I have a Herniated Disc/Sciatica- Which Cathe w/o can I do, and can't do?

B

beachgerrrl

Cathlete
Well, this has suc*ed big time! I hurt my back 10 days ago. Long story short, I've been doing Cathe's Cardio and Slow & Heavy for MONTHS now -- no problem. Then, I try out YOGA for the first time, and I end up with a hurt back???? nuts! Actually, it was all my fault: BAD seated posture for 10 hrs+ per day on computer+FORCING yoga poses without a warm up. Stupid stupid stupid idiot me! Plus, I have some scoliosis (side to side curve in spine). Dr said he thinks this is a temp over compensation for the sciatica. That my spine should straighten out later, when the herniated disc heals. But, he sais maybe I might still have a slight curve IF I had scoliosis as a teen. :(

I have a thread on it on videofitness forum:

http://forum.videofitness.com/showthread.php?t=79676

I have 6-8 wks of NO exercise, except for recumbant bike in 4 wks. Then, I'm off to rehab for I don't know how long.
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I'm having Cathe w/o withdrawl. *boo hiss* I miss my Step and weights!!!

Q:
So, when I'm better (if one can ever be better with a bad lumbar region), WHICH Cathe workouts would be good? which should I avoid now (dr told me to avoid squats, dead lifts, and all forward bending poses...not sure if for now, or forever). I'll learn more when he sees me in a few weeks.

Q:
Should I stick to only low impact and maybe endurance? or what?

thanks!
 
Hi beachgurrrl! I am definitely not Cathe, but I just wanted to post a little note here because you seemed so sad and discouraged! Unfortunately, I have been in your shoes. I was in a car accident and had some minor cervical damage and some major lumbar damage. I have a herniated disc between L4-L5 with a tear so there is no fluid left in the disc. Sorry to bore you with the details, but the point of the story is that I was told all of the same things that you were by my doctors (ALL of them!!). They all wanted to operate on me! I am in no way undermining what your doctors told you - PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO RECOVER!!!! I just want you to know that I am able to do all of Cathe's workouts now and actually, I feel much worse if I don't workout! I was told that I would NEVER be able to do soooo many things and that I would be bedridden if I were to get pregnant. Anyway, 2 children later, aside from the "normal" back pain that everyone has during pregnancy, I was fine. I just don't want you to give up hope! I hope that you can prove them wrong! TAKE YOUR TIME AND TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF!!! JUST KNOW THAT THERE IS HOPE!! Good luck to you and keep us posted!
 
Thank you so much for your post, Sara! I'm sorry you had such a horrible accident. wow! But the upbeat news of your recovery is wonderful to know! I can't tell you how huge a smile it brought to my spirits here. :) I really can't wait to get back to working out, but yes, I will make sure I do recover completely. I've been trying not to get too depressed, but I'm out of both my jobs (temporarily, they say), and I am just so ticked off at myself for having caused this needless problem. I'll never forget to warm up before stretching or yoga again.

You did NOT have an operation, then? Is that correct?

thanks again!
 
No, I didn't have the surgery! Thank God, I listened to my heart and my body and just pushed through. I'm sorry to hear about your jobs! :( Tough break all at once! Just know that there is a reason for everything - I know that can be hard to imagine right now x(, but things will work out the way they are supposed to! Have faith!! :7
 
I had the same problem about 3-4 months ago, after yoga!! Mine was painful, but the doctor didn't think it was too serious. He says I can exercise "carefully" now....I haven't lifted more that an 8 lb dumbell yet.
I would love to hear of other people who have had this problem that can now do the cathe workouts....to give me and "beachgerrl" hope for better things to come!


Paula
 
I do not have a herniated disc but I have gotten over the sciatica and am back to full exercising routines but it did take a while. To get over the sciatica, I did stretching exercises at LEAST 3 if not more times per day based on my physical therapist recommendations which did include forward bends, spinal twist, hip openers and a few other stretches. I had the pain down the side of the leg and could not deal with my spin class or any over head presses. I did use resistance bands for some upper body work and dumbbells while seated or laying down (standing could be tough). It takes time and stretching, stretching, and stretching (and patience!!!!!!! You have to take it easy on the recovery trail so you can get better permanently). I found that pilates was an outlet that I could do while in recovery mode EXCEPT the lower body and butt work.

