Bulged/Herniated Disc advice?

Snowboarded two days Sun/Mon after exactly one year off snow and 8 months post Coflex surgery. It was hard at first but I finished strong.

Since the surgery I’ve always had a painful knot on the right side of the wound that would fluctuate in Intensity. I was starting figure it permanent. Today, after boarding, the knot is gone. I’m hopeful some adhesion was mitigated from snowboarding.

I’m still weak core strength and stability but in surprisingly good shape from half ass gym workouts, occasional yoga, swim and walking. My left leg is still tingly and not 100% strength but I could walk ten miles with good form if I had to. I’m hoping to get more leg strength back but I’m satisfied right now if it’s all I get.

Fluctuate in...?


Good that you’re back on snow again!

My status update:
I was left with numbness in my left lower leg and foot. It has reduced but not gone away. Not sure yet whether I’m gonna have to live with it or whether it might actually go away. My ankle isn’t strong enough to push into a hop or jog. PT has been exhausted under my health plan. I had done a bunch of daily walking and one day I turned the knob a little too high and now have what feels like perineal tendinitis. So, walking is sidelined. Started swimming and that is going great. I’ve started PT that will phase into training with an independent training facility (very much apart from my health insurance PT). Right now it’s a lot of micro movements & core alignment/support. They’re not enthusiastic about me skiing, but I’m not going to not ski. I will however take it slow tho. Luckily, the season is starting slow so the temptation has been moderated. I’m mobile and improving steadily. You wouldn’t know I had any issues if you met me on the street. But I have quite a ways to go o get back to doing the things I want to in the way that I’d like.

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Originally Posted by ::: :::

now have what feels like perineal tendinitis..

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I had that symptom and still do in my left leg. I’m pretty sure it’s related to the nerve impingement that’s affecting your foot. The calve muscles just aren’t getting electrical signal. It took me 4 months before I could walk any distance without calve pain. It’s like the whole muscle base has to be built from scratch.

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Originally Posted by 4matic

I had that symptom and still do in my left leg. I’m pretty sure it’s related to the nerve impingement that’s affecting your foot. The calve muscles just aren’t getting electrical signal. It took me 4 months before I could walk any distance without calve pain. It’s like the whole muscle base has to be built from scratch.

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yeah, PT/training seems to be a long haul effort

There’s no rushing nerve heal. My neurosurgeon didn’t think I needed PT at all.

Walk as much as you can but not so much you aggravate the pain. Slow down your walking pace.

My weight work now is lighter weight and high repetition. Working well.

Laying in bed in a shit ton of pain after having surgery yesterday to repair protruding disks... I fought a hard fight for a long time but was finally told no more shots to the back than PT - surgery was the only real option... Had my L3 to L4 and my L4 to L5 shaved to create a space for my nerves... My surgeon was right in the fact that I would leave the hospital with no butt, hip or leg pain due to the pinching of nerves and I know the surgery will be worth it but F me does my back hurt... He stated due to me being in good shape I should be able to be active in about 5 weeks... I had to cancel my February ski trip but should be ok for my Bach trip in April... I sure as hell hope so...!


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Dang. Heal fast! Hopefully better days ahead for you

feels good to have that constant nerve pain gone, huh?
heal up, undertow
you'll be back at it

Thanks gents... Def hoping the pain eases up a bit tomorrow... I def read this thread over the past several months getting ready for surgery... I can handle pain pretty well but this one is a diff level... And yes to no longer have the intense nerve pressure any longer def helps... Still can’t believe no driving at all for a month and cannot lift more than 10 lbs...

Hope you get some of your feeling back AC...$


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Sorry to hear you didn't get adequate pain meds. If it's still bad today you might want to do something about that.

Thanks OG...! Last night was really bad and maybe got 1 1/2 hrs of sleep... I think I turned the corner a bit this afternoon but I spoke to my Surgeons office and if things are still not under control they are going to try something different...


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Originally Posted by ::: :::

Out of surgery

I’m sooo fucking happy it is done

Totally worth it


More later

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one year later

leg strength is poor, but it moves so I just need to keep working on it.
i road bike 4x/wk [I can't really stand in "ready position" for mtb for any length of time] & have been playing tennis with the mrs 2x/wk.
no running in the cards atm, but that is still on my radar as a goal.
i skied <10x this past winter, so I'm hoping for more outings this coming winter...if covid backs off enough

just amazing how different things are from then & how my condition changed in less than a week just a year ago

