In December 2010, I was working out with a trainer on a leg press machine. When I got off the machine my lower back felt unusually tight. I figured I would just work through it, so I moved on to deadlifts. For any of you who don't know what that is, it is an exercise where you start by standing straight up, bend over at the waist, bend knees slightly, grab the weights (barbell or dumbbells) and stand straight up again, so that the weights are now hanging in your arms resting against your upper legs.
Let me just say that if you you have a back injury or a weak back and core, this is probably not the best exercise for you, as it wasn't for me.
I did about 3 reps when I realized I was seriously messed up. My lower back went into spasm, and I could barely walk.
This was by far the worst injury I have ever sustained. When it first happened, the most prominent feeling, aside from the excruciating pain in my back and sciatic nerve, was fear. I didn't know what I was in for. I hoped it would be a few days and I would be back to my exercise, but I also wondered if I really damaged something in my lower back. A muscle spasm didn't seem so bad. At least that would most likely go away in a day or so.
It turns out that my back was in spasm, but it was because I had ruptured a disc between my 1st lumbar vertebrae (L5) and my 1st sacral vertebrae (S1). The disc is called L5-S1, because it is seated between L5 and S1. The body tries to protect itself by tightening the muscles around the injured area.
A ruptured, or herniated disc bulges out of its normal area and presses against a nerve, which causes pain.
Sometimes this can cause extreme levels of pain, like in my situation. The disc bulged out and pressed against the sciatic nerve (S1 nerve). This is a common cause of sciatic pain, or Sciatica for many people. The degree to which the disc is protruding and pressing against the nerve, causes different levels of pain. The bones can also shift and press against the nerve as well, once the disc has flattened and fails to pad the vertebrae properly.
Let me just say that if you you have a back injury or a weak back and core, this is probably not the best exercise for you, as it wasn't for me. I did about 3 reps when I realized I was seriously messed up. My lower back went into spasm, and I could barely walk.
This was by far the worst injury I have ever sustained. When it first happened, the most prominent feeling, aside from the excruciating pain in my back and sciatic nerve, was fear. I didn't know what I was in for. I hoped it would be a few days and I would be back to my exercise, but I also wondered if I really damaged something in my lower back. A muscle spasm didn't seem so bad. At least that would most likely go away in a day or so.
It turns out that my back was in spasm, but it was because I had ruptured a disc between my 1st lumbar vertebrae (L5) and my 1st sacral vertebrae (S1). The disc is called L5-S1, because it is seated between L5 and S1. The body tries to protect itself by tightening the muscles around the injured area. A ruptured, or herniated disc bulges out of its normal area and presses against a nerve, which causes pain.
Sometimes this can cause extreme levels of pain, like in my situation. The disc bulged out and pressed against the sciatic nerve (S1 nerve). This is a common cause of sciatic pain, or Sciatica for many people. The degree to which the disc is protruding and pressing against the nerve, causes different levels of pain. The bones can also shift and press against the nerve as well, once the disc has flattened and fails to pad the vertebrae properly.
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