How to avoid further damage to back

[dcarrington]

Hello,

I know there are a lot of posts about herniated discs and I agree that continuing to train should be the goal. In my case, I'm wondering if I should first do something to relieve the symptoms of the herniation before getting under a load again as, after about 2 months, I still have limited ability to do things like putting on socks or tying shoes. But, more importantly, I still have numbness in my left foot. The degree of numbness varies throughout the day depending on how long I sit or stand or what have you. The tightness in the low back and the numbness in the foot are the only symptoms at this point. There is no more sciatic pain or anything like that, though there was for the first 48 hours or so after the injury.

Though I get that doctors tend to be far too risk-averse with this sort of thing, should I seek medical assistance to repair the injury? Or continue to wait, maybe do something to help reduce the herniation and then get back under the bar?

What are your thoughts on how to make progress without risking further injury?

Thanks!!

[Mark Rippetoe]

How was the herniation diagnosed? What are the specifics of the geometry of the herniated disc?

[dcarrington]

Mark,

Thanks for the reply. The diagnosis was by an ER doc on the day the injury occurred. Diagnosis was base, not on an MRI, but just a physical exam and based on symptoms. I'm not sure about the second question. About all I know apart from what I've mentioned is that it happened at the bottom of a squat....I think I went down faster than normal, which caused me to go down further than normal and into the dreaded "butt-wink."

Apart from the ER doc, I have not done any follow-up yet with any docs. If that's what I should do, I can do that. But I do want some ammunition available for when/if I DO go in and talk with a doc.

Thanks!

[Mark Rippetoe]

If you're having neuro symptoms, it would be good to get a MRI-based diagnosis.

[Will Morris]

Mark,

Thanks for the reply. The diagnosis was by an ER doc on the day the injury occurred. Diagnosis was base, not on an MRI, but just a physical exam and based on symptoms. I'm not sure about the second question. About all I know apart from what I've mentioned is that it happened at the bottom of a squat....I think I went down faster than normal, which caused me to go down further than normal and into the dreaded "butt-wink."

Apart from the ER doc, I have not done any follow-up yet with any docs. If that's what I should do, I can do that. But I do want some ammunition available for when/if I DO go in and talk with a doc.

Thanks!

Numbness, especially in the foot, is not something that I typically do not get bent out of shape for. When someone has atrophy of a particular muscle that is innervated by a nerve root of suspicion, diminished reflexes, fasciculations, etc, I do get bent out of shape about that. Given your current symptoms, in the absence of harder, more concrete neurological symptoms, you'd probably be okay to start back with training.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Back Rehab: A Case Study | Mac Ward