playing with a herniated disc

[felix2505 0]

hi guys, just wondering if any of you could help me out with this:

i am 30 years old and in very good shape. i used to work out 2-3 times a week and played hockey at least twice a week. last year i started noticing a radiating pain through the back of my left leg. at first i thought i might have torn a muscle (never having any pain in my back), but a friend told me that the way i described it was a typical sign for a herniated disc. so i saw a doctor, got an MRT and it showed a herniated L4/L5 disc. i got physiotherapie and took a break form hockey for about 5 months (feb-late july).

ever since i´ve been slowly getting back into it, practicing with my team (no games), open hockey from time to time etc. however, i´m sometimes still feeling that radiating pain, especially after sitting for long stretches (i´m a teacher, so lots of desk work).

right now my girlfriend convinced me to stop playing until i´ve seen a doctor again.

long story short, my question is does any of you ever had any experience suffering this type of injurie ? how long did it take you to (or did you ever) fully recover ? were you still playing (my doctor told me to strengthen my core, isn´t hockey ideal for this ?) ? can you do any further damage playing (bend over postion, rotational motion) ? i´m just too active to take a break form sports for a long time, esp hockey ;). any feedback would be greatly appreciated !!!

[Agent1.8 1]

I agree with your doctor. Unless your core is strong you will continue to feel the pain. I was never a "core" exerciser but over the past year my wife has gotten me into it. I eased into mild core work by doing planks. They are challenging and after a few weeks you will feel the benefits.

[CaptainFantastik 0]

I have herniated L4/L5 and L5/S1 discs and one of them (the S1) is torn as well. I'm 36 years old. Mine is localized on the right side with pain in my right cheek and down my leg when it was bad. For me it took a couple months of physical therapy and home exercises to get to the point where I'm pain free. In fact, i'll be discharged from PT next week. I took a few weeks off from hockey but played through most of it. Strangely it didn't hurt when skating, only sometimes going over the boards. Everyone is different though as far as recovery time. I'm extremely thankful I healed quickly because I was really bummed thinking I might be dealing with that pain forever. And should I suffer a setback I have a range of exercises that I know will help me get back on track again.

[felix2505 0]

I have herniated L4/L5 and L5/S1 discs and one of them (the S1) is torn as well. I'm 36 years old. Mine is localized on the right side with pain in my right cheek and down my leg when it was bad. For me it took a couple months of physical therapy and home exercises to get to the point where I'm pain free. In fact, i'll be discharged from PT next week. I took a few weeks off from hockey but played through most of it. Strangely it didn't hurt when skating, only sometimes going over the boards. Everyone is different though as far as recovery time. I'm extremely thankful I healed quickly because I was really bummed thinking I might be dealing with that pain forever. And should I suffer a setback I have a range of exercises that I know will help me get back on track again.

my major concern is that i make things worse by playing through it. the pain has never been that bad, i could always handle it, more or less. i rarely felt anything while playing, mostly the day after.

good to hear you have recovered well. are you completely pain free now or are you still feeling it ? right now i´ve got that feeling as if that pain might never completely go away (propably cause it´s been such a long time...).

[Monty22 822]

my major concern is that i make things worse by playing through it. the pain has never been that bad, i could always handle it, more or less. i rarely felt anything while playing, mostly the day after.

good to hear you have recovered well. are you completely pain free now or are you still feeling it ? right now i´ve got that feeling as if that pain might never completely go away (propably cause it´s been such a long time...).

If this is truly the case, why not follow up with your doctor and ask him/her these questions?

[CaptainFantastik 0]

my major concern is that i make things worse by playing through it. the pain has never been that bad, i could always handle it, more or less. i rarely felt anything while playing, mostly the day after.

good to hear you have recovered well. are you completely pain free now or are you still feeling it ? right now i´ve got that feeling as if that pain might never completely go away (propably cause it´s been such a long time...).

That's certainly a possibility. I believe mine happened in a hockey game when I went down hard on my tailbone. That's when it seemed to start happening. I took a chance by playing on it and I'm sure I could've made it worse if i'd fallen the wrong way. I've been pain free a couple weeks now but there were setbacks along the way because of the nature of my job (I lift alot of scuba tanks) and because I got lazy with my home exercises. Physical therapy is a good way to go. For me they would do heat treatment, deep tissue massage, some exercises on an inflatable ball, and each session ended with 10 minutes in this awesome spine chair that gyrates back and forth. Since your disc is herniated and pressing against the nerve you have to do exercises that push it back in the opposite direction and rebuild strength in that area. Sounds like you've done some of that already, if not all of it. Hope yours heals up for you.

[Beflar 53]

Living with the same thing. 36 years old when it happened L5/S1.

Two options: Get surgery or wait it out.

The surgery is like cleaning out your knee. They take the part that is pressing on the nerve.

Studies show that after two years there is not much difference between the people who get the surgery and the people who don't.

I was a little lucky in that my disk herniation reabsorbed and I avoided surgery by three days.

Aspirin works very well. Take some before you play hockey.

And working out hard works well, just avoid stuff that hurts the back directly. Moving is the best thing you can do. try not to directly aggravate your back but do everything else. I found the minute i went back to the gym was when things started turning around.

OH and get some under-Armour compression shorts, the one that looks like an X on the front and back, it really helps.

[dayroc 0]

I wouldn't play through it.

I actually hurt my lower back and totally stopped playing anything physical, while, skating might not hurt it. Stuff happens and i might get tripped up and fall awkwardly. Just rest, recover, see physio and chiro and get better. You won't be able to play "happy" if you know you are injured in some way.

If you feel good, is when you play the best.

That being said, it's your back! Get it 100% before playing again.

[nsegall 0]

Don't play through an injury if you don't have to. I had to play through injuries in Juniors and it just makes things worse. And it's not fun because you know you're playing below your potential and it's just frustrating (and painful!). Wait it out, get physical therapy, do whatever you need to do till you're as close to 100% as you can be. My 2 cents.

[Beflar 53]

Just wanted to update something that has worked very well for me, Isometric exercise. What your going to find is that you will start to avoid certain movements altogether. Over time the muscles in your back will be GREATLY weakened. Start doing Isometric exercises, they are great because they strengthen the back muscles without aggravating the joints. You will notice the difference in one week. It was the last piece of the puzzle for me.

Anyone who has this problem. Feel free to private message me and we can talk on the phone. I know a lot about this stuff having lived through it. Plus my Degree in Human Bio doesn't hurt.