# High level Enduro/Gravity riding after Microdiscectomy?



## Streetdoctor (Oct 14, 2011)

Anybody riding or know anyone who rides high-level gravity oriented racing (Enduro and DH) after a L5/S1 microdiscectomy? I'm 34, and it looks like it might be in my near future. PT for 4 months hasn't worked. Seeing a surgeon next week. I have a herniation that is causing stenosis and pushing on my S1 nerve. After a failed injection the doctor is recommending surgical consult. Freaking me out... I'm not in a ton of pain ever really but it's a constant annoyance that bothers me every day. No weakness or numbness ever but pain in my butt and down my leg into my calf and pain while standing or walking. Not really able to train with it and I also work a physically demanding job. I haven't really stopped riding and I think the riding is not allowing it to heal. I've decided to take a month off the bike and focus on PT more and then think surgery depending on what the consult next week reveals. My gut is telling me I need to get in front of this but I'm worried about the lifestyle changes it may cause. I did PT twice a week for 3 months with soft tissue work once a week for a month without any real change. Doing core work every other day now and Mckenzie stretches with a little relief but not much.

I’m 6’ 195lb, race competitively. Ride about 2500 miles a year and a dozen races. How bad is this recovery going to be if I end up having surgery? Can I expect to race by July or is that way too optimistic?


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## monkeyboyjong (Feb 23, 2009)

I had an L5-S1 disc herniation with impingement on the S1 nerve last year. Had a lot of pain but no weakness. Sucked 
Did all the stuff you’re doing including steroid shot and McKenzie PT. Took 9 months but it eventually healed without surgery. Sometimes it just takes a while. 
Discectomy will give you pretty quick relief of the pain and if you’re having weakness in your calf then it may be worth considering. At 2 years out from discectomy, freedom from pain is pretty much equivalent in people who had surgery and people who didn’t. 
I ride a lot, including lots of lift accessed downhill and rugged fast paced rides. I feel good now, a little pain every once in awhile but nothing that holds me back
Hope this helps

Good luck


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## Streetdoctor (Oct 14, 2011)

monkeyboyjong said:


> I had an L5-S1 disc herniation with impingement on the S1 nerve last year. Had a lot of pain but no weakness. Sucked
> Did all the stuff you're doing including steroid shot and McKenzie PT. Took 9 months but it eventually healed without surgery. Sometimes it just takes a while.
> Discectomy will give you pretty quick relief of the pain and if you're having weakness in your calf then it may be worth considering. At 2 years out from discectomy, freedom from pain is pretty much equivalent in people who had surgery and people who didn't.
> I ride a lot, including lots of lift accessed downhill and rugged fast paced rides. I feel good now, a little pain every once in awhile but nothing that holds me back
> ...


Good to hear someone had relief with out surgery who had symptoms for more than a couple months. I'm committed to not having surgery for as long as possible. Can you post or message me what your symptoms were and your pain levels? Thanks again man.


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## Eric B (May 23, 2004)

Take some time off the bike, work on the core, posterior chain, foam roll and stretch. I had very similar issues in 2016 but I got to where I couldn't walk more than 50' before pain hit hard. Took six weeks off the bike,focused on the things I just listed and had great results, too bad I'm now dealing with recovery from a broken neck.


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## Streetdoctor (Oct 14, 2011)

Eric B said:


> Take some time off the bike, work on the core, posterior chain, foam roll and stretch. I had very similar issues in 2016 but I got to where I couldn't walk more than 50' before pain hit hard. Took six weeks off the bike,focused on the things I just listed and had great results, too bad I'm now dealing with recovery from a broken neck.


Damn! Sorry man I hope your recovery goes well and thanks for the advice. That is my plan.


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## Streetdoctor (Oct 14, 2011)

Went to a new PT today, apparently I have SI joint dysfunction on my left side which is putting a lot of stress on my disc. The PT was able to release the SI joint and the L5 facet which was “locked” which initially felt amazing but has now gotten really sore. Hopefully I’m on the right track. He seemed to think he could have me fixed and feeling better within 3-4 weeks.

I think the locked facet is what was causing increased disc pressure after riding. Regardless i’m still taking a few weeks off the bike.


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## Streetdoctor (Oct 14, 2011)

Still no improvement with sciatica (it's moved into my calf a bit and out of my thigh/butt) although with a stretching routine 3 times a day and some soft tissue/musculoskeletal work I'm definitely walking more normal. Still no numbness or weakness but the PT is starting to think surgery is the only thing that will fix me. It's been about 4 months since initial symptoms but only a week since starting the stretching. I have an appointment with a another recommended neurosurgeon who supposedly will always prefer conservative treatment but also won't sugar coat a diagnosis if he doesn't think it will get better... The first spine ortho said I had a "medium sized" herniation and didn't really think I needed surgery but it was obvious our lifestyles were very different. I haven't ridden in almost 3 weeks because of this. 

I'm torn between accepting the possibility of back surgery at 34 that has from what I can tell a 80-90% success rate vs dealing with sciatica for who knows how long and a huge lifestyle change (I refuse to really allow this). I've got 195 rides in this year and usually get 50+ days in on the mountain in the winter. This sucks. Most of the stories written online are obviously horror stories. Can anyone under 40 (or over) share some success stories?


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## Streetdoctor (Oct 14, 2011)

After walking a little more than 1/4 mile today I got some numbness in my toes that goes away as soon as I sit down. FML.


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## Eric B (May 23, 2004)

I have a friend a little younger who had to have some work done, I'll get with him. I know he took a year off the mtb after surgery to get back 100%.


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## Streetdoctor (Oct 14, 2011)

Eric B said:


> I have a friend a little younger who had to have some work done, I'll get with him. I know he took a year off the mtb after surgery to get back 100%.


Thanks man


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## Eric B (May 23, 2004)

Streetdoctor said:


> Thanks man


Spoke with my buddy, he had Laminectomy, Foraminotomy and Discectomy on the disc between L4/L5. Has some other bulging discs lower that he's trying to put off for as long as possible. After the surgery he felt great within a couple of weeks. Like I said, he didn't do much on the bike in 2017 and raced some of the endures with me in 2018. He felt really good up until two weeks ago and thinks his other disc issues are starting to creep in. He's a big dude 6'4 215 when lean. Played college football hence the back injuries at a young age. He was 28 when he had the surgery.


