I havent't posted for a while. Last week I had severe back pain, and went to the doctor. He said I had a herniated disk in my upper back/neck. My first question, of course was when can I go back to swimming and biking. He said the disk could get better on it's own (until this morning it was).
Has anyone else had a herniated disk in their neck? How long were they down? The doc said I probably wouldn't need surgery.
And the biggie:
Does swimming help or hurt the condition? What about cycling?
I'm really bummed because I was supposed to do my first Alcatraz swim next week.
Parents
Former Member
In may of 2004 I had severe back pain. I ruptured L1-2 and L2-3. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. I was a candidate for spinal fusion but not microdiscectomy. Didn't want my back fused. I went to Physical Therapy 3 days a week for 2 hours. It took me about 3 months to be able to sit for more than 5 minutes. Took about 6 months to do a proper flip turn. Took a year before I could golf (another passion of mine). I still do the exercises but now at home. My golf game is actually better than before (all the core body work helped with my distance) and swimming is back as well. They told me that I had no restrictions as long as it did not hurt too much. I never stopped swimming during this whole ordeal, but did cut back for a while.
In march of 2005 I suffered a number of neck related injuries. The therapist has given me a number of exercises to do. He suspects that I have disc problems in my neck also but no MRI was done this time. I have learned how to bilateral breath and turn leading with the opposite shoulder (very difficult for me). I had a neck flare up last week but have been mostly OK.
My advice is to find a good physical therapist (mine is also a strength and conditioning coach and chiropractor). Mine was recommended by my back specialist. You will probably never be like you once were but you can live and deal with this if you are committed. On my masters team there is another swimmer with neck disc problems and there is an orthopedist who specializes in spine problems. I have learned that this is very common as we age. It can be aggravated by activity (no doubt you will feel worse after exercising for some time). In the long run you will be better off by not giving up. I see people from time to time that have let this get the best of them and are debilitated.
Good Luck
In may of 2004 I had severe back pain. I ruptured L1-2 and L2-3. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. I was a candidate for spinal fusion but not microdiscectomy. Didn't want my back fused. I went to Physical Therapy 3 days a week for 2 hours. It took me about 3 months to be able to sit for more than 5 minutes. Took about 6 months to do a proper flip turn. Took a year before I could golf (another passion of mine). I still do the exercises but now at home. My golf game is actually better than before (all the core body work helped with my distance) and swimming is back as well. They told me that I had no restrictions as long as it did not hurt too much. I never stopped swimming during this whole ordeal, but did cut back for a while.
In march of 2005 I suffered a number of neck related injuries. The therapist has given me a number of exercises to do. He suspects that I have disc problems in my neck also but no MRI was done this time. I have learned how to bilateral breath and turn leading with the opposite shoulder (very difficult for me). I had a neck flare up last week but have been mostly OK.
My advice is to find a good physical therapist (mine is also a strength and conditioning coach and chiropractor). Mine was recommended by my back specialist. You will probably never be like you once were but you can live and deal with this if you are committed. On my masters team there is another swimmer with neck disc problems and there is an orthopedist who specializes in spine problems. I have learned that this is very common as we age. It can be aggravated by activity (no doubt you will feel worse after exercising for some time). In the long run you will be better off by not giving up. I see people from time to time that have let this get the best of them and are debilitated.
Good Luck
