Herniated L5 & S1

Yeah. And it got to the point where it was legitimately debilitating. I am a paramedic and my main hobby is Brazilian jujitsu, so this was a real scary problem. I did pt and rested and all that and still was in pain, could not do bjj and was getting depressed. So I started looking on the net and read about some military dude that had drop foot and fixed himself by lifting. So I started this Starting Strength. I'm 49 and pretty weak. I've gotten my squat to 200 and my deadlift to 255 and I'm damn near pain free. It is incredible that doing the opposite of what the doctors said has changed everything.

I won't return to bjj until I squat 300 and DL 350. I think ill be protected by then. Or I hope so.

Congrats on educating yourself on your situation and making the decision to get into the gym. Learning how to keep your spine rigid under a load and getting your hips and back incrementally stronger under the bar will be the best thing for you in the long run. Good luck with your recovery.

OP, I'm also 49 with L5/S1 herniation. It works. I squat and pull in the 300's. I take no pain medication. Good luck!

I'm not there yet but I'm working on it.

I have a reverse story. I never herniated a disc (with symptoms at least) until I was deadlifting 400. Then again when I squatted 300ish. I've also torn a rotator cuff from benching. I've suffered greater injuries lifting than anything else (including many many years of soccer which is commonly listed as having one of the greatest injury rates in sports) combined for the previous 20 post-teen years. I still lift though, I liked the sense of progression...though honestly that doesn't seem to happen much these days which I do find discouraging. The frequent nagging injuries don't help (like currently my left knee is "feeling it" though not quite painful). I suspect you hear far less of my type of story because people quit when that happens. Be careful.