Herniated L5

**Buildingmuscle** · 01-08-2010, 10:34 AM

My L5 is herniated, I have been doing everything possible to keep from having surgery. From taking medicine from back doctor and physical therapy. Now I'm doing spinal decompression therapy right now, I'm going on my second week of it. They say this type of treatment can heal buldging, herinated and degenerated disks they give you a belt to wear, special inserts for your shoes and supplements to take to help nourish the disks. They also take you through rehab to help strenghten the weak muscles. This is my last step of trying to heal it before having surgery I hope it works. I'm to the point that I can't hardly move for the pain that is going down my leg.

I will let you know how it works.

Got a question, if I end up having to have surgery is it possible to still bodybuild I mean have some bodybuilders Gone through this same thing and still continued to bodybuild

really getting down and depressed over it. Hope I can continue to bodybuild

**Dont wanna be old** · 01-08-2010, 10:57 AM

There is no reason you can't .
There's MMA fighters that still compete in the cage after back surgery . ( proper recovery )
Just hang in there and be patient .

Good luck

**Buildingmuscle** · 01-08-2010, 11:05 AM

Originally Posted by Dont wanna be old

There is no reason you can't .
There's MMA fighters that still compete in the cage after back surgery . ( proper recovery )
Just hang in there and be patient .

Good luck

thanks For the encouragment. It's been tuff, going from doing whatever to now just mostly laying around. I feel like I've put in a full days work just by getting up and getting ready everyday

**matt77** · 01-08-2010, 12:20 PM

Just had the surgery on L5-S1 on 11/19. Im recovering decently, still no weights though, which is depressing. I have been staying busy doing light cardio and mild body weight exercise. The surgery was very quick, in and out on the sofa at home in less that 4 hrs. Now the first 3-4 days are bad but after that it starts getting better. My Dr. has done almost 3000 of these with only 1 failure. He said in 6 months my body would be 100% if I took care of myself and didn't push it.

**Buildingmuscle** · 01-08-2010, 12:38 PM

Originally Posted by matt77

Just had the surgery on L5-S1 on 11/19. Im recovering decently, still no weights though, which is depressing. I have been staying busy doing light cardio and mild body weight exercise. The surgery was very quick, in and out on the sofa at home in less that 4 hrs. Now the first 3-4 days are bad but after that it starts getting better. My Dr. has done almost 3000 of these with only 1 failure. He said in 6 months my body would be 100% if I took care of myself and didn't push it.

Hope you do good and recover 100%

keep me updated on how your doing

I get so down and feel useless like life is over, I mean I'm going to lose everything over this and get behind on child support and everything because of it and there's not a thing I can do about it. No money coming now where I can't work. Life is tuff

**Failure** · 01-08-2010, 09:51 PM

When I herniated my L1 and L2 they gave me 3 cortizone shots. It made the pain go right away. They last about 7 years, I got them over 10 years ago and I am doing well.

The reason they gave me the shots is because i went through UPS panel doctors and they didn't want to pay for surgery. The surgeons that I went to on my own actually said that you want to do surgery as a last resort. I guess it's because you have limited disk material and if there is a problem down the line again you may need to get the bones fused.

**firsttimer555** · 01-08-2010, 10:00 PM

I have been right where you are 5 years ago i had a lower back fusion on 4 of my disc,still have pain but no where near what it was before exspecially when it would go down the legs. Be careful with the physical thearpy if the disc is on the nerve you have a chance of cutting it and being paralized thats y i had the surgery. GOOD LUCK if you have any questions just ask

**Buildingmuscle** · 01-09-2010, 10:08 AM

Originally Posted by firsttimer555

I have been right where you are 5 years ago i had a lower back fusion on 4 of my disc,still have pain but no where near what it was before exspecially when it would go down the legs. Be careful with the physical thearpy if the disc is on the nerve you have a chance of cutting it and being paralized thats y i had the surgery. GOOD LUCK if you have any questions just ask

I've got pain that starts at my lower left back down my hip and the pain goes down the back of my leg and to my calf, and my toes are a little numb. I have always been able to deal with pain pretty good but this pain I have Now hurts worse than any pain I've ever had. Sometimes just getting up and down it will bring tears to the eyes

I hope this spinal decomprssion works.

