A Wrestler's Experience with Herniated Disc Surgery
A month after becoming the 2016 Olympic Trials Runner-up, I was home and injured. I discovered I had a herniated disc in my low back and the symptoms were so intense, it hurt to sit or carry my laundry. It was scary not knowing anything about the recovery process, or if it was even possible. I was eager to return to training and thus worsened my situation. Fortunately, I was able to recover from this injury with the help of my family and medical staff, and was able to continue my competitive wrestling career. This is how I overcame the biggest injury of my career, and how you can hopefully avoid the the same fate.
The Injury
College graduation weekend was an exciting time for my husband and I. He was home on leave and proposed to me. We spent time visiting family and attended my graduation from Lindenwood University. After a long weekend of driving and sitting, I was experiencing some light sciatic pain (pain starting in my low back and radiating down my leg). I tried to ignore it, thinking it was caused by tight muscles. I had a bulged disc less than a year before this and it had given me sciatic pain, but this sensation was not as intense. By Monday I was back to my training at the the gym and did a lower body lift, all seemed well. But later in the day sitting at home, the pain became so intense and it was clear to me I had injured a disc again.
The Diagnosis
Within a couple days I went to my doctor, and after hearing my symptoms, they agreed that I had a bulging disc again. A vertebral disc lies in between two vertebrae in the spine, and holds the vertebrae together. This allows for slight mobility and absorbs shock. A disc is made up of a soft but sturdy outer portion that contains a gel-like inner core. A bulging disc means the disc is protruding from its normal position. Sometimes, this can happen without any symptoms. Conversely, in my case, the disc bulging into nearby nerves caused pain, weakness, tingling and numbness in one or both of my legs.
Managing the injury was very hard on me emotionally. It was already my second disc injury within one year, and I was aware degenerative disc disease ran in my family. Would I be able to continue wrestling? Would I be plagued with disc injury after disc injury? I had just graduated college and became engaged. I was at a point in my life where I was content with my wrestling career and could possibly retire? Thoughts about moving on with my life, starting a career, or starting a family often danced in my head. But I still felt I had to leave wrestling on my own terms, not because an injury knocked me down. After long mental battles with myself, I decided to continue on with the intent to return to the mat and competition full force.
My doctor immediately referred me to physical therapy. We began with light stretching and soft tissue work to allow the disc to heal. We set off with the goal of being ready for my summer tour, which was only a few months away.
Rushing Recovery
My symptoms had become less intense after about a month of physical therapy, and I thought it was healed. I pushed myself to travel out to National Team camps during that summer. Unfortunately as soon as I hopped on the plane, I knew I was not properly healed. After a couple hours of sitting on the plane, the sciatic pain returned full force. I arrived at camp knowing I couldn’t train. Instead of wrestling, I focused my time on physical therapy while at the Olympic Training Center.
When you are on the National Team for wrestling, you are required to travel to Colorado Springs, CO for training almost monthly. Between the mandatory travel and visiting my fiancé back on the east coast, I was unable to keep a consistent physical therapy schedule. Sitting for the travel was putting further strain on my disc and new symptoms were arising. I had tingling and numbness in my right foot and weakness in my right leg. My doctor and I decided to do imaging on my spine. Waiting for the results allowed for a new goal of focusing on physical therapy to actually heal the injury, the slower the better. This allowed the physical therapy staff to identify any weakness, imbalance, or mobility issues from head to toe. They found poor ankle mobility, weak glutes and core, tight hip flexors, and poor T-spine mobility. These imbalances were possibly contributing to the stress on my low back. While simultaneously giving my low-back the chance to heal, we started to tackle the additional issues with stretching, mobility, and light strengthening exercises. Despite fully dedicating myself to recovery, I was still showing symptoms of a disc injury. Eventually, the imaging results came back and I made an appointment with the disc specialist.
Deciding on Surgery
The imaging showed damage worse than I had expected: a herniated disc. And it was a big one. A herniated disc is when the outer portion of the disc is broken and the core is starting to leak out. The specialist told me surgery may be a possibility since it was not healing like anticipated. The surgery is called a lumbar discectomy), and would entail a surgeon removing the part of the core escaping the disc to help relieve pressure from my nerves. This allows space for the outer portion to heal. These outpatient surgeries have been fairly successful, even for athletes. I made the decision to fix my body with surgery. While I waited for surgery I continued to tackle my imbalances and weaknesses, and managed pain with stretching and traction (light pulling on my spine to relieve pressure on the disc).
