[Closed] Prolapsed lower lumbar disc - need/want to/must keep riding

I've a herniated disc (8 years on), terrible sciatica at first and riding usually helped it. Don't notice any benefit in that sense from full sus.
B+ deffo more comfortable than standard HT obviously. If the position on your HT doesn't lead to pain, why change and risk the changing position of FS. Just my thoughts/experience.

Also seen a few people recommend using getting a Thudbuster to help reduce the shock transfer when hitting lumps n bumps.

I think it's more to do with the bend of your back when you ride. For me, the bend opened the discs a little, allowing pressure to release, and ease the pain. I'd be surprised if the shock transfer you're talking of would be a problem.

@boxelder riding position is pretty easy to adjust and currently comfortable, did a gentle 8 mile flat land ride today, nice and slow on anything rough and no pain after. My main concern though l is repeated impacts over many hours whilst in the saddle.

Shock transfer up the spine was something my consultant told me to avoid.
according to a recent MRI I have a 2nd prolapsed disc, the first one required surgery. I've moved mostly to full suss and my sciatica has been kept at bay for the last couple of years.
Most notably my Bird Aeris seems very back friendly compared to other bikes I own/have ridden, possibly the length of it.

I had a prolapse disc a few years back. While waiting for surgery I gave acupuncture a try.....i did not believe in what I thought was mumbo jumbo....but wow, made such a difference I never had the surgery. Not for everyone I know, but works for me.

I did mine on 2nd March. Finally managed to get a referral to physio on 12th June. They don't seem to want to give me an MRI. I'm able to do most things now but been warned off mountain biking. I went to Swinley last week, I managed to get around the blue. Normally I do the red with no problem but I felt too unfit and uncomfortable to attempt it. I went on my old Turner flux as I thought full suspension would be better for my back. I have recently bought a Stanton Switchback ti but wondering now if I should go back to full sun. Aeris 120 or 145?? 🙂

I'm really really cautious of mountain biking but want to be able to have the rigth bike once I can get back too it properly.
I looked at the Aeris, only thing is its lacking frame space which I'd like for the rides I'm planning to do. Just following the HT550 and the lead rider is on a Salsa Spearfish, shame they're so expensive and rare over here!
Wonder if a plus size hard tail with a Thudbuster might be the ticket - not too expansive but a nice cushy ride out the back end...

mudmonster - Member
I did mine on 2nd March. Finally managed to get a referral to physio on 12th June. They don't seem to want to give me an MRI. I'm able to do most things now but been warned off mountain biking. I went to Swinley last week, I managed to get around the blue. Normally I do the red with no problem but I felt too unfit and uncomfortable to attempt it. I went on my old Turner flux as I thought full suspension would be better for my back. I have recently bought a Stanton Switchback ti but wondering now if I should go back to full sun. Aeris 120 or 145??

It's frustrating, I recognised the symptoms of my 2nd prolapsed disc but had X-rays, saw a specialist and wasted time on pointless physio for a misdiagnosed injury in a totally different part of my back. By the time I had the MRI I had stopped doing the physio and rested instead, combined with some gentle riding the pain subsided. The misguided physio simply aggravated the problem. An MRI at the outset would have saved a lot of time and NHS money.

I hear the 120 is very capable.

Go and pay for a bike fitting.

26 years since double discectomy caused by poor fitting bike.

lowey - I already had one last year. Are you sure poor bike fitting was the main reason for you? I spend most of my working life sat at a desk on cheap shit chairs, I'd say poor posture and ruined core strength from sitting on my arse for thousands of hours has done me more harm than the time I spent riding pre-bike fitting.
This month I've spent £350 on a pair of 2nd hand Humanscale office chairs plus bought a new mattress. My hours at work are now a lot more comfortable than they have ever been!

I've a prolapsed disc at L3. I used NHS physios for a while with little use; then went to see an Osteopath.

