Bulging Disc

Solely Responsible

Barefooters
Nov 21, 2015
3
2
3
37
Hello all,

My name is Mike - long time reader/follower, first time poster. My 'barefoot' experience began about a year ago... but perhaps I'll save that for the intro forum.

At the peak of my full-fledged barefoot running (this summer that just past) I was still only running about 2 maybe three times a week, up to about 3kms on gravely trails and uneven dirt with larger smooth rocks protruding. I was feeling really good (no knee, hip pain, and no PF that rarely would plague me before anyways) other than sensing that my core was fairly loose and out of shape.

Back in mid-September, a work related injury (lifting 25lb boxes repeatedly from low to high, twisting as I would bring them up) caused me to bulge one of my lumbar discs (unsure of which one as I still haven't been issued an MRI). This is also a hereditary issue - my dad needed back surgery for a herniated disc in which the pain wasn't manageable.

It felt like a muscle issue in the upper buttock so I took it easy and ignored it for a couple of weeks (only running once and playing hockey twice in that time - neither of which made it much worse). A couple of weeks later, I woke up and could barely walk that first day. Throughout the next couple of weeks it got better, to a point where the pain sort of stabilized for another few weeks. About 5 days ago, it got worse unexpectedly - it may have been from some very minimal lifting.

Anyways, I'm doing exercises for core, prescribed by my chiro, and just trying to keep moving (but not overly active - not been running or playing hockey). One thing that concerns me is he wants to put me in orthotics. I've recently (March-ish) moved to Vivobarefoot shoes as I want the benefit of strengthening my feet even when I'm not running, plus work doesn't allow me to walk around the office with no shoes on. Based on what I've read, people are able to strengthen their feet and keep their arches 'in-shape' so as to not necessarily require orthotics. His initial assessment by looking at my feet is that I overpronate. Upon having me static stand and walk across one of those sensor pads, the footprint - to me - actually looks quite healthy and as he tried to draw a 'best-fit' line to show what a healthy foot looks like, he basically followed the one that the computer drew. Following this, he then retracted what he previously said, saying that it actually doesn't look too bad, but that my metatarsals don't land in the proper order, one of my feet has too little pressure across the midfoot, among a few other things and that orthotics would fix that.

I guess what I'm looking for input on is:

1) Who has had this issue before, what was your recovery time? (I understand this will differ)
2) Are you able to get back to running without any complications?
3) Is it possible that running barefoot may have contributed to the stress on my disc(s) given that my core wasn't well developed?
4) Your thoughts on orthotics (particularly if you come from a medical background or have lots of experience, please)
5) Anyone on here from the Vancouver, BC area that is aware of BF friendly docs?

Sorry for the lengthy post, I'm anxious to get back in shape and hopefully stay there this time as I'm only 30 and don't want to be dealing with back issues for the rest of my life.

I appreciate any information or experience you can share (from what I've seen, there is a lot on here). Much thanks in advance.

Mike
 
Mike,

good name. sorry to hear about your circumstances. i'm just a chiro student so i don't have much experience other than my own and what i've learned.

you are not your diagnosis. a bulged disc will heal whether or not you get help. an mri will only confirm it and from what i understand in Canada by the time you can get one it should have healed itself. 6 weeks to 12 months depending on severity. it is not caused by genetics. you said yourself how you got it. lifting things and twisting. even though i can't see you move i already believe you are doing it poorly. if you continue to move poorly you will continue to hurt yourself. your doc should be able to show you how to move better. hip hinge, squat, don't bend the low back, brace it, lift with the legs, don't twist, pivot.

barefooting won't get in the way unless you're moving poorly. a lot of it comes down to movement.


if not then look up a doc at these websites.

http://www.rehab2performance.com/find-a-provider/

http://www.rehabps.cz/rehab/certified_practitioners.php
i see they don't have anyone in B.C. certified but that doesn't mean someone isn't getting certified. ask around.

http://www.functionalmovement.com/experts

there are others you can look into. this is a small list. hell, you can find a good weight lifter or kettlebeller (sp?) such as StrongFirst or RKC to teach you how to move better with out hurting yourself. some one who is rehab2performance certified is going to be well rounded and i would say a best bet first choice.

good luck. if you don't find anyone on the listed sites there is a facebook group for rehab to performance where you can ask for a clinician near you. if not let me know and i can help some more.
 
Mike,

I hate to pin things (especially something like a back injury) on genetics. I was told by my chiro that that plays a part too so I was just mentioning in case it was of relevance.

I appreciate your straight forwardness, I'm looking forward to feeling normal again, eventually, and think I'm just having doubts about my form (certainly during physical work) but also when barefooting. Running is one of the few exercises that I really enjoy and I was concerned this is something that would potentially keep me from doing it going forward; I'm glad to hear that it doesn't have to be. With respect to barefooting, I have spent countless hours studying form, reading up on it, and of course running, paying close attention to what feels right, what feels wrong, and to make sure I have good posture whilst running.