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## Streetdoctor (Oct 14, 2011)

Eric B said:


> Spoke with my buddy, he had Laminectomy, Foraminotomy and Discectomy on the disc between L4/L5. Has some other bulging discs lower that he's trying to put off for as long as possible. After the surgery he felt great within a couple of weeks. Like I said, he didn't do much on the bike in 2017 and raced some of the endures with me in 2018. He felt really good up until two weeks ago and thinks his other disc issues are starting to creep in. He's a big dude 6'4 215 when lean. Played college football hence the back injuries at a young age. He was 28 when he had the surgery.


Thanks man. Hope he does well! I'm getting in to see another surgeon tuesday for another opinion.


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## minimusprime (May 26, 2009)

I'm posting here to subscribe to this post to remind myself to give you a full long winded post. I had a micro disectomy 18 months ago. I am an aggressive rider that also races enduro and xc. I was back on the bike in earnest 5 months after surgery. I'll give you my story when I'm not at work. It's a long and dusty (not dirty) road but not impossible. This is however the start of making changes long term unfortunately.


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## Streetdoctor (Oct 14, 2011)

minimusprime said:


> I'm posting here to subscribe to this post to remind myself to give you a full long winded post. I had a micro disectomy 18 months ago. I am an aggressive rider that also races enduro and xc. I was back on the bike in earnest 5 months after surgery. I'll give you my story when I'm not at work. It's a long and dusty (not dirty) road but not impossible. This is however the start of making changes long term unfortunately.


Thanks man I'd appreciate it! It sounds like you're exactly who I'm looking to hear from.


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## Daydreamer (Aug 27, 2018)

Streetdoctor said:


> Can anyone under 40 (or over) share some success stories?


Always had a crickity spine courtesy of a farming accident at 17 y/o. Had some problems on and off after 30 but nothing major until I was almost 40. To make a long story short I was going through a bad time with it and had a string of lifting several patients who were 400+ lbs :madmax:. Had my muscles all screwed up and could feel the spine shifting around. Went out one day to pick up a little old guy that weighed about a buck 30 at the most. He had been laying on the floor of his house for 3-4 days. Didn't want to bear hug him so I held him away from myself and when I turned my back popped.

About 24 hours later couldn't walk from the sciatica pain. MRI said herniations in L3/L4, L4/L5 and L5/S1. Ended up flat on the floor for 5 weeks waiting for them to treat me (worker comp bullshit). They finally did a root sleeve block. Apparently this is different then most of the steroid injections people get. As I remember they injected both a steroid and an anesthetic into the root of the nerve. Three days later I was learning to walk again.

Still have residual neuropathy in the left leg from that. I also learned that Neurontin is a great drug for nerve pain. As good as Narcotics like Vicodin. 13 years later I do what I want but I know the back is a weak link. The one thing that I consistently do is to keep a rolled up towel with me at all times, especially in a vehicle. I shove that down into the lumbar area and it keeps things inline when I'm sitting. Without it I'd have constant, major problems.

Now I ride with no problems, but then I'm also running more then I did back then. I can tell that running helps my back to stay inline. I'm planning on starting to switch to more riding and less running this year. It will be interesting to see how that works out for me.

FWIW, the wife of one of my co-worker's had milder symptoms then I did at about the same time and her Dr was very aggressive with surgery. At times she has more problems then I do. I'm glad I did not have the surgery, but that's just my personal experience. AS always YMMV.


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## Streetdoctor (Oct 14, 2011)

bump. spoke to two more doctors... both figured surgery was in the cards. One was a non-operative physiatrist and the other an orthopedic surgeon. Both also figured my recovery time would be 6-8 weeks and feeling 100% by 3 months with a full recovery and no restrictions. That has definitely eased my mind some. I'm seeing a neurosurgeon that comes highly recommended on Thursday and hope to get in as soon as possible. 6 weeks of doing nothing but core workouts and symptoms haven't changed. I feel like I'm wasting time when I could be healing.


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## Eric B (May 23, 2004)

Lucky you and I. Looking like I'll have ACDF of C4-C6 here in the coming weeks. Racing is done for me, I'll be thankful to ride by summer. Good luck buddy.


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## Streetdoctor (Oct 14, 2011)

Ugh, sorry man! It'll be good for both of us to get on the other side of this. Hard to look forward to anything when surgery isn't even scheduled yet!


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## Eric B (May 23, 2004)

No ****!


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## Miker J (Nov 4, 2003)

*Good luck.*



Streetdoctor said:


> Ugh, sorry man! It'll be good for both of us to get on the other side of this. Hard to look forward to anything when surgery isn't even scheduled yet!


You are doing the right thing by not rushing into surgery and getting more than one opinion. Good luck with everything.

"Returning to play" after the surgery you are mentioning has been studied to some degree in pro athletes and outcome generally look very good. And some of the studies I've read apply to pro football players - guys really pushing it, and doing things like squats and deadlifts in training. If you do end up getting surgery, in general, you should have a great chance at getting back in the game just fine, and at a high level of performance.

On a personal note, I'm 47 and have had two very bad incidents with two disc injuries a few years ago. Since I practice medicine I know what to look for so could monitor my symptoms well - and I took a non-surgical approach with very aggressively rehabbing myself. Took both at least a year to heal but was back on the bike in a few months. I'm still doing everything from xc to double black DH and if I didn't have kids to spend time with, I'd be racing. Still doing deadlifts and squats (did them today after a run and bike ride). Point is, even an old back like mine healed up pretty darn well. I'm not trying to persuade you away from surgery at all (if that's what's needed) - just pointing out I'd bet you'll be back in the game, and as good as ever at some point.

Again, good luck.


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## Streetdoctor (Oct 14, 2011)

Miker J said:


> You are doing the right thing by not rushing into surgery and getting more than one opinion. Good luck with everything.
> 
> "Returning to play" after the surgery you are mentioning has been studied to some degree in pro athletes and outcome generally look very good. And some of the studies I've read apply to pro football players - guys really pushing it, and doing things like squats and deadlifts in training. If you do end up getting surgery, in general, you should have a great chance at getting back in the game just fine, and at a high level of performance.
> 
> ...


