Herniated Disk L4/L5 - Getting Back on the Slopes

Hi, I am new here so I am not sure if this is the right place for this but I herniated a disk in my lower back about 8 months ago. I can now walk normally now and get a dull pain if I sit for long periods of time. My doctor said I could re-aggravate the injury if I have a severe enough fall on my back.

I was just wondering if there is anyone who knows someone with a herniated disk who was able to continue snowboarding? If so what protective gear did they use? What was the severity of the disk herniation?

Cheers!

hey Robdipp!

Welcome to Boardworld!

I’ve had problems with my L4/L5 disc since I was about 15 years old (am now 32). It has never been slipped too far, but has still caused me a fair amount of issues and pain over the years. My back gets sore and tight as soon as I stand up for longer than 2 hours or sit down for long periods of time, as you mentioned.

I’m no doctor but the best thing I can advise from my own experience is to keep your hamstrings as loose and as flexible as possible. I have found that when my back starts to flare up, it is usually because my hamstrings are tight and begin pulling on and putting stress on my back.

Have you been to a physiotherapist? As soon as mine starts to get sore, I have a whole bunch of different stretches I can do that ease the pain….every now and then I get severe spasms in one side of my quadratus lumborum muscle due to the disc issue, to the point where I cannot stand up straight. I haven’t ever had this happen after crashing on my snowboard, and I don’t use any extra particular safety gear for it…the only time I’ve felt twinges in my back occasionally has been from not making the landing of a jump properly (landing short). Some stretching usually takes care of that.

I hope some of that helped! Feel free to ask any more questions!