- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
Low back pain and disc injuries - experiences?
Posted on 6/6/26 at 1:39 am
Posted on 6/6/26 at 1:39 am
I injured my back in January from lifting in what I assume was a disc injury. In those 2-3 weeks post-injury, my lower back felt like a single cement block with little to no mobility. Bending forward was impossible and I could barely put on clothes without screaming in pain. It took damn near an entire month for the spinal guarding to go away.
Ever since then, I cannot sit down or stand up for more than 15-20 minutes without getting an intense dull ache in the lumbar region. The only position of relief I get is from lying on my back. Heat helps but it’s extremely brief and the spasms will come back immediately as soon as the heat isn’t applied.
The worst part of it all is that the healing process has been extremely erratic. I’ll have these short-lived span of days where there will be little to no pain and my mobility will be completely fine. Then I’ll make a sudden twist or turn and my back will feel exactly like it did when I first injured it for the next 2-3 weeks.
Anyone got any advice who’ve dealt with this before? This shite fricking sucks. It’s made going out and doing things extremely difficult. Driving a car is damn near impossible because of how painful and uncomfortable it is. I’ve read that these things can take anywhere from months to years to completely heal.
Ever since then, I cannot sit down or stand up for more than 15-20 minutes without getting an intense dull ache in the lumbar region. The only position of relief I get is from lying on my back. Heat helps but it’s extremely brief and the spasms will come back immediately as soon as the heat isn’t applied.
The worst part of it all is that the healing process has been extremely erratic. I’ll have these short-lived span of days where there will be little to no pain and my mobility will be completely fine. Then I’ll make a sudden twist or turn and my back will feel exactly like it did when I first injured it for the next 2-3 weeks.
Anyone got any advice who’ve dealt with this before? This shite fricking sucks. It’s made going out and doing things extremely difficult. Driving a car is damn near impossible because of how painful and uncomfortable it is. I’ve read that these things can take anywhere from months to years to completely heal.
This post was edited on 6/6/26 at 1:44 am
9
Posted on 6/6/26 at 7:45 am to JasonDBlaha
Physical Therapy
Posted on 6/6/26 at 8:44 am to JasonDBlaha
I’m going to echo the above poster, go get a physical therapy assessment. Can you rehab your back by yourself? Sure. But if you don’t know what you are doing then you can injure yourself further. Can your back be fixed? Yes. You likely need to strengthen back and other core muscles. You likely need more mobility In your back and hips. You can go through exercises like bird dogs, bridges, Pallof presses, cat cow, thoracic extensions, and others, and likely have some success. But go get the evaluation done. Do PT for 4 to 6 weeks. The therapist can help you with form and get you through a lot of the mobility and pain with targeted massage, dry needling, and targeted trigger point pressure. After the duration you will feel better and know how to go forward to make sure you don’t have issues.
But make sure you get a GOOD physical therapist.
But make sure you get a GOOD physical therapist.
Posted on 6/6/26 at 11:13 am to dangerousdon
Tried physical therapy. It helped loosened things up a little bit but that dull achey soreness feeling is still there. Probably going to push for an MRI in the next couple of weeks
Posted on 6/6/26 at 1:44 pm to Yeti_Chaser
Exercises won’t help it. I’ve tried all of that already
Posted on 6/6/26 at 2:05 pm to JasonDBlaha
Lumbar Strains are a pain to deal with. I also have a back injury and suffer from the same thing. It can be anything that throws it out. Last week I was mopping my kitchen floor and it decided to go out on me. My back injury is one of the main reasons why I got into physical therapy.
Here's something I posted a couple of weeks ago. Someone posted about reverse hypers and back injuries and I added this;
There's going to be a million people telling you a million things. What I have found that works best is a gradual increase in back extension work. Something like I laid out in that quoted paragraph. You are going to want to start slow and work up slowly. It's a process.
I hope this helps
Here's something I posted a couple of weeks ago. Someone posted about reverse hypers and back injuries and I added this;
quote:
Someone suggested Reverse Hypers and got a couple of downvotes. I just want to expand on that topic a little bit.
Reverse Hypers are a fantastic exercise to rehab a lumbar strain. It isn't a good exercise to start out with. Lumbar strains are an absolute pain. I would suggest you start doing simple exercises like supermans, planks, and static holds against gravity that engage those lumbar muscles. When those become easy and don't cause you pain anymore start doing exercises like hyperextensions and unsupported rows. Again, start light and increase in intensity when that pain goes away. When that pain is gone, then start on those Reverse Hypers. RH is a fantastic exercise, but it should be used mid/late rehab and is excellent for maintaining a healthy low back.
ETA: And of course, this is on top of any other exercises/stretching that can help, i.e. stretching hamstrings, hip flexors, etc...
There's going to be a million people telling you a million things. What I have found that works best is a gradual increase in back extension work. Something like I laid out in that quoted paragraph. You are going to want to start slow and work up slowly. It's a process.
I hope this helps
Posted on 6/6/26 at 2:11 pm to PrezCock
Reverse hyper machines can aggravate the hell out of disc injuries if you aren’t careful with how much weight you put on one. But yeah it can be very therapeutic if you use it with very light amounts of weight.