Thanks again and I appreciate it! Both docs I saw recently mentioned there's a good chance it would heal on it's own in 6 months to a year. The neurosurgeon will actually be the 5th opinion- 2 non-operative, 2 orthos, 1 neuro. Only 1 ortho said it wouldn't need surgery and apparently he's extremely conservative. I'm a firefighter/paramedic by trade though and just can't take that much time off. Unfortunately in my field there's quite a few people with back injuries but I feel lucky in getting decent referrals. The modified duty they would put me on would have me commuting 3 hours a day mon-fri which I think might actually be worse! We get 9 months of paid modified duty per an injury for the lifetime of our career (I have about 20 years to go) so if it didn't get better with conservative treatment I could see myself out of a job in the future because of this if I ever re-injured it. 9 months should be enough time to get me through two injuries otherwise. Weighing surgical vs conservative treatment has definitely been a difficult decision.

I've been doing core workouts and stretching daily, my mobility has gotten remarkably better, I think with my job it just never has a chance to really heal. I was initially really looking at this as a game changer but I'm fairly certain now I'll be back to normal in a few months. I've never been afraid of hard work and that's in part what makes this so frustrating. All the PT in the world hasn't really made any difference.


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## mapex101 (Oct 30, 2013)

Try an inversion machine, heat pad and a tens unit. It did wonders for my back. I have two completely blown disks, the doc wanted to operate, I told him no and just did PT instead. I am doing much better and now ride about 2kmiles/year. Oddly enough biking makes my back feel better.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## eggdog (Nov 17, 2010)

I am in the same boat. Went to a neurosurgeon in Boulder who everyone says is the best for the surgery ( L4-L5) for me. I am going back with a new MRI in Jan, and I think I am going to schedule the surgery..I have been fighting this for about 2 yrs now, doing all the things, everyone else is doing, PT, yoga, Mcgill exercises, foundation training etc,,and my sciatica is still there.. hope to be at least on a road bike for some exercises this spring..


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## Streetdoctor (Oct 14, 2011)

mapex101 said:


> Try an inversion machine, heat pad and a tens unit. It did wonders for my back. I have two completely blown disks, the doc wanted to operate, I told him no and just did PT instead. I am doing much better and now ride about 2kmiles/year. Oddly enough biking makes my back feel better.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I have an inversion table, and tens unit. Not making a difference for about 4 months. Cold is better than heat for me too. I know thats opposite of most. I feel like im out of options!


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## Streetdoctor (Oct 14, 2011)

eggdog said:


> I am in the same boat. Went to a neurosurgeon in Boulder who everyone says is the best for the surgery ( L4-L5) for me. I am going back with a new MRI in Jan, and I think I am going to schedule the surgery..I have been fighting this for about 2 yrs now, doing all the things, everyone else is doing, PT, yoga, Mcgill exercises, foundation training etc,,and my sciatica is still there.. hope to be at least on a road bike for some exercises this spring..


I'm scheduled with a neurosurgeon in early january. He told me 6 weeks of staying home, then PT and office work starting from week 6-12 and he expects a full recovery by 12-16 weeks. I personally know of quite a few success stories but you have to avoid online reviews! I'm still slightly on the fence but don't feel like I have any other options. Worried about the risk of reherniation (while I sleep as stupid as it sounds! I roll around a lot). The doc reassured me the risk is low as long as I strictly follow direction in that first 6 weeks. I really only have one shot at this or I'll probably lose my career.


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## evasive (Feb 18, 2005)

I thought I was headed that way this spring. I’ve got a herniated disk and a ~1 cm chunk of disk material started impinging on my spine. I had a severe dropped foot leading to a limp and pretty bad sciatic pain. A buddy of mine is a chiro and he sent me to a surgeon who he said is doing progressive things no one else in the intermountain west is. His practice is in Anaconda, of all places. Anyway, his attitude was “I do a lot of these, and I’m good at them, but let’s go to surgery as the last resort.” He hit me with a double shot of oral steroids. That alleviated the pressure and restored strength to my foot and got rid of the pain. I’m in a holding pattern now, but no surgery so far.


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## davec113 (May 31, 2006)

Hot yoga can be amazing. Or, it can do little to nothing. Worth trying though, for me it healed chronic knee pain and has done a lot for many others. 

If you do the full program (1.5 hours) it will also have a lot of cardio benefits, it takes a lot of strength and good cardio to make it through the class if you're really trying. The Bikram studio near The Fix in Boulder is excellent.


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## Streetdoctor (Oct 14, 2011)

I had surgery 2 days ago. Walked a mile yesterday including a 1/2 mile trip around the block at once. No sciatica since waking up in recovery. The operation took about an hour. A little incision pain and didn't sleep at all really the first night but got a solid 8 hours last night. Now to play the waiting game... 6 weeks for PT to start. Trying to walk at least a mile a day until then.


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## Miker J (Nov 4, 2003)

Streetdoctor said:


> I had surgery 2 days ago. Walked a mile yesterday including a 1/2 mile trip around the block at once. No sciatica since waking up in recovery. The operation took about an hour. A little incision pain and didn't sleep at all really the first night but got a solid 8 hours last night. Now to play the waiting game... 6 weeks for PT to start. Trying to walk at least a mile a day until then.


Good to hear you made it through that hurdle. Best of luck and keep us posted with your progress.


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## eggdog (Nov 17, 2010)

Good to hear your progress is on the right track...I am meeting my surgeon next week to set up my surgery date also. Keep us posted on how your progressing...What are they telling you about possible time to get back on at least a road bike for easy spinning?


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## 06HokieMTB (Apr 25, 2011)

Streetdoctor said:


> Walked a mile yesterday including a 1/2 mile trip around the block at once.


Best Strava segment ever?


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## Streetdoctor (Oct 14, 2011)

eggdog said:


> Good to hear your progress is on the right track...I am meeting my surgeon next week to set up my surgery date also. Keep us posted on how your progressing...What are they telling you about possible time to get back on at least a road bike for easy spinning?


I will hopefully have more answers to questions like this at my two week follow up on the 31st. I'm assuming a spin bike around 4-5 weeks if it's upright. Road bike in 6-8. I'm not rushing it though. I walked a continuous mile this morning (30 minutes) without issue. Most annoying thing so far is sleeping and being comfortable around the house. I normally sleep on my stomach and have been sleeping on my side which kinda sucks but my sleep quality is much higher. I can lay on back on the couch for about an hour before it gets a little sore. I can sit indefinitely but I've been ultra-focused on posture and keeping my core tight so it gets uncomfortable after about 30 minutes. Haven't found the limit to walking yet but still taking it really easy only being 3 days out. I'm 6' 200lb and my goal is to be down to 175 by some time in May. That should help my back and riding fitness and it's taking my mind of not being able to do much now (logging calories, steps, etc). Also... definitely strava'ing my walks hahahaha. I think I'll be up to 3 miles at a time by next week. I'm off work until the 2nd week of february.


