To ask for herniated disc experiences? (desperate)

[fortunatelynot]

Hello all

Ten days ago I woke with a lower back ache. For the next three days I could not move at all easily with pain in my lower back. It improved but since then I can barely sit and struggle to straighten up after sitting. I have spoken to a doctor over the phone (I had a call scheduled for something else) and described the pain. He 'thinks' it is a herniated disc; having googled it for ages, I think he is right.

I'm mid forties and pretty fit - I run about 25 miles a week. Bizarrely I have been able to jog short distances - I know this sounds crazy but at periods during the day, when I am upright, it feels better. Sitting, even going to the toilet (sorry) is agony when I stand up. I can sleep on my side but literally any sitting/driving etc is so painful. My lower back feels so weak; even reaching forward to put shoes on hurts.

I have never had any type of back issues and this has come out of the blue. The doctor did not really give any helpful advice (although to be fair, the call was for something else).

Any experience of this?

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

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

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.

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!

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!

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.

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

@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.

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.

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.

Hello all

Thank you so much for your messages - my mum has been unwell so haven't got round to replying. The good news is that things are finally feeling better. I was having pain sitting for even minutes but now it is feeling better though still difficult to get off the toilet(!) and also for some reason, aching when I get up each morning.

I also feel very stiff - possibly because I am worried about stretching too much and something popping out of place?

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.

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.

Thanks for your messages. Unfortunately it seems to have flared up again - I have an appointment with the musco-skeletal nurse at my GP on Monday.

It seemed to be getting better but the last few days it has been agony to sit for any length of time. I'm already sick of it! I feel better when I'm moving but am struggling to lay in the bath for a soak, drive for any distance, sit on the sofa at night and get off the toilet!

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.

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.

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/

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

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.

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

I also recommend seeing a physio who specialises in backs. You probably need a proper assessment and personalised advice.

I also recommend Tom Morrison, (mentioned above) but I absolutely couldn't have followed his recommendations for many months when I first herniated a disc. It was way too painful. I think you need a period of time to reduce inflammation before building back core strength. And definitely don't run at this point -it will almost certainly make things worse.

I had two degenerative and dehydrated bulging discs. Agony. I saw a chiropractor weekly. I lay on the floor with my knees up at a 90 degree angle with an ice pack under my damaged discs. Did this for months. Never sat on the sofa. Quick 10 minute walks only (no lingering at the shops.) Eventually I was able to put my foot back on the floor/stop meds/walk normally. Did a phased return to work but the discs went again. However just 3 weeks off this time and it has never happened since - 10 years. Doctor said it could go at any time - just live your best life. I swear by Joya shoes. Don't even see a chiropractor these days. Good luck OP x

Please go and have an MRI, even if everyone pooh-poohs you. No one has X-ray vision but a scan does. Then you can get the help you actually need rather than relying on what someone 'thinks'.

My late husband had back pain. He saw a private physio who laughed at the idea of a scan and gave him some (useless) exercises to do.
Two years later, he was bedridden with pain. It took 2.5 weeks for him to be well enough to be able to stagger to our car for a private appointment. That doctor also thought slipped disc but recommended an MRI which is when we learned it was not a disc problem at all.
If he had had a scan at the get-go, he'd probably be alive today...

An MRI is your most direct route to pain-free living. Why wait?

A back brace was a life changer for me: not from Amazon, but fitted properly at an orthopaedic shop. It allows me to get through the flare ups without medication.

Thank you for all of your kind messages and advice.

I will ask for an MRI at my appointment on Monday (although worry how long the waiting time for this might be).
It is very strange as the things that you would think would help (resting/sitting/soaking in bath) make things a heck of a lot worse. I am usually a very fit person and am worried that there is this 'weakness' now in my back.

It felt better a few days ago and then I did lift something through to the garden (which I would normally do). I am thinking that this may have caused it to flare up which is concerning as it suggests that things I would normally do could cause this issue. Initially, a few weeks ago, the pain started as a deep ache that I felt when I got up one morning (I hadn't done anything strenuous the day before). And if it WAS lifting something in the garden that caused it to flare up again, I didn't feel any pain at the time. It then came on the next day.

Plus I hate taking painkillers!