How do you guys deal with it?
Depends what stage you are at. If you are freshly injured these are the steps to take
1) Nothing at all. Seriously if you are inflamed beyond all fuck don't do anything. bed rest for a week is warranted.
2) After about a week go and start walking and lightly stretch your hips IF possible.
3) When the inflammation and spasms go away it's full on stretch mode for your hip structures and multiple walks through out the day with minimal sitting (which should be reduced anyways). Sitting is literally arsenic for your lower lumbar. It deactivates muscles necessary to hold things in place while actively tightens other areas that tug on the lower lumbar.
When you feel good enough to start lifting weights build up your hips and glutes with a vengance. use anti movements to build up your core (anti-flexion,rotation,lateral flexion ect)
Do not shy away from compounds like front squats, deads, overheads ect. You need to overcome stimulus in the long term and develop movements taht challenge your spine to work the way its intended. shying away from them is a great way of never over coming this issue.
Moderate your activity levels. If you are lifting 3-4 times a week and rolling 3-4 times a week something has to give. This isnt specific to herniations either. Everyone, including healthy people need to moderate activity and intensity over time. I know so many with injured backs that workout, sit all day and never stretch. Go figure. add more activity and you have a recipe for disaster.
Not at all and thats for a few reasons.
1) We live in the best time ever. The internet has so many resources out right now to help you overcome this and truth be told a herniated disc is the one thing that the medical system never helped me overcome. The only person who fixed it was me but of course you need to know what to do. I learned the hard way but im fine with that.
2) more often than not herniated discs are cumulative and not instantaneous and they also have a way of manifesting signs WAY in advance. I have always known around a month before i herniated my disc when it was going to happen again. That right there is a luxury where injuries are concerned.
3) You can heal it to 100% and within a good time frame aswell. People who ahve been dealing with it for ever are either misinformed or have something beyond a herniation. So while it's no laughing matter and at times the most painful feeling ever it's still nothing to cry over.
4) The guidelines to prevent herniations are things even healthy athletes need to be doing anyways. It forces you not to be a dumb ass.
5) Injuries are part of the game. Any athlete worth their salt has been injured. It's lovely to live in a world where no one gets injured but that's just not how it works. It gives you an opportunity to work on something you have been neglecting. In a way it's a blessing in disguise.
