Microdiscectomy/Sciatica - returning to DG from back surgery?

[Notrepidation]

Hey guys, I read another thread in this section similar to this question but none of the responders had the same situation as me so I am looking for input from people who have had a similar experience.

I am 5 days out of back surgery. I had a Microdiscectomy. They made a small incision in my lower back. They then went in with a scope and scraped my L5/S1 to remove the excess disc material that had been herniated. In my case, the disc material and inflammation by the injury was fairly severe and had my Sciatic nerve compressed for almost three months. This cause the most horrific pain I have ever had in my life and I have had multiple broken legs, multiple surgeries, etc. My Nuerosurgeon said I would experience pain relief immediately following surgery and I could get back to normal living within 2 weeks or so. He was right with regards to the pain. The horrific pain I had in my left buttocks, left leg and ankle/foot was gone within 2 days of surgery. I still have some numbness in my foot and calf but the pain is pretty much dissapated. I never had much lower back pain to begin with, most of my pain was from the Sciatica.

Now I am pretty stiff from the surgery and the fact that I was litteraly in bed for 2 months (the only time I could stand the pain it took to walk was to get up for the bathroom and to take a shower). I have some pain from the incision as well but I am up and walking, heck, I was walking 3 hours after the surgery, it was amazing. I am trying to take it slow but as I feel better and better I want to do more and more.

My question is, has anyone had a microdiscectomy with radiating leg pain caused by Sciatica and gotten back to Disc Golf feeling the same way they did on the course BEFORE the herniated disc. The other thread was mostly people who had herniated discs, no sciatica and trying to play through the herniation or getting the shots, PT etc and trying to play after but with no surgery. Is there hope for me? I feel that with some time I will be able to get back out there and be throwing just as I was prior to the injury/surgery but it would make me feel MUCH more secure if I heard of this being the case for others who went before me. Thanks so much in advance!

 

[Puckstopper]

I would ask my doctor, not people here!

 

[ru4por]

Damage to the nerve could be permanent or could heal with residual deficits. The incision will take 6 weeks or so to heal well. There should have been some course of physical therapy associated with the plan of care. Please resist the urge to seek the sage wisdom of the collective here and talk to your surgeon and physician therapist. Living a pain and numb free life is the bigger picture, with or without the game we love. Good luck in your recovery.

 

[Timeetyo]

I would ask my doctor, not people here!

Agreed....

But I don't think he was asking how/when to get back into playing (ask the doctor that), but for anyone who went through it what he was in for long & short term in terms of DG prognosis.

 

[Notrepidation]

Agreed....

But I don't think he was asking how/when to get back into playing (ask the doctor that), but for anyone who went through it what he was in for long & short term in terms of DG prognosis.

This is correct. With all due respect, I thought I made that pretty clear. I am looking for experiences from people who had the same surgery and went on to play the game at the same level they left it. OR input from folks who had the surgery but were unable to return or returned but with some impairments.

To clarify. The Surgeon (one of the better Micro Surgeons in the greater San Antonio area-the 7'th largest city in the United States) stated that because the surgery is non invasive and because although I had a herniated disc, the majority of my pain came from the Sciatica that I did not need a professional PT regimine. He stated he would show me stretches to do when I return for follow up 3 weeks post op. He also stated that the numbness in my foot and calf are to be expected (I may not have mentioned that the numbness was there and much MUCH worse prior to surgery) because the nerve was so compressed for almost three months. Evidently for many with this issue, they typically have to go through 3 courses of epidural injections, Chiro visits and PT. This typically takes upwards of a year. Often times by the time the doctor and or the patient decide surgery is what is needed, the nerve has been compressed for over a year. So, relatively speaking my 3 months of compression was much shorter than typical.

I hope that clarifies things. Looking for input from folks who had a similar injury/surgery and what their DG outlook was. Did they return to DG, did they not. How long was it before they did so and when they did return was it at 100 percent of their former selves. Responses like "I would ask my doctor, not people here!" are not very helpful. It's one of those "Cap'n Obvious" things.

