Spinal Disc problems L3/L4

Back pain checking in, I was actually wrongly diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis because of it. Which was debunked about 4 months after it, after the second set of blood tests.

I've been mostly pain free for a while now, but still flairs up form time to to time. Movement is the only thing for me now, always flexing my back. Took me well over a year to feel anywhere close to normal though from the worst pain point.

I agree with the above, because I was young - it took ages to get an MRI (didnt help I was misdiagnosed). But confirmed there was lower back issues, but not serious.
 
Yes @B&W after some suffering right after the accident and now the longer term damage kicks in you value the times it wasnt a care. Hopefully get it under control and manage it this year. Good to see advice and share stories etc. Not sure if I have that specific damage @nitram100 as they scanned a lot even months after but I wont rule it out, I am thinking its more nerves playing up making it feel like its stiff/aching for me.
 
Thanks guys for the responses and @Megahurtz400 is definitely correct with the core muscles! I had been training for 10 years deadlifting and squatting, almost never focused on my core so am really focusing on that now. Hope everything goes well for you mate.

@Begbie Do you mind me asking mate, what the results were from your MRI? Do you remember what they found?

@Th0nt Did you have an MRI buddy? Did it show any disc damage?

I echo what you guys are saying, it's a bitter pill to swallow these back issues. 1 year ago I wouldn't have batted an eyelid at jumping in the car with the girlfriend and going for a 5 hour drive to the Lake District , now I don't know how I would do it.

I have found two things really help me when I have a flare up of pain, hot/cold ice packs from amazon, I always have one in the freezer ready to tuck in between my belt and directly to my skin.

Also, have found a real benefit using a little boots TENS machine. It allows me to completely forget about the pain and relax in the evening, maybe try one out guys they definitely work for me.
 
Shattered lumber 5 in a car crash in 1990.
Had a spinal fusion and lived with it ever since.
My body no longer notices the pain and sciatica. (Feels like my feet are in warm water if I think about it).
I’m as flexible as a wooden clothes peg however, but really cannot complain.
 
nitram100 said:
Thanks guys for the responses and @Megahurtz400 is definitely correct with the core muscles! I had been training for 10 years deadlifting and squatting, almost never focused on my core so am really focusing on that now. Hope everything goes well for you mate.

@Begbie Do you mind me asking mate, what the results were from your MRI? Do you remember what they found?

@Th0nt Did you have an MRI buddy? Did it show any disc damage?

I echo what you guys are saying, it's a bitter pill to swallow these back issues. 1 year ago I wouldn't have batted an eyelid at jumping in the car with the girlfriend and going for a 5 hour drive to the Lake District , now I don't know how I would do it.

I have found two things really help me when I have a flare up of pain, hot/cold ice packs from amazon, I always have one in the freezer ready to tuck in between my belt and directly to my skin.

Also, have found a real benefit using a little boots TENS machine. It allows me to completely forget about the pain and relax in the evening, maybe try one out guys they definitely work for me.
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I can't mate, my ex was a doctor at the time so I just asked her and she said it wasn't much to worry about. I was also stressed enough over it, and didn't want to think about it too much. Maybe a bit stupid in hindsight, but I feel 1000* better now than I did last year - a lot of the time I couldn't get off the couch with spasms flooring me. Now I get pain once a month, and normally because I haven't focused on mobility enough.
 
nitram100 said:
@Th0nt Did you have an MRI buddy? Did it show any disc damage?
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They did lots of scans and I was nearly operated on after consultants looked at it. I then had a couple of scans to see how it healed and they were happy with my progress (many commented cyclists were good patients as they usually are really healthy so heal quick). The localised injury did not look bad in the MRI's but the doctor did say I was going to get osteoporosis later down the line.
 
So, nearly 4 months post op and I feel almost back to normal!

Obviously i'm still avoiding any heavy lifting at work and at home, and am easing myself back into exercise (cycling first, maybe the gym in 4-6 weeks time)

Massive focus on core exercises such as planks, bird dogs (yoga) and bridges to keep those lower abs and glutes strong and stable!

Hope everyone elses back woes are faring well :D
 
Megahurtz400 said:
So, nearly 4 months post op and I feel almost back to normal!

Obviously i'm still avoiding any heavy lifting at work and at home, and am easing myself back into exercise (cycling first, maybe the gym in 4-6 weeks time)

Massive focus on core exercises such as planks, bird dogs (yoga) and bridges to keep those lower abs and glutes strong and stable!

