Workouts for destroyed backs

TheCougar

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Jun 6, 2016
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Virginia
I just drove through the pharmacy to pick up Percocet, steroids, and muscle relaxers. I already had a bulged L4 and L5 and who know what damage I just did to my back this time. I have been doing strength training and functional fitness for a decade and I just can't do it anymore. Assuming I don't need surgery, I need some new workouts. Strength training (deadlift, squats, etc) are out. I have always been strong and had good conditioning. My goal is to continue being a mountain goat with a pack on. Ideas? I'll take a pep talk too. The view is pretty bleak when you are lying on your back.
 
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Joined
Mar 1, 2016
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7
I feel your pain I have had 2 surgeries to shave bulging disc and countless times of drugs and physical therapy I just try to go fairly easy on the wieght when working out and like u said skipping the squats and dead lifts. a workout planned out by a good physical therapist might be the way to go

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Kilboars

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Dec 22, 2013
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West Palm Beach, Fla
I feel ya. Messed up my back 30yrs ago and still have to focus on not pushing it. It's a very slow core building process. But your body will heel itself. Find a great Chiropractor and work on low intensity core workouts.
Crunches. Planks if you can do them. Just don't ever push yourself so that you're sore the next day. That leaves your back venerable with no support.

Also, blow off what ever stresses you. Walking up right pain free is far more important.

Great book.

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Joined
Sep 18, 2016
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Maryland
I had back surgery 21 years ago, I had l3-4,l4-5,l5-s1 lamenectomies and foramnies ( sp) took out disc and bone. I dont' do conventional squats but I do goblet squats, no dead lifts . The bottom half of my spine is fused by arthritis so I can't lay flat on a bench so I do dumbbell floor press or put my feet on the bench. You are going to need to be a little creative and come up with some work arounds but you can get in a work out, body weight stuff is good too, push ups, australian pull ups until you can get regular pull ups ( L-sit variety works good for my back and good core work too) planks are great for core and that helps the load on your back as well, even air squats are good. No running on hard surface or treadmills. I hope you don't need surgery, you will know it if you do, quality of life decision. Good luck and if I can help let me know
 
Joined
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New Mexico
In addition to a good chiropractor, a good massage therapist is worth the money. Deep tissue. The one I have now works on athletes a lot, so understands sports injuries. She has a placard in her office that says 'torture chamber.' None of that relaxing massage with the hot rocks. I want to feel pain and the next day feel like I've played a game of hockey with no pads. She also helps me with exercises to do to strengthen my core.
 

AK Shane

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Dec 14, 2012
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Alaska
I'm an L4-L5 guy. I've dealt with it for years but a year and a half ago it really dropped me. Typically when it acted up I could do a week on my inversion table and mellow it out. Not the last time though. I did chiropractor for a month along with the inversion table with very minimal results. Then a month of disk decompression, with minimal results. Finally I did two injections and knocked down the inflammation enough to get some relief off the nerve. Everyone says to put off surgery as long as possible but I wish I would have just done it. I've done nothing but fight it for the past year . It's not bad enough now to warrant surgery but I feel like I'm constantly held back from regular exceraise or activity. I get numbness in my foot multiple times a day.

I guess my advise would be to try an inversion table. I truly feel that mine has kept me off the surgery table for the past decade. There is definately a technique to be used. It's not just tipping upside down and hanging there for ten minutes. The true disk decompression at a chiropractor helps a lot of people. I'd say if you try this and you're not seeing good results in the first two weeks then it's time to move on.

If you truly have a messed up disk than a chiropractor isn't going to do much for you. I've spent thousands over the years on chiropractors with little to show. Physical therapists are OK but after 3 session I felt like I was paying a hell of a lot of money for someone to watch me do a couple of excersises I could easily do at home. I am glad i went and had someone lay out the excersices I should do and explain why but after that it seamed pointless. McKenzie excersices are one thing they turned me onto that have been beneficial.

One thing my back loves...putting on the pack and hiking. Get the weight loaded on your hips and it will pull the hips down and stretch out the lower vertebrae. Like doing traction but without the large bill.
 

blackdog of vt

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Dec 8, 2016
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271
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South Carolina
Been in this situation most of my life, I'm a L3,4,5 6 month post surgery now. Swimming has replaced almost all my work out and I can't say enough good things about it. If you have access to a pool, google can provide you with all the aquatic workouts you need. Zero impact and great cardio can do wonders.
 

SquidHC

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Mar 10, 2017
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Portland, Oregon
I have a lower back (L1/L2 disc) and I have found the most important exercises for core stability are the pelvic floor, multifidus and lower abs (cant remember what they are called). These are not "mover" muscles like your 6-pack or backstrap. They are tiny, and hard as hell to isolate, but have made a HUGE difference in my recovery.
 

CLICKBANGBANG

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Jun 23, 2016
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I'm looking at more of a bodybuilding based program vs barbell training. Everything to do with a barbell compress' the spine accept bench. So I'm going to follow some bodybuilding exercises and adding in calisthenics. Then cycling for an easy on the back cardio. Running and heavy packs are no good for me. I'm a few weeks post op from a microdiskectomy, and am still laying around in the recovery phase. I can't wait to be active again.
 
Joined
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Air squats with no weight. 4x25 to start. Work up to 8 x 50. Do this 2x per week. Add in some timed wall squats, push-ups and lots of walking.


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OP
TheCougar

TheCougar

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Virginia
I'm back to normal, sort of. My issue now is that when I ruck, I get back pain for at least a week afterwards. I was easing my way into it and only doing 3 miles on 10 degree incline with 65lbs at about a 2.5mph pace. I've never had this issue before and I can't figure out if it is due to some new injury or if my pack is causing me problems.
 