I think I need to spend a little more time on the rest of my game outside of the running since my fitness has certainly decreased slowly over the course of the past few years.

Thank you for the links Mike, I've bookmarked them and will definitely be looking into these over the next few days to try to seek out help. I'm finding the chiro is now getting to the point where it may have run it's course as I don't feel I am any longer receiving any benefit from it and perhaps should scale it back and focus on more physio and exercise based rehab.

You're right about the MRIs. There are certainly private practices available for these types of things but it's not typically something that would even be covered by a group health plan and on the public health care side of things, you might as well take a number and get in line.

Thanks again,

Mike
 
  • Like
Reactions: migangelo
A painful back will definitely shut you down. Sorry about that. Mike is very helpful and gives good advice. Please feel free to also post (just copy and paste, so you don't have to retype all of it) in our Ask the Docs forum, and one of our docs will get back to you soon. Welcome to the BRS! :barefoot:
 
glad i could be of help. genetics determines a lot but not getting injured. granted there are some genetic diseases ( Marfan's) but unless that is diagnosed it's unlikely. in my limited experience it has to do with movements. either unguarded or poor. your chiro was right to teach you core exercises. any chiro you find from those sites i listed will be more rehab based. here's another one you can check out.

http://www.fixyourownback.com/

here's a little gem from Pr. McGill, the back pain expert. he's Canadian too.


that's a site from a leading doc here in Portland where i live. i do go to school with a lot of Canadiens and if you want i can reach out to them on FB. one of them has to have a little bit of rehab experience. like i said, not everyone is certified but may have taken enough courses to teach and work with you.

don't despair and definitely do other exercises. lift. big time. or at least cycle of lifting big and running less then running more and lifting less. life is fun in that you get to experiment in what works best for you.
 
  • Like
Reactions: swoggis
1) Who has had this issue before, what was your recovery time? (I understand this will differ)

I've been dealing with one since 1996. Define recovery time. :) By many measures, I'm not recovered, and never will be. I just manage the problem.

2) Are you able to get back to running without any complications?

Sitting is actually my biggest challenge. After a couple hours of running, especially downhill, I may start to get a little nervy tingle down my leg ...

3) Is it possible that running barefoot may have contributed to the stress on my disc(s) given that my core wasn't well developed?

I suppose. It seems really unlikely, but it depends on how you run. You can run poorly barefoot, but there are limits. Running barefoot allowed me to run and reprogram my stride because of the soft landing. Now I can get away with minimal shoes, too. I couldn't at first. If you're talking about "running barefoot" as in wearing shoes like VFFs, then definitely it could have contributed. The only transitioning you should do is from no shoes to minimal shoes. Working down to more and more minimal shoes is just asking for trouble.

4) Your thoughts on orthotics (particularly if you come from a medical background or have lots of experience, please)

No medical background, but the day I threw my orthotics away and started seriously strengthening my feet and core was the day I started improving instead of gradually going downhill. Running and walking barefoot started out as strengthening exercises. When I found out how fun it was, I started adding mileage.

Sorry for the lengthy post, I'm anxious to get back in shape and hopefully stay there this time as I'm only 30 and don't want to be dealing with back issues for the rest of my life.

You're going to be dealing with back issues for the rest of your life. Sorry. The stronger you are, the better you'll manage.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DNEchris
Thank you all for the input. I'll be seeking more help from PT and/or active rehab. Even today as I post I feel quite well, what I think is the result of exercising lots (and walking), not doing any lifting of anything heavy (Mike - I will take your advice for sure but want to give the disc some time to heal itself).

Barefoot TJ - thanks for the post/advice/welcome. I will consider sharing this in the ask the docs forum

Mike - thanks again for everything. I won't bother your friends on FB just yet, but thank you for the offer. The links have been very helpful

Gordon - thank you for the insight. I think I've started to discover it's not something that will necessarily ever heal fully, which puts the onus on me to take better care of my body and health. I appreciate the thorough responses. I get what you're saying about the transition. I went cold turkey to actual barefoot running after I discovered $140 NB Minimus' were a curse moreso than a blessing - 2nd metatarsal fracture that kept me pff the trails for a couple of months. I then went barefoot completely and have since run only twice in shoes (vivo evo pure) which are the thinnest soles I have found to date. Still wasn't the same but I was able to tell when my form/stride/cadence needed correcting based on how I normally would run when barefoot. I guess mh concern with a minimalist shoe (such as a Vivobarefoot) when I wear it to work is whether or not it's strengthening my feet when I walk around (even when I'm not able to run) or if my arches get lazy since I haven't been running and contribute to my overpronation (and thus lower back issues).

I'm beginning to think that as painful as this can be sometimes, maybe the injury is a good reminder that I'm not 18 any longer and need to make some changes before I do some really serious damage.

Again, thanks to all for making me feel welcome and helping out
 
  • Like
Reactions: Barefoot TJ