# Results of MRI on my Back



## Assassin32 (Nov 24, 2014)

On Wednesday I had an MRI due to ongoing back problems. The results weren't too good. It turns out I have severely degenerated L5, that is also bulging. I have moderate degeneration of the L1, L2, L3, and L4 and severe endplate degeneration of the T11-12. I also have arthritis from L1 thru the L5. The bulge in the L5 is pushing on my spinal cord, causing the pain from my lower back down through my butt and leg.

I had my MRI consultation with a Low Back Specialist at the best Sports Orthopedic Center in the area. He told me my days of heavy lifting, running, and jumping are over.....at 41 years old. The big problems are the bulging disc pushing on my spinal cord and the arthritis. If the bulging disc gets worse it can lead to numbness in my leg and foot and also bouts of temporary paralysis of the leg. Disk Replacement Surgery is not an option I want to pursue at this point. As far as arthritis goes, I already know how painful osteoarthritis is in my right knee, the last thing I want is for it to happen in my lower back.

So, I'm supposed to avoid any pounding or jarring of the lower back. I'm also supposed to avoid any heavy loading of the lower back like heavy deadlifting, squatting, bent rows, etc. Pretty lame, Millhouse. I was feeling pretty sorry for myself, but you know, people get diagnosed with far worse things than some back problems every day. So I'll put a smile on my face, tweak my workouts and keep on rockin. Life is too damn short to sit around pouting. Plus my wife is 10 years younger than I am, I gotta get my shit together so I can keep up with her. My back feels great right now, so tomorrow it's back to the gym. Get in where you fit in.


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## BigGameHunter (Nov 24, 2014)

Sorry to hear this but you are correct, people get far worse news everyday Bro.  You certainly have the right attitude and spirit to excel regardless of your disposition.

Now with that said, I certainly am not advocating ignoring your doctor.  But a second opinion and some time following his advice & tweaking your routines could steer you back on track.  

I was 23 and suffered a very serious injury to my back (nerve damage).  I was told by a specialist that I would never lift weights or wrestle again.  I went to another doctor and chiropractor and was told that diagnosis was about 30 years old.  He told me point blank that lifting weights and adding as much strength to my back would be the difference in me walking upright or slouched over as a senior citizen.  Sometimes younger more open minded healthcare professionals have a better prospective than old school medicine.

He put me on strictly bodyweight routines and I built up my core to amazing strength.  About a year later I was throwing weights around and back to competing again.  Never say never Amigo.

In any case, Im pulling for you.


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## DF (Nov 24, 2014)

Try out an inversion table if you have not already.


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## Paolos (Nov 24, 2014)

Well at least you know for sure now...Healthcare providers are conservative and obligated to paint the picture of the worse case scenario.
I'm sure you can craft a program to work with your physical limitations like BGH said. I think the worst part is mental and having to accept that
we are not bullet proof. Good luck brother it will work out for you!


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## snake (Nov 24, 2014)

DF said:


> Try out an inversion table if you have not already.



^^This can sometimes help^^


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## snake (Nov 24, 2014)

Hay brother, sorry to hear the news. If you're anything like me, it's like a death sentence. Yea, I know there are worse things to hear from a Dr. but I'm sure at 41, you don't feel like you're ready to be put in a wheelchair, placed in front of a picture window where you sit drooling on yourself all day. 

There's an old boxing saying I hold dear; "Every fighter has a plan until he's hit". Well my friend, you've just been hit. It's how you react to this bunch that will determine the outcome of your fight. Take the time to really mourn your loss for it is a loss, get all the information you can on what you can and cannot do, re-evaluate your expectations, set new goals and go at it with the same vengeance you had with your previous goals.


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## IWannaGetBig (Nov 24, 2014)

Assassin, sorry to hear about the MRI. DDD is painful in itself, now throw in a bulging disc and that's icing on the cake. A couple things I'd like to point out. First, I did not hear you mention osteophytes. I mention osteophytes as these can cause pain with the nerve roots. And second, the disc is only bulging and not yet ruptured. I believe you are textbook candidate for laser surgery. I read where your doctor told you your days of heavy lifting are behind you, but did he give you a course of action for now?


