L5 S1 herniated

[stout44]

6 weeks ago was doing shoulder shrugs felt a pop in my back left the gym immediately went back home iced it went to bed woke up 4 hours later could not even get out of bed had to call my father up and have him come over to help me out of bed went to doctors they said I messed up my sciatic nerve sent me to physical therapy for a month which my physical therapist said I more than like have a L5 S1 herniated disc was wondering if anyone has had this and if so what was the healing process etc I go back to doctors in a week since physical therapy barely relieved any of my symptoms.Hopefully I get x-rays and a M.R.I. but with crap insurance they will probably give me the run around. Thanks

[kubes]

It takes time for that nerve to calm down but most of the time in 4-6 weeks it should feel much better

[Dr-Octagon]

I dealt with l3-4 since 2009. I have a regular chiro and I did physical therapy and still have a regimen of exercises.

Ibuprofen is ur new best friend. Go see a chiro and get one u trust. Don't get caught up in pain meds if you can avoid it.

[Dont wanna be old]

No experience with spinal injuries . Sounds like a nightmare . Hope you have a full recovery soon .
Good luck
DWBO

[Mz1220]

Had the same injury back in 2001. First thing I'd do if I were you is go get an MRI done so they can see what is really going on. From there you can look at what your options are. I bulged mine at s1 L5 and L4 my backs never been the same. Pretty much had to give up heavy deadlifts and heavy squats. Any heavy weight barring exercise that puts a load on my lower back causes problems for me. I tried to continue to lift heavy but the pain always came back and put an end to it. I would've looked into surgery back then if I knew what I know now it's an option but it doesn't always work and can become worse. I have lost muscle in my left leg because of it. The nerve got damaged so it can't fire impulses to the muscle and so the muscle pretty much justs goes away. So all that being said go get an MRI and go from there. An X-ray won't always show a problem with a disc mri can show soft tissue damage.

[bowtiefreak]

I second the avoid the pain meds. I have a few issues with the lower back and I have had one doctor talk to me and tell me the truth about my issue. In summary, avoid the pills (prescription) as best possible work out as best you can, be easy on the back. I wish you the best. Back pain is the worst.

[stout44]

M z 1220 I have noticed my left leg has gotten considerable smaller and thanks all for the replies guys

[Mz1220]

My right leg got smaller but that didn't start to happen for years after the initial injury took place. It's called muscle wasting. The nerve no longer sends a signal to the muscle to flex or to be used so the muscle pretty much dies and that doesn't come back as far as I know. I lost the ability to point my big toe downward and I used to get tingling in my calf and foot. If you already have muscle wasting after 6 weeks I'd get to a neuro surgeon and talk to them. Do some research too

[CTFaygo]

I bulged three of my discs in my back and it took me a year to get back to a point that I can deadlift and squat without pain. Still have to work on my core strength all the time to keep my spine stabilized during heavy lifts and the only thing that got me to a pain free state was a cortisone shot in four different sites in my back right into the disc area.

I still have Volterrin (sp?) on hand for days when I strain it a bit. It's just a super strong NSAID that helps considerably.

First step though...get an MRI to know exactly what is going on in there. From there you can get a game plan together to get better. Good luck.

[stout44]

Finally got mri done I have herniated disc L5 S1 I have degenerative disc disease along with arthritis needless to say I am beyond depressed I can't work bank account is dry about to blow my brains out