[Closed] Is riding with a herniated disc a bad idea?

My experiences (as briefly as possible):

1) How do you know it's a herniated disc? I've been suffering spasms every 6 months or so which I would once have believed were herniated disc related but am now more inclined to think are related to an over-worked piriformis (tiny muscle deep in the butt) spasming and clenching the sciatic nerve. This can send pain up and down.

2) Piriformis can be common as lots of cycling and sitting combined can leave glutes a bit lazy/inactive/weak (controversial - physio doesn't believe mine are particularly weak, and generally doesn't believe in inactive muscles, so point remains to be proven...).

3) Your pain is more likely inflammation/aggravation of the sciatic nerve (once symptoms of spasm have reduced). I used heat/massage/relaxation to reduce symptoms of spasm (took about a week) and am now just left with aggravated sciatic nerve symptoms.

4) Aggravated sciatic nerve can be overcome by painkillers (d'uh) but also teaching your body that you can move again. This seems to be the new school of physio thinking, and it is apparently vital to keep mobile and do what you can within the range of motion that your pain allows.

5) I got back on the road bike within 10 days of last spasm (10 days ago funnily enough) and started with a 45 minute evening ride. Yes there were twinges and a bit of grumbling from the back, but I overcame this with lots of stretching (humping the stem) and position changes. If I wanted to climb with any vigour it meant standing and 'dancing' on the pedals in a low-ish gear. Following day I did my usual commute (2 x 45mins) and felt better again, funnily enough being on the hoods was more comfortable than being upright, possibly because it took weight off the piriformis.

6) My back has felt a step improvement after every short ride, so I'm a big believer now of working within the limits of your pain. Physio assured me I wasn't doing any harm so long as the pain was bearable and went away relatively soon after riding.

7) Physio basically gave me basic NHs lower back mobility stuff for the early days

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p.s. I am not a physio etc. etc. so get yee to a proper physio pronto!

Younger physios who are still doing PhDs seem more inclined to talk about psychological triggers e.g. stress, lifestyle but also being 'guarded' of a sore back which teaches muscles to tense up and stay tense. For me I think it was a bending/twisting movement which sent me into spasm, because my body isn't used to them because I try to avoid that movement now due to previous back injuries. Am thinking I'll start trying yoga to regain that range of movement so my back doesn't freak out and spasm every time I move out of a strictly up-and-down range of movement.

I'm just getting used to this style of advice but am coming round to this school of thinking. Stay mobile, don't focus on injury, don't 'think' yourself into more back pain etc. etc.

You def want to keep it moving, so riding might be a good thing. Try a short, easy one first and scale it up in small increments from there.

Also: physio, obvs!

From some bulged discs I had a few years back that still need managing just be sensible.

As above, spasmed / tight muscles will not help the situation. Get on the ibuprofen and mild pain killers consistently for a few days. This should help the spasming (obviously don’t abuse the painkillers - to state the obvious)!

Be careful with stretching is there is a lot of pain - if it hurts a lot then get some professional advice. If it’s just tight then stretches can help. For me the bottom to heel stretch helps especially before riding - also forward lunges with a big stretch up with your arms and diagonal lunges with some gentle twisting help.

The physio I saw advised against some lower back strengthening exercises (like stiff leg deadlifts) as it just tightens the muscles even more. She advised hat cote strengthening exercises would help over time - such as flute bridges.

Also, ime the road bike made things worse but mtb on a full suspension bike was ok.

I had an MRI done last time, which showed the knackered disc bulging out. This time feels the same.

I usually do 5-6 sessions of exercise a week, cycling, weights, running, and swimming — no problems with the back for the last 10 years.

It started hurting last Wednesday during a ride. I went swimming on Monday this week for 1km, and it felt good in the water, no pain at all. I tried a gentel ride this morning as it was feeling a bit better. It hurt when I got off the bike but not loads more. It's just irritating. It sometimes feels like someone has hammered a screwdriver through my spine and is carefully rocking it up and down.

No magic fix. But based on my experience (herniated L5 last year):

1) Get proper diagnosis (I got my back scanned on the advice of a physio who would not touch me when she watched me try to walk.)
2) Back brace and ibuprofen until immediate crisis/inflammation subsides.
3) Gentle rides with plenty of gentle stretching afterwards, taking the stuff said above about guarding into consideration.
4) Pilates.

My back has been good for nearly a year now with regular pilates, and I've done quite a lot of riding including longer rides.

I'm currently recovering from a l4/5 slipped disc, with the added complication on Stenosis being discovered on the MRI. Did it in January and Cycling is one of the few activities I enjoy that actually stops it hurting, to a point.

If riding is the thing that is aggravating the injury, then you might need to give it a rest until you get on top of the problem!

When you go to see the physio you will be asked for a list of things that aggravate the pain and a list of things that ease the pain, it would be very useful to have a think about this beforehand!

I had the Mri showing L5 disc "degeneration" = sciatic pain down leg,knee & big bloody toe! Core strength stuff, being ultra aware of my posture* & lots of stretching has helped mine enormously. It occasionally spasms - I use the bike to ease it with an easy spin. And alcohol.
& check your saddle height. Raising mine by 3mm helped me .

* not like zoolander , sitting up straight at work , car etc.... 🙂

No quick fix will be a permanent fix. Only the long fix of Pilates sorted my bulging/herniated L3, but has taken 4 years to get here.

Now i have no pain, or Sciatica and i can ride with no stiffness, either before or after.

Everyone is different, but only long term remedial work will pay off in the end.