 

[The Mad Cow]

i'm not a doctor... don't even play one on tv... but...
i have a degenerated disc @ L1. it slipped out a few years back. ( before i started playing )
after months of physical therapy finally everything got back into position and life went on.
i can't advise YOU , but for me... as long as i use a LOT of hip turn in my drive... i'm talking turning backwards to the target at reach back ... i have no problems playing at all.
as long as i keep my hips and shoulders pointed in somewhat the same direction everything is cool.
i'm not in exactly the same situation, but in my humble opinion: once you get your mobility ...
you can alter your stroke to the point where you should be able to throw well again...
it's just the walking that will bother you... but i'm guessing that you are somewhat used to that part.

 

[Emoney]

I had microdiscectomy/laminectomy 3mnths ago and havnt picked up a disc since. Im waiting til october and working on getting my core right before i start playing again.

I would say it depends how u injured it. I screwed my back up with a bending twisting motion and disc golf involves alot of that. So therapy is a must for me before i get back. I had horrible sciatica for months that immobilized me. Im in no rush to feel that pain again.

I would be extremely careful like im doing. Nuthing is worth that sciatica pain.
I was a 950 rated player before my surgery but that rating was WITH my back always spasming. So i fully expect to reach a 1000 rating when i get back. I will be in way better shape and my game will only flourish.

 

[Notrepidation]

E......It's funny you responded. I was looking at your profile the other day and saw you are from Tucson. I lived in Rita Ranch for over 10 years before we moved to San Antonio. When we left the only course Tucson had was the one over there by ASDB. Have they finally installed others? I miss AZ....the smell of the Monsoons, etc but I truly love it here. 6 courses within 25 miles has spoiled me.

 

[Emoney]

E......It's funny you responded. I was looking at your profile the other day and saw you are from Tucson. I lived in Rita Ranch for over 10 years before we moved to San Antonio. When we left the only course Tucson had was the one over there by ASDB. Have they finally installed others? I miss AZ....the smell of the Monsoons, etc but I truly love it here. 6 courses within 25 miles has spoiled me.

Im jelly, they have a course on the westside and eastside, santa cruz and groves but they are basically parking lots. I play a course in marana mostly, its prolly the best course in AZ. I moved from indiana 3 years ago and az doesnt have much to offer DG wise. I would rather be where ur at lol.

Im actually working at a building right by rita ranch as i type lol, i live on the northeast side, by sabino canyon , cant beat the views and weather but i desperately mis the wooded courses of michigan and indiana.

Doc told me the same thing about minimal rehab, but i dont buy it. Its not normal to herniate a disc to the point of sciatica so make sure u get that weak spot strong again before u go all out. I can throw a putter over 300 right now but thats all arm. Hopeing the new back will push that distance

 

[Notrepidation]

Ya, I think the plan is as soon as I am able to do heavy housework and yardwork....Mowing, (especially weedeating as it simulates carrying a bag....kinda) and when I can go an hour in the back yard putting and repeated bending to pick up the misses pain free....I will then probably head out front into the road and see if I can throw my putters. Will start at 25% and work up. If I can get to 100% with my putters without pain then I will feel comfortable enough to take a semi emptied bag to a course and throw a round maybe with mids and putters....going VERY slow and by myself. Just to see where it's at. I am definately going to not be trying to over do it. I too had HORRIFIC Sciatica....I mean it was bad bro. The last 3 months I have been stuck to my heating pad and the bed. Simply taking a shower was an ordeal, I had to lean out the shower onto the sink to alleviate the pain for a minute or so then try and wash quickly while the pain built up.....rinse and repeat...litterraly. The pain really never was in my lower back (other than some tightness). It was mostly in my left butt cheek, left hammy, cal, ankle and foot. Right down the Sciatic nerve.

Dr. Said the nerve was severly compressed and he feels confident I should be back to normal life within a month. I think I will play it conservative and try and read what my body tells me. I, like you have no desire to deal with the sciatica ever again!

