Body builders opinion?

[gordo14]

Okay i'll make this short and sweet, i have had a bad back for years courtesy of 2 car wrecks, and a motorcycle wreck. I always grinned and beared it in the gym. Well the pain got horrendous so i took a week off and went to the doctor. I have 3 bulging discs. I have yet to talk to the doc about exercise, but i know what he will say"NO LIFTING!" Should i just work on getting shredded through cardio and diet, while not lifting, or should i lift lighter? I was training DC. Can i still DC? If so what lifts should i avoid? I have a feeling i won't be able to rotate 3 exercises per bodypart with out one that hurts me. Thanks in advance fellas, and i am not asking for medical advice. Just your opinions.

 

[gordo14]

Some more info....

I spoke with the nurse, and at this point he wants me to get injections into the affected areas on my back. Cortizone i believe which will help reduce the inflamation. That is not a fix all though, it will just stop the pain, and other nerve issues. However i spoke with a very knowlegeble chap here that is in the chiro industry, he advises against the shots because they can further degenerate the discs. I was under the impression a chiro can help move them back into place, and help get everything back into alignment. My doc doesen't believe in chiro's, so no refferal there. By no means was i going to ignore the situation, and i wasn't asking for medical advice. Looking more for similar experiances. I feel like i lost a very important peice of me if i can't train.

 

[pesty4077]

I spoke with the nurse, and at this point he wants me to get injections into the affected areas on my back. Cortizone i believe which will help reduce the inflamation. That is not a fix all though, it will just stop the pain, and other nerve issues. However i spoke with a very knowlegeble chap here that is in the chiro industry, he advises against the shots because they can further degenerate the discs. I was under the impression a chiro can help move them back into place, and help get everything back into alignment. My doc doesen't believe in chiro's, so no refferal there. By no means was i going to ignore the situation, and i wasn't asking for medical advice. Looking more for similar experiances. I feel like i lost a very important peice of me if i can't train.

Well, nothing against your Doctor, but Cortizone is only going to mask the problem. I actually think a muscle relaxer will help with motrin. You can do nothing and take pain killers, or try to help eliminate the problem. Yes, go to the chiropractor, to help eliminate the problem. Ask what exercises you can do to stengthen that area. Don't over do it, and best of luck in your recuperation.

 

[cslim]

Well, nothing against your Doctor, but Cortizone is only going to mask the problem. I actually think a muscle relaxer will help with motrin. You can do nothing and take pain killers, or try to help eliminate the problem. Yes, go to the chiropractor, to help eliminate the problem. Ask what exercises you can do to stengthen that area. Don't over do it, and best of luck in your recuperation.

I definitely agree! Please don't just mask the problem because it will only get worse later on.
I also suffer from serious neck and lower back pain and have recently re-committed myself to the chiropractor 2x per week and i'll also be getting Active Release Therapy on my muscles to help increase blood flow to the areas by getting the knots out, etc. once per week.
I won't ever be able to lift the amount of weight i need to to reach my goals without putting in the time to heal and in a sense, reconstruct my back.

I strongly believe you should get yourself to a chiropractor and get your back healthy again!

 

[hellraiser27]

I spoke with the nurse, and at this point he wants me to get injections into the affected areas on my back. Cortizone i believe which will help reduce the inflamation. That is not a fix all though, it will just stop the pain, and other nerve issues. However i spoke with a very knowlegeble chap here that is in the chiro industry, he advises against the shots because they can further degenerate the discs. I was under the impression a chiro can help move them back into place, and help get everything back into alignment. My doc doesen't believe in chiro's, so no refferal there. By no means was i going to ignore the situation, and i wasn't asking for medical advice. Looking more for similar experiances. I feel like i lost a very important peice of me if i can't train.

Excuse my ignorance, but what is DC?

Sometimes a good massage therapist can do wonders.

Also, get a second opinion! From a doctor.

 

[gordo14]

LOL!

Excuse my ignorance, but what is DC?

Sometimes a good massage therapist can do wonders.

Also, get a second opinion! From a doctor.

Doggcrapp Training. 1 set per body part, maximum intensity, rest paused to failure. That about sums up DC in a nutshell.

 

[gassy]

Having dealt with a lot of injuries; one thing I can advise is don't stop working out. Lift lighter and lift around the injuries but do your best to keep moving. Chiro's can be traumatic in my experience, they can give you a quick fix, then the probmlem comes back twice as bad so you go back to the chiro and so on. Good old physical therapy, exercise, invertion table(hanging upside down) and muscle relaxers when needed have worked the best for my back and neck. Good luck.

 

[Sassy]

Sometimes a good massage therapist can do wonders.

Same here.... I have use a good massage therapist for years. I think there are some forms of alternative medicines that are better than medication.

Also PM Everlast... he's got two lower lumbar degenerative disks. He can tell you what he does to keep his back health.

It's very important to keep working out when you have back problems. This helps keep you back strong and flexible. Be sure and do lots of stretching exercises too. I had a workout partner who also had major back problems. He said that he lifts weights to avoid having back surgery. Now this doesn't mean that you can got all out with your lifting. You will have some limitations, so train smart.

 

[gordo14]

Thanks for all the replys....

I won't have an in depth coversation with the Doc for about a week. I'm still kinda at a loss. So i can keep training, and don't avoid any back exercises, just lighten up the load i'm pulling? Belt? No belt? What about squats? I can still go all out on pressing movements, but on Monday before i knew my results i was using the hammer row thinking it would keep my back more stable.....and i paid for it still till today. Then again i was one arm rowing 190 pounds for reps so that may have been the problem. Silly me. Anyone else please chime in.

 

[particleacc]

This is a subject I am curious about as well. I have a lower back injury (just one disk though) that has been acting up badly for about a year and a half. I got the cortizone shots, which did absolutely nothing. I was prescribed darvocet, then Vicodin, along with muscle relaxers. The only thing that worked was taking too much Vicodin (3 at a time), which gave me pain relief for an hour.

I then saw a chiropractor. Each time I saw him, I got relief for 1 day. He suggested coming to him every day for a month straight, which was just too expensive.

I do not want to just keep popping pain killers. Besides, taking 3 Vicodins for 1 hour of relief just doesn't make much sense to me. (By the way, I do not get the typical "high" from that dose, believe it or not. Probably because I weigh around 290.) It is a waste and a strain on my liver with very little payoff. Paying the chiro every day for that one day of relief doesn't make much sense to me either.

I do lift heavy and interestingly enough, feel better for about 45 minutes to an hour after most workouts.

All that said, I would not consider surgery. I have seen a number of people permanently screwed up from surgery to fix problems like this. I do not want to do a ton of pain killers for the rest of my life. However, it is hard to get to sleep most nights due to the pain. I wake up often from the pain at night. In the morning, it is a real chore just to get dressed and I am usually hunched over for an hour or 2.

You wouldn't guess this from looking at me. I am big and strong. However, I am in CONSTANT pain and it is very difficult to live with. Would love to hear about stuff that actually FIXES this problems and is not just a cover-up or temporary fix.

 

[hellraiser27]

Doggcrapp Training. 1 set per body part, maximum intensity, rest paused to failure. That about sums up DC in a nutshell.

Learn something new everyday.