Author Topic: Back Injuries, herniated disc...  (Read 5251 times)

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Heavy Lurk

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Back Injuries, herniated disc...
« on: October 29, 2014, 11:35:37 PM »
Been lurking for years, reaching out to the slap community for advice. I herniated a disc in my lower lumbar L5 S1... Its been over 4 months with no major improvement,including 2 plus months of physical therapy, can't skate, leg is seriously weakened(due to pressure on the nerve), which means I can't push, and ollies are basically impossible. Has anyone else experienced this? I'm 27 and been skating for 15 years so I'm not so young, but not that old, and I wanna keep skating. Has anyone had a microdiscectomy that's what the doctor is suggesting if the steroid injections don't work. 

tobbe

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Re: Back Injuries, herniated disc...
« Reply #1 on: October 30, 2014, 12:17:33 AM »
I have two herniated discs. the problems started three or four years ago, at one point it was so bad i couldnt feel my left leg because of the pressure on the nerves.
Went to a specialist that explained it was because i had too short muscles in my thighs (due to skating) wich caused the pelvis to tilt and put unnatural pressure on the discs.

Started doing a lot of physical therapy to strenghten the core and streching out the muscles in the pelvis area and it got med back on the board. Actually, im better now than ive been since my teenage years.

Long story short, strenghten the core, get a foam roller and learn the streches.
It will get better my man, just stick with it :)

Heavy Lurk

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Re: Back Injuries, herniated disc...
« Reply #2 on: October 30, 2014, 09:45:25 PM »
Thanks for posting man.

ginger lightning

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Re: Back Injuries, herniated disc...
« Reply #3 on: November 11, 2014, 04:14:44 PM »
same problem. Thank youuuuuu!!

GinosGroceries

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Re: Back Injuries, herniated disc...
« Reply #4 on: December 03, 2014, 02:59:14 PM »
I herniated my disc at L5 S1 when I was 20 after falling straight to my hip off of a quarter pipe. It caused a really sharp pain to go down my right leg everytime I sat in a chair or stood up. I didn't know I had herniated a disc at the time. My doctor misdiagnosed it as just having tight hamstrings(which I do). I never thought he was right(trust your instincts!). I tried months of physical therapy and countless visits to a chiropractor that never fixed my pain. Eventually I went to a spine specialist who had me get an mri. Surprise, I had sciatica. We tried the steroid injection to no avail. My next option was to have a microdiscectomy.

About a year after my fall, I finally had the surgery. It's rough to go through but any back surgery is. It was worth it. My pain was so much better, but not completely gone. 6 months post-op my spine doctor said the pain is only going to get better to a certain extent because it had been herniated for a year. I think you're lucky that you've got it figured out as soon as you have.

I had to take pain pills to get rid of the remaining pain. They fucked with my stomach and caused other problems so I don't recommend that at all. Only every once in a while if the pain gets bad.

Fast forward to now, and I'm 24. I gave the steroid shots another try during the summer and they helped this time. Combine them with some physical therapy I've been doing for my core and I'm feeling great these days.

I never had numbness or weakness so maybe what worked for me isn't quite right for you, but I definitely agree with Tobbe to strengthen your core and stretch.

Sorry for the long post haha. I just wanted to share my story. I'm surprised these kinds of injuries aren't more common in skateboarding. The only time I've ever read of a pro talking about it was Steve Berra in a DVS ad back in 2003.

I hope everything works out for you! I feel your pain. Keep us updated