Please Scroll Down to See Forums Below so....i've just got the results of an mri i have a "small left paracentral disc protrusion at t8-t9" any one had a thoracic disc herniation here? advice on getting back to full strength? at the moment im not lifting, i understand time is the best healer. i'm taking glucosamine, chondroitin, msm, fish oil and have an inversion table that i am doing two 5 minute inversions, once am and once pm. any other advice? it has been injured since nov 2012 but until recently i was still lifting and probably not giving it the best chance to heal. i get no numbness, tingling etc, just stiffness and pain with certain movements, particularly upon waking. people's experiences would be greatly appreciated.
herniated disc
- Thread starter jon12321
- Start date
get an inversion table and rest
sadly there is no easy cure for a herniated disc.. it can take months or longer to heal. but trust me an inversion table will help... not surprised your doc didn't recommend it, as they would lose money not having you come back over and over.
get in touch with burnthiscorpse and he will give you more info. the guy is a whiz with these types of injuries
sadly there is no easy cure for a herniated disc.. it can take months or longer to heal. but trust me an inversion table will help... not surprised your doc didn't recommend it, as they would lose money not having you come back over and over.
get in touch with burnthiscorpse and he will give you more info. the guy is a whiz with these types of injuries
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While an inversion table will absolutely help for spinal decompression its possible it wont give you a lot of relief for the thorasic area. Once in a while I get a thorasic pop but its really gotta be out.
I myself have a thorasic spot that just constantly is slightly tweaked. You wont see me go 10 minutes all day long without leaning over a chair back or something else to put it back in.
For thorasic spine I used to use a foam roller. A hard dense one. Reach your arms around and grab the opposite shoulders and roll out the thorasic area. Flat on the spine then leaning slightly on one shoulder then the other ect. It helps keep all the surrounding thorasic muscles, lower traps ect from knotting up too bad. Then you can put your arms out like your being crucified and lay back over it. It really helped me. I do it daily whenever I need an adjustment. I wore out my foam roller though which was $35. So I bought a 6" x 3' long piece of PVC for about $15. It will never wear out. It takes some getting used to cause theres no give to it.
The key with the disc is keeping the muscles around the area loose and happy. Not tight, inflamed and pissed. Also keeping the vertabrae aligned while letting the disc heal is obviously important.
Theres something called Zyflamend thats an all natural anti inflammatory that works. Id get some and double dose it twice a day for a few months. Might take a few weeks to really build up. But it beats NSAIDS. I know that sometimes to get major inflammation under control you do need to use script motrin or whatever but if its possible get off it as soon as you can.
I also find that for the thorasic area hanging from a pull up bar at various grips will stretch out the area. Also single arm pulling on a railing or a smith machine bar set at about stomach level.
I myself have a thorasic spot that just constantly is slightly tweaked. You wont see me go 10 minutes all day long without leaning over a chair back or something else to put it back in.
For thorasic spine I used to use a foam roller. A hard dense one. Reach your arms around and grab the opposite shoulders and roll out the thorasic area. Flat on the spine then leaning slightly on one shoulder then the other ect. It helps keep all the surrounding thorasic muscles, lower traps ect from knotting up too bad. Then you can put your arms out like your being crucified and lay back over it. It really helped me. I do it daily whenever I need an adjustment. I wore out my foam roller though which was $35. So I bought a 6" x 3' long piece of PVC for about $15. It will never wear out. It takes some getting used to cause theres no give to it.
The key with the disc is keeping the muscles around the area loose and happy. Not tight, inflamed and pissed. Also keeping the vertabrae aligned while letting the disc heal is obviously important.
Theres something called Zyflamend thats an all natural anti inflammatory that works. Id get some and double dose it twice a day for a few months. Might take a few weeks to really build up. But it beats NSAIDS. I know that sometimes to get major inflammation under control you do need to use script motrin or whatever but if its possible get off it as soon as you can.
I also find that for the thorasic area hanging from a pull up bar at various grips will stretch out the area. Also single arm pulling on a railing or a smith machine bar set at about stomach level.
