Lower back disc pain

[gbflyer]

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 .

Absolutely. We must have had the same Doc


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[307]

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.

L5-S1 disc is always thicker in the front than the back, aka "pie shaped" and it's always thinner than the discs above it.

 

[TheGDog]

L5-S1 disc is always thicker in the front than the back, aka "pie shaped" and it's always thinner than the discs above it.

Oh Ok, well thank you for letting me know that. Together with the pain I have, seeing it all thin like that, compared to the others, seriously concerned me there.

 

[Stikbrandon]

I read this whole thread and it is absolutely great for my mental state.

I am 35 and I have a herniated l5-s1 disk. I got my first steroid injection today 7/5/2022. i have been dealing with pain for 4 months , did 12 sessions of PT and am physically fit, I carried on and still do the movements. the past week after stoping all anti inflammatory medication and tylonal I was pleasantly surprised I wasn’t back to draggin my leg and limpin. I even thought Do I even need the shot but with a 10mm extrusion and not a follow up mri I decided to move forward an get the dart. I will see how I feel in a few days an check back but I can tell you guys that surgery is NOT off the table for me.

The mental side of this has been horrible and can honestly tell you guys before finding this thread after waking up from a nap after the shot this morning, I thought my mountain hunts were done. Regardless of what type of treatment you guys have had it all has given me hope !

Thank you guys ! Great thread.

 

[blackdog of vt]

It's good that you notice that back pain does affect your mental health. I went through a few grouchy years, and never knew it was because the pain was wearing on my mind too. It took its toll on my relationships unfortunately.
The steroid shots work temporarily but won't fix anything if you need surgery. A disc can reabsorb over time unless its fragmented. I had L-3,4,5 s1 done and it was the best thing I ever did. Seven years later and I do still have some discomfort and my doc gave me nandrolone to self administer rather than nsaids or opiads.

 

[BeastOfTheTrees]

4 bulged discs and 1 herniated. About 5 years now. Haven’t found shit that works except a large lumbar pad on the Stone Glacier and then I stack it with extra insulation to really push into those discs.

Other than that, stretch, stretch, stretch. Yoga is my next venture to try but regular chiropractor visits help. Lots of kettle bell swings. Keep the muscle around the discs strong. It’s the off season after running the mountains is when I feel it and then it’s all maintenance from there.

 

[TheGDog]

Follow-up... I'm "better" after having had the injections. But... my area off to the one side.. sacro-illiac juncture, (which rec'd an UnHoly Massive Trauma back in '95) is likely gonna need a jab again at some point. The patient responsibility payments are slowing my role on that one though. Ouch!

Since then I've started going back to the Gym again so I could be better about getting activity and blood into their.

Unfortunately though.... the injury off to the one side like that... is still there and probably not going to go away. But anything beats being as sore as it was!~ When I'm doing standing alternating dumbbell curls that area lets me know it's not "happy" about it.

Lotta stretching of lower back.... then elliptical 30min for 3.XX miles for around 400+ calories burned off. THEN been hitting up leg-lifts on Roman chair 10 sets of 10. Then hittin all the upper body stuff as well as my shoulders will let me each time. Have to make shoulders the very last thing I do otherwise it'll hurt to much in all the other lifts. (Arthro surgery in one of em, both hae had tears at various times in the past)

Getting back to the gym has also let me know that at some point I gotta cough up the loot and have them yank back out all this hardware on my left wrist. (13 screws and a plate) When the curls get heavy I can feel all those screws and that plate getting stressed in there. Probably from the bones flexing a lil bit. Seems like the highest I can go is 35's and that wrist starts lettin' ya know it's NOT happy.

Also the Wifey has started getting involved with this hiking group so every so often I'll join them here and there, so I can get some long and tougher hikes in. Especially since they were all doing this "Six Pack of Peaks" challenge (which she completed! BTW)

The Outdoorsman's Palisade pack seems to be better at not aggravating my lumbar region compared to the Kifaru EMR II, along with no longer using belts, but FirstList suspenders instead. Really like using the suspenders now. Makes taking long sits way more comfortable and makes it super easy to quickly access for taking a piss. Just pull down on waist of pants and there ya go, when finished, just let go and everything snaps back into place.

I've been using the Outdoorsman's Atlas Trainer on days where I don't think I'll have the time to goto gym that pm. I'll do "The Von's loop" (basically a 1 mile loop in my 'hood). If I do 2 x 45Lbs... I end up being sore / aggravated afterward in my area of injury. 1 x 45 Lbs seems to work Ok. The area of injury "feels it" afterward, but it's not bad and doable. In time I may experiment with acquiring more Olympic plates for in-between poundages.

The pain mgmt doc explained that the area of pain more to the side can be tricky in terms of hitting the right area to provide it with the relief, because of all the places the nerve travels along on it's way into that region. So for that 2nd treatment where I expressed great need for help for that area, she had to do a lot more jabs of longer depth coming in from different angles so she could deposit the steroid near to the facet-joints, and then again in the space where that same nerve would go thru the space between the saccrum and illiac crest. And that one... like she called it... when she jabs it.. you feel electricity all the way down to your feet!

 

[WILLMCC]

A $100 inversion table from Amazon made a huge difference in my lower back pain even after surgery. Invert on 45 degrees for 10 minutes then walk a couple miles 3-4 times a week. Lets the disk migrate back to their natural position.

 

[RWT]

Agree on the inversion machine. It stretches you with you own weight. Use it weekly.

Water water and more water. The majority of us are dehydrated and your tissues are 70% fluid. If you are not drinking half you body weight daily in water, not tea or coffee or sports drinks, but Water. You are likely dehydrated. This has a major impact on disc and muscle tissue. Take you body weight and divide by 2 that is how many ounces of water per day + you other drinks such as tea. I am 190lbs and drink a 5-6 bottles per day in addition to my 25oz of ice tea in the morning.

