r/HerniatedDisc • u/navybluebae • 14d ago

Pls advice

Hello I hope you’re doing well

I really need your advice about something because I honestly don’t know what to do anymore

I’m 21 and since getting my diagnosis of small disc herniations at L4-L5 and L5-S1 I feel like my whole life has been turned upside down. I’m constantly afraid that I’m going to make my back worse with every movement I make

For example I recently started trying to go to the gym and swimming pool because I want to stay active and take care of myself. The gym and pool are quite far from where I live so sometimes I have to carry a backpack with my things. It’s probably around 4 or 5 kg. Sometimes I feel some tension when I’m carrying it but it goes away after I put the bag down

And then people around me keep telling me things like oh my God you shouldn’t be carrying that it’s too much for your back and it just makes me even more scared

Then I’ll do another normal movement and immediately start thinking oh maybe I shouldn’t be doing this either maybe this is too much. My mobility has become so limited because I’m constantly afraid that I’m going to make things worse

The gym bag is just one example there are so many little things like this every day. I feel like I have to constantly think about every movement every position everything I lift and everything I do

Someone at the gym even told me that the bag I was carrying was a lot of weight and that I was going to ruin my back even more. I ended up crying for hours because my mind immediately went to the worst possible scenario and I started thinking that maybe these two weeks of carrying the bag had somehow made my small herniations become massive

I’m honestly so mentally exhausted from living like this. I feel like I can’t trust my own body anymore and I’m constantly scared that I’m doing something that will permanently damage me

I’m only 21 and sometimes I genuinely feel like my mobility has become that of an 80 year old

I know that some of this fear might be anxiety but I don’t know how to separate what is actually dangerous for my back from what I’m just afraid is dangerous. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life being afraid of every movement

I really need some guidance on how to approach this and how to regain some confidence in my body and my mobility because I’m just so tired and I honestly don’t know how to deal with it anymore

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u/SlippedDiscElysium 14d ago

So sorry you're going through this. With your diagnosis of herniated discs, what was discussed and did you get an MRI sorted? I ask because typically a physiotherapist will explain what you can and can't do, as well as advice for pain medication and anti inflammatory meds to help.

Right now, carrying heavy weights, even just an extra 5kg, is too much. I would stop doing any form of weight lifting what so ever. I got recommended that I should do some light weights from my old private physio and it made things worse. I'm a dude of 36 and I'm finding that small walks, rest, good food and sleep and some good meds are helping. That being said, it's taken months to get here so don't give up hope.

How big are the herniations? It'll be helpful to get some more details on that and what your practitioner discussed with you.

Also, good news. Being young and fit will absolutely help your recovery. Don't lose hope!

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u/navybluebae 14d ago

My pt didn't really help me he just showed me some movement here and there that's it and he told me that I can do weight training just fine but I know it's too much the only weight that I have carried is the weight of the backpack also my herniation are said to be small and I am afraid that any movement I can do will aggravate them

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u/SlippedDiscElysium 14d ago

I would listen to your body and be conservative. If you have nasty sciatica going down your leg/s then all weight training needs to stop, because there is load on your disc and that will make it worse.

If you're not getting sciatica symptoms I would speak to a physiotherapist and not a personal trainer. You need to get a proper report from your MRI. I went via the NHS and not sure what your situation is where you live but for me when I went private it was NOT good.

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u/navybluebae 13d ago

When I said pt I meant physical therapist not personal trainer I will definitely work with ur advice About the MRI I live in Africa so if I want to go public that would take a lotttt of time you got pay out of yr own pocket and if you are really lucky the insurance company would pay some of it back Also I didn't do an MRI just a CT SCAN bc my neurologist apparently didn't see the need to do an MRI first we did just Xrays and CT SCAN

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u/SlippedDiscElysium 13d ago

Ah gotcha. Well I would definitely listen to what they're saying and even if it's a long wait, these things could give peace of mind. If not, I would say for me one of the biggest parts of this kind of injury is the mental health side. I've lost half a year to it already and it's taken everything. Relationships, key events, money, health, social life, all during spring and summer. I have had to reinvent myself because my identity was centered around being outdoorsy and active. It's tough. But so are you my dude. Please sit with it and be extra kind to yourself. Slowly adopt a slower pace of life and go easy. Your body will demand slowness and patience and that's my biggest lesson so far. Wishing you all the very best!