Herniated Disc Question

Has anyone blown their L5-S1 disc and recovered to paddle a surfski
and compete again.My doctor says no paddling for 6 months and then we'll see.Aloha-Stu G

Hi Stu,
I slipped the popular L4/5 disc twenty odd years ago. I don`t know how much difference it`ll make to you being the disc below, but after a couple of ops and rest I was lucky enough to be able to return to full training and racing, but I guess I was younger and fitter at the time, plus everyone is different (I`m 45 now, did it when I was nearly 24). I felt mine go when I sat down on my waveski one day. I spent ten months walking like quazimodo (the only sports I could do then were paddling and cycling!) Had a failed nucleotomy on the disc, but followed it with a successful laminectomy. After the op I was paddling again about a month later.
Make sure you take your time with your rehabilitation and listen to your body. Good luck - I know it isn`t fun!

I have a bulged lower and an annular tear in the second disc.
Took me nearly 2 years to get over it, But I can now touch my toes and generally have full range of motion in all directions.

I bought my surf ski as rehabilitation after talking to some others that had experienced the same or similar.

My doctor said to fuse them both a couple of months in, but I persisted with simply letting my body heal itself.

After 12 months I was convinced that I would have to give in and fuse, but all is better now.

After about 18 months some real healing seemed to be happening and stretching started to achieve something.
From then it has just kept getting better and better to the point where I don't really think about it now.

Even loaded a fridge onto my roofracks the other day.
I'm a couple of years older than you.

Good luck.

And let rest and non injuring activity be your friend.

Had I not paddled, I think I would still be hobbling around now.
I suggest finding a physican that is an athlete.

I herniated my L4/5 in 2003 while practicing hand rolls in my surf kayak. I was on crutches for about a week and for about six months I had pain that radiated down my left leg and a referred pain in my left hamstring. It took me about a year to fully recover.

I recommend you get an MRI done promptly so you know exactly what is going on. In my case the surgeon said that after a year, results of most patients with my condition were the same, surgery or not, so I skipped the surgery.

What helped me the most was using an inversion bench to stretch my back and doing the exercises prescribed in the book, Treat Your Own Back 9th Ed, by Robin A McKenzie.

What McKenzie stresses is that a herniation is usually a mechanical injury that will heal if the conditions causing it (posture, etc) are resolved. In my case it was too many years of slumping forward while typing at a computer, so my (head forward) posture was the root cause that needed to be addressed.

What is frustrating is that some doctors told me to avoid all kayaking (torso rotation) and a Danish doctor told me that it would help. Doing nothing was only making things worse, so I started paddling gradually and it helped in my case.

My first doctor basically told me "you just got hit by the old-age truck", and that I must start acting my age. My physical therapist had a completely different attitude; that this would only be a inconvenience that I would fully recover from. He was right.

Good luck and don't follow web medical advice. Mine included!

Greg Stamer

Mahalos for the replys!!Looks like alot more time and healing will fix this.I'm able to keep my gills wet by prone paddleboarding.Its reasuring to know that you guys came back from an injury like this.
Have a good paddle today.Aloha Stu

Aloha Stu,

Don't despair - you can come back from this. I've had a similar issue as Rightarmbad. Mine goes out about once a year for the last 3-4 years.

The trick is to catch it early - get onto some anti-inflamatories (strongest stuff you can get - Voltaren 50 is my choice) and sometimes you even need a muscle relaxant (valium is also good). Plenty of rest - avoid sitting (never sit for longer than about 45 mins). Lying flat on your back is good, but prone on your paddleboard is also good for strength and won't aggravate the disc injury.

I work in an office at a computer most days, so my occupation is crap for keeping my back in order. When my back goes out, I have to lie down every 45 mins or so for about 10 mins. If I do this religously in the first day or so after the injury (and take the anti-inflamatories) I find my recovery is really quite quick (3-4 of weeks perhaps).

