Injury Back problems - bulging disc

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DMan 11

DMan 11

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Apr 3, 2012
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i figure this is as good a place as any to discus this - just thought to start a thread for those with back problems, in particular bulging discs given that I'm one of the lucky punters out there to go through this.
Mine started in my late 20's with occasional seizures in my back which would render me unable to move for a period - couple of days usually, then followed by a couple of weeks rehab to get movement back and pain down.
I'm now mid 30's and it's got worse. A lot worse. Being being diagnosed with bulging disc I had a 2 year period where I count do anything re sport, and gardening etc would trigger spasms again and pain management by Chiro and physio would ensue in the months following.
About a year ago it got better, got back in the water surfing again and started playing Aussie 9's ( which is awesome fun btw) but then the latest set-back...
Did something playing footy which triggered the disc inflammation. I didn't know at the time but I had a 17mm bulge in L5 and similar in L4 - leading to sciatica pain so intense down to my Achilles that I couldn't bend my leg or walk properly.
After enduring this on tramadols for a couple of months I went and had the MRI - diagnosis, bulging disc...
So that's the background - the purpose of the thread is to now discuss recovery methods and so on.
The biggest help to me so far has been buying a stand-up desk and doing hydrotherapy.
Being self employed I work crazy long hours and the stand up desk gives the spine relief that it needs - we're definitely NOT meant to sit for long periods....
As for the hydrotherapy - it's been a god-send. It gave me relief within about 4 sessions and settled the bulge in about 2 months.
The increase was so good I went back to the water for a surf last week and a little jog- life was bloody good !!!
BUT, lo and behold, did a hydro session yesterday and whammo- back is sore and feels like I've been transported back 2 years.
Really frustrating - needed to vent here and wanted to hear of others stories
 
I have sciatica too. Maybe not as bad as yours; mine is due to a combination of a bulge of the disc and some osteoarthritis - a bony growth of the vertebra where the nerve passes through. Got this from an MRI (or CT scan I'm sorry, can't remember) a few years ago. Interestingly, the scan showed the same on both sides of my lumbar vertebrae, but only the right leg hurts with referred pain.
Doctor prescribed pain killer pills, and also talked about surgery. So I did the manly thing and ignored him.

It's now under control. I feel the pain most days, but not to the point where it debilitates me like it used to. I manage it now, by making sure I don't stay on my feet walking all day long like I used to. So I will walk around for a half hour, then sit for ten minutes before getting up again. I also cycle as much as I can ( not huge; short ride to work or ride to see Freo training) which seems to help and give me endorphins at the same time. When I revert to my old habits it returns with force, so I'm pretty sure it didn't just fix itself.

I'm a fair bit older than you, so not playing organised sport doesn't bother me as much, plus I was no good anyway! But I can't see exercise that impact the joints being healthy - eg jogging would bring it on. The other thing that has impacted me is my footwear - my feet are getting flatter and supporting arches seems to make a difference.
 
Lads, I feel your pain both mentally and physically. First off DMan 11 , great idea starting this thread, the three of us and possibly more (though hopefully not because it sucks) can vent to each other and see what works/doesn't work :thumbsu:

I've always had a bit of lower back pain, but nothing really too bad til a few months ago. I'm currently 24, a few months ago on my first and only day at work as a Laborer, my lower back started to feel weird towards the end of the shift, so much so I went to a physio that day and decided to take the next day off work. Physio massaged me, showed me some exercises to strengthen the muscles and that was that (he also told me I could get an MRI, but that I wouldn't need it because it wasn't anything too bad and it'd be a waste of money). I'm a bit of a gym addict, so I took the rehab seriously and performed those exercises every 2-3 days. It was eventually getting better, then it started to feel iffy again and my girlfriends continuous nagging of getting the MRI finally worked. Results came back with a bulging disc into my spine......caught my physio and I by surprise. Physio and my doctor said surgery wasn't needed unless it gets worse, although I still think about getting it anyway, because at least then the problem is gone. I've been told not to take pain killers and learn to adjust and control the pain, because relying on pain killers could make it worse.