The good news is that I now cross train and do it all once again. I teach group fitness classes and can now do kickboxing, weights with Cathe (and have increased to more weight than before), pilates, yoga, spin class, basically everything. It did take time to do it all and it was tough to start with kneelifts. It was a challenge to do the Carribean Kickbox workouts (floor). It did not get back to stepping until well after full recovery.

Good luck, listen to your body, make sure you have a complete recovery so you do not reinjure and have patience.
 
Thanks girls!

Sheila?
How long is a "while"? How long did it take for your sciatica to go away? My pain was only in my right big toe. Felt like a tack stabbing me at times. I had intermittant leg shooting pains, but heck, I've had those for a long time, now and then, and just thought they were muscle aches. :(

I'm trying NOT to get depressed, but it's hard. The main thing I'm worried about is gaining weight. I've never really "dieted" in the last 15 yrs, bec I worked out so hard. I could eat whatever I wanted very easily, and not gain. I've eaten clean the past 9 yrs, but I take in a LOT of calories.

Now what do I do? I'm used to eating a lot (5+ meals per day), but I'm NOT working out. I have to either lay down or stand most of the day, bec sitting doesn't feel good with my back. Yet, when standing, I can't do housework or computer work. I can't model now. I can't do anything!! So, I'm so scared I'm just going to eat and eat and eat, out of boredom. I used to have an eating problem as a teen. That was a while back, and working out really changed all that for me. I don't want to become neurotic about calories again, but I can sense that feeling beginning. I keep checking my waist and hips in the mirror, and I catch myself doing this, and then get worried. I know my husband is very worried, and he keeps trying to make sure I eat, which only makes me act more crazy about the weight.

The upside to this is that despite not being able to work at my 2 jobs, I do have people who have told me they have positions for me if I don't go back to my old work. So that's a good thing, anyway.

_______________

Does anyone have any advice about how i can keep my weight down, while I'm not working out? I'm trying to eat smaller portions, but I find that I want to munch on nuts, fruit, etc a lot now during the day, and I know how fatty/high sugar they are. I know I'm eating out of nervousness and frustration.

I'm sorry to obsess here, but I'm so out of my element with all this.
 
I think it took 3 months but I do believe it would have been less if I had not tried to go back too quickly and pushed myself with workouts which is why I stress patience.

What you can do to help with the nerves and frustration is get some nice calming or enjoyable music, listen to it while you do your stretching exercises instead of eating. I did at least 3 times if not 5 times per day since I, too, sit at a computer most of my day. I could not sit too long, however, without having more discomfort so I would sit a bit and then walk to the bathroom or somewhere else for the movement. I would suggest trying to do that so that you don't "freeze" in the seated position and do more harm. Then I would take a stretch break and would set up my yoga mat in the office at work and stretch as needed. I also increased my stretch to minutes from 15 sections at a time.

The food issue, well, I did gain some weight from sciatica but I was not a really good clean eater and had the frustration as well. I did not have an eating disorder but was overweight for most of my younger years before I learned about exercise and how it could help me control my weight. I now know that I have to eat regularly throughout the day. Perhaps just focusing on the right foods will help you such as fruits and vegetables (I do not have any urges for nuts so am safe from that craving).

I do not know if this will help you, but perhaps weighing just once per week so you can get a feeling for your current status. I am worried, however, that it may do more harm than good given your concern but sometimes when I lose weight, I feel like I am gaining it (weird).

You may wish to read a book called "Eat to Live" by Joel Fuhrman - I just started reading it and he states that eating more natural foods are good for you and you can lose weight doing so.

I know it is tough but hang in there. You will get better but you have to listen to your body, exercise patience and stretch according to your doctor's instructions.

If I had it to do all over again (and I am determined not to let that happen), I would also go to an licensed acupunturist for the relief of the pain down the side of the leg. That alone made me crazy and it took so long to go away!
 
I feel your pain! I herniated a lumbar disc two years ago from lifting one of my kids into her car seat. I developed sciatica from it too. My orthopod told me because I was in such great shape from doing Cathe workouts, and because there was no nerve involvement, just pain, he didn't need to put any restrictions on me, because there's really no proof that exercising will make your back pain worse. He didn't even recommend PT! Instead, I strengthened my core by doing lots of supermans and non-weighted lower back exercises. I did lay off the impact for a couple of months and avoided deadlifts, etc. I gradually added the intensity after a couple of months, and the only time my back would hurt was on my days off from exercise!