**Buildingmuscle** · 01-09-2010, 10:11 AM

Originally Posted by firsttimer555

I have been right where you are 5 years ago i had a lower back fusion on 4 of my disc,still have pain but no where near what it was before exspecially when it would go down the legs. Be careful with the physical thearpy if the disc is on the nerve you have a chance of cutting it and being paralized thats y i had the surgery. GOOD LUCK if you have any questions just ask

Are you still able to train? I've got goals I want to accomplish I just hope this won't keep me from accmplishing them

**Buildingmuscle** · 01-09-2010, 10:17 AM

Originally Posted by Failure

When I herniated my L1 and L2 they gave me 3 cortizone shots. It made the pain go right away. They last about 7 years, I got them over 10 years ago and I am doing well.

The reason they gave me the shots is because i went through UPS panel doctors and they didn't want to pay for surgery. The surgeons that I went to on my own actually said that you want to do surgery as a last resort. I guess it's because you have limited disk material and if there is a problem down the line again you may need to get the bones fused.

did you have pain going down your leg or anything

**matt77** · 01-09-2010, 12:23 PM

Originally Posted by Buildingmuscle

I've got pain that starts at my lower left back down my hip and the pain goes down the back of my leg and to my calf, and my toes are a little numb. I have always been able to deal with pain pretty good but this pain I have Now hurts worse than any pain I've ever had. Sometimes just getting up and down it will bring tears to the eyes

I hope this spinal decomprssion works.

The leg pain is called sciatica. It is caused by the herniated disc pushing on the sciatic nerve that sends pain down the leg. To me it was the worst pain ever. I could handle the back pain but the leg pain is what finally made me get the surgery. Get a few opinions from different Drs. and find one that has done lots of surgeries with a high success rate. Eventually the nerve can be damaged. So the pain may never go away or you lose use of your leg. Since the nerve is pinched its a lot more serious than just a herniation. I'd personally reccomend getting 4 opionions. 2 from Nerousurgeons and 2 from Orthopedic surgeons. I went with an Ortho myself because of his success rate and bed side manner made me feel better about the surgery. Good Luck!!

**yannick35** · 01-09-2010, 12:41 PM

Please take some time to visit this website which is quite amazing www.rebuildyourback.com

There is a program that you can download for 20$ but i can poste it here for free since he did it and its great, its to decompress the lower back.

Also look into prolotherapy it has saved my life. I am now back in training after 8 years of lax ligament pain and 2 discopathy dried disc in my lower back.

I have been on animal flex joint supplement for 2 years now and collagen to feed the disc same has you, and might go for another MRI this year to see if it made a difference.

I just started squatting again but with 135 pounds, also doing deadlifts with around 180 pounds. Forms are always first choice and both exercise are done to improve core strenght.

Good luck and speedy recovery to anyone with theses pains.

**Buildingmuscle** · 01-09-2010, 04:08 PM

Thanks for all the info.

it's Sad people have to go through the things they do

**yannick35** · 01-09-2010, 09:43 PM

Originally Posted by Buildingmuscle

Thanks for all the info.

it's Sad people have to go through the things they do

Fuken A on that buddy, but then it makes it easier to understand the pain of others and help them out.

Yoga is very good for back pain, the cobra is king to decompress the lower back.

I currently have the P90X program and the Yoga X is quite amazing, now if i can have the courage to get true the whole an hour and a half of it.

Lol

**Buildingmuscle** · 01-10-2010, 10:10 AM

Originally Posted by yannick35

Fuken A on that buddy, but then it makes it easier to understand the pain of others and help them out.

Yoga is very good for back pain, the cobra is king to decompress the lower back.

I currently have the P90X program and the Yoga X is quite amazing, now if i can have the courage to get true the whole an hour and a half of it.

Lol

your right now when I see someone all humped over or dragging their leg or somethng the first thought that comes to mind Is they Must be in some serious pain And you always hope you can help someone

I've never done yoga always heard it was good for you. I'll give it a try as soon as I get where I can move Right now I can't even get through a basic stretching routine

**yannick35** · 01-10-2010, 10:29 AM

Originally Posted by Buildingmuscle

your right now when I see someone all humped over or dragging their leg or somethng the first thought that comes to mind Is they Must be in some serious pain And you always hope you can help someone

I've never done yoga always heard it was good for you. I'll give it a try as soon as I get where I can move Right now I can't even get through a basic stretching routine

Don't jump into yoga just now, at least i wouldn't if i was you, what i am about to tell you will suck, and probably suck real hard, but man you need to back down and go true your rehab, and has much has possible avoid fall backs because they are the ones that hurt the most.

