Microdiscectomy 6 Year Update

I’ve gained a lot of followers here based on info I shared a few months and one year after my microdiscectomy surgery which you can read about below. I can’t believe it is 6 years ago this week that I underwent that surgery. What I thought about most the morning of before they put me under was what life would be like several years later. Would I be in chronic pain the rest of my life? Would I have weakness? Would I be able to play sports or go to the gym? If you’re about to take the plunge, I’m sure you’re considering all of these factors as well. Well 6 years later, and I honestly have only had one set-back. That was earlier this year. I’ll share it with you now because it taught me a valuable lesson about how you have to live in order to ensure the surgery works for you. I thought it would be helpful to share. You must, must, must keep your core strong. You must stretch daily, and you must not lead a sedentary lifestyle ever again. I say this because over the winter, I got very lazy. I sat around the house. I sat in my chair for hours at the office, and I stopped stretching, and stopped exercising. I gained a lot of weight and was arguably the heaviest I’ve been my entire life. Almost 200 lbs on my 5’8″ frame. Not good at all. One day I decided to do Yoga on a Saturday morning. I popped in my P90x yoga video, got out my yoga mat and was ready to go. Only problem was, my body wasn’t. I hadn’t worked out in weeks. I hadn’t stretched in a long time. I wasn’t drinking a ton of water like I should have been.. You see where this is going. Yoga was what put me in the original position to begin with when I herniated my disc 5 years earlier. 5 minutes into the routine, I put both hands on the floor and kicked my legs bag into what should have been a perfect plank position. Only thing is my back locked up on me.. excruciating pain set in and I was on the floor in tears. In the end I essentially sprained the right side of my back, but it was a scary scary lesson, and costly too.. A trip to my primary doc, a prescription for tramadol (which I will never ever take again for pain meds – terrifying nightmares and awful withdrawal experience even after 3 days), an MRI, Trip to the orthopedist and back specialist, cortisone shot, and hundreds of dollars in physical therapy later.

The surgery should have shocked me into a state of frantic healthiness, but life happened, and I got complacent. Don’t get complacent! Now, this does have sort of a happy ending. This happened 8 months ago. I can happily share that I am now 25 lbs lighter and losing more each week. The goal is to get down to 160 so 15 lbs to go! I stretch every single day, I drink a ton of water, and I work out at least 3 times per week. My diet has changed as well. While I occasionally indulge on italian bread and chocolate when the craving hits, I’ve been pretty good about watching portions and eating veggies / lean protein. That’s it. I used to get all fanatical in my 30s about protein shakes, and supplements, but I’m almost 45. I don’t have the time or energy to be a chemist in my kitchen and maintain some sort of strict regimen.

Keep your back muscles strong. Pay attention to your core. Listen to your body. I’m sure everyone’s recovery is different, but I do have a few friends who have done the surgery who’ve also told me that it’s a life long recovery and you need to stay fit and keep off the pounds especially to make it work for you.

Good luck to you all and thanks to everyone who’s commented and tuned in. Since I launched this blog, those microdiscectomy posts have gotten thousands of views and almost as many comments. Glad that I can help make a difference and provide some hope to you all. Be well. – Rick

2 Years Later – Microdiscectomy Follow-Up

Amazingly this is going to be a brief post. Bottom line? It’s been 2 years since my microdiscectomy surgery and I can say without question that it was a complete success. The phantom pains, tightness, and fear of reinjury are all just distant memories. For anyone who just had the surgery or are consulting with their doctor to get it, feel free to read through my earlier posts here and here to gain perspective. You’re probably feeling or have felt the same things I have. One of the greatest things to come out of this surgery for me personally is that my gym sessions have grown more intense, my stamina is at an all time high, and my waistline is shrinking. I can run outdoors without foot or hip pain, and I can run consecutive days without having to load up on advil and ice afterwards.

