When I was 18 I had an MRI that showed a ruptured/herniated disc (L4 or L5, can't remember now). I had pretty bad pain that was diagnosed as sciatica via a nerve test (shooting pain all the way down into the foot). I had trained consistently for about 4 years but had slowly become less and less active in the gym due to my pain and finding other things, like girls and beer, more interesting. My family doc and the doctor at the pain clinic who showed me the results of my MRI both advised me to lay low, try muscle relaxers for 6 months and definitely DO NOT LIFT. In retrospect, it was all downhill from there. About 6 years later I was not in great shape and decided to try training again. Always conscious of my poor, feeble back, I trained around it as best I could. Eventually I got tired of feeling like an old man and decided to start Stronglifts; I had some reservations about deadlifting and squatting but I thought, "this is bullshit, you're only 24. You can do this". Everything went well for a month and a half or so, but eventually I started to experience more pain as I added weight to the bar. Dejected, I threw in the towel and slowly stopped working out all together, again.
I turned 29 last November and realized if I didn't start taking better care of myself I probably wouldn't be happy with the results. I found BBM via Alan Thrall and Dr. Baraki's information about pain and pain science, as well as a few Q&As Dr. Feigenbaum answered about injuries, gave me a new perspective and level of confidence to train. I bought a squat rack and dusted off the weight set I'd been lugging around the last 10 years. At first I had an increase in acute pain, but it generally settled out quickly and I tried to be objective about it when I experienced it- I wasn't "injured" to t he point I couldn't move or train, just a little more sore than usual, but then I hadn't lifted much more than my kids in a long time. I began a NLP program in September and my numbers aren't great, but what I've noticed is that as I've trained the DL and Squat and added more weight to the bar my back pain has actually almost vanished. Going from chronic pain to actually forgetting there's anything wrong with my back has been more of a gain than strength and muscle. And had it not been for the docs here at BBM I might not have had the courage to push through and load the bar, so thanks to BBM for helping me get my life back.
I can't speak for everyone, and my diagnosis was a long time ago, but for me the barbell really has been medicinal. And thanks to the info here I know that even if I reach a point where I can't pull from the floor without problems, it doesn't mean I have to quit. I always loved lifting, its one of the only forms of exercise I was ever able to be consistent with, and making it a part of my life again has been like running into an old friend I thought I'd never see.
I turned 29 last November and realized if I didn't start taking better care of myself I probably wouldn't be happy with the results. I found BBM via Alan Thrall and Dr. Baraki's information about pain and pain science, as well as a few Q&As Dr. Feigenbaum answered about injuries, gave me a new perspective and level of confidence to train. I bought a squat rack and dusted off the weight set I'd been lugging around the last 10 years. At first I had an increase in acute pain, but it generally settled out quickly and I tried to be objective about it when I experienced it- I wasn't "injured" to t he point I couldn't move or train, just a little more sore than usual, but then I hadn't lifted much more than my kids in a long time. I began a NLP program in September and my numbers aren't great, but what I've noticed is that as I've trained the DL and Squat and added more weight to the bar my back pain has actually almost vanished. Going from chronic pain to actually forgetting there's anything wrong with my back has been more of a gain than strength and muscle. And had it not been for the docs here at BBM I might not have had the courage to push through and load the bar, so thanks to BBM for helping me get my life back.
I can't speak for everyone, and my diagnosis was a long time ago, but for me the barbell really has been medicinal. And thanks to the info here I know that even if I reach a point where I can't pull from the floor without problems, it doesn't mean I have to quit. I always loved lifting, its one of the only forms of exercise I was ever able to be consistent with, and making it a part of my life again has been like running into an old friend I thought I'd never see.
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