To the guy dealing with herniated discs

kaptkaos
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kaptkaos 2/3/2016 10:24am
2/3/2016 10:24am
That ab wheel was the best $30 I ever spent! Truly a wonder for your back!
WFO!
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WFO! 2/3/2016 2:24pm
2/3/2016 2:24pm
GrapeApe wrote:
I bought an inversion table out of desperation years ago and it did nothing for my disc issues. Core strengthening, stretching and staying well hydrated have...
I bought an inversion table out of desperation years ago and it did nothing for my disc issues. Core strengthening, stretching and staying well hydrated have proven to be the key for me, and I have tried everything over the last 15 years. If I'm strong, fit and flexible my back can handle almost anything.
Same for me.

And yeah, hydration. Sooooo important.

It should be your everyday priority.
kaptkaos
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kaptkaos 2/3/2016 3:24pm
2/3/2016 3:24pm
kaptkaos wrote:
That ab wheel was the best $30 I ever spent! Truly a wonder for your back!
race wrote:
Careful with that ab wheel -

http://fitnessoriented.com/why-to-avoid-the-ab-wheel-exercise/

http://www.livestrong.com/article/387954-how-effective-is-an-exercise-wheel/
Very true, I was not able to use it until I got into decent shape. Its not easy at all and it does work the back, which I feel helps me make it strong. I use the Ab Carver Pro, same concept, but I can roll out at oblique angles and work more areas. I know it works because after not doing it for a month after my Carpal Tunnel surgery, I did it and had super sore abs for three days. I think its an awesome tool if done right.

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kaptkaos
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kaptkaos 3/29/2017 7:35pm
3/29/2017 7:35pm
So I had been slacking in the core training and stretching. Went riding at Croom and it was just a horrible sand whoop fest. Basically pounding whoops out for hours on end, they hadnt been grooming the trail system, there hasnt been any rain, and theres a lot of riding. I rode pretty hard and didnt warm up enough, and it was in the 40's.

So the end result, I aggravated my L4-L5 herniated disc, but this time with sever sciatica, which I have never had before. Wow, this takes back problems to a whole new level. This has my whole left leg and foot basically dragging, numb, almost useless and very painful at all times. I cant find comfort under any condition. It has also not gotten better in 10 days, in fact its worse.

I saw a spine Dr that was recommended by a few friends, and also a Neuro surgeon. Both said the same thing, get the Micro Discectomy surgery ASAP.

Really have mixed feelings about surgery, but everyone that has been through this has said its inevitable and they wish they had done it sooner. Who has done this and had a success, and were you advised to quit riding? Are you back to full functionality with no limitations?

This really sucks...damn sciatica took me out in the end. My back doesnt even hurt anymore, its my whole damn leg.
ledger
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ledger 3/29/2017 9:02pm
3/29/2017 9:02pm Edited Date/Time 3/29/2017 9:06pm
Oh man, been there, I know what you're going through and I feel for ya, I remember pain pill's just knocked the edge off. I had the surgery done in 2005 and if I could tell a man that I loved him, it would be the Doctor that did my surgery. I'm 56 now and have no pain, a bit of discomfort if I sleep too long, other than that I can do anything with no restrictions. The sooner the better on the surgery and get the best surgeon you can. Core exercise's along with stretching to stay limber as possible is a way of life and a walk in the park when you think of what you're going through now. Best of luck to you.
Lonestar_399 3/29/2017 9:31pm
3/29/2017 9:31pm
I have had a micro discectomy on L5-6. Felt better almost immediately. Have you doc check you MRI well though as there could be other damage or close to needing attention. I followed up about 2 years later with a laminectomy on L4-5 as there was a nerve on the inside tapping the disc....we probably could have done both at the same time 2 years earlier it's just pain wasn't present yet from that one. In both cases I was back to racing in 5-6 months later.

Recovery is easy and surgery is a breeze...don't worry about it, just do it. The longer the nerve is being flared the longer is takes to get back to normal and if you mess around too long some nerve damage could be permanent.

My latest issue was a neck fusion (ACDF) on C4-5 and C5-6. Almost 4 months out on that and the neck is at about 95% range of motion. Will find out next week if 95% is all I'm going to get out of it....thinking about some light riding in May if progress continues to go well.
sxdude
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sxdude 3/30/2017 10:03am
3/30/2017 10:03am
I don't post here much but when i saw this I had too.

I have L4, L5 herniated disk. This happened in June of 2015 while trying to tilt my 9.9 outboard at the boat ramp.
The first 6 weeks I tried PT. and I chose not to have any epidurals at that time. From that point i just have been dealing with pain and sciatica down my right leg.
I also have this constant clicking, like 2 bones rubbing together, every time it pops/clicks it sends a jarring pain in the lower back area. Anyway I just finished my 2nd epidural and I have a follow-up appointment today. It's helping but I still have pain and slight tingling down the leg. I am going to try more yoga and hopefully I can get this to heal up on my own.