With some rest and good exercises you can be back paddling. Recovery time depends on how bad it gets before you get treatment - can be 6 weeks, or 3-4 months.

Pilates is great to rebuild your core strength. When you back goes out, all the big back muscles spasm and take over. Your core then switches off and you need to train it to work proerly again.

When I'm strong, I find paddling is good for me. But if I'm a bit sore and my core isn't working right, then paddling will quickly make my back worse - you really need to know when to stop and go back to basics with the pilates exercises.

Goodluck - don't let this get you down ... you'll be back soon.

All the best,
Michael

PS, been to Hawaii from Australia for the last 3 years in a row - love it! Great break from winter in Sydney.

After 2 operations on my ruptured L5 S1 disc I took up paddling along with lots of gym work and its the thing that keeps me going .If I miss my exercises for more that a few days I start to get problems so for me it has been a god send .I find my best exercise are bench presses with heavy weights,feet up on the bench.I figure I will need to do this for the rest of my life if I want to stay pain free.
As far as taking anti-inflamatories my surgeon advice against this type of treament as you are only masking the problem.

Just to be clear on my earlier post - the anti-inflamatories are ONLY to get the disc back under control and help to stop the muscles spasming. Once this is OK, I go for months without any drugs.

Drugs are not the long-term solution - core strength is.

You really can't do anything when the muscles have spasmed and you need to let them relax and have the swelling go down - then onto the exercises to rebuild core strength ... then back to paddling.

As with all of this - take your Doctor's advice!!

My comments are from my personal experience and advice of physiotherapists and doctors treating my specific injury. I find this works for me and allows a way to manage the injury when it recurs.

Hi Stu,
I`ve got to echo what gstamer said about the MRI scan. First time I went to the doctor, he told me to just go home and rest (this was about a week after I`d done it and I knew I`d done something serious, although my posture was still upright). I asked for physio and he told me: `no hope, there are lot of people out there with real bad backs!`. Two weeks later the pain in my lower back had subsided, but the sciatica creating a burning sensation in my calf was incredible. It produced a scolliosis or `S`curve to my spine, so that I was leaning right over to the opposite side of the pain and bending forward so that I was about eight inches shorter than usual. When the doc saw me again he got me into physio the next day! - but they still didn`t do anything. The only relief (after 3 months of this) was the first time they strapped me into the traction machine and I fell asleep it was so relaxing! Unfortunately another 3 months of daily traction didn`t fix it and it was only then that I was able to see a specialist doctor who within 30 seconds told me my disc was popped and which one it was. He got me straight in for an MRI to really see the problem and to decide what to do about it.
The doctors did try to sort things out before surgery though - I spent 10 whole days in traction. This was great fun. First they shave all the hair off your legs and apply a really wide band-aid tape from your hips, down your leg, around your foot and back up to your inside thigh, on both sides. They lay you on an inclined bed with your head at the bottom and your feet in the air. Then they hook weights on to the band-aid loops so that you can`t slide down the bed. The weight is gradually increased each day. For the first three days my whole back was in spasm as it was trying to fight the procedure. Once the ten days on my back was over I was set free. It felt great standing upright and back to 6'3" again - but unfortunately it only lasted ten minutes!
Anyway, to cut an even longer story short, the MRI told the docs what ops would work and the laminectomy did the trick. In the 20 years since then I`ve had a few twinges - usually from me doing silly things. Most times this has meant a stiff back and taking it easy for a few days. Over the last three years though, I`ve had two episodes where I`ve really put it out again and it took 6 months on each occasion to heal itself (the second time was picking up a ski full of water - we`ve all been there!) Definitely exercising and keeping things moving help.
Prior to the initial slipped disc I`d won a few national ski medals in Wales and made the final of the Worlds. After it I won some more national gongs and made the finals at the Worlds again, so that just demonstrates that it may not necessarily mean the end to your paddling.
So yeah, get as much advice and as many medical opinions as you can. Get the scans. and take everything with pinch of salt! One of the docs was right, there are a lot of paddlers out there with bad backs. Maybe the more info you can give Stu, the more chance somebody on here might have a similar anecdote to your situation for you to draw inspiration/relief from.
Good luck to you getting back into the bucket!

