I’ve been diagnosed with a slipped disc which is pressing on the siatic nerve. I’m on a cocktail f strong drugs and have seen a physio (thank goodness for my employer provided health insurance avoiding the 10 week wait or see a physio).

So anyone experienced the same? How long will I be crawling up the walls in pain, unable to move without screaming?

It varies wildly. Mine was chronic moderate pain for several months and then quickly improved. Keep moving as much as possible is the standard advice. Good luck and don’t give up hope. I was a grumpy bugger for quite a while.

On occasions, probably the most painful thing I’ve ever suffered. Yes, even more than that… 😉

Keep moving and consider yourself super lucky to have direct access to the physio. That will make a big difference.

Don’t have surgery.

Rachel

Sounds rough – I’ve a protruding L5 & it’s annoying the tits off me, it’s not even that bad! I’ve been told I should be good with 3-4 wks. I’ve been given exercises & told to avoid stuff which hurts – walking is good but I’m off the bike.

Best advice is to follow your physio’s advice I’m afraid..

Sorry to hear that OBM, I’ve had a couple of spasms due to herniated/slipped/bulged discs and they’ve not been pleasant.

The first one was the worst, crazy sore, no position seemed to relieve the pain, ended up hobbling into A&E because I thought I’d done something seriously bad to my spine!

Since then they’ve been more minor, as I’ve gotten stronger and learned what behaviours to avoid. Some tips I’ve learned:

1) Painkillers to keep you moving, but these won’t help the symptoms (probably) as the pain you’re feeling is muscle spasm, not inflammation. The movement will help loosen the spasm.

2) Heat, not ice. Again, you’re not trying to reduce swelling, you’re trying to loosen spasmed muscles. You can get ‘wheat bags’ which you can microwave for quick, mess free heat.

3) Avoid holding one position for ages, i.e. sitting at a desk for 8 hours is bad, but so also is standing at a desk for 8 hours! I got a £200 sit-stand desk from Ikea, plus one of their cheap ‘bar stool’ stools which you can rest your bum on without having to properly sit down. By moving between positions I could manage a full day at work pretty much immediately after a spasm.

4) Pilates/core strengthening/stretching. All good, I found stretching glutes seemed to be the most dramatic improvement for me, but also core work, planks, pilates etc.

5) Don’t let it get you down, I thought my biking/hiking life was over after the first one, but I’ve done more awesome stuff since I first slipped a disc than I did before it, you just need to be aware of your posture when hiking/biking etc.

I had a terrible episode about 10 years ago.  It was horrendous and extremely uncomforatble.  It lasted a few weeks but was also a reoccuring issue for many years.  Each time was slightly less painful.

Keep moving and be careful with twisting / lifting stuff.

Once you’re able to, id strongly recomend some core exercises.  I started rock climbing for a few years which made my back and core much stronger to the point where I stopped having issues full stop.  I no longer climb but I ride and train a fair amount for XC.  Touch wood I haven’t had an issue for years now.

I also go for a decent sports massage once a month which I’m confident does a word of good too.  You’d be surprised how easily a tight hamstring or a knee problem can cause a slipped disc.

My sympathies, it’s horrible.Everyone has a different experience so get the best healthcare you can. I had 2 weeks on morphine to keep the pain at bay, then the physio made the real difference, it took 3 months to get back to a semblance of normality. I’m still far from 100% but am now paying for ongoing physio to strengthen my back and I hope protect myself from further episodes

Good Luck

You’d be surprised how easily a tight hamstring or a knee problem can cause a slipped disc.

Second that, I’ve recently shelled out for a bike fit with Edinburgh Bike Fitting. It was pretty illuminating as my sore knee was actually the result of a twisted pelvis, which resulted in me pedalling with the right hip a good few cm behind the left hip. Everything that the bike fitter told me from that point onwards reminded me of something various previous physios had touched upon, and gradually I realised (I think) that most of my problems in the last ten years (back pain, knee pain, shoulder pain) have been due to the twisted pelvis, itself probably caused by a dropped arch on my right foot (born club footed…). Your body just adapts to these weird little asymmetries until one day it’s just had enough, or you push just a little too far, and BANG! Spasms and knee pain and tight muscles.