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## grizzldsealpoacher (Nov 24, 2014)

Hey you have the right attitude bud. Get some serious goals based on what you can do and get after it. feel better brother


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## Assassin32 (Nov 24, 2014)

BigGameHunter said:


> Sorry to hear this but you are correct, people get far worse news everyday Bro.  You certainly have the right attitude and spirit to excel regardless of your disposition.
> 
> Now with that said, I certainly am not advocating ignoring your doctor.  But a second opinion and some time following his advice & tweaking your routines could steer you back on track.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the reply BGH. My uncle has had back surgery by a specialist in Florida that changed his life. He is sending my MRI to that specialist to see what he has to say. I also met with a young Physical Therapist that works with local pro athletes recovering from injuries. He wants me on a high rep low weight program for now. Again, he's worried about the arthritis and the bulge pushing on my spinal cord. Next week, I'm also meeting with a second low back specialist at another clinic to see what he has to say. Thanks for the advice and the positive words, bud. I appreciate it.


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## Assassin32 (Nov 24, 2014)

DF said:


> Try out an inversion table if you have not already.



I do have an inversion table, DF. Been using it for 3 years. My Dr. said to go ahead and keep using it if I want, but it can give me nothing more than temporary relief.


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## Assassin32 (Nov 24, 2014)

IWannaGetBig said:


> Assassin, sorry to hear about the MRI. DDD is painful in itself, now throw in a bulging disc and that's icing on the cake. A couple things I'd like to point out. First, I did not hear you mention osteophytes. I mention osteophytes as these can cause pain with the nerve roots. And second, the disc is only bulging and not yet ruptured. I believe you are textbook candidate for laser surgery. I read where your doctor told you your days of heavy lifting are behind you, but did he give you a course of action for now?



GetBig, I don't remember hearing Osteophytes, the whole thing kind of caught me off guard when he was going over my results. I'll have to check my report again. For now. I don't want to have back surgery, but I certainly won't rule it out down the road. I do have a low weight, high rep workout program that my PT made for me. He seems like he knows his shit. He works with the Vikings and the Wild rehabbing players from surgery and told me he has worked with quite a few powerlifters also. He wants me to keep my core strong, but no heavy loads on my lower back(that sounds really bad). So, we'll go from there. Like I said, I'm new to all of this back shit and it all caught me off guard, I'm doing as much research as I can right now. Thanks for the response, dude.


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## NbleSavage (Nov 25, 2014)

Cheers, Mate. Stay strong mentally, do the workout you can do with intensity and get to that specialist for a 2nd opinion. 

For some fun, maybe give the old Hungarian Oak Blast a try 

Keep the positive outlook, you got this.


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## Assassin32 (Nov 25, 2014)

NbleSavage said:


> Cheers, Mate. Stay strong mentally, do the workout you can do with intensity and get to that specialist for a 2nd opinion.
> 
> For some fun, maybe give the old Hungarian Oak Blast a try
> 
> Keep the positive outlook, you got this.



Thanks Savage. I will give that leg routine a try. It sounds brutal after a few weeks. It's perfect for my situation though. I really appreciate it, bud.,


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## stonetag (Nov 25, 2014)

You seem like a tough ol' piece of hide brother, keep the positive outlook!


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## Assassin32 (Nov 25, 2014)

stonetag said:


> You seem like a tough ol' piece of hide brother, keep the positive outlook!



Thanks Stone. I know you've been through it with a knee replacement. You feel old and sorry for yourself for a little while before you realize you're being a pussy. It is what it is, and you move on and make the best of it. Us older dudes just gotta keep on keepin on.


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## BigGameHunter (Nov 26, 2014)

Assassin32 said:


> Thanks Stone. I know you've been through it with a knee replacement. You feel old and sorry for yourself for a little while before you realize you're being a pussy. It is what it is, and you move on and make the best of it. Us older dudes just gotta keep on keepin on.



Your not old Brother.  Age is a number.


