Help me understand the back1

Hello.  Ten years ago I was diagnosed with calcium deposits and a bit of degenerative disc in my L4/L5.  Through yoga I've been able to beat 95% of the pain, but never the stiff, lack of mobility feeling.  My pain is almost never muscular although self massaging the lower back muscles does help with the pain when it gets bad.  Recently I got health insurance after forever and had X-rays done.  My doctor said there appears to be nothing wrong.  My yoga has been going as usual, except on Friday I did too far of a back bend and over the next 24 hours my lower L4/L5 area has descended into a lot of pain.  It doesn't really want to be moved.  I shouldn't sit, but laying down is okay.  

My question is, what is going on here?  This isn't the first time I've felt this way, but I've never been able to understand why it's happening.  Am I pinching the disc and it's inflammed now and as it reduces in swelling the pain goes away?  I don't know anything about how the disc works and pain associates with it.  Any understanding that can be shed would be welcome.  Thankyou.

[Kurizu]

I would suggest avoiding movements that will aggravate the pain.  Usually these are the movements that pushes the disk outside of its boundary.  

Right now, your condition is still not that serious to impinge the nerve roots causing radiating pains to the leg, but you need PT to prevent further injury.

Physical therapy treatment is very important in degenerative disk recovery.   There are many modalities that they may use to control the pains associated with the disk. Stretching exercises specific to the tight muscle are very important to avoid further injury.  Strengthening exercises of the core muscles is also very important for your back to become stable.  You need a PT to demonstrate these exercises because if you do the exercise incorrectly, there's a chance that you might be pushing the disk more outside of its boundary, instead of pushing it inside.

In the meantime, try putting warm compress for 20 minutes to minimize the pain, get into the habit of standing every 30-45 minutes of sitting to minimize pressure on the lower back, get-up from the bed correctly, and avoid faulty posture.

I hope this helps! Take care!

[vandykd3]

It does.  Thanks!