Update and questions (lower back)

Medical Q&A [Moderated]
1

Good morning everyone, so I went to see dr. Michael Mash a few weeks ago (he’s a pretty cool guy). He did an assessment and we talked for a while about my lower back. I explained how my lower back aches 24:7 and has a burning pain to it 24/7 and how sitting is awful. He assessed my movements on squat and dead and said my fork looks really good. He suggests (like you guys) that I slowly load and work my way back to where I was. As of right now i don’t think I’ve made any progress on my back since I’ve injured it and even squatting extremely light causes me to feel the burning just above my glute (around l5s1). The only time I’m really pain free is when I take a hot shower or get in a hot tub. I’ve tried to load myself up in weight many times and have seen pretty much all of barbell medicines videos many times, but it just seems like my lower back has been in a plateau since the issue in my back occurred

2

Shafiq,

Thanks for the update and hope you’re doing well.

If I’m reading this right I think the question is, “What should I do now?” At this point, I think you require some direct management by a professional, e.g. ongoing consultation and management strategy.

3

Thanks Jordan. I really just wanna be able to powerlift again.
Pretty much almost anything flares up my burning pain right now so I’ve been doing light split squats feet up no arch bench and pull ups. After this month I’ll be home where my gym just got a belt squat machine. I really would like to be able to get back in the swing of things by next semester (September) but not making any progress since the initial issue (24/7 burning) is super annoying. I appreciate your guidance and I would never wish this issue on my worst enemy

4

What were you hoping we could accomplish with this thread, Shafiq?

5

Well I feel like I’ve tried pretty much everything I can to get back and it doesn’t seem to be working. I do not want to do this and you guys will probably say no to this question but is there any chance that not lifting for the summer and avoiding sitting can help me get better? I’m not saying I’m gonna do that it’s just a question. Also, is there ANY chance that surgery could benefit me and make me asyptematic ?

6

  1. While you are free to do whatever you’d like, avoiding physical activity and sitting is not a long-term solution.

  2. Nope. (Furthermore, you’ve had a completely normal spine MRI – so no surgeon in the world would offer a surgical procedure for this.)

7

I appreciate all the help and have one last question. It was said that I do have a slight bulge but “better than a lot of peoples” just very minimal. Would they still not do surgery on that? I’m not pushing for surgery or anything just wondering

8

That is neither significant, nor is it likely to be related to your pain at all.

@Shafiqblake , the reason I’m responding the way I am is because we have repeatedly, across many threads and forums (including FB and IG as well), given you our advice and recommendations, which have not changed from the very beginning. It seems that you are continuing to search for something that is “wrong” with you that needs to be “fixed”. After our recommendation to seek formal consultation with our rehab guys, you have even gone to another professional who gave similar advice. Starting new threads continuing to ask whether you’re broken, disabled, or need surgery are not helping. They are reflecting the very approach to this problem that has likely made it so persistent in the first place. We try to stay patient with people as much as possible through this difficult process, but it’s getting difficult on our end too. We are happy to help, but at this point you would benefit from extensive education and guidance from one of our rehab experts, rather than forum threads.

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