feeling in my right shin and foot. That's how much nerve damage occurred from that one ruptured disc.

I was teaching archery classes the evening of my surgery. They wanted me up on my feet. In two weeks I was mostly back to normal and that fall (my surgery was in February) I was in the mountains of Colorado, hunting elk at over 10k feet after packing my camp in 2 miles on my back. But it took a lot of work (and 10's of 1000's of bleachers) to get there.

I wish you all the best. Back problems can lead to decades of misery and inactivity.

 

[Finch]

My dad had a disc rupture on him while he was hunting back in 1990. He was working 2nd shift and had to call off work that night. The next day he goes to the doctor to get it checked out. He said all the way there he was having trouble with the clutch of his truck since he couldn't feel his left leg driving. So he's grinding gears or holding down the clutch too long getting there. The doc sends him to the hospital for emergency surgery after evaluating him.

He comes through surgery fine but tells the doc he could really use a beer. They actually get him a 6 pack of his favorite beer (Milwaukee's Best) and prescribe it to him. Apparently later on when he wanted one they told him that only 1 of the 6 were left. The night nurses had enjoyed most of his prescription. He saved the last as a momento. I took this pic last week when I went to visit.

If i get nothing else of his, I want this 32 year old can of beer. And yes, it is unopened!

 

[TheGDog]

Huh? On-duty Nurses were drinking this guys beers? WTF?? Good to know so you can tell the EMT's "No, no, no, not here.... keep drivin'.... just keep drivin' over to the other one!...."

 

[Fatcamp]

My dad had a disc rupture on him while he was hunting back in 1990. He was working 2nd shift and had to call off work that night. The next day he goes to the doctor to get it checked out. He said all the way there he was having trouble with the clutch of his truck since he couldn't feel his left leg driving. So he's grinding gears or holding down the clutch too long getting there. The doc sends him to the hospital for emergency surgery after evaluating him.

He comes through surgery fine but tells the doc he could really use a beer. They actually get him a 6 pack of his favorite beer (Milwaukee's Best) and prescribe it to him. Apparently later on when he wanted one they told him that only 1 of the 6 were left. The night nurses had enjoyed most of his prescription. He saved the last as a momento. I took this pic last week when I went to visit.

If i get nothing else of his, I want this 32 year old can of beer. And yes, it is unopened!

View attachment 384490

LOL. I have had beer and wine prescribed for my patients. They enjoy it so much.

 

[307]

Once again: SURGERY IS NOT THE ONLY OPTION FOR *MOST* DISC INJURIES/RUPTURES!

*except for cauda equina syndrome

 

[TheGDog]

Welp... cross your fingers for me... tomorrow getting an epidural with steriod. The surgeon guy said that if the pain-management injection alleviated the symptoms, that it could be a good sign that a particular area he showed me, they'd maybe go in later and create space around the trunk of nerves exiting from that area and radiating out towards the illiac crest.

Anyhoo... the past 3 days have been sucking because they wanted me to halt all NSAIDS prior. So Daddy's all Snap Crackle Pop all over the place, HA!

 

[TheGDog]

Welp... she said she's seen better looking spines in 70yo's. Said the wall of the Fascia was very thick. Probably why the NSAIDS were such a necessity for me before.

The bottom most disc is also squashed very thin compared to the others, and also misalignment of that bottom-most vertebrae (in a front-to-back kind of sense). This disc in that bottom one is like a pie-slice. A wedged shape piece for the disc on that bottom-most one. Not a spacer of uniform thickness like it should be, not at all.

Wait and see after this one. She says we may need to have her go in from the sides to deposit it more in the facets and where the trunk lines of nerves come out from within the spinal column for 3, 4, 5, & S1.

I was surprised it didn't hurt like I thought it would while it was getting done.

She says that tomorrow will feel worse, then it will get better.

 

[Idaho4x4Bronco]

Damn man, hope all goes well for you