He snapped and cracked it regularly for a while and it helped a lot. He also gave me exercises to do on a daily basis; as long as I do those it will hold up to a day on the bike.

I had back surgery last year and have moved from carbon XC bike to full-sus trail bike.

Have a search for Sciatica on here and you'll find a few threads which may be of interest.

There is a wide range of things that you can do that might help, but ultimately you've got to identify which ones are good for you (probably through trial and error).

After my two prolapses I found the cx bike (mine is more at the touring end of the scale) was better than the mtb. I could adjust my riding position, I could arch my back the 'correct' way and I wasnt riding trails which resulted in so much impact. After slowly building back up on this (including increased Pilates, private physio and changing to standing desks etc), I find I can ride the mountain bike now fine. However, the reason I had a second prolapse is because I didnt take the time the first time to deal with the whole of my life which resulted in the second. Take is steady dude - better in the long run.

I have a disc that pops out to say hello once every couple of years.
I used to run one of the old ceramic metal matrix Stumpjumpers a few years ago. Its stiffness totally wrecked my back - after a one full day ride I lay down to rest in my living room and literally couldn't get up for nearly an hour as my back had just locked up. While lying there and swearing, i
it made me re-think my bike needs completely. I switched to a carbon Scott Spark 26" with a fox rear shock instead of the rubbish DTSwiss original and it has been fantastic - I have had no back issues when riding it at all, even for full day riding. So my advice would be to avoid stiff hardtails - a steel HT may well be ok, but a short-travel full-suss may just be what you are looking for for the longer term.
I did think about a bike fit too, but I have never been sure if it makes sense for a mountain bike, it seems more appropriate to road bikes, where you in are pretty static position when riding. Happy to be over-ruled though as I have no experience of having one.

Good luck.

I went back to Swinley yesterday and took the Turner flux again. Although it's very outdated and unfashionable it is great for the flat but undulating terrain there. Managed to do the red, feel tired today but don't think I've made the Sciatica worse. I'll take the Switchback next time and see how I feel. If I'd have herniated my disc before buying the Stanton I'd have definitely gone down the full suspension route. Unfortunately it's a Mk1 so no room for big tyres out back. Anyway, I've come a long way from having to hold on to furniture and door frames to move around.

marc - been referred to osteopath, gotta be patient now waiting for an appointment. Been doing the HAS Sciatica pilates vid that I found on youtube which I hope has been helping, holding off of doing any proper core strength work until I get the OK from the "professionals".

wonny - I'll have a look thanks. I was a bit overwhelmed to start with, as you say theres a long list of things which "might" help. Only trying them all will tell, but I hope that new seating and sleeping purchases have helped along with doing pilates and eventually taking a couple of days of work which things were bad.

ahsat - the first two weeks were hell, excruciating pain is an understatement, almost crippling pain. Then already feeling down having to drop out of events made me feel even worse, frustration as I realised I've basically got to right the year off for the big rides I've been training towards, and not being able to ride has been driving me mad. However ... I've kinda come to terms with it being what it is, it's not a cold or something I can be grouchy about because it'll be over in a few days ... this is a few months at least plus having to make some lifestyle and cycling changes. I've taken heed of the docs advice to not underestimate this issue, and of everyone elses to take it easy and rest up, instead of being pig headed like I normally would and just applying some MTFU 🙄

tallmart10 - I do believe riding a HT has pushed my trouble along some, I've come back from long rough rides in the past and my lower back has been aching... and that was in teh months after a bike fitting.
I'm glad I had it done, it was really interesting and informative to actually be sat there and learning what and why he was doing the things he was doing, it was worth the £60 for the knowledge. However I didnt really get on with the more XC racy position in the end. That was partly my own fault, the bike is a size too small really as I'm gangly and tall, it's a pretty slack 29er and so the fitter was trying to shoehorn me in to position that was on the limits of possibility. But he managed it and I saw some gains, after a few months I also found it quite uncomfortable when I started getting in to the long all day rides ... that racy position puts a lot of weight on the hands/arms/shoulders, add 7/8/9 hours saddle time and I found I had to tweak the stem and bars up quite a bit. After doing that I've never been so comfortable on a bike!!
So a fitting is certainly worth considering in my opinion, even if it wasn't 100% right (for me), ultimately no one knows me like me and an hours bike fitting doesnt replicate 30, 70 or 100 miles bumping round on a push bike.