One note, kickboxing seemed to aggravate my back more so than other intense workouts, so I stayed away from it for about a year. Now I can do it again, but I make sure I stretch extra long afterwords. Good luck!
 
Sorry to hear that you are hurting... I am one that got a herniated disk from doing deadlifts incorrectly. After 10 months of 24/7 pain, physical therapy, epidural injection , etc. I had the herniated disk repaired with out-patient micro-surgery and it was the best thing I ever did. I am careful when I excercise ( Kickboxing is the one I have to be most careful of), and no jumping jacks etc. Otherwise I can do all other things.

I hope you are able to correct your problem with lots of rest etc
 
RE: I have a Herniated Disc/Sciatica- Which Cathe w/o c...

Read a book called Healing Back Pain by John Sarno, M.D.. I have two herniated discs in my lower back and was told by my specialist not to lift weights (or anything over 10 lbs) ever again and that I would eventually need surgery. We worried about having kids too since I could barely walk and would never be allowed to pick up anything over 10 lbs again. After months of phsyical therapy and heavy paing killers I got really depressed. A friend of mine who had chronic back problems and surgery (which didn't help him) recommmended the book. I bought the book. While reading it, I was skeptical but I didn't have much else so I kept reading. At any rate, I haven't had any real back pain to speak of in 4-5 years.

Another thing I thought about were athletes who have horrible injuries and come back to perform at the highest level. I couldn't imagine that I would never be allowed to lift weights again and decided I was just too young to accept a perscription like that. Maybe I was more open to the philospy in the book beacuse of that but I can tell you it helped me and lots of others. Read the reviews on Amazon.
 
RE: I have a Herniated Disc/Sciatica- Which Cathe w/o c...

I agree about the book Healing Back Pain. I read it during my recovery and I think it helped me recover faster. The whole mindset that in most cases, if you think a certain activity is going to bother your back than it will, kind of like a self-fulfilling prophecy, holds true. I know there are times when I'm stressed about something my back will start acting up again. I tell myself, your back hurts because you're upset about this and that. Once I acknowledge the stessor, my back pain goes away.

And speaking of athletes and injuries, I remember Cathe describing her horrible knee injury and the surgery and extensive rehab she underwent afterwards, yet you look at what's she accomplished since! Your determination has a lot to do with your recovery success.
 
Hey Beachgerrl!
Not to worry. Just about everyone has herniated disks, it's a part of growing older and part of being a female!!! I have 2 herniated disks with a protrusion that cause sciattica. I saw a few back surgeons who told me that since I was "functional" they didn't recommend surgery.

My advice - get to physical therapy. They will give you exercises (love those supermans) and help you move and sit correctly. On a positive note, I am so much more confident looking now because I'm always sitting up straight!!

Listen to your pt and don't do too much too soon. As for losing fitness, don't worry. Eat clean and I found walking to be good for me. I did light weight lifting, straight leg cables (talk about leg definition that I never got doing squats and lunges). When I was lifting light (I went back to 5 lbs) I really squeezed the muscles and focused on them. I made progress in my fitness by being so focused.

I found this was a learning opportunity - how to lift and get maximum benefit, and how to be kind to my body, not punish it. It paid off!
I still have pain if I sit too long, but I know now that I should stand up and move around every 20 minutes. I got my desk at work ergonomically fixed and bought a wheely briefcase.

I'm back to working out a lot, but go light on deadlifts or substitue for them.

Hang in there, rejuvinate right now and learn to listen to your body. It will tell you what things aggravate it and what makes it work better!


PS My doctor wanted me to stay with low impact for a long time.
Best wishes !
 
Thanks so much girls! Your posts have really made me feel so much better emotionally. And I appreciate the meal and excercise tips, too. :) Thanks!

Today's been much better. No real toe pain, or rather, not as sharp. I guess the muscle relaxant has finally kicked in. I have just 2 more days left on the Prednisone, so maybe that too is finally working.

I'm making a time schedule for meals; I think it'll help me from munching all day long. :)

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Question:
Have any of you used an Inversion Table? I've heard they're great for herniated disk/sciatica sufferers, and they were mentioned in the Yoga For Scoliosis site.

I found these, called Teeter Hangups.
http://www.teeterhangups.com/products/f7000.html


Anyone tried them? If so, what did you think?

thanks!
 
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