Right now it isn't too bad, I still feel it all the time and it does restrict/reduce me doing certain things, but it's manageable. I still perform the exercises the physio showed me, I know it wont fix my injury at all, but to strengthen the muscles around the area is good, having strong lower back muscles is always ideal. I've been told water therapy is good, I haven't tried it yet, although I probably should. Doing simple stretches to me feels like you can loosen your back up a bit. My friend recently gave me his DVDs for DDP Yoga (professional wwe wrestler) and hes Yoga program is highly recommended by lots of people, obviously it can't cure our discs, but apparently it does help relieve pain in that area, so I might give that a go and let you guys know what it's like.
 

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As a GP (and a back pain sufferer :(), I would say that in almost all cases of back pain, with the exception of high risk injuries such as falling off cliffs, MVA/MBA's, and in the absence of red flags (such as known or previous cancer, loss of motor function, steroid use), most back pain is amenable to simple managements such as physio, NSAID's and paracetamol and (probably the most important!) working out ways to reduce the pain such as posture modification and reducing loads.
Personally I almost never do imaging (such as MRI or CT) for "simple back pain", even with sciatica. If a bulge is found, it may or may not be related to the pain anyway. They did a study a few years ago where they looked at imaging of back pain and found that 'slipped discs' etc actually had no correlation with pain. Some people had them and had no pain, some people had none and had pain and some people had bulges in areas where the pain wasn't.
Mike is spot on in the above post...the main issue with back pain is that the back doesnt like any injury, so the muscles all tighten up as a result. Pain is reduced when the muscle tension is reduced. Hydrotherapy, physio, exercises and core strengthening make a lot of difference.
Also weight loss. I have patients all the time who come in 30kg overweight and complain of back pain. I explain that its like been pregnant...Stresses the back as the anterior weight increases the lumbar lordosis (forward curvature). Some patients listen, lose weight and come back saying the pain is so much better. Others, I feel like a broken record :(!!
 
Thanks for your input Doc kingswood71 !

After this recent relapse I'm at the point of giving up on rehab and trying the surgical option to shave the bulge.
It's a time factor and quality of life issue for me - if it can help me get moving again quicker then I'm all for it. Prepared to take the risk, as far as I'm aware the biggest risk with this form of surgery is the chance of infection......

I'm no MD but my pain is directly in the region of my L4/L5 so pretty sure it's coming from the bulge. I've also had some massive spasms that have renderd me incapable of moving so figure it's all related. I'm not overweight but do have a muscle imbalance in the area ( no ass).
After so many years of not being able to enjoy physical activity I'm at the point of losing my s**t. Low energy levels in daily life, no ability to do the things I love and I shudder to think of the toll that being on morphone patches is doing to my internal organs.
I do wonder if it's at all related to the psoriasis issue I have on my skin - doing some reading into that shows that it can lead to skeletal disease like arthritis.

I'm back into the pool and Chiro this week so hope to get off the morphine and back into natural healing
 
Had this also and things like bending down to turn off the garden tap have caused spasm. When I'm really bad, I feel like an 80 year old holding onto my wall to lift me up!
 
mike91 said:
Has this helped you? Does it release pain for a day or two?
Click to expand...

Hey mike91 - it's not so much instant relief or a quick fix, but I found that within a couple of weeks my sciatica had diminished, then a few more weeks after that and it felt like my back was almost back to normal. As it happens it may have been a false economy though and seems I should have done more core strengthening before surfing and boxing again.
In saying that, as soon as you get in the warm water and 'float' - there is instant pain relief. It just doesn't last long after getting out, until you've done say 3 weeks or 2/3 sessions a week ( in my case anyway)
 
DMan 11 said:
Hey mike91 - it's not so much instant relief or a quick fix, but I found that within a couple of weeks my sciatica had diminished, then a few more weeks after that and it felt like my back was almost back to normal. As it happens it may have been a false economy though and seems I should have done more core strengthening before surfing and boxing again.
In saying that, as soon as you get in the warm water and 'float' - there is instant pain relief. It just doesn't last long after getting out, until you've done say 3 weeks or 2/3 sessions a week ( in my case anyway)
Click to expand...
That's good to hear, I've been told to give water therapy a go and realistically I really should.
 