T

Bramlett321
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Bramlett321 3/30/2017 10:25am
3/30/2017 10:25am Edited Date/Time 3/30/2017 10:30am
kaptkaos wrote:
So I had been slacking in the core training and stretching. Went riding at Croom and it was just a horrible sand whoop fest. Basically pounding...
So I had been slacking in the core training and stretching. Went riding at Croom and it was just a horrible sand whoop fest. Basically pounding whoops out for hours on end, they hadnt been grooming the trail system, there hasnt been any rain, and theres a lot of riding. I rode pretty hard and didnt warm up enough, and it was in the 40's.

So the end result, I aggravated my L4-L5 herniated disc, but this time with sever sciatica, which I have never had before. Wow, this takes back problems to a whole new level. This has my whole left leg and foot basically dragging, numb, almost useless and very painful at all times. I cant find comfort under any condition. It has also not gotten better in 10 days, in fact its worse.

I saw a spine Dr that was recommended by a few friends, and also a Neuro surgeon. Both said the same thing, get the Micro Discectomy surgery ASAP.

Really have mixed feelings about surgery, but everyone that has been through this has said its inevitable and they wish they had done it sooner. Who has done this and had a success, and were you advised to quit riding? Are you back to full functionality with no limitations?

This really sucks...damn sciatica took me out in the end. My back doesnt even hurt anymore, its my whole damn leg.
I had the laminectomy done twice!! Mine was the L5/S1 area and it did help but mine was too severe. Eventually went to the Texas Back Institute and had an artificial disc put in place of the old disc. If you'll look at my avatar picture that's my last X ray after 7 year checkup and man it's been great. I can race full out and lift daily with no problems....prior to that I thought riding and life was over for me. My insurance didn't qualify me for this surgery but they were looking for patients to complete their clinical study so I was a guinea pig basically and thankfully so. I'd recommend it to anyone!!
kaptkaos
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kaptkaos 3/30/2017 10:27am
3/30/2017 10:27am
Both Dr offered a block, but as you already know they said its just a band-aid and that I have a strong chance of making it a very serious injury with permanent side effects. They also said surgery is inevitable, but gave me the options. Apparently they put you under for both procedures and the Micro Disk is only 1.25 hours and you dont always have to spend the night. I thought of just skipping the whole block. You guys have been helpful, i will ask them to look at MRI again to make I dont also need a laminectomy.

Thanks guys! Your good reports help me make my decisions at ease.
MXD
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MXD 3/30/2017 11:07am
3/30/2017 11:07am Edited Date/Time 3/30/2017 11:07am
Former L4/L5 and L5/S1 ruptures and microdiscectomy survivor here. Short version, it was the miracle surgery for me. If you want the long version, read on. I'm a 42 year old married father of 2 who mountain bikes, plays hockey and races MX almost every weekend during the spring/summer/fall months. In the beginning of 2012 I noticed a tight feeling in my hamstring one morning after a hockey game. After about 2 months, my symptoms quickly progressed to constant pain that was now travelling further down my leg and I was showing the early signs of losing control and feeling in my leg. From that point, we fought with my insurance company for about 8 months to pay for the surgery and they kept declining it. We went all the way to within about a week of it being permanent. My only relief was laying flat. Anytime my right leg moved from totally parallel with my spine, I got the worst charlie horse pain in my glute, hamstring and calf. I basically laid flat in bed for the better part of the final 5 months. Finally, as my doctor had predicted, I lost feeling and movement in my leg and I also lost bladder control. I saw my Dr. the afternoon after my first bladder control incident (let's call it what it was, I pissed myself and had no idea because I couldn't feel it). He said that it was one of the worst cases he had ever seen. By this point, it had gotten so bad that if I didn't have a wife and 2 kids, I would have ended my life. That's not for drama, it's just real talk. He ended up admitting me to the emergency room and performing surgery the next morning. I guess once you lose bladder control, you are dangerously close to it being permanent so was really in a dangerous zone. He told me that when I wake up, all the pain in my leg would be gone. The only thing that would hurt would be where they cut my back open. He also told me that it is one of the safest surgeries you can have on your back. I forget the exact numbers but it was something like 80-85% of patients get better and the rest just don't but of the 15-20% that don't, none get worse so there is really no risk. With most spinal surgeries, there is always a chance that you will come out worse than you went in. Barring a mistake by the doctor, a microdiscectomy is one of the exceptions. Within hours of being back in my room recovering, the nurse came in said "hop up, let's go for a little walk". I told her that I couldn't bend my leg. She said try and I actually broke into tears when she helped me up and my legs hung off the bed with zero pain. I hadn't been able to sit for about 5 months or so, so it was pretty emotional. Within 2 weeks, the pain from the incision was just about gone, I was back to a normal life with some restrictions on lifting and movement. By week 6, I was pretty much good to go but told to take it real slow. 7 weeks after surgery I put on skates and gently began to resume my active life. Today, I feel about 95%. The last 5% is just some residual nerve pain that I get very rarely due to some permanent damage because I was in such bad shape for too long. But even when I get one of those little flare ups, it doesn't slow me down. For all intents and purposes, I went from worst case scenario to best case scenario.