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## Streetdoctor (Oct 14, 2011)

Update: Today is 5 weeks and a day post surgery. Set to start PT next week. I've been walking about two miles a day (two 30 minute walks) every day for the last month, not that I can't do more but time... I've also went from 6' 205lb to 190lb since surgery. Trying to drop another 10 by April. I still have some nerve stuff here and there, mainly the feeling like I have splinters in my right thigh and my left big toe will burn every now and then. It usually gets worse if I sit or stand too long. Haven't really thought about riding yet because I don't think I'm ready. I'm hoping after a couple weeks of PT I can give it a try. All the walking has done some funky muscle stuff to the rest of my back that I'm starting a steroid pack today for. 

So far super happy with surgery. I didn't realize how much getting around sucked before. Still shooting for a full recovery by early/mid April.


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## eggdog (Nov 17, 2010)

Good to hear Streetdoc!. I am trying to get myself mentally prepared for my ordeal coming up March 12. I did go to your doc for a 3rd opinion and all 3 are saying the same thing..The "F" word ( fusion). I know the end result will be fine, but just getting my head around the fact of a summer of no biking is killing me..He did say he thinks I could get on a stationary bike in 3 mos, but still..Anyway I am glad to hear your progressing well, and will be back on the bike this summer at least...When all this crap is behind us, we will have to ride to Cannonball for a beer! Hang in there and hope your recovery continues on a speedy track!


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## Streetdoctor (Oct 14, 2011)

eggdog said:


> Good to hear Streetdoc!. I am trying to get myself mentally prepared for my ordeal coming up March 12. I did go to your doc for a 3rd opinion and all 3 are saying the same thing..The "F" word ( fusion). I know the end result will be fine, but just getting my head around the fact of a summer of no biking is killing me..He did say he thinks I could get on a stationary bike in 3 mos, but still..Anyway I am glad to hear your progressing well, and will be back on the bike this summer at least...When all this crap is behind us, we will have to ride to Cannonball for a beer! Hang in there and hope your recovery continues on a speedy track!


thanks man just stay positive! it'll be worth it afterwards! The micro surgery was literally nothing. I know a fusion is more involved but I just had a work physical done by a guy who was fused at l4/l5 3 months ago and he said he went back to work in 2 weeks and hasn't had any issues. Said he felt like he could play golf now if he wanted to.


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## vmorande (Feb 25, 2019)

One advice I can give you is keep stretching, more frequent than intense, because you have to avoid epidural fibrosis. 
I had microdiscectomy on july 3rd 2018, L4-L5 and L5-S1. By September 15th I was told i could bike on streets without pushing it. I rode to work with absolutely cero pain or anything related to it for 2 months, I was feeling AMAZING, getting strength every day and week (my strava times where going back to decent old timings)... Until I started getting nerve pain again without any aparent reason. My surgeon recomended me a full suspension of sports, which -of course- included cutting biking, and he told me that I was probably Not stretching enough: MRI showed a little bit of epidural fibrosis (basically scar tissue close to the nerve).
So here I am. No pain since jan 10th and now tryin for a second time to get back to riding.. probably going to start swimming in the coming weeks too for core strength.

I hope you can get this right faster than me! Good luck.


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## Streetdoctor (Oct 14, 2011)

vmorande said:


> One advice I can give you is keep stretching, more frequent than intense, because you have to avoid epidural fibrosis.
> I had microdiscectomy on july 3rd 2018, L4-L5 and L5-S1. By September 15th I was told i could bike on streets without pushing it. I rode to work with absolutely cero pain or anything related to it for 2 months, I was feeling AMAZING, getting strength every day and week (my strava times where going back to decent old timings)... Until I started getting nerve pain again without any aparent reason. My surgeon recomended me a full suspension of sports, which -of course- included cutting biking, and he told me that I was probably Not stretching enough: MRI showed a little bit of epidural fibrosis (basically scar tissue close to the nerve).
> So here I am. No pain since jan 10th and now tryin for a second time to get back to riding.. probably going to start swimming in the coming weeks too for core strength.
> 
> I hope you can get this right faster than me! Good luck.


Thanks for the info, I appreciate it and fear I might be headed that way a little bit. I've had some "different" nerve pain in my right leg that I think might be scar tissue. When the surgeon did the procedure he removed material from both sides. The new sensation started about a week ago (week 5) with a sensation of being poked with a single needle mildly in my right inner thigh. For a little bit I was really convinced I had a splinter. Yesterday it progressed a little into a dull ache after being on my feet too much. I'm going back to the doctor thursday. I'm a little terrified it reherniated and will probably ask for another MRI, hoping it's just scar tissue and that I need to start PT (I actually start tomorrow). I haven't done any B/L/T, my wife has been a saint working 50 hour weeks, doing all the house chores, and making sure nothing is below waist height for me. This morning I'm actually down to 188lbs at a little over 6' from a presurgery weight of a little over 200. I honestly don't think there's anything else I could have done in terms of following restrictions. My left leg feels amazing (where I had all my pre-surgery symptoms), without even really getting the burning sensation in my toes anymore.


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## Streetdoctor (Oct 14, 2011)

6 week mark today. PT identified some crazy muscle/flexibility imbalance issues but says it's pretty normal. She attributes that to the new symptoms. Also spoke with the surgeon today who didn't feel there was anything to worry about. Said new symptoms may appear and disappear randomly for the first six months. I was pretty terrified at PT today, we only did flexibility/mobility stuff but I bent over for the first time in six weeks. First back extension I've done that hasn't caused sciatica in what feels like forever. Not anymore sore than normal right now either. I call that a win. Seeing the doc tomorrow anyways to go over my PT plan and hopefully getting the ok to start some more legit core work tomorrow. Thinking about rides through the neighborhood in the next couple weeks but I want to work on the imbalance issues for a bit first because I'm pretty sure some of it was riding caused.


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## eggdog (Nov 17, 2010)

Great to hear on your recovery!. I am going in tomorrow for my fusion..Keeping positive as best I can as I know the long term outcome will be fantastic, but still in the funk of not doing any biking for the most part of the summer.. Will keep you posted as I spend the next few months of no bending, twisting or lifting!