I cannot comment on decompression treatment that you are going true right now because i never used one, and i never really spoken to anyone that did them either.

One thing for sure is that if you do reseach on prolotherapy most websites will tell you that science and a bunch of crap like that never proved it to work.

The same thing with glucosamine and collagen supplements they say it will not work because they have no money to make out of it.

**yannick35** · 01-10-2010, 10:32 AM

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC165439/

Check this study out its very interesting

**yannick35** · 01-10-2010, 09:05 PM

Forgot to mention, i bought an inversion table soon after i got my MRI results about my 2 dehydrated discs, after each training session i decompress my back with it.

Its one hell of a rehab tool and most of them are cheap, i bought it at Sears so don't buy into that Teeters hype, an inversion table is an inversion table.

If you decide to check into this remember to never fully invert, set it at 30 degrees first and test yourself and never ever go more then 60 degrees.

I usually invert for 5 minutes and that does the trick, and its all you need too.

**Buildingmuscle** · 01-11-2010, 11:08 AM

Originally Posted by yannick35

Forgot to mention, i bought an inversion table soon after i got my MRI results about my 2 dehydrated discs, after each training session i decompress my back with it.

Its one hell of a rehab tool and most of them are cheap, i bought it at Sears so don't buy into that Teeters hype, an inversion table is an inversion table.

If you decide to check into this remember to never fully invert, set it at 30 degrees first and test yourself and never ever go more then 60 degrees.

I usually invert for 5 minutes and that does the trick, and its all you need too.

thanks for all the info and advice I really Appreciate it

I've been doing alot of reading on different sites, seems like there are so many different things out there to do and it's sad but I'd say most are a waste of time and money.
Sometimes I think maybe I should just go ahead and have the surgery

Just hope something works

**yannick35** · 01-11-2010, 05:22 PM

Originally Posted by Buildingmuscle

thanks for all the info and advice I really Appreciate it

I've been doing alot of reading on different sites, seems like there are so many different things out there to do and it's sad but I'd say most are a waste of time and money.
Sometimes I think maybe I should just go ahead and have the surgery

Just hope something works

Well i would definitly go for surgery, i know lots of people that got the surgery, and everything went fine. I would do a lot of reseach before the surgery to find a good place to get it done.

Most people are back to there normal life in no time, also after surgery get some prolotherapy to strenghten the weak ligaments and you will be all set to go.

Good luck

**yannick35** · 01-11-2010, 09:18 PM

Don't forget to eat right, and if you are overweight try to lose has much bodyfat has possible, Hauser the guy that pertty has all the prolotherapy in the US said that for it to work you need to have a healthy immune system for the ligaments and tendons to get stronger from the treatment.

I am starting to feel the full effect of prolotherapy after a year and a half of treatment but last year i had a shitttty year, lost my job from a place which i hated like shit, almost got separated with my GF and almost sold the house, and a lot more, all that combined and going on a 3 month burnout got my immune system really weak and i did not get full benefit for prolo.

Keeping the body strong by eating good source of protein, low glycemic carbs and fiber, lots of veggies but watch the fruits if trying to lose weight.

**rebelstate** · 01-12-2010, 10:09 AM

had surgery for ruptured (massive) L4/L5 discs in 1998 i could not feel my leg cause it pressed on my nerves..would not waste time with all those rememdys that aint gonna work,just do the surgery and get it over with and start the heeling,i stay active and dont have any problems

**Buildingmuscle** · 01-12-2010, 10:26 AM

Originally Posted by yannick35

Don't forget to eat right, and if you are overweight try to lose has much bodyfat has possible, Hauser the guy that pertty has all the prolotherapy in the US said that for it to work you need to have a healthy immune system for the ligaments and tendons to get stronger from the treatment.