Bigbull

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Oct 18, 2016
Messages
43
Location
Sutherlin, Oregon
I'm back to normal, sort of. My issue now is that when I ruck, I get back pain for at least a week afterwards. I was easing my way into it and only doing 3 miles on 10 degree incline with 65lbs at about a 2.5mph pace. I've never had this issue before and I can't figure out if it is due to some new injury or if my pack is causing me problems.

I have back issues too. I have two bulging discs, with the worst one being at the L5-S1. I also have less severe alignment issues from time to time.

Originally, I only had alignment issues and found a good chiropractor that could really help the situation and get me back in to alignment. It was not fun when my back got way out of alignment, but the whole situation was manageable if I could get in to my chiro.

However, the whole bulging disc and sciatica nerve pain was a whole new level of pain and impairment. My chiro went months before he would refer me for an MRI, and only then was I properly diagnosed. (A chiro won't help you with anything but alignment issues.)At that point, I went in to physical therapy and shortly after got my first epidural shot or two.

Eventually, I met with a surgeon but by that time my pain had become much more manageable. He indicated that surgery would provide some immediate relief, but statistics showed that those who get surgery and those who don't are in the same condition five years after the surgery. For that reason, I decided to pass on surgery.

It has been over two years since my disc injury, and I have found that I can keep my sciatic nerve pain manageable with daily stretching. Of course, I also stay away from any heavy lifting. I try not to lift anything heavier than a rear elk quarter.

I also am starting to concentrate on some specific strength training for my injury area as well as general core strength.

I envision myself being active and hiking the mountains late in to my life. I just hope my back does not prevent me from doing so.


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jaredgreen

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Oct 19, 2015
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I would second the visit to a physical therapist. They will be able to teach you specific exercises for your issue, and exactly how to do them without further injuring yourself. Gave me a new lease on life over 10 years ago. I'd also recommend looking into essential oils. I use deep relief or their sports rub. Best immediate pain relief I've found for minor back pain.


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Joined
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At some point in my recovery from surgery I decided I was going to do what I wanted and not let my injury get in the way. 21 years later I am doing that. I'll be 52 when I finally get to hunt the Rockies and I will be ready. Be smart, stay motivated, work hard, be patient and Good luck in your recovery.
 

Felix1776

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Dec 3, 2015
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Colorado
I'll share my experience with back pain.

I was serious lifter for 10+ years through my teens and twenties doing bodybuilding and powerlifting training. Was always strong and in good shape. I always had active jobs on top of all the lifting. At 26, I changed careers and took a desk job at the same time I was beasting it in the gym. I was as strong as I'd ever been. Within six months, my back was wrecked. I started having daily back pain that was anywhere from 3-6/10 pain scale. The pain was annoying most days and miserable quite a few other days. I kept trying to lift but the pain was setting me back a lot. Then I started injuring my back semi-regularly. My lower back would pop in the middle of a set of light squats or deadlifts and then I wouldn't be able to walk (literally) for 3 days. I'd recover after a few weeks and then start building up again. Another time I jacked it up tying my shoes and another time getting up off the toilet. Eventually I had enough.

I went and saw an ortho surgeon twice. Neither time they thought it was very serious. Xrays showed my L4-5 disc space collapsing and arthritis had formed already. I didn't want to pay $3k for MRI so I'm not sure if it was herniated. I believe now that it definitely was. Did PT for a couple months and learned a couple of useful stretches but ultimately I was paying $400-$500 per visit so they could watch me exercise. No thanks. After screwing my back up getting off the toilet, I tried chiro for a couple of weeks. It helped a lot the first visit and did nothing after the next 10-12 visits. Didn't go back.

The ortho's solution to everything was, "Oh, you lift? Just quit doing that!" They instantly turned off and quit listening the second I said I was a lifter. Nevermind all of the other things that were contributing. So, I quit lifting for close to a year and it just got worse. On top of being depressed from no longer being able to train, I started gaining weight which just made things worse.
Eventually I realized that doing nothing certainly wasn’t a solution. I started doing TONS of research. Through my own efforts, I realized that my problems stemmed from very tight hips (hamstrings, glutes, abductors, psoas) from sitting at a desk, weakened/atrophied core strength from sitting at a desk, and overall weakness from sitting at a desk and not working out (thanks Doc!).
I put together a mobility/recovery/core strengthening routine that takes 5-10 minutes which I do every morning and again before every workout. It has helped immensely. I also started from absolute scratch at the gym and started building back up slowly. It’s been 5 years now since I was at my peak strength. Started with bodyweight squats for 15-25 reps then on to goblet squats then to an empty bar, etc. Now after just shy of 5 months of serious training, I’m back up to a 300 lb squat and 330 deadlift. Not great but a MASSIVE improvement in a short amount of time. I was convinced for a long time that I’d never do that kind of weight again. Oh, and I’m down 20+ lbs.
The solution for me was mobility and, maybe more importantly, strength. I’m actually considering writing an article about my mobility/core strength routine and posting it to Rokslide as I think it might help some people. Anyways, I know that was long winded but maybe somebody gets something out of it. I’ve had to figure things out the hard/painful way.
 

blackdog of vt

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Dec 8, 2016
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South Carolina
Lot of good advice in this thread. It seems like there are always different methods to dealing with back issues but finding out what works for you is just the best answer. Finding a safe way to get and stay strong sounds like a simple goal but it's not. For me I'll never be able to lift or ruck heavy again, but I'm fine with that. I just found alternatives. As much as I loved squatting, I just do no weight like dreamingbig said. I never want to have another surgery. I've also switched to hammock camping, anything that takes compression off the spine makes my life enjoyable. Like Felix1776 said, PT is over rated and and stupid expensive, google can get you every exercise for free. Being patient and going slow can be all the difference.
 
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