[eventhorizon]

This time playing basketball and this time I knew exactly when it happened. I was trying to change direction when all of a sudden I got this pain down my left leg. I knew I was done right then. That was oh about 6 hrs ago. Lots of ice and 3 aleve later I can't stand or sit (typing this lying down). This isn't the first time I've had this disc slip out but this definitely is the worst it's been. Had him happen kinda bad last year and I was laid out for a month. the chiropractor did get me better but no matter what I do I can't seem to stop having recurring problems. Life sucks. Anyone else have or know someone who has disc slipping problems? Anyone able to prevent shit from happening over and over again?

[alcimedes]

I don't think there's anything you can do about slipping discs short of having them posted into place.

That or get a chiropractor to get them back into place, then concentrate on strengthening your back muscles so it won't pop out of place in the future.

[Maciej]

Discs are a pain in the ass. One of he most vulnerable parts of your body, relatively speaking in terms of everyday occurrences (not guns, savage beatings etc..) and I really think its just a bad luck sort of thing.

I'm not even sure that there's any sort of physical therapy you could try going through. And sadly, its just caused by degenerative tissue being over stressed. I don't know if working your back muscles would really do it, since its more of a "pop" issue, not a really a displacement that could be prevented w/ support.

That being said, I can't imagine the pain you are going through, herniated disks suck. Hope you feel better soon!

EDIT: Funny kink, I just saw this thread moved, and I didn't have permission to open it by clicking on the link in AppleOutsider - I had to go through posts by EventHorizon. Just wondering what thats all abut...

[Franz Josef]

You have my sympathy eventhorizon; I slipped a disc several years ago walking in the Buda hills in Budapest. I had all of the scans afterwards and saw doctors, chiropracters and physios before I recovered. Happy to share what I learnt at the time. The pain down your left leg is inflammtion of the sciatic nerve in the back - this pain is being transferred along the nerve from the source.

(1) All backs are different but the VAST majority of people do not need surgery to recover.

(2) If you do nothing going forward, you WILL have problems in future.

(3) If you don't have regular exercise, you need to start to ensure the back stays flexible in the medium term (sounds like you may be OK on this one). I run three or four times a week which helps ensure my back stays in good health.

(4) Now that you've slipped the disk, you need to spend time over the next few months doing exercises to retrain some of the muscles. Firstly the muscle around your waist (the name escapes me) slows down after a slipped disk; in healthy backs it tightens to support the back BEFORE you move; in unhealthy backs, it tightens a few milliseconds AFTER you move, so it doesn't provide sufficient support in time. There are exercises to train up the muscle again. Secondly, you may find that some of the muscles in your back (and butt) remain too tight going forward and clamp the sciatic nerve (runs down your back to your toes); this can cause ongoing problems as the nerve becomes inflammed. Seeing a physio should help this quite quickly. He will basically work your back and stick his thumb hard into your left buttock to help release the tension.

Once you get over the immediate pain, I would recommend going to a chiro or physio on a regular basis for the next few months. I went once a week to a physio at the time and I still pop in to my local chiro 3-4 times a year for a check up. If you do this and do the stretches at home every few days for the next few months (your physio will tell you which), you can expect a full recovery.

Hope this helps. Good luck with your recovery

[Messiahtosh]

That's good information, there. Nice.

Anyway, speaking from personal experience here...my lower back can have horrible pain but it usually comes from either running too much (when I'm not in lifting mode) or from leg press or squats. I can't quite figure out why I'd be getting the pain from those lifts, because my form is good, but the weight may be stressing me too much, I think.

But, the way I get back to normal is, I lay off on stressing the parts that hurt and I'll use a stationary bike or stair-climber thingy instead of real running.

In your case though, you should probably see a doctor.

[Franz Josef]

Originally Posted by Messiahtosh In your case though, you should probably see a doctor.

...and get a good MRI scan.

[Maciej]

Like I said, there's only a certain extent to which you can affect this issue. At a certain point the outer cartilage of the intervertebral disc pops, and the innard more liquid-y part pushes out against the nerve. I suppose building up lower back muscle strength will help, but if you have weak cartilage you have weak cartilage.

[Franz Josef]

Originally Posted by Maciej ...liquid-y part..

that'll be a technical term .

My understanding (I'm happy to be corrected) is that once the squishy bit comes out, it usually recedes after a short time. This means that it doesn't touch the sciatic nerve constantly and shouldn't give ongoing pain.

[Maciej]

LoL, I learned that one in Anatomy class...

I think your understanding is correct. Its such a shitty part of yourself to hurt, because its almost chronic, in my understanding.

[eventhorizon]

So just got back from urgent care to get some drugs. I've got some Flexoril and Naprosyn to have fun with for a little while. Took my first dose about 40 minutes ago and it has helped a little. Franz, that's some good info there. I have exercises that I was assigned the first time this happened and some maintenance stuff as well. I guess I had slacked off a bit of late and did them a little less regularly. I still played sports and got my fair share of general exercise each week but I didn't do the targeted stuff as much. I'm sure I forgot because I wasn't hurting and hadn't for a long time. Of course the last month I hadn't really done any of the exercises because I hurt my knee playing soccer (nice little case of bursitis...goalie is rough). But I was cleared for any activity as of last week but I guess just that little time without doing the maintenance left me primed for this. *sigh*


Disc slippage is such a dumb injury anyway. Healing really is just a measure of your pain tolerance. Moving to a position that reduces the pain is the same position that pushes more liquid-y goodness out of your disc. Hooray month of rehab. Again. *stab*