depressed about legs

[steve_d]

so after about 9 months of pain, and trying to work through the pain, and modifying my exercises to accomodate pain, I am officially retiring deadlifts, squats, and leg presses for at least a few months. I need to re-hab a pretty bad disc in my low back. Pretty depressed about it, but hopefully this does help me and I can get back to my old training ways in the new year.

For now, I have to stick to stretching, and exercises that put absolutely no strain on my back. I also have some issues with IT band, hip flexors, and some deep glute knots. So alot of the other leg exercises hurt to no end (ex. leg extensions, leg curls, lunges)....I am seeing a pretty good guy for all these issues + massage therapy, so hopefully that speeds recovery at the same time.

So what other exercises besides those listed do you guys do for legs?

Crossing my fingers for muscle memory...It sure was real for my wife - let's hope I can recover as well as she did.

[tiramisu]

Good luck with the rehab... Time goes by quickly if you are persistent with it.

[Talo]

Your doing the right thing here. Foam roll the shit out of your lower body .

Don't worry and don't stress about it. You will be back , stronger than ever.

[#8]

^^ This is the same advice I was going to give. Foam rollers have changed my life. Make your own though out of plastic piping.

[steve_d]

I also have bad posture, and the guy compared my disc to a scab that was never going to heal the way I normally sit. I work in front of a computer all day, and yesterday I consiously sat the way I should...I couldn't believe how much pain I was in by the end of the day from sitting right! I guess I hunch over quite a bit - and look like an ogre. Hopefully the pain I was in yesterday was actually a good sign.

I've got about 20 minutes 3 times a day of stretches, and those also killed the living shits out of my back. Although, today I woke up feeling actually a little better overall than most days - so who knows. Likely I have an extremely week core. some of the core exercises I was given would instantly put me in the shakes.

I am going to do everything right and hopefully let this stupid disc get back to where it belongs. If it doesn't work, I am gonna get a body armor suit and just lay in bed until I am fixed, lol.

[Aaron_37]

Perhaps try sitting on a ball for your office chair? Out of the bazillion doctors I have seen, the vast majority now use large medicine balls for chairs. Especially the foot/leg/spine ones.

[slick rick]

Back pain is depressing, literally. I dealt with herniated and pronated discs for a couple years, originally injured doing deads and then made worse by trying to work through it months after.

i found it not only depressing that you can't train but it also effected my personal life, not being able to do physical activities wit the kids, and even effected the physical activites with the wife, lol. Driving was even painful too...

Take time off, strengthen the core like you mentioned, continue doing your stretches.. maybe try ART or a good Chiro.. ice packs through out the day seemed to help me, as well as a good antiinflammatory...nothing worked better for me than celebrex, once i was put on that i was able to start improving, stretching became easier which in turned allowed me to start strengthening the core.

i never used a foam roller, but like the other guys mentioned it makes perfect sense that it would help with a pronated disk.. i would definitely try that as well..

good luck Steve.. hang in there

[ubcpower]

hey steve
i am struggling with the same types of things. Mine comes from a very tight and inflamed psoas muscle which is creating a lot of discomfort in my hip and knee issues.
I found I could handle the 1 leg leg press, hack squat (light weight high rep), plate loaded front squat machine, front squats (light)
stretching religiously has been the key for me though.
The research for stretching has shown that you need about an hour per day for 6-8 weeks to make the greatest changes in flexability. The good news is that after that you will be as flexible as you can every become and from that point on you only need about 1 hour per week to keep maintaining that.

[steve_d]

Perhaps try sitting on a ball for your office chair? Out of the bazillion doctors I have seen, the vast majority now use large medicine balls for chairs. Especially the foot/leg/spine ones.

I should look into that. It would be hilarious for when people come to meet me about some statistical analysis they need done, walking into my office with an exercise ball that I am bouncing on while chatting about their projects! At this point, I would be willing to do anything if I knew it would fix it.



