Herniated disc

Welcome om board.

When the soft part between the bones in the spine presses on the nerves around the backbone, it is called a herniated disc. The word “herniate” (say: her-nee-ate) means to bulge or to stick out. Sometimes this problem is called a ruptured disc.

The pain from a herniated disc usually is worse when you are active and gets better when you are resting. Coughing, sneezing, sitting, driving, and bending forward may make the pain worse. The pain gets worse when you make these movements because there is more pressure on the nerve.

People with painful herniated discs often try to change positions to reduce the pain. You may have found that holding yourself up with your hands while you are sitting helps the pain. Shifting your weight to one side also may help.

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Hi Sunshined,

I am so sorry to hear of your troubles. I have a disc protrusion (one step before a disc herniation) in my lumbar spine which suddenly caused a lot of pain back in early 2016. I think the idea in terms of walking, is that though it’s important to rest, you also can’t be too idle with back pain either because otherwise the back can start to stiffen up which isn’t healthy either. Walking will hurt. I would advise you not to walk too much if it’s too painful as doing too much at once can make things worse. It’s a difficult balancing act and I would be careful with your activity and for lack of a better expression, take baby steps so you don’t jeopardise your recovery. Unfortunately, to a certain extent you have to be the judge as to what is and what is not too much for your body. I hope things get better for you.

Hi

I have 6 prolapsed discs in my spine. All of my lumbar vertebrae discs plus T11-T12 and like you I have problems walking. Also I was a Consultant Practitioner Radiographer so I will try and help you as much as I can.

I have and probably like you nerve root abutment on both L5-S1 nerve roots. These are the main nerves that go down the legs, including the sciatic nerve.

You may need a micro discectomy to release the nerve, however the back pain will never go away.

I'm on buprenorphine patches 20mg. Codeine phosphate 60mg and tramadol 100mg. You may need stronger meds. It just depends on what route you want to go down. Hope this helps.

I was 21 when my first disc herniated/bulged and 36 when I had to have an emergency operation after the disc at L5/S1 ruptured causing me to go numb all below the waist. A disc doesn't "explode" but like @Bananas5 has explained so succinctly, they rupture…the little swines! Causing untold pain and suffering.

I am now 59 and like you, have discs herniated in my cervical and thoracic spine, all the way down. Some days the pain is horrific (like today) and others I can go for a whole day without so much as a twinge. Walking is painful, yes, but if you don't keep going, you seize up.

Try a heat pad or wheat bag on the painful areas when you're sitting, we all find our little ways of easing the pain, rubs help (don't know what you have in the USA I'm in the UK) I use a couple of different ones. There are belts with heat pads which warm up when pressed against the skin too, they really help me and patches for shoulder/neck pain. Sleeping, try a pillow between your knees or a rolled up blanket for lower back pain and for your neck, make sure you have the best one possible for support.

Hi there. I have much the same issues as yourself. I had one disc removed from my neck and degeneration top middle & bottom of my spine. I did this when I was 24 years old in the Royal Marines. I’m now 56 and over the years I have found that moving around & trying to keep busy does help. That said there are times when I just can’t move. My current drug regime is. 20mg OxyContin modified release and 10mg immediate release with Amitryptelene at night to help me sleep. I also use zaicin cream which is for my knees on my back. I also put on Lidocaine patches to help with pain. Hope this helps. And good luck. Try to keep mobile. It does hurt but trust me it does help.

I have 2 herniated disks in my lower back and have experienced this pain that you describe.

I recommend only walking on even ground and not very far. It’s wise to keep moving

but I find that too much exercise is not beneficial and that lying down to rest (in your best position) with a hot water bottle next to the painful area and some ibuprofen will help to settle the pain. Don’t overdo any kind of exercise as these disks need time to regenerate and heal. I’ve found turmeric with black pepper has helped with the inflammation and drinking lots of mineral water too. Hope this helps you😀

Hello i suffer from the same problem and i find when i walk the next day im in agony and it takes about 3 days before i feel ok now wether that is the discs ir the fybro i honestly dont know just that im in pain and have to rest i also cant sleep for this and when i wake up i have to get up to get moving so i feel for you and the only thing is keep going and good luck

You are looking for a quick and easy answer. There isn't one. We can all make an educated guess based on our own experiences. However, the educated guess may be right or it may be wrong. You need to do your own investigation to see if the guess is accurate for your case or not.

There is a saying from the New Testament which says: "It is easier to see the spec of dust in someone else's eye than the plank in your own." The truth is we cannot see our own bad ways of doing things. We rely on someone else to point out the problem.

There are hundreds of different ways of walking. Some good, some bad. So walking may be a constructive exercise or it may not. You are going to need to see someone who can look at the way you do things and reduce the muscle problems you have. It is worth finding a local Alexander Teacher to help you become aware of the way you use muscle and hold your posture. It is an unfortunate fact of life that medical doctors do not know very much if at all how muscles work and resort to pain killers as a solution for movement problems causing pain.

Muscles are strongest at their longest length. The more contracted a muscle is the weaker it becomes. The more contracted a muscle is the more compression there is on structures that prefer not to have compression. They reply to uncomfortable forces by saying ouch in one form or another. It is an easy option to use pain killers to mask the ouch. This has the problem that you can damage things without realising it because the pain killer has masked the pain.

A skilled massage therapist should be able to reduce tight muscles and lengthen out over contracted muscles. Pain killers cannot do this. Muscles have nerves which tell the muscle to contract. There are no nerves to tell a muscle to uncontract. You need another muscle to do the lengthening out of muscle. Or if the problem is bad another person to do the lengthening.

I wish I could say more. I cannot because I have no idea if the disc problem is caused by muscle spasm or something more sinister. You need examination by people who use their hands to determine muscle problems. They can give valuable second opinion to take back to the doctor.

Hope I have been helpful.

I don't know WHY pain is made worse by walking but I know it is. I have had spinal problems for a very long time and have had 2 surgeries. The first was over 20 years ago and I was advised then to do certain exercises including walking and all that happened was that my pain was seriously aggravated - and my condition worsened. As a result I had 2 severely damaged discs and needed surgery. I am unconvinced that you have received the correct advice and, if possible, I believe that you should get a second opinion. I am fortunate that I am British and therefore have excellent free (at point of need) medical care. Even so, if I was sufficiently dissatisfied, I would seek a second opinion - even if I had to pay for it myself. (And I don't have much disposable income).

It is true that the usual advice with back pain is no longer 'bed rest' -which used to be recommended a very long time ago - and some movement is good. However, if pain is worsened by walking it is clearly not helping (in my personal opinion) and I am surprised that swimming wasn't recommended, or even walking in waist-high water if you are a non-swimmer.

But at the time I received such bad advice from a medical practitioner (not a doctor) I, although a good, strong swimmer previously, thought I was going to drown in a pool because the pain was too severe for me to move my legs. However, water based exercise is generally better as it is non weight-bearing as the water supports the body. So I personally would only exercise if the pain is tolerable.

I hope that helps, even though I haven't actually answered your question.