disc herniation & radiating electric pain

[mahaamin]

I'm 34 y, 105 kg and 177cm hieght. i used to be aactive regardless that im overweight ,played many sports and goes to the gym regularly. i had a health problem last year rested at home for about 7 months,and as a result i gained 10 kg going from 95 kg to my current weight, again i started to go to the gym with all my power to loss extra weight, used spinning pikes and orbitracks, after 3 classes of spinning,i had a backache which begun to increase and lastly get worse radiating to my left buttocks and leg laterally, first i handelled the matter by myself taking oral analgesics which became useless after 10 days, then i went to ortho. doctor advised by bed rest and muscle relaxants and analgesic,also was no pain releif, so, i started to take IM voltaren, then went to make MRI that showed mild S3-S4 , S4-S5 disc , and sever disc herniation S5-L1 with a slight normal space between vertebrae. then lastly i started PT the second session was 2 days ago, here i would like to ask,if it will be normal one month ago to go to the gym? if swimming is ok ?  , is steps excercise and trademills and bikes is contra-indicated in my case? N.B. I know that i must loose weight but i don't eat much and i loose weight only when exercising. pleasr, advice me.

[Dr Sharma]

Hello dear and welcome to the medhelp forum. There are certain considerations while trying to lose weight while having a coexisting lumbosacral disc propalse.  You need a guided and supervised exercise program with focus on correct mechanics like keeping the spine in neutral position, particularly when doing weight training. You need to use the muscles of buttocks and thighs when lifting weights and keep the spine straight. Get the help of a nutritionist for approximation of daily calorie intake and the foods that you must consume.  Under proper guidance of a nutritionist/dietician and a weights trainer in a gym, you can lose weight without aggravation of your back. Wishing you all the best.

[mahaamin]

dear,
thanks for your fruitful reply.  I hope I can go for your instructions but my physician recommended me not to go to the gym as I still have inflammation in the sciatic nerve and gym may exagerate the inflammation, also, recently, I had a trigger point compressing the course of the nerve causing sever pain, Iam still in physiotherapy.

[ggreg]

I can't ride on a bike anymore, either, because of lower back problems, altho it's my whole back that is wrecked up.  But I tore up my tailbone area, and also have facet joint disease in my lumbar area.  But walking or treadmill should be okay for you, I think, just not the bike spinning.  I can walk, altho my lower back gives out after a while, in which case strenghtening the tummy muscles helps that, as wearing a back brace might at least get you in better shape...after a while, you shouldn't wear a brace all the time, makes the muscles too weak after a while.

Look, you can do a number of exercises without putting a lot of strain on your back, with walking the best.  Just so you break a sweat regularly, and yes, swimming is fine but you may need to confine it to back strokes since going forward makes the lower back curve too much.  Upper body weights ought to be okay.  You may need to try for surgery, but another thing to do before that is they can give numbing or anesthetic shots into that group of nerves where the lumbosacral spine injury is that you have, which they have to repeat periodically.

I don't know what kind of diets you've tried, but there are two schools of thought.  One is to practically stop eating, or only liquids, or fast.  The other is to "feed the fire," which is to eat low-cal but enough to keep a "burn" going when you do your exercise.  Whatever you do, only diet sodas, lots of water, exercise two or three times a day, keep a graph chart of your progress with weight loss, use a reward system.  At the gym, they should have someone who would be willing to be your trainer, someone to guide your exercise programme so it won't hurt your back, but will burn off fat big-time.