mudmonster - have eyed the Czar & Sultan in the past but they are so many £££'s even for just a frame, and Salsa too, shiney stuff costs so much. Nearly pushed the button on an On-One Rango but it's a HT still and I talked myself out of it. Been trying to find an affordable full sus 650b+ carbon frame today (I know, not asking for much here!). Have come up with one bike today [i]but[/i] looks like it will only take a 30t chainring and I want to move up to a 34 🙄 only solution would be to convert it to 2x since it appears to have a front mech mount, which is thoughtful of the designers!
I did two short gentle rides this weekend, standing up on any rough bits, only thing that sore is my legs after standing up so much and pedalling! So that's a good sign that the sciatica hasn't flared up and means I can do a bit of mind numbing boring turbo work. Hopefully we're all on the mend!

It's really tough dude. I am not one who was training for big events, but regardless the mental side was more difficult in having to put on hold my own personal goals. I understand the frustration. I guess I am just saying learn from the mistakes I made, and hopefully in due course you can get back fitter and strong and prevent a second injury. If you work at a desk or similar, you are entitled for work to provide you with some support to work easier, with possibly a physio note. Sit-stand desks have really really helped me. Every case is different but listen to your body. Keep moving when you can (which sounds like you are doing) - even just walking as it clears the head and really helps the back. I promise it will get better with care. I posted a thread on Sunday about our bikepacking trips. Inconceivable when I couldn't walk up the stairs at times!!

Well, there's only so much looking at bikes I can do before I go crazy and my retinas become scorched through staring at a glaring monitor, so settled on this:
http://www.ghost-bikes.com/en/bikes/fully/bike/h-amr-8-lc/

Ticked most of my boxes, full sus, 650b+, can run 29er (have spare 29er XC wheels, might come in handy at some point), light (ish), decent Shimano spec. Would have liked a 36t chainring, but it's not the end of the world.

... Patiently waiting for Parcel Force now, looking forward to getting out.

It's so frustrating, had almost 3 months of watching bike videos and had to cancel a biking trip. You have to give your body time to recover though. I was given the go ahead to go back to the hardtail by the Pilates teacher. I'm gonna stretch a lot and try and strengthen my core muscles. I never want to go back to how I was before.

mudmonster - Same here, bike videos are good and bad I've found, temporary bike fix but at the same time adding a little bit more to the desire to get out and ride properly again. Definitely going to keep taking it really easy until told its ok to do otherwise.
Looking forward to getting the ok to start some more intense core strength work, pilates will do for now.
Hope you keep making good progress, take it easy on the HT!

I had a similar issue late summer last year. All I can say is take it easy and give it time to heal. Its only in the last couple of months I've felt 100% so way longer than the 6 weeks I originally expected. That said I found I had a 3 steps forward, two steps back recovery process so maybe I elongated the healing time. I am a commuter cyclist so found that tough and just had to make a huge effort to sit as upright as possible and take it easy. Several days I simply got off and walked! You've done exactly the right thing sorting a better office chair. I'm sure that poor seating posture was my main reason I got a slipped disc in the first place. I now use a better chair fully upright plus a cushion. Also have one all the time in the car. Regarding rides I'm not sure if a different type of bike will help. Its the reach and angle of hips/back that affected me so a shorter upright stem helped. When you do start feeling better plan your routes so you have bail out options just in case. I found I over did it a couple of times by simply riding too far. The first hour or two was fine then I felt the twinges and should've stopped but was too far from home. All the best with the recovery you will get there.