Thanks for the advice above. I did use a foam roller but every time i did it seemed to hurt my back a great deal. The next day the muscles around the area seemed to be spasming aggressively. The few vertebrae either side of the injured one are extremely stiff. Heat helps but ultimately i want a long term fix. Their is significantly less info on thoracic herniations. im getting less muscle spasms recently. Still a lot if stiffness and pain though.
Look into TB500. Should take the inflammation away and let things heal themselves.
I had 2 Thoracic disk herniations. They are rare compared to upper and lower disks. I didn't know I had them so I kept on lifting when I would start to feel better. An MRI confirmed the herniated disks. I had to stop lifting for about 2 years as I didn't want to have the surgery. Be careful. They take a long time to heal.
My dad had a couple herniated discs and was always in pain when I was younger and had to take a lot of painkillers for it. What helped him and actually made him able to avoid surgery was massages and traction. The one thing he wasn't able to do because of the severity of it was see a chiropractor. If you can find a GOOD chiropractor go with that.
painkillers are a HORRIBLE idea for a weightlifter/athlete. any doctor who suggests that you need to knock their teeth out on the spot.
unless you are willing to sacrifice being crippled for life then stay far far away
big difference between being obsessed with something you love and being STUPID.
unless you are willing to sacrifice being crippled for life then stay far far away
big difference between being obsessed with something you love and being STUPID.
WannaBeefUp
New member
Painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs are actually the /only/ proven non-surgical therapy that can help you get rid of severely herniated discs.
The theory is as follows: you need to help your body heal the herniation by itself. But spinal discs do not get the benefits of blood supply like your organs and muscles do. In order to help your spine heal, only moving and stretching of the spine can help get the right nutritional substances to the herniations.
But the problem is that protruding disc matter will push the nerve and sometimes make any movement extremely painful. On top of that, the nerve will get irritated and inflamed. The inflammation can cause swelling, which only worsens the pain. And thus you can end up in a vicious cycle of pain and inflammation.
Pain killers and anti-inflammatory drugs can help break that cycle, so that you can do the necessary physical exercises for the spinal discs. Any protruding substance can either be urged back or broken down by the body.
One complication that can occur is that it might take the body too long to heal by itself. After 12 to 15 weeks of pressure on the nerve (which you experience as pain, but can also cause numbness or even paralysis ) can have irreversible damage to the nerve.
I am experiencing a repeated herniation of the L1S5 in the lumbar spine. I was operated upon 2.5 years ago, but apparently did too heavy lifting - even after 2 years. A second operation could become too complicated and risky, but I might have no other option anymore. (Due to stupid personal trainer, bad physical therapist, and slow health care system.) I will probably not do squats for a very long time
Sent from my Nexus 7 using EliteFitness
The theory is as follows: you need to help your body heal the herniation by itself. But spinal discs do not get the benefits of blood supply like your organs and muscles do. In order to help your spine heal, only moving and stretching of the spine can help get the right nutritional substances to the herniations.
But the problem is that protruding disc matter will push the nerve and sometimes make any movement extremely painful. On top of that, the nerve will get irritated and inflamed. The inflammation can cause swelling, which only worsens the pain. And thus you can end up in a vicious cycle of pain and inflammation.
Pain killers and anti-inflammatory drugs can help break that cycle, so that you can do the necessary physical exercises for the spinal discs. Any protruding substance can either be urged back or broken down by the body.
One complication that can occur is that it might take the body too long to heal by itself. After 12 to 15 weeks of pressure on the nerve (which you experience as pain, but can also cause numbness or even paralysis ) can have irreversible damage to the nerve.
I am experiencing a repeated herniation of the L1S5 in the lumbar spine. I was operated upon 2.5 years ago, but apparently did too heavy lifting - even after 2 years. A second operation could become too complicated and risky, but I might have no other option anymore. (Due to stupid personal trainer, bad physical therapist, and slow health care system.) I will probably not do squats for a very long time
Sent from my Nexus 7 using EliteFitness