I say all of that just to encourage you that there really is an overwhelming chance that you will be as good as new. Don't get discouraged. It was the worst experience of my life. Hang in there, it definitely gets better. If you have any questions or worries, feel free to reply here or PM me. I'd be happy to answer them if I can.
TXDirt
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TXDirt 3/30/2017 11:11am
3/30/2017 11:11am
L5/S1 fusion. Was the most painful recovery I have ever had. Took a good 8-12 months to be back to 90-100%. I'm two years post op and feel like I have my life back. Had block done, discogram, etc. Finally had the fusion done. Would have no concerns swinging a leg over the bike again if I wanted to.

Don't read anything on the internet about back surgeries. All you will find is negativity and "horror" stories. The vast majority of surgeries and recoveries go well but those people rarely go post on the internet about how great life is again.
ktm212
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ktm212 3/30/2017 11:44am
3/30/2017 11:44am Edited Date/Time 3/30/2017 11:51am
I had a discectomy on my L5-S1 at the end of 2014 and still have some pain and lingering nerve issues but mine was pretty bad and completely cut the nerve off; I get soreness and tightness in my lower back muscles but can usually work it out. For me, I find relief though exercise. I find road cycling helps loosen up my hips, core workouts and lots of stretching too. I was feeling literally 100% this winter but had a little incident on a over jump and my foot slipping off the peg. I was jammed up pretty good after that and went back to my surgeon and got new ct scans and mris after a few weeks of pain that made me nervous. Mechanically everything was fine and he thinks I just aggravated the nerve that was previously hurt and that it'll calm down eventually. In the mean time I still do my work outs 3-5 days a week and ride.

I hopped back into this forum to let you guys know of something I've been doing for the last week or 2 called Foundation Training. If you go to Roczen's instagram he mentions it a bunch and I had another racer friend of mine mention it so I looked into it and decided to give it a go. It's all about breathing, moving properly, and stretching the spine to relive pressure. So far I've been really happy and have seen results in just a few days. Nothing revolutionary but I definitely feel better than when I started and if you have nothing to lose I suggest you take a look into it. I bought the book and online program thing to get tutorials and all the nonsense and I rope it into my day in the morning and at work. It looks a little silly but it seems to help a bit and I'm sure its only going to get better as I get stronger in form and using these new muscles.

www.foundationtraining.com
jeffskii
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jeffskii 3/30/2017 12:49pm
3/30/2017 12:49pm
ktm212 wrote:
I had a discectomy on my L5-S1 at the end of 2014 and still have some pain and lingering nerve issues but mine was pretty bad...
I had a discectomy on my L5-S1 at the end of 2014 and still have some pain and lingering nerve issues but mine was pretty bad and completely cut the nerve off; I get soreness and tightness in my lower back muscles but can usually work it out. For me, I find relief though exercise. I find road cycling helps loosen up my hips, core workouts and lots of stretching too. I was feeling literally 100% this winter but had a little incident on a over jump and my foot slipping off the peg. I was jammed up pretty good after that and went back to my surgeon and got new ct scans and mris after a few weeks of pain that made me nervous. Mechanically everything was fine and he thinks I just aggravated the nerve that was previously hurt and that it'll calm down eventually. In the mean time I still do my work outs 3-5 days a week and ride.

I hopped back into this forum to let you guys know of something I've been doing for the last week or 2 called Foundation Training. If you go to Roczen's instagram he mentions it a bunch and I had another racer friend of mine mention it so I looked into it and decided to give it a go. It's all about breathing, moving properly, and stretching the spine to relive pressure. So far I've been really happy and have seen results in just a few days. Nothing revolutionary but I definitely feel better than when I started and if you have nothing to lose I suggest you take a look into it. I bought the book and online program thing to get tutorials and all the nonsense and I rope it into my day in the morning and at work. It looks a little silly but it seems to help a bit and I'm sure its only going to get better as I get stronger in form and using these new muscles.

www.foundationtraining.com
I second the foundation training! lots of free videos on youtube, buy the books, study the exercises, make sure your doing them right! You will feel it when you are doing it right. Great for posture and overall health
disbanded
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disbanded 3/30/2017 12:53pm
3/30/2017 12:53pm
I haven't been able to sit on my left butt cheek for over 2 years now. Herniated like 5 disks while snowboarding!

Been thru physical therapy, multiple injections and so far nothing has worked...
disbanded
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disbanded 3/31/2017 8:04am
3/31/2017 8:04am Edited Date/Time 3/31/2017 10:10am
sxdude wrote:
I’m doing this on the 10th

http://www.spine-health.com/treatment/injections/sacroiliac-joint-injec…


That's what I did and it made it worse.

The first injection, the doctor aggravated some nerves in my lower back, made it worse...
The second injection worked better, but didn't last long...
The third injection pretty much brought all the pain back...

I'm afraid to do anything else at this point. Just living with it.

Pit Row

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