Just got back from the ortho...

[KillahBee]

The guy sits down, looks at me and sort of chuckles. He then draws pictures of 4 disc "scenarios" (bulging, protrusion, and extrusion) and tells me that it is remarkable that I have not been complaining of major major pain and have even been exercising cause I have disc that is suffering from extrusion, which is the worst case of them all. Basically the disc is really sticking out into the spinal canal area. Since I am young and he has faith that my body will be able to correct this problem, he wants me to have a steroid injection and see where it goes from there.

Obiviously I am not happy. The good news is that I should only be out of the gym for a week or so, then slowly get back into it. The bad news is that a) there is only a 70% success rate, b) who the fuck would ever want anything injected into their back?! and c) back problems suck. I just hope it gets better after the first injection so I don't have to come back and do more. Not good. Not happy.

 

[KillahBee]

also, I can already feel myself having a mental block against squats.....

 

[wnt2bBeast]

my brother just went through te same thing..
he had 3 hernaited discs the first step was to go for the epidural injections..for him they didnt do much..

he just had surgery about 5 weeks ago and is doing better..however it is a 12 week recovery for the procedure he had done..he is still not allowed to twist and has only just been given permission to sit or drive for more than 30 mins..

as long as you find a good Dr that is willing to work with you i dont see why you cannot come bakc to do the same things you do now..granted it will take time..
Louie fractured his vertebrae twice he still pulls and squats with pretty decent weights at his age...

hang in there orb youll get through it

 

[Extra_Strong]

also, I can already feel myself having a mental block against squats.....

How old are you killah?
Many that really sucks bro. I have had an ACL operation that did not come back to full and sucks my ass. has been 3 years since i have done heavy squat.

But why do you want to do squats? seems like you would be chancing it at this time? Should you not wait to see how everything turns out? and maybe just do hypers for the time being..

Why did you go in? Was it giving you problems pain. Just wondered because the doc was surprised you were not in pain?

 

[KillahBee]

How old are you killah?
Many that really sucks bro. I have had an ACL operation that did not come back to full and sucks my ass. has been 3 years since i have done heavy squat.

But why do you want to do squats? seems like you would be chancing it at this time? Should you not wait to see how everything turns out? and maybe just do hypers for the time being..

Why did you go in? Was it giving you problems pain. Just wondered because the doc was surprised you were not in pain?

25 - waytoo young for back issues. I just meant squats in the future - just a mental thing. I think the doc was surprised because of the severity of my injury - I guess most people with the same problem are in more pain...

 

[Tom Treutlein]

That's rough to hear. At least you're not in major pain, even though the severity of it is still...severe? Best of luck to you man. Apparently you have some contest against Scotsman in a couple years. Why not keep your sights set on that?

 

[KillahBee]

That's rough to hear. At least you're not in major pain, even though the severity of it is still...severe? Best of luck to you man. Apparently you have some contest against Scotsman in a couple years. Why not keep your sights set on that?

Thanks boss. Yeah, I am definitely going to try and stay positive and not be short-sighted. I just worry that this may have negative effects.

 

[big4life]

I'm sorry about your back, and hope things work out for you. I've only hurt my back one time, and that was just a strain, fixed with muscle relaxors and rest, but once was enough. I never want to go through that again.

 

[PBR]

Killah tell me which levels...i understand 4&5 but where?????? L -T -or C -spine????? i got your PM but i will work with you here so everyone can get the scoop ok?...

 

[KillahBee]

Killah tell me which levels...i understand 4&5 but where?????? L -T -or C -spine????? i got your PM but i will work with you here so everyone can get the scoop ok?...

yeah - it was L5. is that you are looking for?

 

[Ulcasterdropout]

sorry to hear that, bor...
heal quickly

 

[PBR]

yeah - it was L5. is that you are looking for?

Yes!! ok...youre gonna be fine...no big deal...the thing YOU want to watch out for is Muscle Atrophy...this happens when the nerves are impinged...meaning IF the disc is pressing on the nerve canal....you will be in alot of pain in your legs, and become very weak...the leg muscles will start to go soft and you will be unable to contract the muscle at will because there is NO SIGNAL being fired to the muscle....apparently you DO NOT have this at the moment...the DR is going to inject you in this area to constrict the disc...usually this is done with Cortizone...you will feel alot better when this takes affect...it is uncomfortable to get this injection...most likely they will have to give you something before to deaden the area to allow the needle to be worked into place...its ok, dont worry....they have to make you comfortable so you stay still while its being done...
L- 5 is very common to have a herniation...most people have it to some degree, just wear and tear...because the lower L-spine is obviously where it takes all our body weight and abuse....the good thing is- IF you go to worse case scenerio- they can replace discs at that level, manufactured ones, or even a fusion...i have 3 levels fused and a double laminectomy all in C- spine...a total of 5 levels in my neck...i should not be walking...i was partially paralyized for nearly 1 year...so ive been down this road alot worse than yours...i squatted 405 today for reps....but thats another story for another time...you'll be ok bro...just watch yourself and allow the drugs to work at their PEAK performance...dont take matters into your own hands....sounds like you have a good DR....anything else- let me know....I have had 3 major surgeries for a broken neck, jfyi....

