These threads crop up now and then and as a ‘veteran’ of two probable herniated discs I though I’d share a couple of recent experiences

1) Physio – First time round I spent a lot of time and money on physio but feel it didn’t really aid the recovery, merely gave me more insight into future prevention. This time I only attended once in order to be sure it was actually a disc issue rather than an S.I. joint issue. He was very quick and confident to ‘diagnose’ it was a disc issue which gave me confidence in how I might recover. He then carried out some manipulations (basically variations of the McKenzie position) which seemed to help, although he then suggested I attended weekly appointments to continue this which I decided to pass on (£40 a pop for exercises I can do for free on my floor…)

2) Activity – First time I herniated a disc I spent two weeks effectively lying in bed. In hindsight I think this was a huge mistake and this time I have been taking my painkillers and applying heat packs in order to loosen up the spasm and get active as soon as possible. Short walks definitely made things feel better, however too much (city) walking at the early stages seemed to aggravate it more, keeping it to regular 20 minute strolls seemed to work.

3) Sit/Stand desk – I took two days off this time purely to avoid having to sit down for any length of time in the office. I knew this wasn’t a sustainable way to treat it so I invested in a £175 Ikea Skarsta Sit/Stand desk to allow me to work whilst standing. I found myself pinning my hopes on this desk a little too much and had to warn myself that it might not be everything I hoped. However it’s been a revelation in terms of recovery time, although by the end of the day I do get a little tired from standing I can then just lower the desk to the sitting position for an hour or two before finishing up. The improvement in my back has been huge and very immediate.

4) Exercises – I’m sticking with basic (read BASIC) pilates stuff, basically crunches, bridges and now some planks. The big deal for me is keeping this going permanently. I find Pilates classes to be a pain in the ass as you have to book ‘terms’ and are obliged to attend fixed dates and times, which didn’t work with my semi-busy work schedule. I’ve noticed Virgin does a whole range of drop in core and yoga classes which almost make the £60/month fee look worthwhile. I’ll do a few more weeks basic exercises before I entertain a gym membership though…

Anyway, nothing earth shattering in the above but the first time it happened to me I was despondent as it felt like the end of my active life, whereas this time I feel more that it is just a 6 week inconvenience 8)

I hear you. I herniated 2 in my neck last spring. I was full on hospital for a week on IV morphine and then a few weeks very sore in bed and another couple of months without activity. I was told I would probably need an operation and at the start they told me I´d never bike again. Black times. I was riding a bike 3 months afterwards and now, about a year after, I´m getting some strength back in my shoulder. I still don´t feel some fingers in my hand but it´s no big deal. No pain, strength back and plenty of mobility back is a big win for me. I´m almost back up to full speed on the bike, not quite.

I´ve got a really good office chair which has definitely helped. When things get sore I sit in that at nights too. I´m doing yoga to help with the strengthening and flexibility and I think it´s getting slowly better. I´ve bought some Ryan Leech yoga sessions which are great and that Yoga Abi which are less so, especially because her voice grates on me! I also got a good book about core strength which made a lot of sense, it´s called CORE ADVANTAGE and it might be worth you checking out as you mention crunches. The guy is very anti crunches.

I hope your recovery continues!

Interesting! I hadn’t put too much faith in crunches previously but as I’m only 2 weeks into my recovery I like an exercise which doesn’t required too much movement or instability. With the crunches I’m doing I’m basically immobile below the shoulder blades. Admittedly I would prefer to engage the muscles lower down as crunches seem to work the muscles closer to the rib cage.

I’m also doing anti-rotations with a theraband around a door handle, they seem very good.

Most of 2015 was written off for me biking wise due to a prolapsed disc. Last time I rode offroad was last June 🙁

I’ve started Pilates classes recently though and I’m feeling the benefits already (4 wks in). Hopefully I’ll be back on the bike soon 🙂

This guy talks about how bad crunches are for our spines and offers alternative exercises. Also he talks about the core not just being the stomach but the back, shoulders and tops of the legs. All about gaining stability. I´ve been doing it a few weeks now but it´s hard to separate the effect from everything else. I like the exercises though and it´s very easy for me to fit into my day. I can even do them in 15 minutes while taking a turn driving the shuttle van.

I find yoga the biggest help for me with recovery, oh and snowboarding seems to almost magically fix my back – must be all the flexing and twisting. Basically activity, stretching, getting up and about is the best thing for it, sitting down for long periods of time is the devils work. Biking is a mixed bag and often I find the symptoms get worse for me after spending a few hours on the bike – not good!

Tried to be conscious of my posture when sitting, but it’s all to easy to slouch on the sofa when you forget about it. And I forget about it most of the time if I’m honest. Therefore lots of core work is essential – can plank for over 5 mins now no problem so really do have a core of steel.

Biking is a mixed bag and often I find the symptoms get worse for me after spending a few hours on the bike – not good!

Yeah… I was trying to keep my post positive in that respect but while I’m keen to get back out on the Munros (in my hiking boots) I have been considering a year off the bike until I’m in 5-minute-plank condition!

sitting down for long periods of time is the devils work

I’ll say it again, I’m loving my sit/stand desk! Although have been warned about developing cankles from standing too much 😀

I found that riding actually helped me. I think it´s stress related. I now do things like leave 10 minutes early for a car journey so I can relax rather than rush. That makes a big difference. I try no to let myself get stressed at all if I can help it and I can actually feel the pain increase when stress or anger levels rise. Little things, like trying never to drive in France have helped as well 🙂

Can I ask how you ended up with herniated discs? I have generally bad back and posture so would be good to know what not to do!

Gah….. Just had 2 weeks off work: put my back-out one Sunday night, then almost recovered before doing it again.

The pain was quite amazing – felt nothing quite like it before 😯

Just had my first session with my physio – and it’s been worse for a few days following…. Is that normal?

Edit: sorry bigjim. Was basically told that it’s an inevitable outcome of having a desk job – my ct scan was pretty good, nothing worse than 90% of people my age apparently

I wish I knew bigjim. I know that my shoulder and arm was sore, I just MTFU´d and kept on going. Gradually it got worse until it was hard to sleep but that´s not very unusual with my job and little injuries. Just more vitamin-I and keep on going and they go away after a bit. This time it got worse and then suddenly really a lot worse.

I don´t have a clue what caused it initially. I think I´m very strong in some muscles and weak in others. I was also lifting a baby quite a lot. I was also training for the EWS, doing weights and some pretty intense riding. Then it was the start of the season so pretty stressed. Maybe one of those things, maybe them all? I guess I¨ll never know. Maybe if I hadn´t been such a stupid man I would have listened to my body and stopped exercising a bit, or even go to the Dr´s.

One of the biggest causes of back pain IME as a chiropractor (and a sufferer of multiple disc bulges and surgery) is poor movement patterns and hip mobility issues. There’s a number of functional reasons for this, including sitting for too long but it inevitably leads to a back injury as you struggle to keep a neutral and stable lumbar lordosis when bending/training/lifting which is essential in maintaining stability in the spine and discs.

This is usually combined with poor engagement of certain muscles i.e. “the core”, but also the glutes which are hugely important in hip and low back extension. You can train the core muscles as much as you like, but you need to also work on restoring appropriate movement patterns in the low back and hips too. Personally I’ve found Yoga is great for this, as well as things like “Foundation Training” on YouTube.