Posted on 6/6/26 at 2:12 pm to PrezCock
Did you get an MRI to confirm that it was only a lumbar strain and not a disc injury?
This post was edited on 6/6/26 at 2:13 pm
Posted on 6/6/26 at 2:17 pm to JasonDBlaha
You have to keep doing the exercises. It’s about strengthening your muscles around the injury. Sometime things take a while. Not sure what the nature of the injury is. An MRI might be able to tell you what is injured but it won’t fix it. You will either have to do PT or have surgery. Almost any doctor will make you do the PT before surgery anyway. Also, a GOOD physical therapist makes all the difference. Not all are the same. I went through three PTs before I found one worth a damn.
Whatever you decide to do, I hope you get relief.
Whatever you decide to do, I hope you get relief.
Posted on 6/6/26 at 2:19 pm to JasonDBlaha
It took me over a year but I fixed mine with it. If you're giving up on exercise then I guess you gotta do surgery
Posted on 6/6/26 at 2:26 pm to dangerousdon
Is the micro discectomy worth it even if there’s no nerve compression? Will surgeons still operate even if the extruded disc isn’t pressing on the nerve?
I’m not feeling any symptoms of radiculopathy
I’m not feeling any symptoms of radiculopathy
This post was edited on 6/6/26 at 2:28 pm
Posted on 6/6/26 at 2:39 pm to JasonDBlaha
quote:
Did you get an MRI to confirm that it was only a lumbar strain and not a disc injury?
There's a lot going on with my back. Multiple herniations, multiple bulges, and the lumbar strain. The herniations and bulges aren't too hard to keep in control. The strain is the worst part. The mind remembers your injuries. So the moment it senses that instability, it goes right back to guarding like the injury just happened. That's why you need to gradually progress with extension exercises. You need to retrain your brain/body to get stronger, but also to get the confidence back that it won't go back to guarding.
I also like doing a lot of suitcase carries. Your QLs are going to be some of the primary muscles that your body uses to guard. Pain from QL tightness sucks. Most unilateral back pain (90%+) is going to be QL tightness.
Posted on 6/6/26 at 3:44 pm to PrezCock
quote:
I also like doing a lot of suitcase carries. Your QLs are going to be some of the primary muscles that your body uses to guard. Pain from QL tightness sucks. Most unilateral back pain (90%+) is going to be QL tightness.
The QL tightness is the worst part of it
There’s been several times where I would be taking a slow walk around the neighborhood and it would spasm out of nowhere. Felt like my sacrum was fractured. Sharp pain every time I took a step
This post was edited on 6/6/26 at 3:45 pm
Posted on 6/6/26 at 4:00 pm to JasonDBlaha
quote:
The QL tightness is the worst part of it
I hear you brother. When mine spasms I will do I some standing QL stretches in the shower, child's pose with a lean in the opposite direction, and I'll sleep (try to sleep at least) in a position where that QL is on stretch. Sidelying on the side of the tight QL, bring up opposite knee to 90 degrees, and try to push your foot (tight QL side) as far from you as possible.
Posted on 6/6/26 at 5:21 pm to JasonDBlaha
If it is truly a disc injury it’s still way too early to consider surgery, especially without nerve symptoms. It can take a while. You need to keep exercising and strengthening. Should try an inversion table or Saunders traction. If you do get an MRI then maybe an injection from a pain management doc would be appropriate to help get relief faster.
Posted on 6/6/26 at 6:00 pm to PrezCock
quote:
When mine spasms I will do I some standing QL stretches in the shower, child's pose with a lean in the opposite direction, and I'll sleep (try to sleep at least) in a position where that QL is on stretch. Sidelying on the side of the tight QL, bring up opposite knee to 90 degrees, and try to push your foot (tight QL side) as far from you as possible.
When my QL spasms I’ll immediately get into the reclining chair and recline all the way back. It’s the only position of relief along with lying down
When I wake up in the morning from sleeping on my back, I’ll feel this intense soreness in my lower right lumbar area. As soon as I roll over, I’ll always get this deep crack on that affected side which feels really weird
This post was edited on 6/6/26 at 6:01 pm
Posted on 6/6/26 at 7:28 pm to mtcheral
quote:
Should try an inversion table or Saunders traction
And pick a place where your neck properly fits in these machines. My go to chiro had a machine where it was probably .75" too narrow to properly capture my neck (C5/C6, not lumbar) and it didn't accomplish as much as it should have.
A good chiro should be able to read the MRI results (you can use a place like Green Imaging to pay cash at a huge discount by finding slots where appointments have been canceled, etc.)
Posted on 6/6/26 at 8:39 pm to LemmyLives
MRI should point you in the right direction
Posted on 6/6/26 at 8:45 pm to mtcheral
quote:
If you do get an MRI then maybe an injection from a pain management doc would be appropriate to help get relief faster.
I've read that the clinical results on epidural injections in the spine are pretty mixed in regards to effectiveness for alleviating lower back pain.
Honestly, I'm not sure how I'd feel about getting an icepick sized needle stuck deep in my lower back. I'd be more inclined if general anesthesia was offered but they probably rarely use it for that kind of procedure.
If the MRI shows no findings of radiculopathy then I'll probably just stick to hot baths and muscle relaxants
This post was edited on 6/6/26 at 8:53 pm
Page 1 of 3
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News