Help... bulging disc!!!

M

MCunningham

Cathlete
Hey, guys! Since you all seem so knowledgeable, I thought I'd check in with you on this... I just found out yesterday that I have a bulging disc in my lower neck/upper back area from doing KPC (I heard a tiny pop a week ago, and I've been uncomfortable since... a pinchy/burny feeling in my back).

I'm so upset! My doctor (who is admittedly not very "modern" and "up with the times") doesn't want me kickboxing anymore... and I'm just depressed because I want the injury to hurry up and heal...

Does anyone have any suggestions on what I could do to speed healing so I can get back to my routine? I've been laying down, relaxing, taking muscle relaxants and anti-inflammatory medication (prescription), and using a heating pad 20 minutes at a time... I'm just deathly afraid that my fitness will go down the tube if all I can do is walk on the treadmill... doctor said nothing but walking, and no lifting. Help!

Also, if any of you have had this problem or know about it, how would I prevent re-injury? Now I'm terrified that I am going to have a predisposition to this type of injury... and I'm only 26!! :(
 
Is your doctor a general practitioner, or a specialist in sports medicine, orthopedics or spine / neck issues? If the answer is the former, I'd suggest getting a referral to a specialist for some more specific advice and possibly a referral to a physical therapist. I personally, if I were in your situation, not try to self-heal without some specialized consult; the spinal column is nothing to try to handle on one's own.

JMHO -

A-Jock
 
MCunningham, please forgive the 15 grammatical felonies I committed in the above post.

Thank you.

a-Jokc
 
Try a chiropractor, that's what really helped me. I had a lot of back pain from doing Tae Bo, mostly the lower left side. I still don't do kickboxing, I don't like all that twisting and kicking, it aggravates my back. HTH
 
Hi,

I have had back problems since I was 24 with a bulging disk in my lower back. I decided to have surgery which did help as I was in pain every day. I have had back pain since (now 34). It comes and goes and sometimes had been really bad. I have new budging disk ect.

I guess many people can have budging disk and would not know it because it is not swollen or the tissue around it is not swollen to touch the nerve when the pain come from.

I went to chiro's for year and tried one again after 5 year of not going but my back was in so much pain. She said the reason it was good to go as I was skeptical is because the muscles and tissues are so swollen that the water can't move around the joints, discs so an adjustment just to get the water flowing helped a lot.

I will alway have pain but I still do Cathe. The doc said it will be like an old freind visiting once in awhile but I can still excercise.

Are you hurting? You have to take the time to heal up. Try an ice pack on the area also to reduce swelling.

Don't freak out and get worried that won't help. Unfortunately it is a waiting game so do the other exercises you can. Listen to your body it will let you know when it is time.

Kind of bleak but it is a temporary set back I think.

Hurry and heal- it may bother you from time to time.

Winter
 
My sister, who is a yoga instructor, has two bulging discs as well as a herniated one. She uses a combination of a chiropractor and physial therapy to help her situation. It's taking a very long time, but she is finally starting to feel less pain.

I'd definitely consult a doctor who is more into sports injuries, and I would also look into getting some physical therapy. The goal should be to get you back to your normal activities, not to make you stop them. To permanently stop doing kickboxing won't necessarily make your problem go away.

Shelbygirl
 
Thanks for your suggestions... yeah, I'm in a bit of discomfort. Not pain so much, but I guess my back muscles are rallying around the area and tightening to keep it immobile, which makes my muscles totally clenched and, by the end of the day, incredibly sore and painful.

I'm supposed to see my doctor again (primary care physician) in two weeks to see how I'm progressing and how I feel... with any luck, I'll feel a lot better... without any luck (which is usually how it goes with me), I won't feel a whole lot better, and I'll probably have to look into physical therapy. I'm not optimistic because my husband has/had a bulging disc in his neck from a soccer injury this past May, and physical therapy had only minimal effect with him.

I'm just really worried that this might be how my back feels for the rest of my life... it's a scary thought, and I'm kinda depressed about it.

Anyone out there have a bulging disc that ever went back to normal?
 
Did you have an MRI done? If not, how can they tell it's a bulging disk? I had a herniated disk which I too got from working out ( doing deadlifts incorrectly), and the same thing happened where I heard ( and felt)a popping sound. I went through all that you are doing including 2 months of physical therapy. Nothing cures a herniated disk. You may get some relief from the pain, but it could come back. I had microsurgery to fix it after 10 months of pain where I ended up not even being able to sit for 10 minutes. The surgery was a breeze compared to what I was going through. That was 5 years ago and now I can do anything, but I am very very careful!
 
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