Thats good youre still moving forward without setbacks. After the 2 year mark without going into spasm i found a measurable gain in stability.
More recent im noticing the dad bod happening. Not all bad though. From my lower back injury s1, L3,4,5 ,and the subsequent focus on really stabilizing it, and the 2 year all out core exercises and extra stretching my mind now intuitively fires the core more than it normaly would. Its a nice safety mechanism thats paid dividends now 12 years after that all out 2 year cycle. 6 years ago i compressed and shattered/broke 4 vertabrae, t 4,5,6,7 and because its mid back and the ribs give suppotrt and the back doesnt flex much there it healed fairly well and only occasionally causes discomfort. Long days with a pack on and i feel it but its fine after a day..
Getting back to the recent dad bod transformation, a result of that core focus way back when and my extra intuitive firing of the core muscles , out of a deep seated fear probably, ive noticed my upper stomach core muscles are extra developed in front of those thorassic fractures. I have a few extra lbs but not a lot but those extra upper stomach muscles hang my T shirt out like there's a belly below. Like an extra spinal curve. I take it as a good thing. Its kind of reassuring that all that focus i put in during that extensive 2 year stability training is paying dividends i never would havre thought would happen beyond the initial lower back pt
Just something ive noticed more recently and maybe it relates to your injury eben though they all seem diffeeent. I still stretch one or 2 sessions daily but i don't stress too much on the injury at this point. I guess ive learned the perimeters and subconsciously stay within them/touch wood

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i'm less worried about back stability now & more about general strength & balance
i really wish the gym were open -- i have zero equipment at home
i suppose i could do a shitload of bodyweight squats, lunges & such, but I've just been cycling

I'd just focus on having daily core exercises. It doesnt have to be elaborate. The goal is to fire them repeatedly. By doing the repition it gets beat into your brain and becomes intuition. After it becomes intuitive whenever you do all those lifting or dynamic movements youre thinking of doing the core automatically fires and protects the injury. I think you relly have to be careful lifting weights or dynamic movement exercise until the intuitiveness is there. Im mostly focused on safety and health but completely because core equals balance and thats a rewarding feature. That was me and we're all different but when i got back on skis it was strictly touring for a couple years. A lot less dynamic than flying around the hill pounding hard pack and doing a lot of dynamic recovery at speed. Walking is what our bodies are designed for and that really aligns the spine. Climbing a skin track is a perpetual state of little core firing as you find traction every step and then skiing pow is soft , slower, and easy so i could limit any dynamic balance recovery at the slower speed and just always be smooth. Hard to always be smooth ripping around the resort. At some point on the resort reinjury is at risk. Risk vs reward balance i guess. Early touring season it was one day on with my stretches and one set of core exercises and one day off touring just stretching and core. Flexible on that schedule though.
Id say any kind of weight bearing activity would be directly proportional to the amount of core focused base a person has. Totally different muscle groups. Your major muscles (back arms legs etc) are what you conciously activate to lift yourself or something. The little core muscles surrounding the spine are fired subconsciously. You shouldnt have to think to have them fire and protect, stabilize or balance. I had 4 of the simplest core exercises that i could do during hockey game commercial breaks. The whole goal is repitition not weight bearing. It has to be beat into the brain

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It's nice to have weights but I've never felt I needed them. I've forgotten enough exercises and stretches to write a blank book. My only issue is doing the workout. grinch - we have a lot in common with the numerous back injuries. (I don't suppose you gave my suggestion for st. john's wort oil on the spinal injuries every day for a year any consideration, didya?) I like how you talk about some previously unnoticed core ab muscles appearing. Sifu Lee showed me a great arching/bending pushup with feet up on a chair that builds an X of muscles over the solar plexus. Its so cool to see that shit manifest. I still have a couple joints I haven't totally fucked up but I have some trials ahead with my left hip, which a cat scan showed as wearing out. I feel it if I miss a stretch session.

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Originally Posted by splat

It's nice to have weights but I've never felt I needed them. I've forgotten enough exercises and stretches to write a blank book. My only issue is doing the workout. grinch - we have a lot in common with the numerous back injuries. (I don't suppose you gave my suggestion for st. john's wort oil on the spinal injuries every day for a year any consideration, didya?) I like how you talk about some previously unnoticed core ab muscles appearing. Sifu Lee showed me a great arching/bending pushup with feet up on a chair that builds an X of muscles over the solar plexus. Its so cool to see that shit manifest. I still have a couple joints I haven't totally fucked up but I have some trials ahead with my left hip, which a cat scan showed as wearing out. I feel it if I miss a stretch session.

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Ive never tried that. I should though, i think its just over the counter? I used to put arnica on for a time but i didnt find it did a lot. Injury was more acute then. I may notice it now. I put a few drops of cbd in my morning coffee and thats been good for all the body aches and pains. I keep looking at your cbd creme but cross border shipping atm is sketchy at best. I can balance the day with my standard stretching. My exercises are nothing fancy but i remenber them and it doesnt take anything to do them . One of the 4 is a special one. Out of all the pt's that ive seen , the last one was an ex national team xc skier girl. Super good at her job and very smart. She showed me one exercise that fires all the tiny muscles that link the vertabrae together. At every vertabrae theres one on either side of the spine from head to ass. I cant think theyred be another way to fire those little stabilizers but what a difference that made on my wirst injury. I havent had to do it in a while but i think im still reaping the benefits of those. Most of my problem now is just realing myself in and dont be an idiot trying to do too much. Mega battle there :)

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If you have an s/o get some organic st john's wort and give it go. So hard to do the spine without help.

