<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:No, disk, not [censored]....
But seriously, anyone out there still riding after something like an
L4/L5 diskectomy? I had one last September and can't seem to get back
into riding. Every time I try, even going out super easy just on the
road, it feels great for a week, then I start a slide back into
painkillers and it keeps getting worse for weeks after I stop again.
I was riding 4-5 times a week, probably around 10 hours a week. Then
came the sore back on long climbes that kept getting worse. Next was
the series of MRI's and epidural cortizone shots.
I sold my coiler as it was getting too heavy for me. Plonked down the
$$$$$$ for niota Ti frame. Even with a 24 lb rig I still couldn't cope.
Last was the surgery. A "minimally invasive laminectomy", translation:
"Maximally screwed up". I've spent almost a year doing PT and stupid
recovery excersizes that don't feel like they do anything. My surgeon
says, "Well, I would have expected faster recovery, but we (ME you rat
[censored], not you) just have to wait..."
I didn't think I was ready to make the transition from hard core mtber
to fat old fart, but I guess we don't ever make that choice willingly.
I got on a scale the other day. I though the effing thing was broken,
30 friggin pounds since I quit riding.
-Bruce
P.S.Niota Ti, barely used for sale....
About 5 years ago I fractured a lumbar vertebrae (crashed on the MTB) and
for the next two years my back hurt like [censored] whenever I rode. The pain got
so bad that I finally went to see a chiropractor. First thing he says is
you have one leg shorter than the other and then you have almost no
flexibility. He worked on me for a couple of weeks but it didn't help. I
finally went to see an orthopedist. I got an MRI and found out I had two
ruptured lumbar disks, these were not just herniated but as the Doc put it,
they were fully extruded. The extruded disks were laying on nerves, one on
each side. He says "no wonder your back hurts, I can't believe you can even
ride a bike" then he gave me some free prescription strength Viox, all I
can say is they sure did work and look no heart attack. Just an aside, he
wanted to make sure that there was no nerve damage, so he hooks me up to a
machine that sends a electrical current through my body. After flopping
around on the table a couple of times he hooks me up one more time and sends
another good jolt through and says "Huh, you're wired backwards, let's try
this again." Well I guess if you've been "wired" backwards your whole life
then "you're really not wired backwards" you adapt. Anyway after one
epidural (cortisone shot) and a shot of "I don't know what the hell it was
but it sure made me sick " and 3 months of physical therapy (hint: find one
at your local Universities Sports Complex, these guys deal with sports
injuries all the time, and if you can scheduled it during the women's track
team work out, mine had a view of the weight room, nothing like watching
sweaty women pumping iron to pass the time). At the end of 3 months my legs
were the same length. I was given a stretching routine to do twice a day
and was told to try some yoga. Now after 5 years my back still hurt after I
ride but not as much, in fact I'm used to it but extended hillclimbs can
put a good hurt on the back. So my advice is to do a lot of stretching,
find a good yoga class and try do things that will lessen the strain on your
back, i.e.. higher position on the bike, get out of the saddle every now and
then, stop and walk around. It's either that or as you found out become a
couch potato.
--
Pete
