Advice on lumar herniated disc?

[Muzzi17]

Lumbar herniated disc

About 9 months ago I was doing my splits which were part of my exercise routine...however I was not stretched out enough to do them so I ended up hurting myself. I went to a chiropractor for 3 months and I felt decent, but i was never able to reach my toes again. I continued exercising and I was in great shape. However, I had reoccurring lower back pain. I continued to exercise, but then I got really busy with school and work so I stopped working out. After 2 1/2 months of not working out I suddenly had this crippling leg pain...I did not know what was wrong with me. After an MRI they found out that I had a bulging L4 L5 disc that was pinching my sciatic nerve, which went all the way down my leg. I've been doing physical therapy for the past 4 months, but I have not gotten better. My summer has been spent laying in bed, doing physical therapy, reading books, watching movies, etc...I'm tired of the pain and the life style. I went from being very active to doing nothing. I have done a lot of research on the situation. Considering that I'm 5'10 142 lbs...not obese and still in decent shape I would think bouncing back from the injury would be more probable. Does anyone have any advice on taking care of this injury? I considered surgery, but it has too many side affects. The body has a natural way of healing this, but it could take up to a year at the worse.

[mrgravez]

You have a serious injury you can't just "bounce" back. Don't try to work through the pain and lift without a doctors discretion. You should really be talking to a sports medicine doctor or someone more qualified then anyone on these boards. I can share a story about a guy I know who also hurt his lumbar...

This guy who lifts at the gym where I go is around 40 and hurt his lumbar trying to be a macho man lifting a snowblower into a truck. It has been 12 years i believe and he hasn't recovered fully. It is an every day challenge for him because he needs to be extremely cautious not to twist or exert himself where it would put stress on his lumbar. He lifts chest, shoulders, and a few other exercises but can never run, dead lift, or squats this was after he had been to physical therapy/chiropractor/doctors/surgery. He even told me a story where he wasn't paying attention and twisted down to tie his shoe and reinjured his back.

See a doctor is my advice, specifically someone in sports medicine would be ideal to talk to. Don't listen to anyone on these forums or if you post on a body building forum see a professional!

[Shevchenko]

Originally Posted by mrgravez

See a doctor is my advice, specifically someone in sports medicine would be ideal to talk to. Don't listen to anyone on these forums or if you post on a body building forum see a professional!

I gotta second that. Although it sounds that you've been bouncing around between doctors, I don't think you should be looking for that answer on these forums, or any forums for that matter.

[Muzzi17]

Thanks for your advice. I've talked to my family physician, physical therapist, chiropractor, sports chiropractor, 2 adolescent back specialists, and did a lot of research on the internet. I was hoping to hear some stories if anyone has had the same experience. I am very careful with what I do. The problem is, no matter how careful I am I can't prevent accidents during the healing process.

[Vapor]

These injuries are highly individual. Some respond well to weight training, some get much worse from it. You need to work with a professional.