I am starting to feel the full effect of prolotherapy after a year and a half of treatment but last year i had a shitttty year, lost my job from a place which i hated like shit, almost got separated with my GF and almost sold the house, and a lot more, all that combined and going on a 3 month burnout got my immune system really weak and i did not get full benefit for prolo.

Keeping the body strong by eating good source of protein, low glycemic carbs and fiber, lots of veggies but watch the fruits if trying to lose weight.

man I know what you mean in the past 4 yrs I've been through divorce, and because of the divorce, job lose, bankruptcy, lost everything I've had 3 times and now this I need a break for a change Gets depressing , I mean I'm a nice person would help anyone I work hard and seems like nothing ever goes right

**Buildingmuscle** · 01-12-2010, 10:28 AM

Originally Posted by rebelstate

had surgery for ruptured (massive) L4/L5 discs in 1998 i could not feel my leg cause it pressed on my nerves..would not waste time with all those rememdys that aint gonna work,just do the surgery and get it over with and start the heeling,i stay active and dont have any problems

Yeah the more I think about the more I think I might as well get the surgery

**Turkey** · 01-12-2010, 02:27 PM

Originally Posted by matt77

The leg pain is called sciatica. It is caused by the herniated disc pushing on the sciatic nerve that sends pain down the leg. To me it was the worst pain ever. I could handle the back pain but the leg pain is what finally made me get the surgery. Get a few opinions from different Drs. and find one that has done lots of surgeries with a high success rate. Eventually the nerve can be damaged. So the pain may never go away or you lose use of your leg. Since the nerve is pinched its a lot more serious than just a herniation. I'd personally reccomend getting 4 opionions. 2 from Nerousurgeons and 2 from Orthopedic surgeons. I went with an Ortho myself because of his success rate and bed side manner made me feel better about the surgery. Good Luck!!

this is exactly what I have, and have had now for a little over 5 years

it's not chronic, and only 'acts up' about once a year, usually if i haven't taken enough rest days....I feel the pain radiate into my left leg and ass cheek, and sometimes in my hip flexors....it's more of an incredibly uncomfortable feeling than a painful one, but a sudden movement does cause a sharp pain

when it does start bothering me, I take 2-3 days from all exercise, eat very very clean (lots of EFAs), and I'm good to go with moderate lifting and cardio by the 4th-5th day...

when I first got hurt (herniated L5), I was essentially paralyzed from the inflammation, and had to be taken out of my house by ambulance on a board....I was reall f***ed for about 2 weeks, but the Medrol helped tremendously with the inflammation....pain-killers did essentially nothing but make me forget i was in pain LOL

ever since, I've taken a totally different approach to training:

-LOTS of core work....helps you use your core as opposed to your lower back, and this has really really helped....more bodyweight exercises in general

-cardio 6 times a week....keeps me loose

-one week off lifting every 6 months

**Buildingmuscle** · 01-12-2010, 03:02 PM

So, you didn't have any surgery done at all? Turkey

**Turkey** · 01-12-2010, 05:56 PM

Originally Posted by Buildingmuscle

So, you didn't have any surgery done at all? Turkey

no surgery....the severity of my injury was more due to the horrendous inflammation I had, as opposed to fixing the disc....the inflammation was causing so much pressure on my sciatic nerve that I was practically stuck standing or lying down....sitting was impossible for the first 2 weeks

but I started walking (more like pacing) around my house after about the 5th day.....walking kept the pain at bay, and I'm sure the increased blood flow helped with repair and relieved the stiffness....

now, whenever this bs flares up, I start walking (slooow pace) as much as possible throughout the day, as soon as possible

**Buildingmuscle** · 01-16-2010, 09:42 AM

I've been doing the spinal decompression for 2 weeks now and the past two days it seems like I'm doing better. I don't know if I'm having some good days or what but I haven't had any like this for a long time. I mean I still hurt but it hasn't been taking me as long to get moving as it was, and when I sit it doesn't take me as long to straighten up. Something I'm doing must be helping or like I said I'm having a couple Better days

The guy I'm going to for the therapy said I would feel some better in a couple weeks. Would be awesome if this therapy does work. Cause I do have a herniated disk cause te MRI shows it.

