MRI results says I got herniated disc that protrudes.

[James_Rambo]

Been battling this fuckin' injury since last year when I was in Iraq (Ramadi) with 2/5 Marines. I was doin' T BAR rows with 6 plates on the end.....last set and on the 3rd rep...heard a pop and a sharp sting on the lower back.

I was just diagnosed with this injury about 2 months ago.....doctor said I can't fuckin' run or lift...BULLSHIT...I'm still lifting pretty damn heavy...just haven't been doin' SQUATS, and DLs for almost 6 months now. I'm feelin' pissed off....cuz now I might get medically discharged cuz of my injury. Today I decided to try LEG PRESSES, and LEG EXTENSIONS......to my surprise it went well. about 6 sets on each....and got up to 600 plus pounds on the leg press....damn.....thats when I left off about 6 months ago. Pretty stoked!

So my question is......anybody out there that have the same injury as me????? If so...I just need some good opinions on how to get the injury healed, training around it...and etc. Again brothers....thanks in advance.

J Rambo

Semper Fidelis
Sgt
USMC

[camp]

Been battling this fuckin' injury since last year when I was in Iraq (Ramadi) with 2/5 Marines. I was doin' T BAR rows with 6 plates on the end.....last set and on the 3rd rep...heard a pop and a sharp sting on the lower back.

I was just diagnosed with this injury about 2 months ago.....doctor said I can't fuckin' run or lift...BULLSHIT...I'm still lifting pretty damn heavy...just haven't been doin' SQUATS, and DLs for almost 6 months now. I'm feelin' pissed off....cuz now I might get medically discharged cuz of my injury. Today I decided to try LEG PRESSES, and LEG EXTENSIONS......to my surprise it went well. about 6 sets on each....and got up to 600 plus pounds on the leg press....damn.....thats when I left off about 6 months ago. Pretty stoked!

So my question is......anybody out there that have the same injury as me????? If so...I just need some good opinions on how to get the injury healed, training around it...and etc. Again brothers....thanks in advance.

J Rambo

Semper Fidelis
Sgt
USMC

i aggravated my back doing dls begging of this summer back still hurts. i just try to use it as little as possible. i cant do dls i still squat heavy but for like pickin up dbs and such for db bench i get ym partner to drop them to me

[Pokoritel]

Ask BigAnt bro he knows a lot about this kind of thing. He will give you great advice.

[Mark Singh]

I had herniated a disc then had it rupture, meaning that the inside material of the disc burst out and then wrapped itself around a nerve. Had to do a procedure called microdiscectomy. Basically an incision was made to unwrap the material then pull it out.
Now prior to the rupture (caused by improper form on db rows) which is the stage I believe you may be at I would get lower back pains especially when doing squats or back exercises involving lower back.
I never investigated the problem. I always thought that some pain came with the territory. As such only when the disc ruptured and a sharp pain shot down my leg did I go to a neurosurgeon. At this stage I tried physiotheraphy but to no avail. The material was impinging a nerve which ran down my leg so I moved onto surgery as I could barely lift my leg due to pain.
You did not mention that you have pain running behind your butt and down your leg so the herniated disc may not be impinging on a nerve. You may try physio along with rest. the physio may involve some machine or exercises which aim to somewhat realign your spine. Sometimes all that is needed are mere millimetres of movement to ease the pain. rest along with special exercises aim to strengthen the damaged and/or inflamed area. These exercises definitely wont be deadlifts or squats.
Many times I would do exercises and not feel pain at that moment or even the next day. It would come later on, a few days later. I was told that this was common as exercise causes the release of endorphins which allows for a feeling of well being and which is also your body's natural pain killer. I would get a false sense of security thinking that my injury was getting better. Now i realize that I may have been making it worse.
My friend, healing will usually occur only with some great degree of rest to the damaged area. You do not want to have to go through surgery. It should be a last resort. If there is a chance for the injury to heal give it a chance along with physio depending on what your doctor (ortopedic or neurosurgeon) recommends. Another MRI at a later date will let you know if your treatment helped.
I will say that I wasn't supposed to lift for at least a year after the surgery but did. I stayed away from lifting heavy weights and exercises which compressed my spine especially squats and deadlifts. I only restarted squats and dls this year. My surgery was over 7 yrs ago. I'm 198lbs and i bench 325 raw, squat 315(with belt) and dl 400 (with belt). I can do more weight in squats and dls but choose not to. Instead i concentrate on other exercises and sometimes limit my range of motion and stress on my back. For instance I will do heavy db rows with strict form on a flat bench. By supporting my weight with the arm on the bench my lower back would not be stressed as much. i would do leg press but not let my knees reach chest or adjust the backrest to a more gentle angle. Everything however is done strictly. Even when doing other exercises attention to form is important. No swinging or excessive arching of back.
Kindly note that i am NOT a doctor but just wish to share my experience with you and others. I am open to correction and /or opinions. This is my first post so hope it helps my Animal brothers.

[theSjman]

i suffered the same damn thing warmin up on barbell rows in march...next morning i couldn't get out of bed. i went through torsion, massages, and tons of stretching and strengthing therapy for it. the mistake i kept making was not giving it sufficient rest so i just kept re-aggravating it. give it rest man. proper rest. no sense in further fucking whats already fucked