 

[Doofenshmirtz]

Dr. Said the nerve was severly compressed and he feels confident I should be back to normal life within a month. I think I will play it conservative and try and read what my body tells me. I, like you have no desire to deal with the sciatica ever again!

I sure hope you specifically asked your doctor about your resuming disc golf and fully explained and/or demonstrated to him the types of movements that it requires.

 

[Tree'd]

Wow! Looks like I'm in trouble down the road... All this talk of left hip/buttock/back pain describes what I've been dealing with for the past 2 months (coincidentally since I started playing DG again after a 15 year break). Luckily it seems to have settled down but there were a few days there I could hardly walk. I wouldn't have guessed this game can cause such stress on the body, as it seemed effortless back when I was 16-18... Thanks for the info guys!

 

[jenb]

I had a micro-discectomy in the lower back about 18 months ago. I think I missed about 5 days of work. I played in a tournament and won advanced about 4 weeks after surgery, but I was using a scepter disc golf caddy to shag my discs instead of bending over. I threw mostly hyzer for a bout a year, but now I have my anhyzer back. I sometimes still get lower back pain, but it is not as bad, and my thighs go numb instead of having shooting pains down the legs. Standing for a long time will bring it on, so I use a Go Cart that allows me to sit most of the round, and avoid the lower back pain. It doesn't seem to last as long when I get it either. It usually goes away if I take alleve, whereas I used to have to get shots to treat it. Hope this helps.

 

[gwillim]

I had a microdiskectomy in spring of 2011. It fixed 90% of my sciatica pain. "Full recovery" for me was about 14 months or so. I have no pain from throwing. I do get "compression" pain from carrying a heavy bag for multiple rounds a day, but laying down for a few minutes helps a lot. I also don't carry a heavy bag, and try to secure a caddy if I know I'm going to have long (3+ hours) tournament rounds.

For the most part, I'm good and would consider my surgery a success. I wouldn't try playing for at least 4 months, even if you feel able. It's better to take time off and let it heal properly.

On a side note, the time off allowed a problem with my knee to finally heal after bugging me for many years.

Best wishes on your recovery.

 

[gwillim]

And feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions.

 

[SaltyDawg]

I had similar situation. Complete herniation L4-L5, sciatica for 20 months prior. Foot drop and atrophy on right leg. Macro discectomy in March. Returned to work 14 weeks later. I feel better now then I have in years. I was tempted to throw this fall, but I decided to wait. Working on core strengthening this winter. I threw the dogs frisbee shortly after recovery and regretted it. In my case, I just feel that a long rehabilitation is going to be better for me, and for my ability to play disc golf for years to come. It's been hard not having it as an outlet but I'm in it for the long haul. Have patience friend.

 

[CupODamus]

My first cut on L5 was in 1992, 2nd rupture same L5( rare to do) in 2002. Herniated L4 in 1992 and it herniated again in 2015. I'd wait way more than 4 months to fully toss hard if I were you. Dial in putts and jump putt for 6 months then start on mids. Rushing back will set you back for example see Tiger Woods. That dummy ruined his back by coming back too soon and always swinging 110%. From my perspective, you will probably not toss as well as you did before surgery and yet you may but chances are the those small back muscles they cut now are scar tissue and cut muscle never heals back like new. Sorry but that's how life is and one must just adjust to one's environment. I don;'t know WTF my rating is but at 52 and a wreck back I can still mange to hang with the 20 somethings, toss 350 plus if needed and shoot near par or under on most days on near any course.
For rehab I suggest massage, treading water, yoga and core work. Don't mess with weights, running or twisting for 6 months. It ain't worth another MRI to see what you messed up again. Patience will pay off pushing it will not and usually only will makes things worse.

 

[Masque]

How's it going now, everyone?

Just had an L4 discectomy today and realizing its likely to be September before I can throw without worry. Reassure me it's worth it.