Bulging Discs

[Acesrus]

Hey Gang, I was just diagnosed with 2 bulging discs in C5-6 and C6-7 with the latter being the worse of the two. Been instructed to treat with a variety of options including deep muscle massage, epidural steroid shot, and traction/PT, and no heavy lifting. I start everyday with my routine and up until now I’ve been good. I do have some numbness in my left arm and soreness but it’s vastly better today than last week which was a lot of pain. Is there a recommended plan to get back to the weight room. Doc is saying lots of low weight reps but I much prefer heavy iron. Thanks Ace

[neilc1]

Doc is saying lots of low weight reps but

you seeing my doctor?

how do you figure c5 - 7 got bulgy ?
injury or computer?

how is your pressing ?

[Acesrus]

I think it was a series of auto accidents where I was rear ended 25 years ago if I had to guess. I was feeling great up until I was shrugging a few weeks ago. Numbness is persisting but getting better I think.

[neilc1]

what are you shrugging about?

[Will Morris]

Herniated discs reduce / heal with time. Disc material herniates out, then migrates back, then herniates out, then migrates back in. The auto accidents from 25 years ago are incidental and not related to this at all. If they were, you would have had issues then. If I were a betting man, I'd say that you were performing shrugs and throwing your neck into cervical flexion. Try performing the same exercise, or presses, with a nerf basketball between your chin and chest and see how it feels.

[Frank_B]

I just want to say that, for one, I have had virtually the same injury for about the last 3 years. The pain and the quality of life change had me very depressed. I did discover that swimming helped and long bouts of cardio such as running and cycling seemed to stave off some of the symptoms temporarily, but I would always have a nagging ache in my traps and shoulders that never went away. The best I can put it is that my neck felt like I slept wrong every single day of my life for three years. I trained as a triathlete for a while, thinking this is what I had to do to keep the pain away. It kind of helped in the same way that icing something numbs things long enough to make you think it had any effect.

About two months ago, I realized that my physical job was getting harder. I was struggling with stuff I used to be able to lift and everything hurt. I felt generally weak.

I decided to start a Strength program and kind of randomly stumbled across SS and liked Rippetoe’s personality. I’ve lifted weights before but always just did the standard “back and bicep, chest and triceps, leg day routine” and probably skipped leg day more often than not.

I started two months ago with bar weight only on all exercises but the deadlift because I wasn’t confident in any of my movement patterns. Within two weeks, I learned that the overhead press was a magical exercise. I’m up to 90 lbs. with it (my progression isn’t great), but more importantly, performing the press resolves my neck issues entirely for at least a few days. It’s gotten to the point where if I feel an “episode” coming on, I pretty much divert to the gym and do some presses. It’s basically my “pain pill.”

I’m not saying that in the acute phase of your injury you need to be doing overhead presses, but I do think that my problems would have been resolved a lot sooner had I focused on strength.

As for work, my aches and pains are gone. I am back to lifting stuff and not worrying about injuries all the time. I’m not a strong person, but I’m getting there slowly but surely and I feel far more capable.

Good luck!

[Acesrus]

Thanks for the thoughtful responses. I’m going to test the waters this week at 50% of my working weight and work myself back into the program.

[neilc1]

so out of serious curiosity,
what lifts are you doing and at what weights?
(Rip's main 4 as a NLP ?)

where did the shrugs come from?
(and stop them)