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## Jake1223 (Nov 25, 2018)

Just stumbled across this thread!
I’m 19 days post surgery L4/5 discectomy
I ruptured it in May last year, tried the natural method with reverse hypers, no deadlifts, only light squats etc, I was at the fittest I had been in a loooong time at 32, 213lbs 11% body fat but in huge amounts of pain.
I stopped riding the mountain bike and switched to road only in January, the distances came down every week and I decided I had to have the surgery.
I expected a faster recovery from my pre-op consultations, but now 3 weeks later I’m still on heavy pain meds and haven’t returned to work, spoke to my surgeons office today and we booked an MRI to see if there are any issues, hopefully it’s just residual nerve inflammation which will mostly settle with time.
My brand new Stumpjumper is staring at me just wanting to send it 😉
Best wishes and good luck with your recovery !


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## eggdog (Nov 17, 2010)

Well I am alive! Exactly 1 week from my L4-L5 Fusion. Woke up from a 3hr surgery with no pain, but that was due to the morphine drug they coat the spine with before they sew me up. Felt fine, but the anesthesia was brutal for me..Super nausea for the first day. 2nd day in the hospital was better and was able to walk around a bit. Home now and no real pain at all..I did take OTC Tylenol as needed but have not taken anything for 2 days now. Have been walking laps outside with no real problem..Super slow, but no real pain.. Everyday is getting better, just super conscious of the no BLT, sleeping is good as I can sleep on my side. Going to doc for follow up next Tue which will be the 2 week mark. I know I won't be bike until late fall if I am lucky, but I am feeling pretty good for 7 days out of a L4-L5 Fusion. Keep you posted!


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## Streetdoctor (Oct 14, 2011)

eggdog said:


> Well I am alive! Exactly 1 week from my L4-L5 Fusion. Woke up from a 3hr surgery with no pain, but that was due to the morphine drug they coat the spine with before they sew me up. Felt fine, but the anesthesia was brutal for me..Super nausea for the first day. 2nd day in the hospital was better and was able to walk around a bit. Home now and no real pain at all..I did take OTC Tylenol as needed but have not taken anything for 2 days now. Have been walking laps outside with no real problem..Super slow, but no real pain.. Everyday is getting better, just super conscious of the no BLT, sleeping is good as I can sleep on my side. Going to doc for follow up next Tue which will be the 2 week mark. I know I won't be bike until late fall if I am lucky, but I am feeling pretty good for 7 days out of a L4-L5 Fusion. Keep you posted!


Great to hear! Wednesday will be the 10 week mark for me. I've been in PT since week 6. It's been a lot of 2 steps forward one step back. I'll have a week of no symptoms and feel like I'm really turning a corner and starting to feel "normal" and then the following week my foot will have a funny sensation. I think it's just the nerve waking back up or some scar tissue issues. I can still stand and walk like normal as opposed to my pre-surgery condition. I see the doc April 4th and my PT thinks I'll be back to work (firefighting) by mid/end of April.

I did 3 miles on a road bike a couple weeks ago and it felt fine but since I'm still having some funny nerve stuff (not pain but my foot will often feel like it's wet or warm) I've laid off any biking for now. My left leg is also still pretty tight, nerve glides on that side I have about 80% range of motion compared to my right.


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## Streetdoctor (Oct 14, 2011)

Jake1223 said:


> Just stumbled across this thread!
> I'm 19 days post surgery L4/5 discectomy
> I ruptured it in May last year, tried the natural method with reverse hypers, no deadlifts, only light squats etc, I was at the fittest I had been in a loooong time at 32, 213lbs 11% body fat but in huge amounts of pain.
> I stopped riding the mountain bike and switched to road only in January, the distances came down every week and I decided I had to have the surgery.
> ...


Getting any better now? I've heard if the nerve is irritated during surgery it can be a brutal initial recovery. How did your MRI go?


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## Streetdoctor (Oct 14, 2011)

I spoke to my surgeon's office yesterday. I figured I paid them enough I need to at least bother them with a few phone calls =) They told me the nerve sensations in my foot and the tight leg are all to be expected as the nerve regenerates. The pt also said from what he's seen the healing process usually goes from surgery --> pain --> funky nerve stuff --> stiffness --> feeling normal. The things to look out for at my stage are severe pain and numbness, anything else is part of healing. The weather is getting good and I'm really starting to get stir crazy. I've lost about 15 pounds of muscle from this ordeal. Lately I've also been really stiff in the morning and then as the day goes on (especially if it's a PT day) I start to feel normal. Currently doing PT mon/wed/fri. PT consists of mostly stretching and core work. There's an app called "Back doctor" that I'm following and doing the "Watkins back program". I just started some weight training with suitcase carries last friday, they have me at 15 pounds now.


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## eggdog (Nov 17, 2010)

Just got back from surgeons office today. 2 week mark from my L4-L5 Fusion. Doc has given me the green light to at least ride a stationary bike as well as walking. I am at zero pain and no numbness or funky nerve issues at this point. Starting PT at week 6. Pretty surprised at my outcome, but I am sure I will have some nerve stuff and numbness in the near future, but Doc says I am recovering normal....Keeping my fingers crossed.


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## Streetdoctor (Oct 14, 2011)

eggdog said:


> Just got back from surgeons office today. 2 week mark from my L4-L5 Fusion. Doc has given me the green light to at least ride a stationary bike as well as walking. I am at zero pain and no numbness or funky nerve issues at this point. Starting PT at week 6. Pretty surprised at my outcome, but I am sure I will have some nerve stuff and numbness in the near future, but Doc says I am recovering normal....Keeping my fingers crossed.


Great to hear! I ended up getting dry needled in my left hip and it helped a lot with the tightness! Did a 45 minute circuit workout yesterday and it kicked my ass and felt great. Just cardio/core stuff for now. I have my 3 month follow up next Thursday (a week early due to scheduling issues), looking to get released from the 30lb weight restriction so I can do some job specific training. I'll probably start riding again at that point. Perfect timing as weather is just getting good here.


