Lifters that have had herniated disc(s).I need your story.

[juggy54]

How do i fix it? Can it be fixed?

 

[motoxer125]

How do i fix it? Can it be fixed?

have an MRI scan done

 

[Triple J]

you are more likely to blow a disc when you are young cause they have more fluid in them then. when you get older they dry out and because of the reduced internal viscous pressures herniations are less common. but then they start to get thinner and other problems start. a disc that had a herniation when you were younger will tend to degenerate more later in life.

most people experience disc bulges or herniations at some point in their lives. most of these basically improve by themselves, but a smarter choice than doing nothing, is conservative care like chiropractic, if there are not serious neurological deficits. if after 8 weeks or so of that type of treatment things have not gotten 40-50% better then an orthopedic consult, and possibly surgery, makes sense. if things are improving with conservative care stay on that course, up to 6-8 months maybe longer for a bad case.

 

[iHulk]

iHulk, your freaking me out! Just this morning I was throwing some thoughts around in my head about what I could do to lower my chances of this being a chronic problem. Strenthen my back and abs was my thoughts, and coming up with a plan. Thanks. Oh yea, if that is you in your avatar? Un-freaken believable !

DPH, definitely work on your abs bro. Get yourself a contour mattress (do not buy anything unless its a Tempur-pedic). They are pricey as all hell but your back is worth the price. All the other visco foam beds are just rip-offs and don't have the density metric that is soley owned by Tempur-pedic.

Work angle (twisted) crunches and seated ab twist machine. Forget the name of the machine but it rips your torso and abs.

-- And thanks for the props --

 

[Triple J]

the most important thing for a bad back is to build stability and endurance first, with building strength only after stability is attained. some good exercises that avoid loading a bad back with too much pressure include bird-dogs, side-bridges, bracing, and roll-ups. see work of McGill on this topic. its basically core training but he's done the research to show what exercises are safe and which are not (for the bac back patient). the surprising thing is you can have a very strong back and still fail some of these exercises / tests.

i know this is mute point to most of us lifters but as i get older i have changed my priorities. stability first, then strength

 

[tres]

i am intrested on the work of mcgill?? who is he and where can i see it? thx

 

[juggy54]

What kind of lower body lifts do you guys do?

 

[bigmodean]

Grade A slip disk in my lower lumbar --> Got diagnosed as Spondylosis.
I've been literally paralyzed and dropped to the floor by the sudden onset of back spams from stupid things like washing dishes or vaccuming.

Took years of training my abs and lower back to strengthen my core muscles to not have those problems anymore. Its the #1 reason why I train my abs so much. Also I went out and bought myself a luxury Tempur-Pedic visco foam mattress. Saved my life I swear to Gawd.

Temper Pedic really all that?Been wanting one,shitload of money,but would buy one if it made THAT much of a difference?!?

 

[Triple J]

i am intrested on the work of mcgill?? who is he and where can i see it? thx

google stuart mcgill low back, recommend his book "ultimate back fitness and performance"

 

[EFcopperfish]

I have 2 herniated discs. Doc recommended surgery. I started lifting more intensely and started stretching rigorously and regularly. Now I've been pain free. I don't take any pain meds. Along with the stretching, I've been on GH for 5 months and did a test cycle about 4 months ago. Not sure if it's the combination of things or what but I've been tremendously better even though I've been lifting much heavier. I really think the stretching is a huge factor.