Swogger's Revenge: A Back Injury Story

[Reeder]

Thanks for sharing your inspirational story, amazing what a motivated person can accomplish even with so much stacked against them....

[Mick]

Great story and motivation for everyone. Your description of chronic pain and how you decided to deal with it are particularly impressive. 🏋🏼👍🏻

[pgx]

I read your account and was awed right away.

The significance of your experience has only grown with time. I've thought about it every day since. Truly- thanks for sharing it.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Thanks to Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit for the link: Instapundit » Blog Archive » A 40-FOOT FALL, A SEVERED SPINE, and a recovery via strength training?.

[BusterH]

I read Matt's article right after watching a video of Roosevelt's Day of Infamy speech. Both of these have me in awe. I regularly have a chance to work out with Matt. I just as regularly accuse him of sandbagging his weight selections and over analyzing his technique. I won't be teasing him any more. Thanks for sharing.

[soviet_dissident]

From insta.

First of all, great article. Thanks.

I'm a little bit torn about the author's conclusions. Having had two back surgeries myself, I have largely eschewed heavy lifting since and am in the longevity game. I have finally seen a diminution in pain levels after years of suffering. It just seems totally unwise to roll the dice injury-wise. There's a difference between retaining strength by putting a plate on each side vs. going for broke. In my case, my discs are already those of an old man, so I'm frightened to death to accelerate this process. One wrong move under a heavy bar and down the rabbit hole of pain management and neurosurgeons' offices one goes again, and I have no desire to have a fusion.

Concerning his spine, the author has more weight being distributed among fewer discs, so there is a greatly-increased likelihood of herniation, which is a whole 'nother can of worms. Not sure if he's had bad sciatica yet, but I wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy.

One must certainly refuse the life of an invalid, but I worry that this is the extreme opposite. It sounds like he is still in pain and would be a good candidate for a consult with this guy: Stuart M. McGill | Kinesiology

[Jeremiah34]

I am glad that you are doing good. It's been a while since they days in C co

[Katherine Bickford]

It just seems totally unwise to roll the dice injury-wise. There's a difference between retaining strength by putting a plate on each side vs. going for broke.

...

Concerning his spine, the author has more weight being distributed among fewer discs, so there is a greatly-increased likelihood of herniation, which is a whole 'nother can of worms. Not sure if he's had bad sciatica yet, but I wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy.

One must certainly refuse the life of an invalid, but I worry that this is the extreme opposite. It sounds like he is still in pain and would be a good candidate for a consult with this guy: Stuart M. McGill | Kinesiology

I train with Matt several times, every week. I can assure you he's in pain only slightly more than anyone else who trains, and is generally a really active and capable guy who, and I can't underline this enough, KNOWS WHEN HE'S HAD ENOUGH. I've never seen Matt do anything risky, except once his brain stopped working and he unloaded one side of the bar too fast. He can grind the hell out of some squats and deadlifts, but he doesn't always do this. He makes small jumps in weight so his body can ADAPT appropriately. He's in better shape than me. I think he said this in the article, but he is extremely attentive and careful about his form and knows exactly what he needs to do. He receives expert coaching on a weekly basis, and even some from me if I'm feeling particularly bossy on any given day.

No need to worry for Matt, my friend. He does all of this better, and with more attention and coaching, than most other people on this site.