 

[Crghss]

You’re suggesting I drink 14 gallons of water a day? I’ll pass.

 

[Crghss]

As others have said, strengthen core, hamstring, glutes.

Every work starts with core yoga exercises. It’s a life style for me or live with pain.

Find what’s works best for you.

Romanian/stiff leg deadlifts really help me.

 

[Banded_spooney]

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.

I had back surgery those two years too actually. It would be funny if it was such a miserable coincidence. The year I graduated HS and the year I graduated college.

I had partial discectomies both times. Both next day hospital releases. Decided against the fusion on round two simply due to my age. Assumption was I’ll probably have to do that eventually but if I could wait 15-20 years advances would maybe help me avoid the fusion.

First surgery was considered a success and I was 100% after but had a recurrence. Second they called a failure because I never fully recovered. But I probably got to 80% and honestly, 80% is a huge win.

I can’t golf anymore. pounding fence posts and moving hay bales I’m not in any pain but after I sit down in the house it will usually mess me up for 3 or 4 days but I always seem get through it without anything permanent.

Long way to say, I’m super happy I went surgical option, but I will say, after they cut you once, you’re pretty much stuck in that bucket forever. Hard to go back to chiropractors.

 

[Banded_spooney]

I read this whole thread and it is absolutely great for my mental state.

I am 35 and I have a herniated l5-s1 disk. I got my first steroid injection today 7/5/2022. i have been dealing with pain for 4 months , did 12 sessions of PT and am physically fit, I carried on and still do the movements. the past week after stoping all anti inflammatory medication and tylonal I was pleasantly surprised I wasn’t back to draggin my leg and limpin. I even thought Do I even need the shot but with a 10mm extrusion and not a follow up mri I decided to move forward an get the dart. I will see how I feel in a few days an check back but I can tell you guys that surgery is NOT off the table for me.

The mental side of this has been horrible and can honestly tell you guys before finding this thread after waking up from a nap after the shot this morning, I thought my mountain hunts were done. Regardless of what type of treatment you guys have had it all has given me hope !

Thank you guys ! Great thread.

Three best things I ever found were injections, core strength, and hamstring stretches. Highly likely if you keep up with those things you can avoid surgery and live a happy yet sometimes painful life in the mountain packing out critters.

Good news is, even if you do have to get cut eventually, it’s still highly likely that if you keep a solid core stretch those hammys you’ll still be able to pack out big things from nasty places. You just have to be smart and think about everything you used to take for granted.

I messed mine up in a football game senior year. I’m sure you’ll be fine.

 

[jimh406]

I’m glad everything is getting better for you.

I thought I was going to need surgery once. Thankfully, my surgeon said I needed to exercise/stretch differently and it would take a long time to fully heal. That was almost 2 decades ago. I have friends who’ve had surgery, some with long term pain with drugs, and some with pain and no drugs.

It seems there are a lot of approaches that are possible. I’m not a doctor, but I do listen. It seems in most cases simply ignoring the pain as best you can and doing low impact walking with stretching is very helpful. But, like I said, it can take a long time to heal.

Sure, surgery is required for many people, but based on my small sample, it seems some surgeons are quick to advise surgery while some like mine are the opposite.

 

[Anglo-American]

About 2 times a year I get disc pain in my lower back that makes enjoying life pretty tough. This last time was the result of throwing my pack on my back with only about 35 lbs. Not sure what happened but it immediately started hurting and the next day I couldnt bend over to tie my boots. With time, it gets better but never seems to go away completely. It seems like whenever I hurt my back it takes less and less to throw it out. Im 31 years old, work out 3-4 times a week and am not at all overweight. I have struggled with back pain my whole life. Anyone on here have similar issues or have suggestions on how to prevent this type of injury?

Good posture.
*Bowen Therapy*.
Strong core.
Good luck.

 

[Stikbrandon]

Well guys, this is day 7 post injection. Seems to have worked, the symptoms (leg pain, muscle spasms and general sciatic) have subsided greatly, so much so that when I do have them there 1/10th the pain they once were. From what my doctor said over the next few weeks the injection will have its full affect, I am hopeful with this injection and continued core strength work outs I can pull through this with out surgery.

Thanks guys for this thread!

 

[cuerro viejo]

Over a decade of 3 steroid injections a year, and two doctors suggesting surgery.

I found BMAC and amniotic graft mix. Fixed

Only down side was my back use to have a definitive weight max, now that’s lines gone. So I’m not as particular watching my weight as I use to be

 

[Banded_spooney]

Well guys, this is day 7 post injection. Seems to have worked, the symptoms (leg pain, muscle spasms and general sciatic) have subsided greatly, so much so that when I do have them there 1/10th the pain they once were. From what my doctor said over the next few weeks the injection will have its full affect, I am hopeful with this injection and continued core strength work outs I can pull through this with out surgery.

Thanks guys for this thread!

Don’t get discouraged when the results of the inject wear off (highly likely they will). Take the pain free time to strengthen up your core and if you have too, get another shot. Getting poked 3 times a year is better than getting cut once.

 

[Banded_spooney]

Over a decade of 3 steroid injections a year, and two doctors suggesting surgery.

I found BMAC and amniotic graft mix. Fixed

Only down side was my back use to have a definitive weight max, now that’s lines gone. So I’m not as particular watching my weight as I use to be

What is this magic you speak off? Never even heard of it.

 

[Finch]

What are some of these core exercises you guys are doing?

I have a sharp sore to the touch pain between my shoulder blades. It comes and goes. I blame sitting at a desk all day as the culprit. I try to be conscious of having good posture. Lately, I've been having tingling in both hands and feet. Getting an MRI to get that figured out.