Spine Injury, PLZ Help

S

spine

New Member
Hey Guys,

I have been using HST with great success for the past 2 years. I got a bit carried away a few months ago and started using much heavier weights than I should have. Long story short: due to improper form I sustained a spinal related injury, that is I have slightly bulging cervical spine discs.

Could anyone recommend substitutes for the lat pulldown and military press?- as they both increase pressure on the spine. Any exercises I should avoid? I haven't been able to work out for the past 6 months. I've had two cortisone shots and they have helped moderately. Any help would be very appreciated.
 
Actually, lat pulldowns or pullups should stretch the spine, rather than compress it. You'll want to avoid other exersizes that stress the bad disc too. I have a compressed #4 lumbar and I don't do good mornings, hyperextensions, overhead presses (except with dumbells), or regular deads. I am experimenting with modified shrug-style deads though. But I do weighted pullups, pulldowns. I had to swap d/b bench rows for cable rows when it got heavy. If your pulldowns are hurting, try pullups, and experiment with different leg positions.
Hope that helped.
 
How bad is it. Id seriously talk to a chiropractor.....note that not all of them care about the patients...

Personally, i wouldn't do anything until i got it fixed. You do not want to risk further damage and from the sounding of it. The spine is very strong, but if it is damaged, its strength and endurance may decline dramatically.

I would get it fixed, and then work on just my core strenth for about 4 monthes.

There are a lot of BBs out there that do not work their back because they think it will grow on its own.....this is true....kinda

You give me more detail, and I can try to get some info from my chiropractor.

To stretch your back, you could try hanging onto a pull up bar and just hang. You have to let your muscles relax though. Then you can loosen things up by moving your lower body and hips around, preferably foward.

I have some minor back problems and I stretch my back with a large swiss ball and it helps dramatically.
 
What you could try doing is wearing a back support so you arent using it so much.(Keeping the stabilizers more relaxed) That might make lifting weights easier, but that depends more on where on your spine you are injured.
 
Chin ups are an excellent substitute for lat pull downs however both should stretch the spine as opposed to compress it.

Besides the exercises mentioned by Joe, you can also use DB shoulder presses off an incline bench (75 degrees), that should take the pressure off the spine.

Here's some links Archives

and one more Sports Injury Bulletin
 
I'd be interested to know what you were doing when you sustained your injury?
 
There are a lot of smart and knowledgeable people who post here. However, since you are dealing with a spinal injury, I hope that you asked your physician this question first.

I wouldn't want to play Doctor over the internet when it comes to what things you shouldn't do with a disc injury.
 
Yes, you need to make get some check-ups and possibly xrays to see what you should be doing.

A back injury is a serious matter and can cripple you and possibly your athletic ability, (specifically if you do not do anything about it).

My father was going to play in professional football and then sustained a spine injury. He has to get a disk fusion and lost around an inch in height.

Also, when disks are out of place, the connective tissues attached are not going to fuction at an optimal level.

If you are able, stretch your back out on a swiss ball, and maybe......just maybe it can fix it self. Chances are though you will need more than that.

Goodluck!
 
do a search on "Dr. John E. Sarno" whose book "Healing Back Pain" saved my life. Then get back in the gym and lift hard!
smile.gif
 
Does the book cover anything for crushed or semicrushed discs? I notice it says "without exersize" and some mumbo about mind/body connection. Give us an idea.
 
well,

everytime I ever got into the book, it was a threadstopper. (usually on bodybuilding.com)

But, I was crippled for an entire year. I'm 34 now, but this was when I was 29-30.

Went to doc, MRI, reveals herniated discs, narrowing spinal canal, degeration yada yada yada,,,all the stuff I read about others now. I left the doc's feeling more scared and terrible than ever.

A week later I got sciatica so bad I could barely walk.

Well, I hear about this book.....from Howard Stern himself none the less, and think he's nuts, but i'm desperate because I was going nuts. Fantacizing about getting surgery, or figuring out my next over the counter pain cocktail would be.

Finally got the book, and w/ in just reading it for the 1st time, 80% of my pain went away. I was 100% pain free w/ in 90 days just by doing nothing but reading the book. Why 90 days or so? Don't know, it may be sooner or longer for you. It took a long time for me to de-brainwash myself of the medical industry crap that was loaded in my brain and the skepticism.

I was very skeptical too at first, but it works. I have 3 youngins under 6 and have to bend over to deal w/ them all day, I have a physical job (utility worker) and don't have time for back pain, and have been pain free for 3 years now. PAIN FREE. Maybe more importantly I've lost the FEAR of it ever returning.
I get nothing for reccomending this book other than I'm grateful I'd heard about it when I did, and feel the need to help others. I say it saved my life, because at 29 when youre crippled and wondering do I have to have this pain for the rest of my life? your mind goes into some dark places.

Again, I don't want to go into the mumbo jumbo of it because it will just cause you to roll your eyes, and you really need to read it if your'e having back, neck, shoulder pain.
I'm more physical than ever now, I can squat 320# for 3 below parallel reps and Deadlift 405 w/ no wrist wraps w/ no back pain for either. And I started lifting at less than a year and a half ago. (not to brag, but to show what a former guy in the "bad back club" w/ 2 supposed herniated discs can do)

What can a chiopractor do? nothing! What can physical therapy do? nothing!
 
ugh, I knew it, threadstopper. *shrugs*

hope I did'nt come off as a know it all jerk. This is just my experience w/ the book, hope it helps someone else. The book itself claims that the majority of people who hear what the theory is that cures the pain will not accept trying it anyways.
 
No, it's just that the weekends are slow. Most of these guys have lives and wives, and don't hit the forum much until the weeknights.
I hope this isn't one of those new-age "mind over matter" deals...I personally can't imagine imagining my disc to heal itself. Imagine that.
 
Guys,

Thanks for all the replies. Just learned I have a swollen T3 (Thoracic Disc) too. Doc said I can resume exercising slowly and that I will have to pretty much deal with minor pain from time to time (no danger as there is much space in the spinal canal).

So pissed that I lost all of my gains due to ignorance. Anyways, thanks again.
 
I'm eating crow here. I have Dr. Sarno's book and am now doing deads and thinking about returning to regular squats because of it. But it's a hard mental shift to accept his statistics and program. I can't deny that it's working, though. The back is a MUCH stronger animal than previously thought. And "herniated" or "bulging" discs aren't necessarily the cause of the pains. I'm only halfway through the book and things have changed drastically. I can barely believe I'm actually deadlifting! 385 today.
 
There is some validity to Sarno's book. I thought it was kind of hokey but I do have it and apply some of the principals. The idea of getting rid of the source of your stress to relieve your pain is true in a great many cases. However, I'm in love with the source of my stress and am going to keep her.
smile.gif


True physical causes can't be ruled out. Medicine and chiropractic care are also important parts of good health maintenance and their value also cannot be denied. When my SI joint is physically sublaxed because it moved 6-8mm and isn't supposed to move more than 4...it physically has to be moved back into place. However, if my head is right and my focus is there, I don't make the mistakes that cause it to move too far as often.

Sarno is right in that a great deal of our pain comes from stressors being expressed physically, that many disk injuries aren't really as serious as they sound and are often just a normal part of life and the aging process.

He is wrong though to insinuate that all pain is simply in our heads. Sometimes it is real and it is physical.
 
Welcome back. I'll check it out. I've been doing well lately but did squats without a belt yesterday and find myself back in the pain locker again. Damn.
 
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