To ask for herniated disc experiences? (desperate)

Try and get to see a private physio asap, it will be worth the money you spend

look io the symptoms
for cauda eauina syndrome and if you develop any of the neurological the symptoms >> A&E

Please don't do any jogging! Not until you've had physiotherapy and rest. I've had herniated discs before and running very much aggravates them afterwards.

You poor thing. My exH has a job which involves a lot of heavy lifting and has had this 3 times (none of which appeared to be caused by a particularly heavy load but it must have weakened the discs. Once putting a sock on after a shower made it go). So I do have some indirect experience.

Obvs everyone is different, but these are the things he took away from the experts (he's fine now btw):

Can happen with a twist (esp twist and push/pull eg pushing a wheelbarrow around a corner/pulling a heavy cart across sand etc), not always heavy lifting, though that doesn't help.

Take anti inflammatories straight away and stay on them for as long as it takes. Ibuprofen etc or might be prescribed stronger ones.

When able to safely, do anything you can to stretch hamstrings out. Apparently a great deal of pressure is put on the lower back by tight hamstrings. He still stretches them out when he remembers and it always helps. Not many ppl seem to be told this but it's a great tip.

It will gradually ease off, all his took probably 3 months ish and one was so severe he was literally dragging himself to the bathroom on his elbows, couldn't walk at all at one point.

When walking exacerbated it, he used to either suddenly drop down onto his haunches (knees wide but feet close together, straight back, bum near the floor) or put one foot up on the inside of the opposite knee while standing straight. He looked crazy doing it during daily life but it helped. All depends on which disc of course.

Physio/chiro/whatever you can get is really helpful and needs making a priority.

Once up to it, any and all core strengthening exercises will be good for preventing recurrence (giving the spine a strong framework around it basically). Altho very fit and strong he hadn't actually done a lot of core work, and since doing that his back is loads better.

NO heavy lifting or careless/twisting movements yet obvs, but any gentle movement you can do is beneficial. Esp the hamstring stretch - even tiny amounts.

Oh, and try incredibly hard with whatever drugs might be needed NOT to get consipated! His pain was always worse when he needed to go and codeine often meant severe constipation which made it worse. Diclofenac helped him a lot but he was off his face on painkillers (from the doctor) at the worst of it. If they drug you up significantly, be very careful about driving/making decisions. He was seriously spaced out a lot of the time.

Take care and hope it eases off soon. Xx

I have a herniated disc and other issues but have a look at this website, it looks a bit crazy but he has some free resources and info I found really useful. Flexing forward exacerbates the problem because the bulge moves towards the back so you need to learn how to hip hinge.

Sorry if this has also been mentioned but sleeping with a pillow between your knees helps.

https://fitness4backpain.com/

NRTFT.

I had a herniated disc in my cervical spine (neck) surgically repaired about a month ago. They replaced it with an artificial one.

https://www.hss.edu/condition-list_disc-replacement.asp

It completely resolved the problem. You'll need an MRI to get a definitive diagnosis. Happy to answer any questions.

Sorry to read this. I would def not have a bath but have showers instead. Baths somehow did me in I think again it wasn’t a great position. My back has got better but my neck is now cricked - think my body is so unaligned.

I would get yourself to a highly recommended physio. Mine gave me a couple of exercises and they have really helped.

Get some physio.

This happened to me a few years ago and ended up with a standing desk for work which was great.

Keep moving.

If you are sat try not to lean to one side, physio told me to be symmetrical. So when working having phone and drink on left side to balance being right handed for pen and mouse.

Too much traditional stretching can be bad for discs! Do cobra back extensions every hour, 10x 10 seconds. This is the main thing that will start to help. And some cat calf stretches. And bridges to get your glutes and core fired up. Also for sleeping if you sleep on your side then put a pillow between your knees.

Amitriptyline and physio. Strengthening core is important but I’d give jogging a miss for now. My physio says no to yoga but recommends Pilates.

I have in my neck. Still waiting for a physio referral but in the meantime, Amitryptyline was diagnosed which helped hugely. It's now not causing me huge bother but I have limited neck movement. Doing my own gentle exercises helped too.

@fortunatelynot please see a physio - you actually need a proper diagnosis not a "think it is" one from a phone call. If it's not handled properly now then future outcomes could vary from not a problem to chronic severe back problems. Many surgeries have direct referral access to physio these days so check there first ,if not get some recommendations from people in your area.

https://www.tmswiki.org/forum/painrecovery/ fascinating

I empathise big time. Had a herniated disc for 2 years which caused 2 serious pain spells one of back pain then one of sciatica. Was on amitryptaline for the whole 2 years. Had a microdiscectomy 6 months ago but have herniated the same disc & currently bedridden and on opiods etc.

I'm taking 2 different steps this time. 1 seeing a Stuart MacGill lower back physio for an assessment in 2 weeks. I think my (great) regular physio actually did more harm than good after the op. 2 reading all about TMS. I agree with a lot of Healing back pain by John Carno which claims it's all caused by stress. But prefer a website which takes a slightly wider view & has a free 20 day programme to try to separate the pain from the fear (I'm terrified at this point that I'll never have a full life again). Will share the website soon.