Putting it on the grocery list for sure. Curious now. Thanks for that

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I had disc issues a couple years ago, the PT told me it was from years of abuse bending forward to ski/ bike/ run saw/ whatever. Besides some regular PT visits she told me to do nothing for 2 months, the only home exercise was cobra pose to bend the spine back the other way or lying on an ice pak watching netflix and wandering over to the craft brew was as much as I could handle

treatment worked 100% bike , paddle, I was even able to run saw that fall

whenever I do Cobra I can always hear the spine click once

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Originally Posted by XXX-er

I had disc issues a couple years ago, the PT told me it was from years of abuse bending forward to ski/ bike/ run saw/ whatever. Besides some regular PT visits she told me to do nothing for 2 months, the only home exercise was cobra pose to bend the spine back the other way or lying on an ice pak watching netflix and wandering over to the craft brew was as much as I could handle

treatment worked 100% bike , paddle, I was even able to run saw that fall

whenever I do Cobra I can always hear the spine click once

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Out of curiosity, how long did it to take you to rebuild the muscle mass and cardiovascular fitness you lost taking two months completely off like that?

If for some reason I have to take 5 days or a week off from working out, I feel like it takes me several weeks/up to a month to regain what I lost in that little bit of downtime. If I took two months off I would be a blob of jello. That being said, I'm not genetically/physiologically "gifted" as an athlete, so my experience may be unique.

I was off july & august, to get back did a little time in the gym, 9 days running the saw for ski passes, skied a bunch of days OK did a hut trip in the B group, I could feel that I was pushing conditioning so skiing and hiking into shape instead of being in shape but I did ok

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Originally Posted by ::: :::

i'm less worried about back stability now & more about general strength & balance
i really wish the gym were open -- i have zero equipment at home
i suppose i could do a shitload of bodyweight squats, lunges & such, but I've just been cycling

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Do you still have a second butthole? :-)

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Originally Posted by TBS

Do you still have a second butthole? :-)

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Try grindr



& no, scar is nice & tight

Fuck this back shit

Fuck it sideways

Ugh

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Originally Posted by ::: :::

Fuck this back shit

Fuck it sideways

Ugh

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You hurt again?

Awww shit…
Lumbar spine again?

Yeah, the dilaudid is nice, so I’ve got that going for me

(I swear my body has silently regressed over the last 5yrs due to this nerve shit despite trying to stay active…frustrated is an understatement)

Vibes. Nerve shit in your back is the worst. Hope you can get it sorted sooner rather than later.

Thx

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Originally Posted by ::: :::

Fuck this back shit

Fuck it sideways

Ugh

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I’m sorry man.

I’ve been in the throes for about 18 months. MRI shows I slipped another disc (L-4-L5, L5-S1 is already fuct). No idea how it happened, assume it was just wear and tear and that I’m more susceptible to have it happen to me. I’ve also got spinal osteoarthritis and some kind of cartilage issue on my sacrum.

I had a few good years before this current episode, and a few bad years before the good ones over the past decade.

The fact that I can’t seem to do anything to control it is really burning me out, fuck. The nerve pain is awful.

Hope you feel better. It really sucks.

Dude, right back at you
Good luck to you getting to a stable pain free space. You deserve to be able to move

Dilaudid is nice when you hurt but it’s better to not need it. </duh>
And I hear you on the regression - been there done that
Wish I had something to help - I got some heavy indica but I know that’s not your jam

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Originally Posted by ::: :::

Fuck this back shit

Fuck it sideways

Ugh

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Sorry to hear you’re dealing with this again. Back issues suck.

back home again
pain not gone, but not in crisis anymore

and maybe some hope to deal with the dead leg from the last 3yrs...we'll see how that shakes out

Vibes. Hopefully you heal up quick and find clarity and solutions to the problems you’ve been dealing with the past few years.

Bump…so much good info in this thread! Moral of the story is aging sucks, no matter how fit you are! I thought Grinch was just an e-bike evangelist, turns out he is a fountain of information on all things spine related! Great info! Thanks to everyone who posts in this thread! Very helpful for those of us just starting our inevitable decline and wanting to learn to modify, moderate or diversify to keep moving! And vibes to all of us gimps that are in the physiological battle that is nerve pain from back injury!!


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Originally Posted by hick

Bump…so much good info in this thread! Moral of the story is aging sucks, no matter how fit you are! I thought Grinch was just an e-bike evangelist, turns out he is a fountain of information on all things spine related! Great info! Thanks to everyone who posts in this thread! Very helpful for those of us just starting our inevitable decline and wanting to learn to modify, moderate or diversify to keep moving! And vibes to all of us gimps that are in the physiological battle that is nerve pain from back injury!!


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I am glad any of that helped. I guess i have plenty enough time in to have a decent idea what works. At this point i can really empathize with anyones struggle. I flailed for a while not knowing what i was looking at and if/how i could continue biking/skiing. I'm usually kicking around if anyone has a question. For some reason i looked in here today. Its been a while

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That’s good it’s been a while! It probably means your back is good right now!![emoji16]


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Haa nope but it hasnt taken a drastic turn. Building slow is key for me. 4500' touring day wrecked me but i bounced back more fit. Currently dialing it back a touch in hopes of building past that mark. Focusing on fun. A comfy/fun 5k back to back days for spring is where i want to be. If i cant , i cant. Keepin it fun and not overdoing it but i think i should have plenty of time

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