Hope everyone elses back woes are faring well :D
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Wow that's amazing mate, so glad to hear!

My back seems to be getting a little bit better, have been doing more hiking than sitting these days and seems to be helping. Hardest thing I find to do is just sitting down. I can hike 20km with no pain but can't sit for 5 mins, very frustrating! Just doing the motions with the NHS physio at the moment . Hope it resolves soon!
 
I had a bulged disc between L3/4 and it was resolved by having it reshaped (discetomy?).

It was a complete nightmare waiting for the surgery but the nerve pain was immediately resolved following the operation.

Post surgery I've found that simply hanging from a pull up bar is great for my back as well as doing deep goblet squat holds (sitting at the bottom of a squat holding a light kettle bell to counter balance).

I do 2-3 sets of 30 seconds each back to back most day of the week. I learnt about this from Dan John. Honestly I've found this better than any physio/osteopathic treatment by some distanc, and in my time I've done a lot of rehab work.
 
I'm in no mans land with my lower back, something I've lived with for probably 15 years. Rugby injuries, snowboarding crashes all have made it worse

Occurrences of pain often follow me going "too hard" on something. Usually basketball or hoofing lots of soil in the garden

Latest episode has taken a couple of weeks to resolve. Had full "lock up" and could barely walk for a couple of days after shifting 4 ton of soil at speed (stupid...). Ibuprofen made a massive difference so something must be swollen/bulged

Do have a numb patch on my right side hip which appeared after a snowboard crash 8 years ago. NHS doctor reckoned I tore lower back muscle and took skin nerve roots with it, but I never went for an MRI to see if the damage was actually caused closer to my spine.

If I ever bring it up with a GP I just get eye rolls. The idea of going private as some here have done is very tempting.
 
Alex_6n2 said:
I'm in no mans land with my lower back, something I've lived with for probably 15 years. Rugby injuries, snowboarding crashes all have made it worse

Occurrences of pain often follow me going "too hard" on something. Usually basketball or hoofing lots of soil in the garden

Latest episode has taken a couple of weeks to resolve. Had full "lock up" and could barely walk for a couple of days after shifting 4 ton of soil at speed (stupid...). Ibuprofen made a massive difference so something must be swollen/bulged

Do have a numb patch on my right side hip which appeared after a snowboard crash 8 years ago. NHS doctor reckoned I tore lower back muscle and took skin nerve roots with it, but I never went for an MRI to see if the damage was actually caused closer to my spine.

If I ever bring it up with a GP I just get eye rolls. The idea of going private as some here have done is very tempting.
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It took me going private before the NHS would take me seriously! :(

"Cheapest" way to get diagnosed is probably see a private physio and ask to get referred for an MRI, and then they'll check the results and if needs be refer you to a consultant.

Physio: ~£50
MRI: ~£200
Consultant: ~£200

Once the consultant sees you and can decide what the best method is you can go to a GP with that information and say "Look, a private spinal consultant has told me this, refer me to my nearest NHS spinal specialist/clinic" and play the waiting game or go fully private, my surgery costs about £9500 but I was in dire straits, was basically bed bound with pain and my mental health was pretty much at rock bottom after barely even being able to put socks on for 6 months.

You can't put a price on your health, and the relief of knowing how serious it is and if it can get worse will be a huge weight off I expect!
 
Th0nt said:
Thanks for sharing. I take it concentrate on pure form @Luckystrike123 on the routine? What weight is best to start out with?
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Hang for 30 seconds, just relax into it. You'll be able to hang for much longer but we aren't interested in grip strength, we want to stretch the lats, pecs and shoulder girdle.

The deep goblet squat holds are 30 seconds too. The weight does not matter, it is simply an instrument to help counter balance. I use a 16kg kettle bell. Drop your hips between your knees, drive the knees out using the elbows. When you squat down use good tension, but relax into the bottom of the squat and you stretch your hips by moving about a bit in the bottom (try curling the KB to see what I mean). When in the deep squat hold you cannot maintain tension as your hips have to relax. When standing up, make such you get tension in your core.

Dan John talks quite about the hang/squat as a warm-up so there will be better descriptions on how to goblet squat.

If you find that your hips are overly tight it might be worth investing in a percussive massage gun. It replicates a sports massage but works out much cheaper as you can use it everyday.
 
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