Don’t get me wrong. I still have to have pretty strict discipline when it comes to the amount of weight I lift and the exercises I do. The notion of reinjuring the disk/nerve still lingers, but as long as I’m taking my precautions in advance then I know I’ll be OK.
The way a pilot goes through a meticulous pre-flight checklist, here’s what I do to prepare for a run, or weight lifting session. These are all basic tenets of exercise for anyone, but most “healthy” people forget how important this stuff really is. For anyone with back problems, I recommend you take heed of these pre+post workout tips and make them a permanent part of your daily regimen.

1.) Stretch Before Work-out – Stretch leg muscles thoroughly. Spend at least 10-15 minutes doing this. So important in helping me feel good before I start excercising
2.) Have a plan + know your limits. Lifting light weight is where you’ll want to begin (especially in excercises where your back is involved). The idea is to get your muscles moving and working.. even with light weight.. that’s better than not doing anything at all or trying to overdo it. Be careful all the time and focus on proper form to prevent injury in general!
3.) Choose a good pair of running shoes. – Make sure they are comfortable, fit well, and are tied tightly.
4.) Stretch After Work-out – (and for that matter – stretch on days you aren’t working out)
5.) Drink Tons of Water – just because you should
.

There you have it. As I’ve said before.. there’s no magic bullet. It’s combination of developing good habits and introducing new ways of doing things into your workout routine. Good luck out there!

Update! – Read my 6 Year Update here

Microdiscectomy Update – One Year Later

For those of you suffering from back pain, disc problems, and who may have stumbled upon my blog in search of support or advice, I can only tell you that things get better with time and patience. There is no magic bullet, nor is there a perfect exercise, physical therapy regiment, or pain pill to rid you of what ails you. What I can tell you unequivocally is that proper diet, regular exercise, and perhaps compromise to trying new things in the gym are pretty solid areas you should focus on. A combination of all 3 are what have helped me feel 100% back to where I was pre-injury. (details in some of the blog posts further down)

Over one year ago, I was in the worst pain of my life from hip to toes, with a weakness in my right ankle that made me feel like I was 67 years old instead of 37. After microdiscectomy surgery of my disc between L4-L5, and probably up to 6-8 months after, I still had lingering pain that was so random and frustrating that I really began to doubt the effectiveness of my surgery. I went through PT, tried my best to get back into the gym, but had forgotten that 6 months pre-surgery I had reverted to a fairly sedentary lifestyle, drinking alcohol a little more often that I wanted to keep the pain at bay, and gaining at least 15lbs of fat while feeding my face watching episodes of Lost, Dexter, and Mad Men. I rushed into things. I tried to run 3-4 miles a few times a week, as I had done years previous and probably came back too soon.

Somewhere between August and October of this year, I noticed that pain, tingling, and tightness in my muscles I had been feeling throughout recovery sort of magically disappeared. I’m not saying this will happen to you, but I’m sure it gives hope to some of you who are 4-6 months out of surgery asking yourself “When the heck is this going to end?”

I tell everyone to stay in touch with your neurosurgeon or go see your orthopedist to make sure you’re on track or just to have them check any irregular pain or tightness you’re feeling.

Now I train at least 3 days a week, and I use light weights and do some ample interval cardio on the elliptical, stairmaster, + stationary bike. I’ve abandoned running outdoors for now, because the pounding still aggravates my lower back and hips.

I’ve sought the advice and training of fitness guru Anthony Ellis, who’s muscle building/fat bashing programs I’ve followed for years. One of the things he helped me with was strengthening my back muscles. There’s not a day I’m not in the gym anymore where I’m not working my legs, back or shoulders and these are areas that are most ignored and dreaded by most fitness buffs out there to begin with. These are important muscle groups you should be working. Below are a list of a few exercise that I enjoy doing now, and are really helping me get stronger. Keep in mind that I started out doing some of these with as little as 5lb dumbbells. Be careful and consult your doctor before trying any of these excercises!

