How to relieve herniated disc pain in lower back reddit

So I've searched reddit and google for an answer and couldn't find a clear one so maybe you can help me?

I'm a 190cm (6.3') 94 kgs (207 lbs) 28 year old guy with a herniated lower back disc (so deadlifts and squats are out of the questions).

I've been told that I can't do a full body workout without these two excersies so I've tried a 6 days PPL split from Athlean x but didn't really like it as it had some weird excersies and no abs exercises.

So the question is: do you have a routine for someone with my limitations that can hit most muscles and get me in good shape without injuring myself even more? I'm willing to go 6 days to the gym.

Many thanks and sorry for the long post.

I'll try to keep it short. I'm 26 and as mentioned above, I got a severe herniated disc. I feel like I lost most of the muscles I built up with yoga before the herniation. Anyhow, it's really severe and I have no clue where to start with getting better, it has come to a point where I'm stuck in bed most of the day because everything I do seems to make the tingling and numbness worse, the pain is bearable atm. I can't even lie on my side because it makes things worse too. I still try to walk for some minutes and do the easy exercises my PT showed me, but I just don't know anymore. I'm feeling hopeless and helpless. Has anyone experienced the same? Am I supposed to just ignore the symptoms and exercise anyway? How am I supposed to get better if I can't do anything that builds up my muscles? I could really use some advice from someone who experienced the same. I desperately wanna have a better back again.

There is a ton of misinformation on here.

Any movement that puts the lumbar into flexion should be avoided. (Crunches, hanging leg lifts, bending over without utilizing your hips).

AVOID yoga. There is too much spinal movement which is not what you want. You need to learn how to keep a neutral spine at all times. It is good at teaching spinal positioning via pelvis movement but Yoga promotes a hypermobile spine. You can learn pelvic positioning by doing cat camel.

The one thing people have correct is that you should be doing core strengthening exercises. Side planks should absolutely be done, if you leave them out then you're sacrificing stability, you're ignoring two of the key buttresses of the spine.

Learn how to brace your core via the valsalva maneuver and do that when you bend over, or lift anything or work out. Practice until it becomes second nature.

Do this EVERYDAY: Cat camel: 2x8 slow reps (not a stretch) Bird dog: 3x6,4,2 10" per side Curl up: 3x6,4,2 10" Side bridge: 3x6,4,2 10" per side Increase reps then sets first before increasing time. Hip hinge with dowel: 3x20 Walking with arm swing: 2x30min per day whenever

After 2-3 weeks add in hip mobilizations and glute work: Hip airplane 3x 30" side Side lying clam 3x20 (don't move pelvis) Glute bridge 3x20 (contract butt first, make sure hamstrings are NOT flexed, no spinal flexion or extension!)

You need to practice good spine health throughout the day as well. Take note of what movements cause you pain. Avoid them. Some flexion based movements like the turtle stretch or slouching when sitting feel good for a few minutes as they're activating a stretch reflex in your erectors but are ultimately doing more damage to your discs, so avoid them.

Practice hip hinging and keeping a neutral spine while doing anything where you need to bend over or squat.

There is only one source who you should trust on this topic and it's Dr. Stuart McGill, as he has spent his life dedicated to spinal research.

To find out about injury processes and how your body reacts to your injury read his book "Lower Back Disorders: Evidence based prevention and rehabilitation" (this one can be downloaded)

For a laymen's version of the same: "Back Mechanic"

For increasing strength and performance after you are symptom free read "Ultimate Back Performance" (this one can also be downloaded)

I highly recommend you read the books.

EDIT: increasing stability will reduce the pain. Increasing spinal flexibility will cause more pain.

Post up some pictures of your posture from head to toe, side, back, front. You may have some other postural issues that may be important to address, although no matter what I'd start with the back regimen I already listed.

Hope this helps you feel better, back pain is the worst.

Hi everyone. I'm roughly 5 years into my adventure with a herniated lumbar disc, and thought I might save some folks the pain and effort on perhaps stumbling onto any of these things.

This is not medical advise, and you should probably speak with your doctor before making any changes to your respective pre-existing therapies. After all I'm just some dude on the internet!

• Sleep

Getting a good night's rest while recovering from or having an episode with a herniated disc is hugely important. Even when everything seems to be ok, my back will tend to voice it's discomfort a little if I wasn't able to get a restful sleep.

I also find sleeping on the couch or on a firmer mattress to be generally more comfortable. I'll also toss and turn less over the course of night, which 'morning back' does not enjoy.

• Walking

As your disc absorbs nutrients via diffusion, like a little sponge, getting some walking in every day has been huge in shortening my recovery periods. This is something you'll want to scale up as your back improves. I wouldn't push it too hard on a fresh injury as I've found that can make things worse.

I try to go to the gym or walk around the block every day. It's really helped me shorten recovery time when I have ever experienced a flare up and also pretty great for general maintenance.

• Good ol' homemade chicken stock

This is one I only stumbled across a couple years ago. The collagenous chicken parts: sinews, joints, etc. are a great place for your body to source vital nutrients to help repair your disc.

You can pick up chicken carcasses pretty cheap, and they'll contain everything you'll need to make a great basic stock. I try to consume 1 cup of chicken stock every day.

If you want to make a pretty tasty stock I'd personally recommend Martha Stewart's recipe.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=22oXSSETXBU

• Reducing inflammation

Inflammation is always a problem during an episode or after I've worked with my back for a while or putting my back into a no no position (this seems to be mostly subjective) or had a crappy night's rest... This I try to tackle in a few different ways. My first approach is usually a transition between hot and cold packs on my lower back for about an hour or so. If its particularly inflamed I'll talk a couple Robax Platinum and lie down while doing the hot/cold pack thing. For more long term reduction of inflammation i take 1000mg of turmeric curcumin with blackpepper once a day with food. It took about 2 weeks of daily use before I noticed a difference. Nature's Bounty is my go to. This has, in my opinion, reduce my recovery time during flare ups.

There are probably lots of other great tips out there for dealing with a herniated disc, the ones i mentioned above have seemed to have provided me the best results. I hope in some way this can help other people going through similar troubles.

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