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## nastyNate (Nov 26, 2014)

Man a lot of MD's do tend to be overly conservative. See this kind of MRI a lot in people around 40 who have lived and done fun things. I'm 38, have raced dirt bikes, lifted a lot, sports, football, whatever. My MRI looks like dog shit. I'll see patients with MRI's half as bad as what I have bitching about pain and asking for fentanyl patches and other narcs. Forget that. I tell people keep doing what you can do and what you want to do, if it hurts real bad back off. I  personally tried going real mild on stuff and the symptoms just got worse. Figured I'd keep doing what I want, stay big and strong and see what happens. I have less pain doing it this way than living like a normal guy. Personally, I wouldn't touch a big operation until I was in a wheelchair. Before that there are some decent things that can be done with the interventional pain management modalities. Epidural steroid injections, facet medial branch blocks and facet rhizotomies aka radio frequency ablations. All in and out in 10 minutes no meds no time off. Sometimes they work well for people. 

Back pain sucks donkey balls either way you look at it. I wouldn't do anything different 25 years ago had I the chance to do it over though.


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## Assassin32 (Nov 26, 2014)

nastyNate said:


> Man a lot of MD's do tend to be overly conservative. See this kind of MRI a lot in people around 40 who have lived and done fun things. I'm 38, have raced dirt bikes, lifted a lot, sports, football, whatever. My MRI looks like dog shit. I'll see patients with MRI's half as bad as what I have bitching about pain and asking for fentanyl patches and other narcs. Forget that. I tell people keep doing what you can do and what you want to do, if it hurts real bad back off. I  personally tried going real mild on stuff and the symptoms just got worse. Figured I'd keep doing what I want, stay big and strong and see what happens. I have less pain doing it this way than living like a normal guy. Personally, I wouldn't touch a big operation until I was in a wheelchair. Before that there are some decent things that can be done with the interventional pain management modalities. Epidural steroid injections, facet medial branch blocks and facet rhizotomies aka radio frequency ablations. All in and out in 10 minutes no meds no time off. Sometimes they work well for people.
> 
> Back pain sucks donkey balls either way you look at it. I wouldn't do anything different 25 years ago had I the chance to do it over though.



I wouldn't change a damn thing either dude. The pain and numbness when I run or even jog is what concerns me. I literally knew nothing about this subject until last week. I've had back pain on and off for years but just dealt with it on my own. When the pain and numbness started through my butt and the down the back of my leg is when I decided to finally go in. I have no plans for surgery. I'll figure out what works and what doesn't over time. I have no plans of living like a regular dude. Still gonna lift, still gonna box, and still gonna hunt and ride 4 wheelers. Just have to tweak a few things. Thanks for the reply, bud.


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## nastyNate (Nov 26, 2014)

Yea man the leg pain is what gets me. Feels like a hot dull knife is slicing through my ass down the back of thigh around to the front  of leg in the tib anterior muscle belly. I can't stand still for more than 4 minutes before I have to squat down or do some odd stretching. Very intrusive. I haven't found anything that helps that much. Neurontin is something worth trying. Even just at night. It stabilizes nerve transmissions and can be pretty helpful in that radicular type symptom. Sometimes. The back pain is the least of the worries for me and is getting better. You might notice that, with time, it will gradually go away. We see this when the joint starts to auto fuse......the end stage of bad arthritis. Not a bad thing from a pain standpoint. This is what the surgeries are doing. At least the fusion operations. Taking away motion which is where the pain comes from. Over the years my zygoappophyseal joint is fusing I'm just waiting for it to complete. Figuring out how to solve the leg symptoms....****. 

Think about some epidural steroids. Shooting corticosteroids directly around the nerve root decreasing some of the non mechanical inflammation that is causing the leg symptoms. Try it out. low risk


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## ken Sass (Nov 26, 2014)

bad backs suck, sorry to hear this


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## Mirth43 (Apr 27, 2015)

Ok Assassin, this thread is motivating me to change some things. I'm 43, and I have an L4/L5/S1 DDD and a bulge in L5. I'm looking forward to hearing your plan and results. Thanks for the kick in the ass.


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## thisisfromwork (Sep 13, 2016)

Sorry for bringing this thread back up. I'm 27 and earlier today, had my MRI results. All things pointing to DDD. Was really not myself after hearing this. The doctor said that I had to lay off the weights.  Been searching for ways to go about this. I plan to see another ortho for a second opinion.

Would like to ask assassin how he's doing now and how'd he go about the situation.


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## Kyle (Dec 13, 2016)

I am really sorry to hear this! Stay strong!


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