 

[PBR]

and Damn bro, your avatars are killing me...LMAO

 

[anthrax]

Sorry to heat that buddy

Best of luck for your treatment

And don't forget that a lot of athlets got better after an injury because their mental was stronger and they were willing to prove that they're not done yet

BTW, do you know the cause of your problem?

 

[Madcow2]

I've had a couple back injuries - one pretty bad one. No disc issues though. Sorry to hear about it man. I hope things go smoothly for you and just know that we are all pulling for a smooth recovery.

 

[Illuminati]

good luck with the back injury. hope it heals up with the injections.

 

[blut wump]

Look on the bright side: the wondering is over now and you can get on with recovery no matter how long it takes. My understanding is that this condition is correctable and so the only concern should be muscle atrophy. Even that is no real biggy since muscle memory will give you back whatever you lose in the short-term. It sucks to be taken out of action for a while but you'll be back and fully fit before you know it. Stay positive and good luck with it.

 

[PBR]

in short term muscles will recover fully....nerve paths only regenerate at 1mm per year- if they do....test and GH are the only known drugs to regernerate nerve paths (test is only marginal, but does work to a point)...this is only needed in extreme cases such as mine was....my nerves were allowed to die and surgery was over 1 year later....bad deal..Killah has to stay on top of his treatment,until the disc repairs and does not interfere with the nerve pathways.... very important.

 

[KillahBee]

BTW, do you know the cause of your problem?

I was trying out a new split and ended up doing squats 2x a week. very light weight, but just tweaked something in my back. the rest is history.

I appreciate the well wishes from everyone - it means a lot. I agree that I just need to stay positive and as PBR said, stay on top of my rehab and come back bigger and better than before. if it all goes well, I should be back in the gym (doing rehab) after only a week or so. Not too bad.

 

[Tom Treutlein]

You did say you had pain radiating through your glutes and legs, correct Killah? Or was it just general pain in your lower back? Both sites of the spine, or just one?

 

[KillahBee]

You did say you had pain radiating through your glutes and legs, correct Killah? Or was it just general pain in your lower back? Both sites of the spine, or just one?

when the problems began it was discomfort/pain in the lower lumbar region (both sides) and not pain, but tingling and numbness down the hammies and calves of both legs. after a while it moved only to my left leg and mostly in my lower left back, heavy in the left glute.

 

[MacroMammaryPhilia]

Sorry to hear about that bro. I just had the same thing happen about 3 months ago, only to a lesser extent in my L7-S1 vertebrae. The doctor freaked me out saying that he was surprised that I wasn't in more pain and that I actually had an old bulge above it that I didn't even know about and that I probably shouldn't do any overhead presses or anything like that. I just took it a little easy for the first month or so, started lifting again the next week, and it actually feels pretty good now. I am still not up to the strenth that I had before, but it feels a lot better.

The only real advise I can give is to not push it. Listen to your body, if it feels bad, take it easy right away and don't try to tough it out. The advise that I have got is that you really don't want to have back surgery now, because it is likely that you will have to have it again if you push it too hard.

Take care of yourself.

 

[KillahBee]

Sorry to hear about that bro. I just had the same thing happen about 3 months ago, only to a lesser extent in my L7-S1 vertebrae. The doctor freaked me out saying that he was surprised that I wasn't in more pain and that I actually had an old bulge above it that I didn't even know about and that I probably shouldn't do any overhead presses or anything like that. I just took it a little easy for the first month or so, started lifting again the next week, and it actually feels pretty good now. I am still not up to the strenth that I had before, but it feels a lot better.

The only real advise I can give is to not push it. Listen to your body, if it feels bad, take it easy right away and don't try to tough it out. The advise that I have got is that you really don't want to have back surgery now, because it is likely that you will have to have it again if you push it too hard.

Take care of yourself.

did you have the injection bro?

 

[MacroMammaryPhilia]

did you have the injection bro?

It actually has been feeling a lot better, so I haven't bothered with that. They told me if it starts to feel worse that I would have to have that done and possibly surgery. Are you in constant pain? Mine seemed to die down after about 2 weeks or so, but I babied it pretty well. When I ended up going out, Scotsman was my bodyguard and if people bumped into me, he was to beat them down.

 

[KillahBee]

It actually has been feeling a lot better, so I haven't bothered with that. They told me if it starts to feel worse that I would have to have that done and possibly surgery. Are you in constant pain? Mine seemed to die down after about 2 weeks or so, but I babied it pretty well. When I ended up going out, Scotsman was my bodyguard and if people bumped into me, he was to beat them down.

lmao. I have given it almost 2 months. I tried rest, then light activity, then PT. pain killers, anti inflams. never got any better. Surgery is not something I want, so hopefully this and rehab helps.

 

[rbtrout]

Hang in the bro. I've had lower back problems all of my adult life due to a car accident. That's one of the reasons I keep lifting, to strengthen all the muscles supporting the lower back. You'll do fine. We're all rooting for you.

 

[MacroMammaryPhilia]

Man that sucks. For me it seemed like stretching and rest did the trick. Every day I seemed to feel a bit better than the day before. I do not envy you at all. That was the worst pain I have ever had, and I had a 9 mm kidney stone.