**firsttimer555** · 01-16-2010, 11:57 AM

yes i still able to train but i womt be the on einr the gym with huge amounts of weight, once you get the disc off the nerve you will be good to go

**yannick35** · 01-17-2010, 03:10 AM

Just quit squats and deadlift myself, my sport doctor told me that with time they cause wear and tear to the disc of the spine. I weight train 5-6 times per week and have now switch to bodyweight squats so no pressure on the neck and spine.

**Buildingmuscle** · 01-17-2010, 11:18 AM

Originally Posted by yannick35

Just quit squats and deadlift myself, my sport doctor told me that with time they cause wear and tear to the disc of the spine. I weight train 5-6 times per week and have now switch to bodyweight squats so no pressure on the neck and spine.

Do you hit everything else pretty hard?

**Buildingmuscle** · 01-18-2010, 12:02 PM

Got a question
I was on a cycle of test and deca when my back did what it did. I wasn't and haven't been training anywhere close to the amount of weight that I had lifted in the past If you read some of my past posts you will see I've got a few years of cycle experience And I follow a pretty clean diet. I noticed that after the injury and I went off my cycle and a few weeks later went from still been able to train to not being able to hardly make it through a basic stretching routine.
My question is. Even though I'm not training and only doing rehab would doing some test and deca help me I mean I know it shouldn't hurt anything I know deca helps me with aches and pains I mean if nothing else it would help me keep some muscle mass and strenght to make it through which is a little bit more less depressing.

What would you guys suggest?

**Buildingmuscle** · 01-25-2010, 07:32 PM

Has anyone heard of The Bonati Laser Discectomy for herniated disks

**magaton** · 01-28-2010, 07:57 PM

Wow, sorry to hear this.

I just herinated my C6/C7 last monday and two docs and telling me only the surgery will fix it. One said i could try the epiderals and all the other bs but that only surgery will fix the problem. He actually said i could wait 8-10 weeks and see if it get s better. HAHA i can't even lay down in bed to sleep, i have been sleeping sitting up on a couch for over a week. 8-10 more....F-that!

I had 3 epiderals on my bulging disc at L5/S1 in 2001 and it did great for me. But that was for a bulging disc, not herniated. I don't do any dead lifts and am very carfeul lifting....well i was.

I have been hearing 6 moths after surgery and all is good. I just want to know if i will be able to continue lifting for bulking?

Good Luck with your decision.

**firsttimer555** · 01-28-2010, 08:22 PM

as long as you rest and do what the dr. says during the 3 months following surgery and let your back heal you will be good to go. If you have a choice take bone from your hip to fuse disc not cadaver bone you will heal faster.

**matt77** · 01-28-2010, 08:44 PM

Originally Posted by Buildingmuscle

Has anyone heard of The Bonati Laser Discectomy for herniated disks

My surgeon told me that the laser only was successful on small herinations and if it was a big one it wouldn't work because it could leave fragments of the disc in there that could cause more issues.

Speaking of fusions, there are a few surgeons using a new procedure that doesn't require using a harvested bone for the graph. They are using the actual spinial bones to fuse it. Its suppose to heal faster and be less painful. May be worth looking into if you need a fusion.

**Buildingmuscle** · 01-30-2010, 11:47 AM

Originally Posted by matt77

My surgeon told me that the laser only was successful on small herinations and if it was a big one it wouldn't work because it could leave fragments of the disc in there that could cause more issues.

Speaking of fusions, there are a few surgeons using a new procedure that doesn't require using a harvested bone for the graph. They are using the actual spinial bones to fuse it. Its suppose to heal faster and be less painful. May be worth looking into if you need a fusion.

Thanks Matt, that's good to know. I was surfing the net and just came across that site about the laser. So many things and different techniques. Hard to know what will work and what won't

**matt77** · 01-30-2010, 01:05 PM

I know what you mean! I did the same as you and looked around and researched for a while to make sure I was making the best choice of treatment. But in the end it didn't matter for me because the herniation was so massive.

**Kratos** · 01-30-2010, 04:22 PM

laser is a joke

the only operations that would apply as standard of care for you are
micro discectomy
fusion
disc replacement (total disc arthroplasty)

**Buildingmuscle** · 01-30-2010, 07:07 PM

Thanks guys. Helps alot to hear from people who's got knowledge in this area. Makes making choices on what to do alot easier
I Really appreciate it too.