If you do a lot of miles in the saddle, especially on road where you’re more static, I’d strongly recommend a good (Retul) bike fit, it will highlight so much more than just whether your saddle is too low…

Thanks for all the advice.

The irony is I’m a regular gym goer and do a weekly pilates class, after about 15 years of yoga. This is all done to take care of my core strength to look after my arthritic knee.

Getting old sucks big time.

I am recovering from a herniated disc at L5. Had major problems with control over left leg and occasional foot drop. Three months of pain killers and a cocktail of muscle relaxants etc. Then started with NHS physiotherapy and quickly found an experienced Pilates instructor who had come from professional Dance background. I have spent five months doing a one to one session of Pilates twice a week. This has transformed my posture and has built up my core strength and developed my Gluts. I have learnt more about my body and how to look after it, from these sessions than I thought possible. Remedial sport massage therapy has also helped in my recuperation. As cyclists we tend to have a week core, poor posture and non existent Gluts. All this therapy has been expensive and demanded a heavy time commitment, but I am now back on the bike, even attended a Cotic demo day last Sunday. I wish you a speedy recovery one_ bad_mofo.

I’m waiting to be diagnosed officially. MRI in a couple of weeks. Shooting pains in my left leg from top to bottom. Standing for any period of time is incredibly painful, sitting isn’t great but luckily I can ride a bike with no pain whatsoever!

When it started in September the GP sent me to the physio who gave me loads of stretching exercises which made everything a whole lot worse. Went back to the GP who wanted me to sign off work and referred me for a scan.

That has taken forever and the physio now won’t do anything until the scan happens. So I’m just waiting and self managing which is shit.

I’m rather hoping it’ll just fade away like lots of people experience. Soon would be nice.

Once I’m diagnosed then I’m off to Pilates and yoga and everything!

Do your exercises and keep moving. I’ve been a lucky lad and never had any back issues until a barsteward car driver broke mine 2 years ago (aged 46 at the time). Good side is I had enough scans to make me glow at night, and all my discs other than the one between the two broken vertebrae are good for my age.  Half a missing vertebrae is causing me loads of pain, but it’s not like having disks pressing on nerves.

Do make sure you exercise and move as much as the pain allows.

I’ve had / got a herniated disc at L5/S1.

Happened around 14 years ago lifting and twisting to get the young un out of the bath.

Bed and strong painkillers and  I was hobbling about in 4 days (as my GP said it was only muscle damage)

Went again a year or so later and I used private medical for diagnosis, which got me an MRI the day after and the above diagnosis.

Had generic injections into my back which eased it for a few days and ultimately ended up with 4 x-ray guided injections (2 either side of my spine). This was very weird. Not painful more crushing, and then off home to it feeling much better within days.

Still get the occasional twang and I know not to bent and twist whilst lifting. If I do push it too far, a few days of co-codamol and diclofenac (although not sure if they still prescribe this) tends to sort me out.

Was off riding around 2 weeks max at any one time although I can bring the pain on quite easily by pushing hard in the drops on a road bike. As I don’t especially like road riding this isn’t a problem.

Mine was put down to 30 years of cycling and not strectching hamstrings at all during that time.

I had a couple of bulges at L3/L4 and L4/L5.

I went through the ‘process’ of time, drugs, physio, Cortisone jabs, surgery. The time, drugs, physio and Cortisone did nothing for me, the surgery did – eventually after nearly 18 months of recovery and a few set backs. I had another scare last year after picking up some 25kg bags of sand but it was just muscle spasms causing (horrible) sciatica.

If it happens again, I’ll try everything to go straight to surgery. The rest was a waste of time for me.