PL/Oly lifts with herniated disc

[HeMB]

Hi, guys. So a year ago I got a herniated disc in lower back.

I have been back to lifting for a few months but upper body only.

Really want to resume squatting, dling and even oly movements but even light weight bothers my back. Core strengthening haven't done anything tangible.

I thought if someone of you has experience of training around a herniated disc and could share what helped for you, hopefully?

[Millz12323]

I'm 32 right now. I suffered with back pain in my late teens to mid to late 20s.

Did the whole mri thing which showed 2 herniated discs with one of them being labelled "severe" or something along those lines at L4 and 5.

I then went through many periods where I would train mostly upper body for a few months. Start training lower body then reinjure my back and stop training for 1-2 years rinse and repeat half a dozen times.

I've always been able to Deadlift with my back in a safe position but I could never squat without getting hurt. Basically just learning to move better and slowly increasing depth / weight until it started to bother my back and making adjustments so that I can perform the movement without pain.

Unfortunately I've made 0 progress on my squat this year but I added a few inches of depth... It doesnt hurt my back anymore but squatting is starting to bother my knees lately. I just have a lousy skeleton for squatting.

[kitpapa]

Going thru stuff now. 2 herniated discs (1 mild, 1 moderate) and a disc that pretty much doesn't exist any longer with end plate sclerosis, plus stenosis in all areas that it can be, and some facet and ligamentum flavum hypertrophy.
Can't take nsaids. And my 1st steroid injection didn't work at all (2nd one coming next week w a diff approach).
I quit oly lifting bc it def was too much force for ME, but i never did have great form.
I continue to powerlift. My back hurts sometimes doing squats and deads but nothing I can't handle. Squats hurt a bit more I'd say. I continue to move up in bench and squat but my deads have just been stuck fpr 6-7months now and it gets frustrating, but I'm trying to up accessory/variation work in hopes that it will transfer over somewhat.

Best advice...get your form DOWN! No matter what it takes to do so! You'll have some days that are weaker than others and you take the good with the bad. Building your core muscles and back, in general, is the BEST thing you can do but it must be done properly

[HanleyTucks]

Technique.
Get coaching.
Start absurdly light, and progress absurdly conservatively.

This approach works. I've trained dozens of people who all claimed they had perfect form (they didn't) and were conservative with load (they weren't).

[nitefeatherz]

I agree with HanleyTucks. Start uber light. Make sure your form is as perfect as possible. I have eight herniated discs- four in my cervical spine and four in the lumbar....I manage to squat and deadlift. I can't do much because of joint issues (not associated with back) but my back has never been happier. You just have to be super careful with your form and don't go heavier than you can manage.

[HanleyTucks]

I have eight herniated discs- four in my cervical spine and four in the lumbar

That's impressive. Most people only achieve that many - especially in the neck with either great age or a car accident.

[HeMB]

That's impressive. Most people only achieve that many - especially in the neck with either great age or a car accident.

and she still squats/deadlifts.. that's impressive, for sure.


So it seems that hiring a knowleadgable coach is the only way really?

[HanleyTucks]

It's not the only way, but assuming a competent coach, it's the quickest and least painful way.

80% of disc herniations resolve themselves even if completely untreated. Even something like 25% of full thickness supraspinatus tears resolve themselves without treatment - the muscles knit back together somehow. And 80% of PTSD sufferers will have it resolve even if untreated. Hell, even some cancers go into remission without treatment, and there's some guy whose body developed an immunity to HIV. The body and mind are remarkably good at healing themselves, considering the crazy stuff we throw at them.

Most people with herniated discs, and many with other conditions, just get better even if they do nothing. But it can take a long time and be very painful, and the person may of course injure themselves again; the best predictor of injury X occuring is previously having had injury X. What we hope is that medical treatment and/or training will make the healing process quicker, less painful, and less likely to recur.

And that's why we tell people with medical issues to get medical advice and movement and programming coaching.

[matthewkelling]

What these guys have said is great info. The body is amazing and will heal over time AND you should be moving cautiously through things. I would also consider what kind of mechanic issue you had that caused the injury to start with. This is usually a basic movement dysfunction (restriction or weakness) or some kind of technique flaw.

I work with a lot of folks who have nasty MRI's and want to get back to weightlifting. The most common issue I see with people who injure their backs squatting or deadlifting is that they have limitations with their hip flexion movement. You should be able to move through 120 degrees of hip flexion easily without restriction. If you don't, then the stress moves up the chain to the SI joint or low back and over time things break down. Before any of my patients pick up weight in a deadlift or squat they need to pass a sciatic nerve neural tension test and they need to be able to perform a single leg hip hinge without compensation.

I'm not sure where you are located but I'm a big fan of folks who are certified in the Selective Functional Movement Assessment. It's a systematic way to look at how you move and will tell you where your weak links are located. You will get there with time!

[HeMB]

What these guys have said is great info. The body is amazing and will heal over time AND you should be moving cautiously through things. I would also consider what kind of mechanic issue you had that caused the injury to start with. This is usually a basic movement dysfunction (restriction or weakness) or some kind of technique flaw.

I work with a lot of folks who have nasty MRI's and want to get back to weightlifting. The most common issue I see with people who injure their backs squatting or deadlifting is that they have limitations with their hip flexion movement. You should be able to move through 120 degrees of hip flexion easily without restriction. If you don't, then the stress moves up the chain to the SI joint or low back and over time things break down. Before any of my patients pick up weight in a deadlift or squat they need to pass a sciatic nerve neural tension test and they need to be able to perform a single leg hip hinge without compensation.

I'm not sure where you are located but I'm a big fan of folks who are certified in the Selective Functional Movement Assessment. It's a systematic way to look at how you move and will tell you where your weak links are located. You will get there with time!

Thank you for such an open-hearted post.

Well, as with hip flexion, I think there could be a problem for me.
I can lift my leg up to approx 100-110 degrees, further than that causes pinching in my hips. Do you know what the hell that is or maybe it is simply deep hip sockets? And as you say one should have 120 deg of hip flexion easily, does that mean it would be more optimal to have even more degrees of flexion?

Also, I have long femurs, so squatting was always tricky to me.


btw, I am in the EU.

[matthewkelling]

There are plenty of SFMA folks in the EU, check out the functional movement systems website and search members to find someone certified in the SFMA.

There are plenty of folks with bony structural limitations that limit hip flexion that would either be the femur being too wide or the acetabulum reaching out to far. Unfortunately, there's not much you can do there from a conservative standpoint.

Hop on youtube and take a look at the video titled "Hip Mobilization (Self-administered) Anterior to Posterior with Flexion" by Brent Brookbush and see if you can mobilize your hips to allow more flexibility in the joint and less stress up the chain. And please, if it causes increased pain stop doing it and go see someone who will work with you hands on.

If you have 120 degrees of hip flexion then you would easily perform weight lifting movements like squat, deadlifting, and oly without limitation from your hip. Also, if this eliminates the pinch in your hip then you need to learn to use this hip mobility without compensation in the low back so you need plenty of body weight reps with no pain and perfect technique before you start adding resistance.

[wwkingms]

in a "practice what you preach" moment (which i do not) on top of other goodly advice i would if anything put more focus on strengthening your core, abs specifically. when i re-aggrevated my L5 it was at my last powerlifting meet, which i did hit a PR squat but should have trained abs more because i barely made my opening deadlift... and ive never been the same since.

abs, weighted abs, and more abs.... your back will thank you