Herniated discs and motorcycle riding

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I had a herniated L5/S1 disc that was also protuding in 2 spots on the Sciatic nerve. Lasted almost a year, physio was the biggest help. I was on Artrotec for a year which helped with the gut-rot usually associated with NSAIDs, thankfully I have a very high tolerance for pain so no need for any pain killers after the first few weeks. It comes and goes depending on my activity. Last weekend I had a fun 2 days of spasms. I have to be very careful about any lifting/twisting, which means that Softball and Golf are right out. Riding actually helps as well, as long as I stay off any goat paths like Mclaughlin north of Mayfield for example.

Good luck on your treatment
 
Ok, so it's been a couple of days since the injection. First day was a write off, second day and today I seem to be having these sharp jolts that straighten out my leg along with soreness in the injection area. I know the soreness is normal, but I could do without the random lightning bolts in the leg!!! I never had this happen before injection :(
 
Hey anybody looking for a cane they can use on a bike check out the Airgo Comfort Plus collapsible cane. Break down small enough to clip onto your belt or strap to your leg or arm for under thirty bucks. Extremely sturdy and light cane, here's some pics....
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Someone also made a post about a seat that helped their sciatica on long rides http://www.gtamotorcycle.com/vbforum/showthread.php?t=156888
 
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So I had an EMG done at ST mikes yesterday. HURT LIKE HELL!! When I tell you they literally take a raw ground and power cable and subject to about 4 shocks of increasing intesity all over area affected to test nerve conductivity. I was literally dripping sweat by the end of it. Then just as I think the ordeal is over, the real doctor comes in for a "deeper" exam of your nerves, by that I mean taking needles and actually getting right up on the nerves a listening to them on a speaker. Now I know this may sound like the easier part, but when the doc askes you to squeeze whatever muscle is around the nerve he's testing, while the needles still in, oooohhh boy!! There was a point where he took one needle and planted that badboy right into my right buttcheek, then asked me to squeeze that muscle, godd**n I havent felt pain like that since the first day I woke up with this. When all was said and done, I had a splitting headache that didnt give up until this morning. But I guess as a plus, doc says he found some nerve damage due to the compression, but said with surgery to just remove the pieces affecting the nerve and not the whole disc I would probably be back to normal, but he wouldnt guarantee it. I have neurosurgeon meeting in two weeks, so I hope I can finally put an end to this and get back to my normal life.....fingers crossed :) Stay blessed everybody!
 
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Had the microdiscectomy, Ct didn't show the extent to the rupture to the disk. Surgeon told me he removed a thumb sized piece of the disc when he got in. I was walking around with no pain (leg pain) late in the day after the surgery. Nurses wanted to give me morphine but the pain from the operation was WAY less than what I had been experiencing.
It's been about 5 years since I had it done. I ended up with a bit of nerve damage from the operation (tingling in the foot sometimes), but nothing at all compared to before. Arthritis in the lower back but I was already suffering from that before (advil usually takes the edge off). Doubt I'll ever be back to 100% but I've not had the sciatic pain since..and I still do a lot of stupid lifting, just learned to listen to my back and stop when it tells me. Taking the 4 day Racer5 course next week. I'm eager to see how my back holds up.
seeing that cane brings back BAD memories!! Mines in my garage hidden away..I hate seeing the damn thing!
 
It's funny, I got like three different canes, a pimp cane, the collapsible and a shoppers drug mart special. I'm surprised no one set u up on an MRI, here's what mine looked like once I got it, glad you got well enough to do track time, that's awesome and it gives me hope I can get to do the same, just a few more weeks.....
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JonnyWyshbone said:
It's funny, I got like three different canes, a pimp cane, the collapsible and a shoppers drug mart special. I'm surprised no one set u up on an MRI, here's what mine looked like once I got it, glad you got well enough to do track time, that's awesome and it gives me hope I can get to do the same, just a few more weeks.....
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Your mri looks exactly like mine did lol. I had 4 mri scans. I can feel your pain
 
Just finished a 4 day race course with Racer5. Back help out WAY better than I thought it would! It was the rest of me that was sore as hell! Took my Tramacette (sp?) everyday like a good boy and an advil for everything else. It was my biggest worry about being on the track and ended up having no issues.
Hang in there..Not sure if it makes a difference or not with the surgeon. But when I saw mine he told me to wait and it'll get better..I told him I waited long enough, it wasnt getting better. It wasnt until I actually told him I wanted the operation that he started to look into it..lucky for me he had someone cancel that morning and I got put in extra fast. If you hit the point where you're done..tell them you want it. He even kinda tested me..told me to get the paper work done right away and he'd do it that afternoon. I told him to give it to me fast! He laughed and said just testing, like he was joking, but it seemed like it was a bit of a test to see how serious about it I was.
Might be putting more into it that there was but if you're ready for it, tell them.
 
i came across this forum when i searched for slipped disc + motorcycling. I should say i felt much relieved seeing the postings from members with similar problems here. I am not from canada, neither do i live here. In fact i am from the other end of the world. sunny singapore. I was diagnosed with an L5 disc protrusion 6 months back and by then i already had the pain for around 4 months. needless to say it started off as a small pain while bending down to pick up things and ended in surgery on last wednesday.I am recovering now. Hopefully i will be back on a motorcycle soon.
 
I sympathize will all of you going through this. i have not had this sort of problem but my wife and 8 yr old son both had bulging disks so i can understand the pain you are going through. in our case, the docs offered pain meds and rest as the solution, luckily in my son's case he only needed rest (missed 3 months of school) but my wife was bedridden for 2 months. Since, she has had other problems linked to the herniated discs and has as a result ended up with drop foot which was due to increased pressure on the nerves on the lower back and leg.

To all those of you having this problem, ensure that docs do what they can to alleviate the pressure on the nerves because drop foot and motorcycle riding will not easily go hand in hand.

I wish you all a quick and full recovery.
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