I would like some ideas on how to proceed or rehab myself. I fell 15ft in September 2022 and did not find out I herniated discs between L4-L5 (moderately severe) and L5-S-1 (moderate) until December 2022. I’m a Marine so medical care is provided by the Navy and they have been of no assistance. I have kept lifting with deadlifts and squats without taking breaks. My mother thinks this is why I still have such severe pain 11 months later. She believes I have progressed too quickly with weights. I have set some PR during this time but my back still hurts severely all the time. If a weight hurts lifting I go back down. If it doesn’t hurt when directly lifting it often will the next day. I can wake up in the morning very stiff and it’s painful. I can’t carry my ruck like I should. Even planking hurts my back. Powerlifting is like my life and I don’t want to regress in weight lifted or lose the size I have gained but I really can’t take the pain anymore. Should I listen to my mother and go back to body weight lifting movements (she talks about axil loading on the herniated discs) or how should I proceed at this point. I am only 18.
Hi there,
Sorry to hear about this. Given that you are 18 years old, you have a long lifting career ahead of you, and should be able to bounce back from just about anything. I would not be so concerned about regressing in load or size in the short term, as you can build back up in the future when symptoms are under better control. In other words, it just isn’t worth trying to “cling” to whatever gains you have if the pain is intolerable. You should back off as far as necessary, get symptoms under control, and build back up from there.
For your own learning and planning, I’d start with the following free resources we have on this topic:
https://www.barbellmedicine.com/pain-in-training-what-do/
We also offer consultations with our rehab clinicians if you need more individualized guidance.