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recovering from back injuries

Garfus

18-Oct-2010
4:01:15 PM

And when all else fails, there is surgery... would recommend David De La Harpe at the Epworth if I had to have any thing done to my spine/disc/impinged nerve root.


oweng

18-Oct-2010
6:05:18 PM

As has been said earlier, you will almost certainly need to keep yourself fit and your core strong, and need to manage you back for the rest of your life.

The challenge in this is to find a way of doing this that is fun. That way you will keep doing the exercise you need, and not fall into the cycle of 'gee my back feels good, I cant be bothered doing my exercises this week, oh crap ive hurt my back again'.

Through trial and painful error, ive found that if I can do 2 sessions of steep bouldering or steep route climbing a week, and stay physically fit, my core stay strong enough for my back to give me no real problems. If I have an injury and cant climb, in about 6 weeks my back will be rooted.

I find the formal strengthening exercises I was given by the physio boring as hell (various fitball exercises). They work, but the only time I do them now is if I cant climb (to stop the otherwise inevitable back soreness).

So I guess my advice would be try a few things that keep your core strong, to find something that you look forward to doing. It might be yoga classes, or pilates, or climbing, or something else.

If you can find something that works that you enjoy, you will do it, and hopefully your back will not hold you back too much.


BoulderBaby

18-Oct-2010
6:18:45 PM

I didn't realise Pilates classes are so expensive here. I was litterally paying 5pounds for an hour session in the UK!


salty crag

18-Oct-2010
10:12:33 PM

Hard to compare chiro's, physio's etc as they are all different. Chiro first diagnosed my problem, an Osteopath got me moving (post op) , the three physio's I saw were bloody useless but I live in the boondikes and don't have much of a choice My rule of thumb for what it's worth, don't sit for more than 2 hours, get up and stretch often, listen to your body, walking heaps and swimming works for me. Some day's are good and some are really bad but keep at it 'cause if you don't use it...

Estey

19-Oct-2010
8:43:53 AM

Back injuries are a bummer. My experience with a bulging disc is as follows;.

Its a recurring problem if I don't do the the physio exercises or if I spend to much time at a desk.

Swimming and walking seem to help recovery but only after the acute stage.

Using walking poles when carrying a pack helps ... a lot.

On long car trips .. stop regularly, stretch and walk around.

Bouldering is bad.

Chipbutty

19-Oct-2010
9:12:46 AM

McKenzie certified physio is good, look it up on the internet, good luck


ado_m

19-Oct-2010
10:33:27 AM

Yep, bouldering is way bad, I did the back after a bouldering weekend.

Many thanks to everyone for the supportive comments. There are some common threads, and I guess I'll be following the advice of my physio and pilates instructure religiously.

Eve's comments about overmedicating on beer and feeling sorry for yourself are poignant for me - going from riding everyday, running regularly, climbing, climbing to being one of the cattle on the train I have found very depressing. It's good to know other people have come through the other side.

Apologies to the moderatir for turning this into a self help forum, I really do think BD cams are better than WC, but I can't wait until they grid bolt arapalies so I don't have to worry about taking a rack up the bard (or spiral staircase at this rate).

widewetandslippery

19-Oct-2010
10:53:50 AM

Eve gave the best advice about back pain I've ever read. Don't feel sorry for yourself. I have 5 protruding discs. I have crawled around rather than sit or lay. Glute stretches work, and the word glute sounds better than I want a loose bum.

Sounds like you've had a MRI to diagnose the affliction. Personally I find physios, chiros, osteos etc to be as good as voodoo. See a doctor, get a diagnosis, get some drugs and if you're still suffering get a rub and tug.

For me bouldering is good in the right doses.

I saw a mate on saturday who had the operation on 2 discs a few weeks ago. Happy outcome so far.

f_ladou

20-Oct-2010
10:50:53 AM

If my story can help...

I injured my back in my mid-twenties while water skying (very popular sport in Canada -- when the lakes are not frozen that is). Did some physio then over a period of weeks and started gym training, a habit I never really lost. I got complacent through the years though and re-injured it 15 years later in 2001 trying to stay fit and strong at the gym (the irony is not lost on me).

This time it was serious. I was diagnosed with a slipped disk L5-S1, that is between the last lumbar and first sacrum vertebra: so very low where mobility is very restricted. I was living in Berlin at the time and if I forget every single german word I learnt, the last one to go will be Bandscheibenvorvall (slipped disk). The following NMR is for your enjoyment. According to the specialist, the "bulge" is very clear and pronounced.