Just to add OP I do recommend GP or A&E, depending how bad it is - you want them to have a record.

I went to A&E with mine each time - it was the most pain I’d ever been in, and I couldn’t walk or move properly at all. I was very worried.

The first time they sent me away with painkillers (tramadol and naproxen) to see if it got better by itself.

The second time they booked me in for an MRI - so it was good that I’d been the first time and they had a record of it. It was good to know precisely what we were dealing with. But even so, it was just a case of wait and see if it gets better on its own, in the first instance.

Interestingly having that record of the specific issue and vertebra is relates to has also been useful for other health things that have come up as well. Something to think about!

Hi OP, I’ve had a herniated disc twice at age 30/31 (also a sporty person).

As long as you have control of your bowel movements (grim I know) you’re ok. It certainly can takes many weeks to “heal”. For me, walking was best - staying on one position for a while was bad. I’d avoid jogging for now. Getting out of bed and on/off the toilet was the worst!!!

If you went to the GP they would likely tell you to wait to see how you got on, and if no improvement after 8 weeks or so you’d need a scan. Mostly it will improve on its own, with sensible gentle exercise and no more strain. After that, physio will help you to know how to strengthen the back muscles, legs and glutes without risking further injury.

The thing that worked best for me to manage the pain in the meantime was Naproxen, a powerful anti inflammatory with no sleepy side effects.

I hope it gets better. They told me that if it doesn’t, the usual option is surgery to remove the damaged disc and fuse the vertebrae. This can create problems later on so ideally avoided.

FWIW I’ve been mostly fine for years now, with careful exercise adaptations and management. Annoying thing is I’m now pregnant and already have sciatica and back pain as everything has started moving down there - I’d forgotten how it feels, it’s awful!

How strong is your core? I prolapsed a couple of discs in my 20s. I'm now in my fifties. The only thing that has worked for me is Pilates. A strong core will protect your back. You need to heal first though.

For m daily physio was the only thing that helped . I do the stretches everyday even tho I currently have no pain. I also do Pilates and yoga

Go and be examined and if required, have a scan. You can't reliably diagnose a herniated disc over the phone!!

How are you getting on? I had exactly the same a couple of weeks ago and it’s been horrendous. Exactly the same as you: the GP was pretty dismissive but the physio thinks a bulging disc at L3-4. He has helped a lot but says I’m very wonky as clearly my body is trying to minimise the pain so I’m standing in peculiar ways.

Two years ago I herniated the disc at L4-5 and it was again agony but actually healed quicker than this one did with lots of rest naproxen and paracetamol. The consultant said not being overweight was in my favour and the body should heal. The mri is a really good idea as it will show you what you’re dealing with.

Anyway I think going forward I need to insist on a scan as it’s still not right hence posting in middle of the night. I sometimes feel like there is something much more serious going on but hoping it’s just this and seeing how many others are posting on it I think it’s just a n age thing (also agree peri stuff isn’t helping as I’m 47 F).

The physio has said I must must must do Pilates to build up my core which will take pressure off the baxk muscles.

I had been really stressed shortly before this relapse.

My back “goes” every two or three months but this is the worst it’s been since the herniation. You have my sympathy - it sounds like you’re quite fit with the running and I’m sure that will work in your favour with recovery but def get that scan.

I found laying flat on my back and putting my foot under the sofa then pulling back to stretch the leg helped, it stretches the sciatic nerve. Google nerve flossing. I did end up having a microdiscectomy which gave me instant pain relief but that was after a few months of trying every other option including caudal steroid epidurals which gave some pain relief but not enough to live a normal life day to day. A good sports physio will help as well. Mine taught me a lot.

I've found physio, swimming and Pilates all very helpful. In the acute phrase, I was on heavy duty painkillers and also found heat very useful (though maybe don't do what I did and have heat on it constantly - I actually have some skin damage there now!)

I can't do any serious running, personally, as it seems to irritate it. I use a cross trainer machine at the gym which means I can get cardio in without back pain. In your case, I'd discuss running with a physio before doing lots of it just in case.

I've made a recovery to the point I don't need to regularly take painkillers, but I'll need to do certain exercises and be careful for the rest of my life I think (sometimes I worry about what will happen if I get old and am unable to exercise, but there's nothing I can do about that now!)

I’ve been there and send my sympathy.

many years ago we had a long running thread on the health boards called The Back Story, you might find some useful information on there.

My quick advice is rest, potter, rest.
Get decent analgesia from your GP
Try gentle physio or exercise in water
avoid all sitting
try both heat and ice
be patient

above all else avoid surgery unless you have absolutely no option. It ruined my life and I’m not alone.

best wishes

I have 6 herniated disc's going from one in my neck and two in the middle of my back and three lower back
Physio helps a lot as the sciatica is so painful and I take painkillers daily as I simply couldn't function without them as I work full time