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## oceanminded (Feb 25, 2009)

Streetdoctor said:


> Great to hear! I ended up getting dry needled in my left hip and it helped a lot with the tightness! Did a 45 minute circuit workout yesterday and it kicked my ass and felt great. Just cardio/core stuff for now. I have my 3 month follow up next Thursday (a week early due to scheduling issues), looking to get released from the 30lb weight restriction so I can do some job specific training. I'll probably start riding again at that point. Perfect timing as weather is just getting good here.


Just thought I'd chime in here. I had a L4-L5 microdiscectomy and L5-S1 stem cell injection in Mid Dec so am getting close to 4 months post op. My situation was a little different in the sense that I had chronic back pain for over 20+ years and not a whole lot of sciatica. Probably messed up my back in my early 20s weight lifting and/or snowboarding. Now in my 40s I finally did the surgery since back pain was getting so bad I could barely stand for more than 10 minutes. I think the surgery was a success although first few months I was really stiff and guarded. I'm now hiking on weekends and doing a lot of stretching and core work. Will probably start swimming in two weeks at the 4 month mark. My only concern is I am now getting numbness in right shin and some pain in right lower buttock which I assume is sciatica from when they moved the nerve around. I'm hoping that will go away with time but I probably aggregated as well with my core workouts so I may ease up a bit and see if that helps. For me since I've dealt with back pain for most of my adult life I'm taking it slow as far as getting back into riding. I want to make sure everything is healed up and my core is solid. My doctor who does this kind of surgery on a lot of pro athletes here in LA said he tells them it takes about a year before they are back to their pro level so in my own mind even though I'm just a weekend warrior I'm giving myself a solid year for recovery. For now I'm staying positive and looking at which bike I want to buy as a motivational factor to get back into riding since I was sidelined for so long.


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## Streetdoctor (Oct 14, 2011)

oceanminded said:


> Just thought I'd chime in here. I had a L4-L5 microdiscectomy and L5-S1 stem cell injection in Mid Dec so am getting close to 4 months post op. My situation was a little different in the sense that I had chronic back pain for over 20+ years and not a whole lot of sciatica. Probably messed up my back in my early 20s weight lifting and/or snowboarding. Now in my 40s I finally did the surgery since back pain was getting so bad I could barely stand for more than 10 minutes. I think the surgery was a success although first few months I was really stiff and guarded. I'm now hiking on weekends and doing a lot of stretching and core work. Will probably start swimming in two weeks at the 4 month mark. My only concern is I am now getting numbness in right shin and some pain in right lower buttock which I assume is sciatica from when they moved the nerve around. I'm hoping that will go away with time but I probably aggregated as well with my core workouts so I may ease up a bit and see if that helps. For me since I've dealt with back pain for most of my adult life I'm taking it slow as far as getting back into riding. I want to make sure everything is healed up and my core is solid. My doctor who does this kind of surgery on a lot of pro athletes here in LA said he tells them it takes about a year before they are back to their pro level so in my own mind even though I'm just a weekend warrior I'm giving myself a solid year for recovery. For now I'm staying positive and looking at which bike I want to buy as a motivational factor to get back into riding since I was sidelined for so long.


I've got a really amazing wellness center at my work with a few PT's and a NP that used to work for the broncos and I think that has helped a ton. The one thing I've learned from all this is every day is different! Thursday/Friday/Saturday, I felt like a million bucks and then on Sunday I was super stiff. Hard feeling to describe, like it was unstable and I needed to crack my back. I got my hips dry needled again today and that seemed to help, I think that's a riding overuse thing though that is just aggravating the back healing. Hoping to hear a better explanation from the doc on Thursday. If I can feel like I did for most of this weekend I'll be real happy. First time Ive felt completely normal in awhile. It seems like I'm generally trending towards improvement and I definitely don't want to rush it. I'll do some 30-45 min trainer rides before actually jumping on the bike for a real ride. My goal is still to be 100 percent for a whistler trip in June which will be the 5 month mark.

THe nerve stuff I was having a week ago is now almost 100% gone and I agree with the doc office I think it's just part of the nerve healing. Really weird that it just came on at the 10 week mark though.


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## oceanminded (Feb 25, 2009)

Streetdoctor said:


> I've got a really amazing wellness center at my work with a few PT's and a NP that used to work for the broncos and I think that has helped a ton. The one thing I've learned from all this is every day is different! Thursday/Friday/Saturday, I felt like a million bucks and then on Sunday I was super stiff. Hard feeling to describe, like it was unstable and I needed to crack my back. I got my hips dry needled again today and that seemed to help, I think that's a riding overuse thing though that is just aggravating the back healing. Hoping to hear a better explanation from the doc on Thursday. If I can feel like I did for most of this weekend I'll be real happy. First time Ive felt completely normal in awhile. It seems like I'm generally trending towards improvement and I definitely don't want to rush it. I'll do some 30-45 min trainer rides before actually jumping on the bike for a real ride. My goal is still to be 100 percent for a whistler trip in June which will be the 5 month mark.
> 
> THe nerve stuff I was having a week ago is now almost 100% gone and I agree with the doc office I think it's just part of the nerve healing. Really weird that it just came on at the 10 week mark though.


Yes, the stiffness is/was the main thing I was dealing with up until a few weeks ago but is now starting to improve. Everyone heals differently but I think it is our bodies own natural way to protect our spine from the surgery so we don't bend or twist which is why I didn't force myself to stretch or start core training till after the two month mark even though my DR released me to PT at six weeks. I just want to make sure everything has had a chance to properly heal.

@Streetdoctor- Have you noticed any nerve flare ups after a specific exercise or activity? Last week I did a bunch of stretching and core exercises along with some hikes so I'm not sure what I did to cause my own nerve flareup in my shin. This week I'm just icing and taking it easy until the nerve calms down then I guess I'll just start up slow again and try to figure out what aggravated it which is not always so easy to figure out.


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## eggdog (Nov 17, 2010)

Good to hear of some good recovery stories! You guys are a few month ahead of me, but its good to hear that things are on the right track. I just set up my PT to be right at week 6, but so far so good on my recovery. Rode a peloton bike ( upright as I could and no resistance) for 30 min with no problem. My sciatica is 100% gone and besides the stiffness at my incision, I feel fine. Still wearing my brace and no BLT, but walking 3+ miles at a time and getting around is a non issue at this point.. Just keeping the positive thoughts!


