Back Pain And Sports

Well I found out that I have 2 bulging discs s1-l5 pinching the nerve and l5-l4 not hitting the nerve.

Same question should I keep up the combat sports, I have kept up the grappling (ground fighing), the pain is slowly getting better but it's still there?

Michel,

do not go for some cooky treatment and yes you need to stop combat sports until you can get the disc problem under control. Because your discs are bulged does not mean you need surgery but physical therapy and maybe some of the less invasive treatments may help but if you have the l5/s1 disc laying on and pushing on your nerve root, it is only going to get worse the more you agitate the area. Nerves take a long, long time to heal, typically 1mm a month and so if you damage he nerve root at 10 or 12 mm up, it is going to take a long time to have that tissue be replaced.

Do not, and I mean never, ever, ever, ever allow some chiropractor or some other kind of quack try to help you when you have real and legit back issues. Only an orthopedic or neurosurgeon are qualified to prescribe the necessary treatment regimine for you and they will refer you to the right pt clinic to do what is right for you so that you do not get hurt worse by some freak that graduated from the local shopping plaza school of chiopractic medicine.

Good luck and look at this site, Spineuniverse.Com
it will answer many questions and also give you the right doc in your area to see.


-brian

Michele,

please take good care of your back. As far as osteopaths are concerned there are some good ones and there are some quacks. The guy with the egg plaster is a quack. My last back surgery was performed by an osteopath who happened to specialize in neurology. Herniated discs are nothing to take lightly, if left alone they can permantly damage your nerve, permanent nerve damage does not reverse. I know I have permanent nerve damage from prolonged aggrevation of my lumbar spine. Take some time off from combat training get into a good doctor who will probably prescribe physical therapy. You probably won't need surgery but if you keep aggrevating the injury you will.

Naproxen is a nsaid, in fact it is the same stuff as aleve, your body doesn't build up an immunity to it. How naproxen works is it reduces swelling. If I were to guess what is going on you started taking the naproxen and took it a little easy for awhile. Then as you felt better you increased your activity and the pain flared back up, which caused the swelling to go up again. Naproxen is an alright anti-inflammatory but can not reverse chronic aggrevation to an already injured area. Best of luck to you.

I stand by my word! Egg plaster and corn syrup rubs or what ever other crazy thing someone may feel is great is not going to fix your legitimate spine disorder! Not possible and it "aint" gonna happen!

Go to a real doc and quit playing combat sports for now!

Michel,

i would strongly urge you to seek competent help. I do not have anything against alternative methods, however egg plasters for your condition aren't a fix. Also I would discourage any narcotic pain killers as they only mask the pain and you could futher injure yourself without knowing it. Please for your health sake get to a doctor in your area who can properly diagnose your condition. I have friends who have had wonderful success with alternative methods, however they only had minor bulging and muscle strain, any complete disc rupture requires some specialized training to correct. You may need surgery and then again you may not, I do know that continuing your combat training will futher injure yourself.

Also note that the egg plaster treatment wasn't reccommended to me as I have serious problems that he knows eggs won't fix. I'm not knocking him I just don't think he should be offering treatments over the internet without first examining a patient. Good thing he is in canada, if he were an american doctor he would be sued. Canada has the national health coverage, i"m glad i'm not canadian.

Jack,

i think you said enough, I never attacked you, i've merely just stated that michel needs to actually be examined before you can make a diagnoses or a plan of treatment. I have never sued anyone, nor do I plan to. Doctors practice medicine, due to the fact that it isn't an exact science. Doctors will and do make mistakes i'm not one who thinks that it is ok to sue them for being human.

Okay, if you boys can quit arguing, maybe you can go back to michel's problem.

Michel,
i have l4-l5 and s1 issues as well, and my disc problems/pain became apparent while working out in my martial arts class as well. I'm no beginner, I am a first degree blackbelt in karate, and also have some experience with gracie jiu-jitsu. It's a great sport, isn't it? I believe my tecknique and form is proper. I love the ground fighting also, but there's no way i'll go back to it for quite a while (if ever). Sometimes I feel much better, but I don't want to risk making it worse. I'm trying to avoid surgery at all costs, and am now at the point where i've had one epidural steroid injection and am planning another. I go to a chiropractor as well (he literally made an old neck injury go away, and I trust him), and hope to start some good physical therapy shortly. I also plan to resume core-strenghthening exercises at the direction of a pt, and would like to think i'll drop some weight to help the load on my back. Proper back mechanics (lifting techniques, avoiding twisting motions, etc.) are now part of my regimen as well.
I don't know if any of this helps you, but you should know that you're not alone. Have an mri if you haven't done so, and a good doctor who can advise you. Don't risk making it worse - the pain sucks, and i'm sure you want to get back to where you were before. Good luck.