26 years ago I herniated multiple lumbar discs. I have had numerous flare-ups since. My most recent MRI four years ago continued to show multiple herniated lumbar discs as well as thoracic arthritis and spinal stenosis. It's not a great picture.
Not that long ago I made a log post about how I will not "f" up my back https://www.elitefts.com/coaching-logs/repeat-after-me-i-will-not-f-up-my-back/ As a quick review, I was determined no to pick the scab so to speak, work around it, and give it rest.
At the six-week point, I am basically symptom-free. A few times, I tried to floss my sciatic nerve, do a few bird dogs, and some other supposed rehab movements which only led to irritating my back.
The things I had to avoid were deadlifting and running. That was easy enough. Instead of running, I rucked, and instead of deadlifting I belt squatted.
The other big issue for my back is sleep positioning. I have to sleep on my back. This is difficult because I am a side sleeper by default. To ensure I don't roll to the side I wedge pillows under my back and arms. It's more important than you'd think and it does the trick.
This week I am going to add in one running session and see how my back feels. If it reacts well, then I'll return to my usual schedule of running three days a week.
Next week if my back feels fine after the run, I'll add a moderate low-volume deadlift session. I say moderate because using lightweight tells me nothing. If all goes well I'll carefully increase the volume.
I'm thrilled with this recovery. Like I said in the prior log entry, many times over the years it's taken me 12-16 weeks to feel better from a back flare up.
Please remember, more often than not the best thing you can do with many injuries is start with rest. The problem is nobody can sell you a program that consists of doing nothing.