1.) Split Squats (dumbbell)
2.) Lunges (dumbbell)
3.) Crunches w/ Swiss Ball
4.) Rows
5.) Step Ups (with or without dumbbells)
6.) Calf Raises
7.) Back Extensions
8.) Deadlift (dumbbell)
9.) Squats

With a steady regiment of the workouts Anthony created for me and about a 2,000 calorie diet of 40% protein 40% carbs and 20% fats (all healthy foods), I’ve lost about 12lbs of fat and put on 3 lbs of solid muscle. I’m feeling the best I’ve felt in 18 months and can’t wait to update you again in about 6 weeks on progress.

Just stay positive and pace yourself in the gym. Don’t worry about using light weights. It’s all about moving your body, working your muscles out, and please, please, whatever you do – don’t forget to stretch!!

Even on days I don’t work out, I stretch for 10-15 minutes a day. Make it part of your morning routine and this will help you feel great!

Road to Recovery – Life after Microdiscectomy

Rockland Lake

Originally uploaded by ricksannicandro

6 months after Micro-discectomy for herniation between L-4/L-5 I’ve finally had a chance to run 3 miles around Rockland Lake this past Saturday. Since the surgery back in September 2009, I’ve generally been without pain and have followed doctor’s orders pretty strictly. The first month after surgery you’re told to try and work yourself up to 30-40 minutes per day of walking. By day 5 I was walking the treadmill 30 min per day. Believe it or not, walking is the best medicine for recovery. In fact, 2 weeks after surgery, I had a previously scheduled business trip to China that I couldn’t miss, so the doctor gave me the green light to fly as long as I walked the cabin every 45 minutes during the flight.

The trip was a blast, and I did a ton of walking and though residual pain and discomfort existed, it was 100 times better than the pain I went through months previous. I walked the streets of Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Beijing. 3 weeks to the day after surgery, I stood on the Great Wall of China (Mutianyu) and did plenty of walking there. For anyone who’s been, it’s a fairly challenging hike with plenty of stairclimbing.

Rick on China\’s Great Wall \”Mutianyu\” – 3 weeks after microdiscectomy

Upon my return and follow-up with the surgeon, he recommended 8 weeks of physical therapy to strengthen back muscles, teach me daily stretches to incorporate into my routine, work the tissue around the incision, and just get me in a condition where I could begin light weight training again.

After about week 4 (8 sessions) of PT, I felt strong enough to move forward on my own So from about February through end of March, I started hitting the gym, focusing on stretching (this is very important). 30 minutes of cardio on the elliptical, and circuit training on nautilus equipment (very light weights) and only doing lifts that my physical therapist showed me.

If I could give anyone who’s going through or is about to go through microdiscectomy you should really focus on the following things during recovery.

– Pain after surgery is normal. Usually it’s dull pain and it comes and goes. Your nerve(s) have been through something pretty traumatic and they take much much longer to heal than regular muscle tissue. Be patient!

– Walk every day – even if it’s for 20 minutes. You need to stay loose and stay away from the couch!

– Listen to your doctor and physical therapist. If they say no lifting, then don’t do it. If you have children like I do, ignore the urge to give them piggyback rides or put them up on your shoulders. Housework? Take it easy and hire someone to help. Whatever you do – DO NOT shovel snow! I did this about 4 months after surgery and paid for it for the next 3 days (hip and leg pain).

– Slowly get back into your regular work-out routine. Don’t push it. I thought I could run 3 miles a day 4 days a week like I had been but the truth is that maybe 2 days a week is realistic at first as your leg muscles and lower back are not used to the pounding a good 3 mile run give your body.

– Watch your diet. Admittedly, I put on about 10 extra lbs from the time I herniated my disk in June until just after surgery in September (4 months). This was obviously due to the lack of physical activity, time spent on the couch, or the additional alcohol I consumed in much greater amounts throughout the summer to help kill the pain!. That extra belly fat puts strain on your back and will slow your recovery.

Good luck and do your homework!

****UPDATE: Check out my blog post on my recovery 6 years later.