While I'm not a doctor nor do I claim to be one on TV, you might consider laying off the weight for a bit - let the disc recover. Discs do heal.

As for activities to stimulate support, again I'm not PT either, but walking (not running or jogging) but WALKING is great exercise for back pain. Get good supportive shoes and walk 2, 3 miles a day. It will build your lesser used core muscles and gently exercise the back support muscles. It will also prevent the atrophy that is so common among back pain sufferers - like me.

Jogging's pretty hard on the back - a lot of joggers have low back problems. I try to walk every day at least a mile as a form of stress relief. Unfortunately my torn muscles and tendons don't allow me to do that as often as I'd like.

Hi and Welcome! You will find many people here who share your pain and can help you through.

You say this MRI was from 2 years ago, yet you don't mention what the doctor at the time told you to do about it, or whether you still see him/her. That really should be your first order of action if you are not already, go back to your doctor! He needs to know that this is a recurring pain, and that you need to know what is safe/unsafe to do to keep from causing permanent damage.

Of course, if you have not been to see anyone for 2 years, you may be required to go through tests and such to find out what is causing this continued pain. Unfortunately, people with back problems find they are no longer able to do "offending" things that put them where they are now. Not saying that the lifting weights is what caused your problems, but you really need to talk to a professional to find out if it is still safe for you to do so.

Good luck, and keep us posted on how you are doing!

I was told to avoid exercises that put a vertical load on the spine. Therefore exercises like Standing Squats etc were struck off. Bench pressing etc stayed and leg extension on seated machine can work as load between pelvis and feet and not on spine (if properly configured).

In terms of general back exercises check with therapist first (as already have condition) but I found for many years a Roman Chair (look it up on google and most gyms have a type but it is often ignored in programs), adding weights on chest or barbell over shoulders (not neck) for extra resistance to strengthen the Erector Spini (Spelling?) was the thing that stopped general problems. I was swimming before work, and performed low impact aerobics often after work. I saw one govt publication reccomending overarm rather then breast stroke (and frog kick) due to movement action on disks but never gave that much credit except in exteme cases.

Unfortunately been in country for a while where Gyms do not have pools and public pools fairly useless to exercise in and stupidly let myself go and now in worst problem (herniated disk) in my life. When recover must strengthen muscles to better support back.

Adapt and do not give up exercise as you need to maintain muscle tone to support your disks (all your life) and load bearing for bone density. Strenghtening back and stomach will support and avoiding vertical loads will hopefully help the disk to repair.

Keep this as an opinion, plan a program and go over with Physical Therapist. You may find a gym instructor that is also a Physiotherapist (rather than a short course) then all the better. I formally found that if tell them you have a condition many staff will refer you to the highest qualified instructor in the place.

Not sure if someone in my current condition has any right to tell you my experience but good luck!

Kind Regards
Terry

Usually MRI's over 90 days old are considered outdated.

I agree with Terry. No loading of the spine.
No shoulder presses, military presses, squats, good-mornings, deadlifts, calf raises on the calf raise machine, standing arm curls, bent over rows, no golf drives, no running, no jogging.

I know that is tough to accept.

Try decompression. This can be a decompression table (traction) or you could get into the pool with weights on the ankles and a floatation device around the upper body.

I'm no doctor so I can't tell you if you'll need surgery now or later. What did the doctor say about the retrolisthesis? I had it on L4-5 along with a recurrent herniation post op (microdiscectomy) and later on I went on to have a 2 level fusion.

You should ask your doctor about this and how he plans to address this. Otherwise it sounds like everything else is still mild and you have plenty of options such as PT, stretching, meds as needed, possibly an epidural injection down the road if it starts being more problematic, aquatherapy, massage, and accupunture. Maybe the doctor would consider sending you for another MRI since it's been 2 years.

I also agree that walking is the best thing you can do for your back; no jogging, running, weight lifting, or anything too strenuous. Even if you don't have severe pain, you still need to take care of your back and stay healthy. Take care

Once the disc dehydrates, that's it. They do not recover and remain a weak spot from then on.
The lower back muscles "squeeze" the moisture out of the discs because the muscles are in spasm. They are spasmed because a nearby nerve is being irritated and a chemical response is the body's natural response in an effort to try to immobilize the area.

There is medical experimentation going on to try to reverse dessication.
In one version, a surgeon in Germany "scrapes" the endplates of the vertebra. This is said to mildly regenerate the disc.

Another version is where they are injecting stem cells into the disc. This is happening in Northern California's silicon valley.

There is also ongoing work with the injectable plastic nucleus replacements.

There really isn't enough long-term data regarding ADR to be able to answer your question. You can read about it here: http://www.spine-health.com/treatment/artificial-disc-replacement/lumbar...

I think people on the board have had a variety of outcomes. Hopefully some of them will respond to your post.