Hi Nathan, Hmmmmm... herniated discs. As a PT, I am typically suspicious of diagnoses of back pain diagnosed with a herniated disc. Here's why: First, there are usually no "pre-injury" images (MRI) showing that there was no bulging disc previously. Second, and very much related to the first, the imaging evidence of a bulging disc does not mean that your pain is due to the bulging disc even if the image shows the disc pressing on a nerve. There have been several good randomised control trials which show that if you take 100 people with no back pain, no radicular symptoms (pain or numbness/tingling down the legs or elsewhere) and take MRIs of their spine, in 50-60% of the cases, there will be at least one bulging disc, often pressing on a nerve root. Third, I don't know what your age is, but age we age past 30, the nucleus pulposis (the liquid center of the disc) begins to desiccate. As we age, there is, practically speaking, less disc "to bulge." This disc desiccation is also why grandma and grandpa keep getting smaller-- loss of fluid in the disc equals loss of disc height, leading to loss of overall height. Fourth, and this is at least as important as the other three points, that you sometimes experience reduced pain while riding points away from the disc as the culprit.
So what... Without knowing a few more specifics, I can't really offer more than to say that there are several causes of back pain and radicular symptoms which are easily overlooked during the medical diagnosis process. If you can tell me, as near as possible (don't worry about correct terminology) where you feel your pain (other than "my low back"), what the quality of the pain is (sharp, dull, burning, throbbing, etc...) how often it occurs, how long it lasts, what you do to alleviate the pain, what your age is... just some more details, generally. Oh, and what you were doing when you first experienced the pain. Feel free, of course, to reply off-list though I'd bet many other folks could use this info too :) Oh and I'd say don't stop riding unless it hurts too much! Best, lyle f bogart dpt tacoma, wa On Oct 21, 5:01 pm, nathan spindel <nath...@gmail.com> wrote: > Forgive me if this is too far off topic, although it's related to > Rivendell's concerns of proper bike comfort, fit, etc. > > After cycling 100-200 miles/week for 4 months on my Romulus I managed > to get a herniated disk. I'm not positive it was caused by cycling, > but it seems quite likely (my doctor thinks so too). > > In my research I've found that some people with this condition > continue to cycle. After not riding for the first two injured months, > I began riding a little bit to keep sane and have found my pain > sometimes lessens while riding. Two doctors I've consulted with said > it might be okay to cycle if I'm okay with it, but they seem hesitant. > > I'd like to hear any anecdotal stories you have about this (or > healing/treatment as it pertains to cycling). I really have grown to > love riding bikes and would hate to stop (but of course I'll stop when > appropriate). Feel free to reply off-list. > > -nathan --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