Totally agree with getting an MRI - pinpoints the problem and how best to manage it.

My brother has had a similar surgery to Owenfromwales after a sciatica nerve issue from a protruding disc (they sliced off the protruding bit of the disc). He's all good now and still smashes me when paddling (and most endurance sports). But he does need to be careful, as do I.

Once you've had this problem, it can very easily re-occur with the smallest of daily things - putting your socks on is a classic (early morning, not warmed up, lower back bent over which pushes the disc out the back ... and ... gone! Another 6 weeks rehabilitaiton before getting back on the ski!). Enjoy!

....and picking up the kids. It`s not just a stray kick to the back-wheels you gotta look out for now!

Thanks for your responses.It has really given me hope.I did have an mri and a caudal epidural injection 3 weeks ago.Numbness is gone in foot and have lost alot of muscle in right glute and calf muscle.I call it my chicken leg.Saw Dr today she says I'm right on course and will start PT soon.I've recovered from 2 shoulder surgeries and came back to do 3 molokai races.I will give pilaties a go when ready and try the inversion board and traction.I am thankfull for your all of your responses.I can hardly wait to get back in the boat.Blue skies and big following seas to all of you.Aloha-stu

Here is my experience with a herniated disc in March 2009. First my profession: Homeopathic Doctor - ok relax sceptics and stop frothing at the mouth! I did use anti-inflammatories during the first day of severe pain then was treated by a homeopathic-chiropracter with Biopuncture - injections of homeopathic remedies into the spinal area and acupuncture points. The effects were remarkable no pain - no need for strong drugs after that - but still as stiff as a board. My back was strapped for about 5 days. Had more Biopuncture and massage over the next 3 weeks and then started 1 on 1 Pilates. Very limited at that stage. It must have been a good 2 to 3 months before paddling again.

Since then I have continued with Pilates / Yoga, Inversion table- daily, massage, acupuncture for spasm / flare ups. I went on a long term 2 X daily oral homeopathic treatment with Arnica and Hypericum both in 30ch - Arnica in the morning and Hypericum at night. This helped a lot. In fact if I am stiff after training I will take Arnica the following morning.

My work involves a lot of sitting and listening - so I bought a saddle chair to sit on - takes a bit of getting used to - also need a higher desk or lectern to place your laptop. Exercise balls are also good as chairs. I also use a pull up bar to stretch lower back - see attached diagram.



How has it worked? Took part in Marine Surfski Series in early 2010, 3 day hike in Himalayas in Sept 2010, surfski paddled around Mahe (Seychelles) 88km in 13 hours over 2 days in March 2011. My age 56. So I am quite happy. I do need to work at my back and hips

. I have had back, hip and knee problems in one or another since age 25. Flare ups do occur. Especially if tired, dehydrated? not enough rest? Otherwise I look forward to quite a few more years paddling.

So, I injured/slipped a disc in 2004. Had an injury or so once a year ever since. The first couple years I would go into bed rest because I was in such pain - but I learned something recently. I generally can feel as soon as I have slipped it. Immediately, I get down on my back and do the double leg over to each side stretch and if that does not work the one leg over the other knee stretch. This has to happen before the muscles start to clench up and I generally feel the click of my back and then the pain begins to subside. Give it a try.

Similar thing to Jonojr, If I put my back out I discovered that going for a really short jog, about 5 or 10 minutes can sometimes relieve the pain immensely. One time I even managed it with one of those wide-rubber belts for back support. I put it on as tight as the velcro would allow me and lied down for 5 mins - and unbelievably, the bad back I`d had for over a month was back to `normal`. The body works in mysterious ways it does!