Back pain is depressing, literally. I dealt with herniated and pronated discs for a couple years, originally injured doing deads and then made worse by trying to work through it months after.

i found it not only depressing that you can't train but it also effected my personal life, not being able to do physical activities wit the kids, and even effected the physical activites with the wife, lol. Driving was even painful too...

good luck Steve.. hang in there


Exact same problems as I have! hard for me to put on my sons shoes by myself, or running after him in the mall etc. wife activities...well, I think I can incorporate some of my stretches and core building exercises there, lol.... And yeah, driving is a nightmare, And its actually gotten worse since I started doing my stretches - not sure if that is a good sign. DEEP in my glutes - constant pain now.


hey steve
i am struggling with the same types of things. Mine comes from a very tight and inflamed psoas muscle which is creating a lot of discomfort in my hip and knee issues.
I found I could handle the 1 leg leg press, hack squat (light weight high rep), plate loaded front squat machine, front squats (light)
stretching religiously has been the key for me though.
The research for stretching has shown that you need about an hour per day for 6-8 weeks to make the greatest changes in flexability. The good news is that after that you will be as flexible as you can every become and from that point on you only need about 1 hour per week to keep maintaining that.

I might have psoas problems as well, but at this point it seems like a few things. the disc is confirmed, but I feel and the guy I saw feels that the back isn't the only thing causing my problems...but it is a major one. i was doing 1 leg leg press, as a warm up, which allowed me to work my way up to doing squats or heavier leg presses....basically for the last 7-8 months or so, i had to warm up 30-40 minutes doing leg exercises before i could get to my real workout. now those warm ups are too hard on me. so it is time to rest for as long as it takes.

In the meantime, i will be able to get a huge upper body at least, lol....bodybuilding and powerlifting isnt everything to me, and if I had to stop both to be healthy, I would - but I know that is not the answer, but it temporarily might be...Hopefully that is.

[steve_d]

The research for stretching has shown that you need about an hour per day for 6-8 weeks to make the greatest changes in flexability. The good news is that after that you will be as flexible as you can every become and from that point on you only need about 1 hour per week to keep maintaining that.

I am so far doing 40 minutes 2-3 times per day. In the past I would stretch all the time. I did it for fun because I wanted to learn how to do the splits. Took me about a month or 2 and I could do the splits on command. Was kinda fun...I don't mind it, but every time I see guys squatting or deadlifting in the gym, while I am on the mats practically doing yoga, I get jealous thinking, I should be that guy! Although, in my gym, seeing someone deadlift or squat is a rare thing. lol

[natenator]

Although, in my gym, seeing someone deadlift or squat is a rare thing. lol

LMAO.

Truth!

[wrought]

I had similar issues a couple of years back and that's when I got in the habit of seeing somebody who does severely deep tissue massage. Took about a year of weekly treatments to get my IT bands and psoas working again because they'd shortened over years of heavy lifting and insufficient stretching but I was seeing results within maybe 6 months of starting treatment.

The foam rollers help big time, or using a lacross ball to release the muscles along your spine....and yea it may feel incredibly gay but start going to a yoga class, almost all the stuff done there involves stretching out the hip muscles and spine.

[ubcpower]

Wrought did you go to a chiro at all. I am debating between chiro or deep tissue massage for weekly treatment.

[ironwill]

It sucks, i broke my back a few yrs ago, it took me 2 yrs to squat or do anything real heavy standing up....Patience is a virtue...Now i feel even better than before my accident and can finally grow again, it sucked the last few yrs, no doubt about it...BUT, i modified exercises and did what i could...looking at me this yr compared to the last couple, muscle memory is definitely a winner..Dont fall to temptation....

[wrought]

Wrought did you go to a chiro at all. I am debating between chiro or deep tissue massage for weekly treatment.

Both. Chiro helps with alignment and keeping muscles settled but the deep tissue is what really gets in there and loosens everything up and gets it moving again. The amount of adhesions on my IT bands was rediculous, they were barely moving at all when we started.