Herniated/Irritated disk and University Physical Therapy

Hello,

I had previously posted in regards to non-specific low back pain that I was experiencing, and now it has worsened. As such, I have started Physical Therapy at the university that I attend, but I had some questions that I thought might be more appropriate for the pain team at BBM.

Earlier this week I went to the gym near my house and was warming up with the bar for squats when I felt an uncomfortable sensation in my low back, sacrum region. I racked and immediately I was having trouble moving. There was an intense pain in my low back that was making it hard to move, so I immediately stopped what I was doing and called for a PT appointment that day at my university.

I was diagnosed with “classic disk irritation” and I am on a small PT movement regimen, and will continue to see a PT each week in hopes of getting back to lifting as soon as possible.

If these questions should be more appropriate for a consultation than a forum post I completely understand, but here they are.

  • Almost immediately in my consult, my PT identified the significant amount of butt wink I have in my squat and said we needed to fix that. I can understand the desire to remove flexion from that part of my spine, particularly right now, but would you also say this is the number one concern? I will follow what my PT says regardless, but I am curious if you guys would ever suggest remedying something like this as a first solution.

  • As I am sure you have heard a million times, I would like to get back to lifting as quickly as possible. Is lifting likely going to become part of the remedy for my issue, and should it be? If I am not mistaken, gradual loading will increase my backs ability to withstand issues like this in the future.

Thank you for your time,
Grady

No, this would not be our primary concern.

For those whose goals involve lifting, our approach to rehab will involve lifting, yes.

Lifting is a big part of my life, so the goal is to return to it as soon as possible. I think I already know the answer, but would it be recommended to pursue a consult with the BBM pain team since they will likely have a different perspective from my current PT on what the next steps should be? And should I be consulted, work with both side-by-side?

If you are looking for another perspective / approach, a consult with our team would be great option for you.

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