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## Streetdoctor (Oct 14, 2011)

eggdog said:


> Good to hear of some good recovery stories! You guys are a few month ahead of me, but its good to hear that things are on the right track. I just set up my PT to be right at week 6, but so far so good on my recovery. Rode a peloton bike ( upright as I could and no resistance) for 30 min with no problem. My sciatica is 100% gone and besides the stiffness at my incision, I feel fine. Still wearing my brace and no BLT, but walking 3+ miles at a time and getting around is a non issue at this point.. Just keeping the positive thoughts!


Great to hear! I also started doing some meditation (sounds weird I know) through an app called "headspace". It's definitely helped with the psychological side of the ups and downs. Highly recommended if you think you need it. I've been doing 10 minutes a day for the last week. Woke up this morning with a lot of the stiffness gone, PT again tomorrow and if I'm still feeling good by this weekend I'm going to go for a road ride.


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## Streetdoctor (Oct 14, 2011)

I feel like I've really turned a corner as of this last weekend. Tomorrow is 3 months since surgery. I saw the doctor last Thursday and he removed all restrictions. On Friday I road-biked for 30 minutes, Saturday I did a FTP test (2.8w/kg), and Sunday 40 easy minutes on the road bike. Monday at PT they had me do 3 3x3 intervals of all glutes/hips. It's been a long time since I've felt a good muscular soreness in my glutes! Feels amazing. Today I just finished 60 minutes of aerobic intervals on the trainer. I was real tempted to go out for a flat/easy MTB ride today but I'm going to give that another week or two. 

My schedule right now is going to look like 3 hours of PT on mon/wed/fri that's all core/lower body and work hardening. Tues/Thurs/Sat 60 minute trainer rides trying to get into MTB shape. Sundays rest.

Nerve symptoms are almost 100% resolved with an occasional "warm" feeling in my left foot still that seems sporadic.


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## eggdog (Nov 17, 2010)

Glad to hear streetdoc! I am sure by this summer it will be all behind you. I am still quite a few months behind you in activities, but I feel amazingly well for having a fusion..Still in the no BLT for 2 more weeks, but I have zero pain and get around pretty good. Driving, standing walking no problems at all. Start PT in 2 weeks, so that should be an adventure, of breaking up scar tissue etc.

But glad to hear your recovering nicely and are back on the bike!


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## oceanminded (Feb 25, 2009)

Streetdoctor said:


> I feel like I've really turned a corner as of this last weekend. Tomorrow is 3 months since surgery. I saw the doctor last Thursday and he removed all restrictions. On Friday I road-biked for 30 minutes, Saturday I did a FTP test (2.8w/kg), and Sunday 40 easy minutes on the road bike. Monday at PT they had me do 3 3x3 intervals of all glutes/hips. It's been a long time since I've felt a good muscular soreness in my glutes! Feels amazing. Today I just finished 60 minutes of aerobic intervals on the trainer. I was real tempted to go out for a flat/easy MTB ride today but I'm going to give that another week or two.
> 
> My schedule right now is going to look like 3 hours of PT on mon/wed/fri that's all core/lower body and work hardening. Tues/Thurs/Sat 60 minute trainer rides trying to get into MTB shape. Sundays rest.
> 
> Nerve symptoms are almost 100% resolved with an occasional "warm" feeling in my left foot still that seems sporadic.


Glad you are doing better. Have you noticed any stiffness or nerve pain after workouts? It's hard to tell sometimes the difference between normal muscle soreness vs surgery recovery stuff. I still have some back stiffness and pain in right lower glute (piriformis muscle) after workouts and right shin is a bit numb but no pain. Hoping this will all resolve over time. Hopefully I'll start swimming soon as I've mainly been stretching and doing core work out stuff including a lot of balance board work.


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## Streetdoctor (Oct 14, 2011)

oceanminded said:


> Glad you are doing better. Have you noticed any stiffness or nerve pain after workouts? It's hard to tell sometimes the difference between normal muscle soreness vs surgery recovery stuff. I still have some back stiffness and pain in right lower glute (piriformis muscle) after workouts and right shin is a bit numb but no pain. Hoping this will all resolve over time. Hopefully I'll start swimming soon as I've mainly been stretching and doing core work out stuff including a lot of balance board work.


My lower back gets stiff every now and then but I think I've pinpointed it to being tight in my legs/hips. My left hamstring is definitely still a lot tighter than my right but it fluctuates. If I'm going to feel this way usually it's first thing in the morning when I get up and not post-workout. I think the tight muscles are pulling on my back. Usually when I feel that way I'll stretch for 30 minutes to an hour and then go for a walk and the stiffness goes away.

I'll get a funny sensation in my left toes every now and then during or after a workout but I don't necessarily attribute it to "bad" nerve stuff. It's definitely not pain. I think it's just getting my body moving again. With all that being said today I walked 10 flights of stairs with a 35 pound pack on, a circuit workout with battle ropes, dragging a sled down a long hallway, and some core exercises in addition to the level 2 and 3 core stuff in the watkins back doctor app. I'm pretty wrecked right now and my back is definitely slightly sore. This is my first day of doing anything like that though. I'm going to make sure I get an hour of stretching in later today followed up with 30 minutes in the hot tub and we'll see how I'm feeling tomorrow. After the last couple days I think I'm going to do a real easy trainer ride tomorrow and call it a "rest day". Maybe power intervals saturday


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## Streetdoctor (Oct 14, 2011)

This is the App my PT's recommended when I got started with PT. Progressing through the levels after you've done each one at least 3 times pain free. I'm up to doing dead bugs for 7 minutes as of today. Some of this stuff (the quadrups or bird dogs) are REALLY hard for me to do with proper form so if you're tackling it on your own I think it may be best to know what proper form is. On the bird dogs I have a real bad tendency of dropping a hip when I extend my leg.

https://www.watkinsspine.com/free-app


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## oceanminded (Feb 25, 2009)

Streetdoctor said:


> This is the App my PT's recommended when I got started with PT. Progressing through the levels after you've done each one at least 3 times pain free. I'm up to doing dead bugs for 7 minutes as of today. Some of this stuff (the quadrups or bird dogs) are REALLY hard for me to do with proper form so if you're tackling it on your own I think it may be best to know what proper form is. On the bird dogs I have a real bad tendency of dropping a hip when I extend my leg.
> 
> https://www.watkinsspine.com/free-app


Thanks for the app. Good stuff there. I'm doing similar exercises as well. There is something called cat/cow exercise that still feels a little uncomfortable but I do it anyways to help with the stiffness. Form is tough and all the videos on YouTube say different things. Some people think planks are good and others not so much. I guess its all trial and error to see what works and what doesn't.


