Got the CT results this morning. Seems I have an extreme disc extrusion at L5S1. Evidently, I ruptured the disk just enough at some point to get it leaking, and gradually I got to the point that I got to in September -- total freaking pain.
The good news is that I now have better methods for dealing with it. The bad news, though, is that the doc tells me that given my age (30) and the size of the extrusion, he's not confident that this can be resolved without surgery.
Fan-freaking-tastic. So it turns out not to have been a muscular problem at all. Oh, how I wish . . .
One thing is clear, though: I'll never do a deadlift again. I asked whether it was possible to have hurt myself in February and gradually had the symptoms come on until Labor Day weekend, when it blew up on me, and he said absolutely. So that one deadlift that I think I did wrong, that twinged just the right way? That could've done it.
To think I brought this all on myself ...
Saturday, October 25, 2008
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4 comments:
While I wasn't "deadlifting," my issue seems to have happened at work, falling backwards while carrying some 60+ pounds of boxes (no, not at all smart). It does seem though that had I not gone to the doctor when I did, I would be in the same scenario. But, as you say, you can at least thread a belt without blowing up the nerve!
Don't drive too much - apparently that's what turned my minor back issue into the problem as it stands now.
The real funny thing is that for us, it's the same disc!
Should we stop picking games and start picking which vertebrae we'll next destroy? ;-)
Good luck with your rehab, my friend. I understand all too well...
Better L5 S1 than H5 N1...
Get well soon!
Bob's herniated disc is the same exact one. After the 1st surgery (laminectomy) when you guys were at UVA, he did what he was supposed to-exercise, walking, not a lot of sitting (especially not in traffic-for about 6 months and then that all went by the wayside (what exactly is a wayside anyway?). The result- a 2nd surgery on the same disc with 4 months of rehab because of scar tissue from the first surgery. The moral of this story - DO WHAT THEY TELL YOU TO DO AND STICK WITH IT!
Daniel -- I knew that those numbers and letters sounded familiar, but I actually had to look it up. Given the choice -- and it isn't entirely easy -- I'd probably take L5S1 over H5N1.
Robert -- No worries on the driving. There must be a difference between a slip/herniation and a rupture. The driver's seat is the most comfortable place I can be, and I made sure to mention it multiple times while talking with the doc, he said onlz not to do it after I get the shots for 12 hours. Apart from that, driving seems to be ok for me with this particular injury. Good damn thing, too, since I have to a lot of it . . .
Jackie -- Vielen Dank! I will absolutely adhere to the doctor's orders, no matter how irritating. Can't be worse than this. He already told me that the last deadlift I did is the last I'll ever do, and I'm ok with that. We'll see where else the hammer falls as this develops . . .
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