# Herniated L5 and Lumbar Strain



## Assassin32 (Nov 6, 2014)

About 4 weeks my lower back really started bothering me. After a week of my wife telling me to go to a specialist, I finally did. I have a herniated L5. The Doc has me doing physical therapy 2 times a week for 5 weeks to see if we can fix it that way. I'm also on Prednisone for the swelling, Percocet for the pain and Flexiril for the muscle tightness and I'm only supposed to do the exercises prescribed by my PT at the gym. The Pred is killing my appetite and making me very ornery. 

I was just wondering if any of you guys have had similar lower back issues and if you were able to fix them non-surgically. This is really bumming me out because I really don't want to have another surgery. Add the fact that I already know both my left shoulder(Chronic Shoulder Instability) and Right Knee(Osteoarthritis) are gonna have to be done at some point in the next 5 years or so. Other than that, I'm in perfect health lol. 

This is exactly how old I feel right now......


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## jennerrator (Nov 7, 2014)

ouch, sorry to hear big guy...hope the PT fixes it and damn babe, that's a lot of surgeries


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## Seeker (Nov 7, 2014)

Sorry for what you're going through bro. I have had two herniated discs in my lower  back since the early 80's. It happened while I was doing t-bar rows. I spent two days in the hospital with my legs up in traction. Over the years I've just dealt with the occasional flare up which usually happens once or twice a year. It Fukin sucks when that happens. One, because it hurts like hell, two, because I can't squat or deadlift. I still squat and deadlift heavy but not a single session goes by that I don't think about it. That's why  my form is near perfect when I do. I have to sleep on the floor, and take inflamation meds when it happens. I just recently had a pinched sciatica, prednisone fixed it right up though. No surgery, I won't do it. Good luck brother!


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## Bro Bundy (Nov 7, 2014)

i got my L5 messed up around 2006..It took me along time to be able to train lower back again..Last few years i was able to strengthen it up and i dont really get any problems now..Its always on my mind when i do anything lower back related


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## IWannaGetBig (Nov 7, 2014)

Sorry to hear this brother, but welcome to the club. L5-S1 here with DDD. I've done the pills(was probably a little addicted there for awhile), physical therapy, and heating pads.

You want to know what works and you'll never hear a doctor tell you? https://www.teetertv.com/?x=bab

I'll do this for 10 mins, every other day, and I no longer need the pills. 

Let me know if there's anything info I can offer you.


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## DieYoungStrong (Nov 7, 2014)

Herniated L4 and L5. Keep deadlifting with proper form after you get over the initial injury. Sometimes it flares up on me, actually I doubt I'll be squatting tomorrow because the last few days have been bad. But if I stop squatting and pulling, it gets real bad, fast. 

I did something called spinal decompression years ago when I first injured it. It worked wonders...


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## Assassin32 (Nov 7, 2014)

Seeker said:


> Sorry for what you're going through bro. I have had two herniated discs in my lower  back since the early 80's. It happened while I was doing t-bar rows. I spent two days in the hospital with my legs up in traction. Over the years I've just dealt with the occasional flare up which usually happens once or twice a year. It Fukin sucks when that happens. One, because it hurts like hell, two, because I can't squat or deadlift. I still squat and deadlift heavy but not a single session goes by that I don't think about it. That's why  my form is near perfect when I do. I have to sleep on the floor, and take inflamation meds when it happens. I just recently had a pinched sciatica, prednisone fixed it right up though. No surgery, I won't do it. Good luck brother!



Prednisone has really helped me also. Do you get weird side effects from it, bud? I feel bad for my wife because I've been one ornery son of a bitch the last few weeks.


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## Assassin32 (Nov 7, 2014)

Brother Bundy said:


> i got my L5 messed up around 2006..It took me along time to be able to train lower back again..Last few years i was able to strengthen it up and i dont really get any problems now..Its always on my mind when i do anything lower back related



What did you do to fix it Bundy? Did it get better with PT?


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## Assassin32 (Nov 7, 2014)

IWannaGetBig said:


> Sorry to hear this brother, but welcome to the club. L5-S1 here with DDD. I've done the pills(was probably a little addicted there for awhile), physical therapy, and heating pads.
> 
> You want to know what works and you'll never hear a doctor tell you? https://www.teetertv.com/?x=bab
> 
> ...



I have an inversion table also. I usually use it 5 times a week, but I tried it a couple days after my back started hurting and it was not good. Thanks IWanna.


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## Assassin32 (Nov 7, 2014)

DieYoungStrong said:


> Herniated L4 and L5. Keep deadlifting with proper form after you get over the initial injury. Sometimes it flares up on me, actually I doubt I'll be squatting tomorrow because the last few days have been bad. But if I stop squatting and pulling, it gets real bad, fast.
> 
> I did something called spinal decompression years ago when I first injured it. It worked wonders...



So spinal decompression helped DYS? I'm gonna have to look into it. Thanks dude.


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## Assassin32 (Nov 7, 2014)

I've had a few other incidents in the same spot over the years, but never this bad. It usually went away after 4-5 days in the inversion table and the hot tub. It's been about 3 weeks now, and although it feels a lot better than it did, I'm kinda worried it's taking this long. Thanks for all the replies, you guys are the best.


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## Assassin32 (Nov 7, 2014)

Jenner said:


> ouch, sorry to hear big guy...hope the PT fixes it and damn babe, that's a lot of surgeries



Thanks Jenn, I'm hoping PT does the trick. I hate surgery.


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## Seeker (Nov 7, 2014)

Assassin32 said:


> Prednisone has really helped me also. Do you get weird side effects from it, bud? I feel bad for my wife because I've been one ornery son of a bitch the last few weeks.



I got major heartburn. Nothing else that I've noticed. I'm juicing too, so, I don't know. But dam after the first day of taking it the pain went down a lot.


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## Assassin32 (Nov 7, 2014)

I hear ya Seek. The nurse told me 24 hours after taking my first 50 mg dose I should be feeling much better and she was right. It's amazing how fast and effective it is. Plus, it's made all my joints feel great.


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## Paolos (Nov 7, 2014)

Assassin.... L4 & L5 for me in the late 90's. Did PT for a while (no help), did chriopractic care (temporary help) 
and also did some kind of injections for a month (no help again). I did not use pills for the pain but I did medicate
with alcohol (Helped but a poor strategy).

Finally did the surgery to clean them both up and was in much better shape! I get some minor flare ups from time to time
but I can deal with it. GOOD LUCK BRO!


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## stonetag (Nov 7, 2014)

Dammit big man, back injuries are the fukin worst. PT is a great option before jumping under the knife. Heal up brother, we need ya out there!


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## AlphaD (Nov 7, 2014)

Yeah man I have bulging disks in the same spot.  Its a freakin pain in the ass when it flares up.  When I was 6 weeks out from the October meet, it flared up really bad.  So I sought out a Sports Chiro who is used to manipulated those injuries. He fixed me up real good.  Not sure about herniated disks though.  Inversion table and ART helps too.  Pillar showed me some stretches using bands that I do every night and that has been the most beneficial with my back problem.  Sorry to hear that brother, hope you can find something that will help you.....


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