C-ditty....
I "broke" my back playing ball in '99. My actual injury is two stress fractures (compression fractures) at L4-5 w/ some disc herniation and spondololysis of L5 which led to spondololisthesis. Not sure if all that spelling was right or not.
Anyway - the pain actually ended my softball career at that time and I was in a wheelchair for a short while and in a back brace for even longer. I could manage w/o those things but the goal was improvement so I followed doctors' orders. A few months later I went for epidural injection of the SI joint (injecting steroids and local anesthetic into area) which actually made the situation somewhat worse.
The next step is fusion therapy which I did not and do not want because 1) I know several people who have had fusions and 3-4+ surgeries later, they still have back problems. 2) they are not guaranteed, the success rate is less than 50%. 3) I was still in college and didn't have the time to take off to be bed ridden after the surgery (nor could I afford to be out of work for that long).
So the next two years I basically did nothing - though I should have, I was pretty depressed about not being able to play ball anymore. So what happened? I gained 70lbs! The worse thing I could have ever done for my back because carrying the extra weight put me in horrible pain - so I began pain management therapy. Taking Loricet 10mg 2-3x/day did help some but it also did horrible things to my memory!
I finally decided I was sick of being fat - something that was totally new to be after being an athlete all of my life - so I got back in the gym. I have lost 45lbs of the 70 gained so far and I feel better every day.
My workout has not changed that much since pre-injury and I still lift heavy - but heavy for me right now is only about 1/2 of what I was doing before because I have been out of it for so long. I really think it depends on the persons attitude toward working out, because someone who is not that dedicated will bitch & moan about the pain....I choose to ignore it b/c getting back in shape is more important to me.
The pain is still there for me - though I have developed a tolerance and have learned to live with most of it - and it does really seem to get less irritating the more "in shape" I become.
I think the most important thing to help my back is strong ab and back muscles. I don't just do regular crunches, I do "quality" ab work, many pilates-style moves, etc. I also found that reverse crunches (laying on stomach and lifting shoulders off ground) is building support muscle for my injury - also "superman" (same but lift shoulders and feet off ground) does the same, they were actually one of my PT exercises Rx by the doctors.
I also do deadlifts and good mornings to work my lower back.
The things that actually hurt my back and cause me to bitch/moan are things that really have nothing to do with working out. One of the worst is driving for long distances, I always have to have my pain meds then.....and walking around for 1+ hours (like at the mall, or amusement park, etc).
So for cardio - eliptical is the best thing for me b/c it takes away that impact for me.....but I can also run on the treadmill w/o much trouble. I cannot ride a bike for some reason and have lost my ability to tread water (very aggravating).
Weights wise - nothing much is different. I am currently @ 205lbs on my leg press and squatting 100lbs. I don't know how this compares to other women my size/age (23y/o, 5'7", 155lbs) but it is my ability at this time. I also think that I could play ball again (and have pitched since the injury) but can't find a fastpitch team in the area.
People who don't know me would never know that I was injured. Oh yes, another important thing is POSTURE! I was horrible at this and my posture actually caused me to have upper back/neck problems after adding in my lower back injury. I am working on the posture thing right now, esp. at work b/c I have a tendency to slump when I am at the computer.
Sorry for the length but hopefully it helped some! If you have any specific questions, I am more than happy to contribute!
Tigs
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