The upshot is that I couldn't really walk for six months. The pain (sciatica) was excruciating and I started a long treatment involving cortisone injection (good temporary measure) and physio. There were very slow progress and I was thinking about an operation but dreading it after speaking to a doctor friend of mine who seemed to think that this kind of operation was more or less like flipping a coin. I was simply not going to go down that way. Then my specialist suggested a treatment with the sweet german name of Kräftigungstherapie. A loose translation would be "reinforcement therapy".

Basically, it cured my problem. This therapy consist in isolating inner core muscle by strapping you onto "nautilus" style machine and working hard on regaining both the range and strength of movement. Being a german approach, the whole thing was quite high-tech and load of data are generated, massaged and distilled into progress curves towards target goals. The idea was to work through the pain under very restricted movement conditions. The whole process suited me very well. I hated every minute of the treatment (except for the discussions with my therapist: a mad german ice-hockey fan) but every time they showed me my progress on paper (angle range, force exerted) I felt a little elated. Progress had become my drug. The turning point was when the therapist told me that the movement was no more restricted by pain but by strength (somehow, he could read that on the graphs).

My back is still my weak spot, though. I have to be careful. I do yoga (twice a week) and gym training once a week. I do not boulder not because of the bouldering per se (that seems fine however steep it is) but I cannot afford jumping down, let alone falling.

Cheers, François


ado_m

20-Oct-2010
6:22:03 PM

Thanks Francois, your story is the best "injury report" in this post, particularly as it has a picture in it. That you're back to climbing after that is inspiring (and I'm not sure I should be complaining in my condition).

P.S. after flipping a coin and a recommendation from a mate, I saw a chiro. Bad move, now my leg consistently tingles, which my physio thinks is inflammation of the L5 joint after he "adjusted my hip". It better go away in a couple of days, or I'll be fire bombing his practice. .

Chockstone Moderator

20-Oct-2010
9:14:08 PM

On 19/10/2010 ado_m wrote:
>Apologies to the moderatir for turning this into a self help forum,

It is OK. Chockstone is like that.
We aim to please ;-)

>I really do think BD cams are better than WC, but I can't wait until they
>grid bolt arapalies so I don't have to worry about taking a rack up the
>bard (or spiral staircase at this rate).

Sacrilege!

rightarmbad

20-Oct-2010
11:49:48 PM

http://www.chirogeek.com/index.htm

Ignore the name, it really has a lot of good information to help you understand your injury.


Eve

21-Oct-2010
9:10:06 AM

thanks for the picture and injury history, Francois.
the image you showed is virtually a mirror image of my injury.
I think everybody here mentioned the debilitating pain and resulting depression due to switching from over-active type A to sedative type C personality.
the other thing I tried (when getting more involved in yoga) is try to exactly envision that kind of photo you showed and imagining healing throughout that area and imagining what a healthy disc looks like (which, in that case, you wouldn't be able to see behind the vertebrae). it sounds weird but I think visualisation (same as a working on a climbing project and visualising the move) can work - I think :-)

grangrump

21-Oct-2010
10:33:26 AM

On 17/10/2010 ado_m wrote:
>After a weekend at the gramps, I picked waaayyy to much wet laundry and
>now have a couple of slipped/buldging disks (L3 and L4 i think),
This wont wash
In learning to live with your injury you need to concoct a waaayyy better story, preferably involving climbing

TonyB

21-Oct-2010
10:48:35 AM

I had a very bad disc 30 years ago and ended up in a wheelchair. 3 months in hospital in traction and 2 years in a brace (not recommended now). The key is to build the core, although I've always been very fit. An hour per day stomach/core exercises (in addition to other exercises) for the past 30 years has saved me. You don't need any fancy machines.

I have most of my flexibility back now and am pain free. I get the occasional sciatic twinge but I know how to manage it with exercise. Don't ignor the pain ... it is a good indicator of when you have pushed too far. My personal view is to avoid the knife and injections. I was the only person in my ward who refused a mylogram, involving the injection of a dye into the spine. 20 years later, bad reactions to some of the dyes used, caused paralysis in many.

f_ladou

21-Oct-2010
12:27:46 PM

On 21/10/2010 TonyB wrote:
> An hour per day stomach/core exercises (in addition to other exercises) for the
>past 30 years has saved me. You don't need any fancy machines.

I would tend to agree with this. Nevertheless, being under therapy and being followed, reassured while progress is clearly highlighted has a fantastic psychological impact. But whatever therapy floats your boat, the fact remains that ongoing, regular -- probably lifelong -- reinforcement is fundamental for those of us with back weaknesses.

Cheers, François

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