DMan 11 said:
I do wonder if it's at all related to the psoriasis issue I have on my skin - doing some reading into that shows that it can lead to skeletal disease like arthritis.
Click to expand...
Psoriasis can be related to back pain...It can cause spondylitis, which is basically inflammation of the bones in the spine. I would have expected that your doctors would have thought of this if you have psoriasis. Its pretty "easy" to exclude that by doing a few blood tests (ESR/HLA-B27).
If the GP hasnt, perhaps discuss this with him, although imaging sometimes would have made the doctor think one diagnosis is more likely than the other.
 
I've had a back issue since I had a flying motorbike land on it some years ago.
Aside from keeping reasonably fit and doing a fair amount of swimming in the ocean I find Schuessler's Tissue Salts really helpful when it flairs up.
 

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So, pain has been constant and it's through my pelvis, butt and upper leg area.
It's now been 12 months of it constant (after 8 years on/off) with some sharp spikes and lessening troughs through the last year.
So went and saw my GP, she put on to a spine surgeon and......fusion on my L5 (?) has been advised.
Just went for another MRI given my last was 3 months ago. But more likely than unlikely.
Surgeon has advised anterior surgery is preferred - so cutting in through the front and taking some hip bone on the way to act as a graft between the vertebrae .
Long and short of it is 1 week laid up, 3 months possibly with a corset and 12 months before you're back to full activity. On the bright side, pretty high success rate for fit guys in their 30's like me.

Anyone else been down this path ????
 
I'm going in on Wednesday for surgery on a cervical disc herniation. Not a fusion, just a disectomy so hopefully won't be too bad. Gotta be better than this pain though Dman?
 
Anyone here happen to be from Melbourne? Last week I saw a back specialist who does seminars about bulging discs around Australia, he has a proven record fixing them, no surgery required. He showed me some exercises and gave me some glute (butt) exercises.

His bulging discs article with a proven MRI result
https://breakingmuscle.com/mobility...c-bulges-they-are-not-forever-but-training-is

His articles
https://breakingmuscle.com/coaches/andrew-lock

His facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/Functional-Strength-Rehabilitation-472270909559950/

If anyone wants his number, let me know, hes hard to reach and seems to always be busy, I had to wait 3 or so weeks to get my appointment.
 
Clems Knee said:
Hope all went well.
Click to expand...
Yeah it was OK pain wise though 16 hours on my back in the recovery room with a catheter in staring at the ceiling was almost as bad as Eagle TV re-runs. Pins and needles is slowly resolving and up and about though still in hospital due to iv antibiotics. If they've got the stent in you'd think they'd be good enough to bung some iv valium in there to at least make the time pass enjoyably but they won't have a bar of it!
 
Mockcockpit said:
Yeah it was OK pain wise though 16 hours on my back in the recovery room with a catheter in staring at the ceiling was almost as bad as Eagle TV re-runs. Pins and needles is slowly resolving and up and about though still in hospital due to iv antibiotics. If they've got the stent in you'd think they'd be good enough to bung some iv valium in there to at least make the time pass enjoyably but they won't have a bar of it!
Click to expand...
Hope you have a quick recovery mate.
 
Nothing as serious as mentioned above but I can attest to the "try to minimize the drugs" point.

About 7 odd months ago I picked up my baby daughter at an odd angle and my lower back completely gave way and within minutes had completely "locked up". Started physio that evening but the pain was to much to go to work so I had 4 days off. By the 4th day I was able to shuffle somewhat around without crying in pain so I called up my work to go back. They said I needed to get a 'cleared for work' cert from the doc.