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## eggdog (Nov 17, 2010)

Just an update on my progress from my L4/L5 fusion. I have been back on the road bike since week 7. Can ride without any pain whatsoever and as long as I don't crash, the Dr is cool with it as well as my PT. Wont be doing any MTB for quite sometime, but I rode 60 miles this past weekend and felt fine. No sciatica pain at all and back stiffness and pain is gone that I did have before. I have been doing some PT, and can do pretty much any of the excercises with no pain or discomfort. So far I am pretty happy with my outcome and hope for complete recovery.


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## mattwsurfer (Aug 24, 2017)

*4 months post op*

I suffered a herniation in late December 2019 resulting in fairly severe pain in my right hip area but more devastatingly I had sudden severe weakness in my right leg mostly in the calf. I could barely walk. I was really freaked out about ever being active again.
Being the holidays it took me forever to get in to a doctor. The first one, a physiatrist was recommending an epidural. But seeing as I was suffering severe weakness and possible permanent nerve damage I sought out a surgeon as well. He immediately diagnosed and said surgery was needed.

I went in for the l4-l5 microdiscectomy on Feb 5. (day before my 50th birthday!). Surgery was a success. within about a week I was finally starting to notice some strength coming back in the leg. This was a great relief.

I started pedaling around the street after 6 weeks and riding smooth trails around 8 weeks. by three months I was on some of my regular riding.

Here I am at 4 months:


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## trusz (Mar 16, 2009)

I just found this thread via Google. I know it's a little old but I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who contributed their story. It's really picked me up.

I had a stupid crash in the woods 3 weeks ago. Pedalling on the flat but in the dark, hit a small rut that separated me and my bike. Went down pretty heavily but thought nothing of it and carried on riding for an hour or two. That night I couldn't sleep, my back felt so stiff. I kept getting up to stretch. The next day I was in so much pain down my lower back and left leg, numbness and no strength in my big toe. I was worried and took myself to hospital. Waited for hours and they did almost nothing for me. Basic exam, said I probably have some soft tissue damage/swelling that was irritating a nerve, but gave me some painkillers and was sent home. The next day the pain was 10x worse. Girlfriend had to take me to hospital. Unfortunately the wait was crazy on a Saturday morning it was full of people. Eventually the pain subsided so I just left.

I booked in with an spinal consultant straight away Monday morning and had an MRI a week later. Found out I have a herniated L3-L4 disc and some degenerative wear and bulging on the two above. It came as quite a shock. I'm 38 but still think im 23. So it was a bit of a shock. 

After 3 weeks the pain has gone but I still have the weakness in my foot which tires my leg out when walking. I have opted for a disectomy after being given the options by the surgeon. He said I could try waiting it out but there's a better chance of nerve recovery and strength gain if the pressure is relieved sooner which seems to be the consensus from asking around.

I've been so worried I won't be able to mountain bike again or that the slightest accident will cripple me. Biking is my life outside work so it's been eating me up for a couple of weeks now. I'm so glad to read about you guys getting back to it.

My op is in two weeks. All being well I'll be paying much more attention to my core strength in future. I've never been much for the gym and I'm tall and slim so I can see how I've probably been quite vulnerable to this kind of injury, particularly with the degenerative lower spine wear. I know my mother has some issues and she's waiting for an op and my grandfather had several. Lesson learnt. Lucky that it's coming into winter now so hopefully I can rehab in time for the spring with plenty of core work, stretching and some light road/fire road rides for a while before hitting the steep stuff again. Seems like small steps and patience (I might struggle with that bit) are key.


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## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

Streetdoctor, how are you now a few years later?


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## Streetdoctor (Oct 14, 2011)

Still doing good! Actually broke my pelvis and 7 veterbrae in my lower back June 2021 when I hit a tree on the bike. Luckily it didn't seem to effect my disc issue at all and it required no surgery. I spent a week in the hospital to let the swelling subside and I was sent home. 3 months later I was in the woods elk hunting and carried out a bull Elk in 90lb loads on my back. Hunting again this year with a heavy pack and also no issues. 

This summer I competed the full #75Hard program and phase 1 of "live hard". I went from 6' 205lb to 6' 180lb and 9% body fat. My VO2Max was 60 when I tested in July. I've been pretty lazy for the last month after hunting season this year and then I got covid which I'm still feeling the after effects of. I'm starting phase 2 this weekend. Probably the most fit I've ever been in my life. I'm 38 with a 15 month old at home now. One thing I can't reiterate enough- if you have the surgery- *it's a lifestyle change*. Core work must be a part of your life weekly or your back *WILL* bother you. The surgery recovery takes a long time to really feel 100% but you'll get out of it what you put in. There have been multiple periods where I've had flair ups from being lazy. Nothing as bad as the original issues but enough to mess with your head.


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## drew502 (Feb 12, 2007)

@ Streetdoctor - Thank you for posting your follow up. I'm 59 and had microdiscectomy surgery 4 months ago and I am still trying to navigate the recovery process. 

I will post a full account in an effort to help others when I have few more minutes.


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## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

Streetdoctor said:


> Still doing good! Actually broke my pelvis and 7 veterbrae in my lower back June 2021 when I hit a tree on the bike. Luckily it didn't seem to effect my disc issue at all and it required no surgery. I spent a week in the hospital to let the swelling subside and I was sent home. 3 months later I was in the woods elk hunting and carried out a bull Elk in 90lb loads on my back. Hunting again this year with a heavy pack and also no issues.
> 
> This summer I competed the full #75Hard program and phase 1 of "live hard". I went from 6' 205lb to 6' 180lb and 9% body fat. My VO2Max was 60 when I tested in July. I've been pretty lazy for the last month after hunting season this year and then I got covid which I'm still feeling the after effects of. I'm starting phase 2 this weekend. Probably the most fit I've ever been in my life. I'm 38 with a 15 month old at home now. One thing I can't reiterate enough- if you have the surgery- *it's a lifestyle change*. Core work must be a part of your life weekly or your back *WILL* bother you. The surgery recovery takes a long time to really feel 100% but you'll get out of it what you put in. There have been multiple periods where I've had flair ups from being lazy. Nothing as bad as the original issues but enough to mess with your head.


That's awesome! I'm glad to read that you've recovered so well.


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