During my visit to the doctor they asked me the usual questions and checked me over. They asked what the pain was like and what I was taking. I said Voltaren and the pain was manageble but still there. The Doc then offered me some pretty strong pain killers and said to take them for the next two days to get me through the rest of my swing. Within an hour of taking them I didn't feel a thing, I took the pain killers for the rest of the day and while I could still feel my back wasn't quite right there was no pain while I worked.

Waking up the next morning................ holy F@#$!! My back was sore. Stupidly I took the pain killers again to help out and get me off to work. When I woke up the next day it felt even worse than when I originally hurt my back. Back off to the physio I went. Now I had sciatica to go with my back issues. It ended up taking me just over 4 months to get back to normal.

The Physio said picking up my daughter was merely the straw that broke the camel's back. The pain killers just let me finish the job off, completely farking my back up.

My issues had developed from years of poor posture at the work desk, tight hammies and then a general lack of exercise after my wife had our 2nd baby. Luckily all of those things can be fixed and since have. Walking more, lifting weights and more thought about my posture has put me back to normal.

My physio said pain killers are a good thing, as long as you are treating the underlying issue and still remembering to take care which I didn't. The whole ordeal was certainly an eye opener for me about looking after my body.
 
Reading through this thread and here i was thinking I was the one. I have 2 bulging discs L4 and L5. Plus a curvature of the spine. It's great and i did all this damage putting a sock on one afternoon. Yeah a flipping sock. I'm in good nick as well. It just went pop and i was off work for nearly 2 weeks.

Back pain sucks. Chiropractic care is good but can only do so much and the drugs the doc gives are so strong that I can't take them while working which kinda defeats the purpose of them in the first place.

My 11 month old tests me everyday haha


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freo84 said:
Reading through this thread and here i was thinking I was the one. I have 2 bulging discs L4 and L5. Plus a curvature of the spine. It's great and i did all this damage putting a sock on one afternoon. Yeah a flipping sock. I'm in good nick as well. It just went pop and i was off work for nearly 2 weeks.

Back pain sucks. Chiropractic care is good but can only do so much and the drugs the doc gives are so strong that I can't take them while working which kinda defeats the purpose of them in the first place.

My 11 month old tests me everyday haha


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Click to expand...
.........my god :eek:. Has your physio got you doing any exercises/stretching for this?
 
mike91 said:
.........my god :eek:. Has your physio got you doing any exercises/stretching for this?
Click to expand...
Yeah she does but to be honest it doesn't help much. Chrio offers more relief and getting a massage every so often is great as well. I manage it pretty well but I do get pretty sore from time to time.

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Anyone who might be thinking of having this surgery shouldn't hesitate to have it done. All my issues with regards to pain have been resolved and for the first time in maybe 10 years I'm not taking any kind of pain medication. Combined with changes to my lifestyle and diet as well as being able to exercise more has seen me lose 10kgs since November and I have more energy and feel generally better than I have for a long time. I don't think it's overegging the pudding to say I've got my life back.
 
Update from my end...
After talking with a Physio I had seen years ago, which I should add managed to draft an exercise rehab program that got me moving again about 7 years ago - I decided to give exercise rehab one more go.
Bloody glad I did!
After only a month of it I'm now practically pain free. I can sit for long periods at work without getting the familiar deep pain in the back/butt. I did invest in a stand up desk too which helps immensely but most importantly I've been able to gently ease back into surfing and golf.
I can't believe the change and I'm so happy with the results. It's not an easy fix - I'm exercising about 4 times a week ( 20 mins 2 days and 45 mins 2 days ) all around strengthening my glutes, quads and core.
I'll keep you posted with progress FYI.
The way the Physio put it to me was simple - at least try this before going under the knife and spending the same amount of time doing rehab exercise... It made sense and I'm glad I did.
The Physio is Peter O'Sullivan from Shenton Park Physio
 
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