Road to Recovery
It had been 5 months since the initial injury by the time I had the surgery. The operation was successful, and I was sent home that same day. The inflammation at the surgical site caused quite a bit of pain, numbness and weakness in my right leg for a couple days post-op. As the inflammation went down, I noticed I had no pain and the tingling and numbness was going away.
I was much more dedicated my recovery post-op. First I was focused on allowing the disc to heal, which takes approximately 6-8 weeks. From there, I slowly build back to full training. The first two-weeks was nearly-zero activity, limited to short walks. The next 2 months entailed activity as long as it didn’t put pressure on the disc. This meant avoiding carrying too much weight, bending, twisting, or any impact. I continued my therapy to help with ankle and T-spine mobility, hip flexor tightness, weak glutes and core. In total, I was off the mat for more than 7 months before I was able to start wrestling again.
Protecting Against Future Injury
Since my return to the mat, I have seen my greatest wrestling successes. 6 months post-op, I made my first Senior world team and earned medals at international competitions. Since surgery I have not had any additional disc injuries, but occasionally feel tingling in my foot. I have taken great care to protect myself from another disc injury and I hope you can include some of these precautions in your training to prevent injury.
There are small adjustments in your daily life you can make to help keep your spine happy and healthy. For instance, your posture is important. Sitting slouched or sitting for long periods of time is not healthy for your back or hips. I try to focus on sitting with a neutral lower back and taking time to get up and move after sitting for prolonged periods of time. I purchased a kneeling chair to help my posture. I am sitting in it now as I type this blog. Furthermore, if I have the option to stand rather than sit, I stand.
Another example is lifting in daily life. Even to lift the smallest item on the floor, I try to pick it up using my knees and keeping a flat back. If I have to carry something like a heavy backpack, I try to carry it on the middle of my back using both straps. Carrying a backpack with one strap on one side of my body means stress is being put on my discs unevenly. If I’m standing in one spot for a few minutes, I take the bag off my back and let my spine rest.
On the mat in order to protect my back, I limit my time in my stance without a partner. Being in a stance without a partner puts a lot of strain on my back, so I keep my stance in motion time short. To make up for the time I miss during stance in motion, I do other foot speed and reaction drills outside of my stance. Wrestling with another individual is less strain since some of my weight is supported by partner. As a result, normal drilling and sparring can be done successfully without issues.
Off the mat, I have placed certain limits on my strength and conditioning to help protect my back. I still lift lower body including squats and deadlifts, but I have taken a lot of time and effort to ensure I have good form and lift safely. Using heavy weights on a lift is not worth jeopardizing my health, so I have learned to check my ego at the door. I often video myself or ask a coach to check my form. if I see or feel bad form, I lower the weight and address the issues. To further protect my spine in the weight room, I keep bending and twisting core movements to a minimum. No crunches or Russian twists for this gal anymore. Instead, I try to stick to isometric core exercises, such as planks or single-arm dumbbell holds.
For conditioning, I have nearly eliminated running. I think some wrestlers would jump for joy at the thought of not having to run anymore, but I actually enjoyed long-distance running. I even trained for a half-marathon during college. Unfortunately, the impact of running was the biggest trigger for pain during my first disc injury. I also avoid row machines because the repetitive forward bending strains my back. So instead, I stick with the elliptical and bike. I use airdyne or spin bikes for interval training and the elliptical for long, steady-state conditioning workouts.
Mental Battles
All athletes experience injuries and the mental battles which accompany them. So many athletes feel alone during these experiences because many of us don’t make the injuries and the heartaches public. I was afraid to share my experience because it made me feel weak and vulnerable. Now that I am on the other side of this injury, I want to share this experience so other athletes don’t believe they are alone.
This injury was no easy feat, both physically and mentally. For months, I endured pain from daily tasks, like sitting for dinner or trying to carry my backpack. But the hardest part of this injury was the mental warfare within myself. This injury forced me to seriously question my dedication and passion for wrestling. When you can only manage 10 minutes of rehab a day, it gives you plenty of downtime to reflect.
Once I decided that I was willing to make a return, waiting for my body to be ready for that return was another mental challenge. All athletes hear the gong of upcoming competition and the gong was teasing me. I was spending all day lying in bed trying to heal and I could see on social media everyone else still wrestling. Team USA went to battle at the Olympics and I was only able to do a measly amount of physical therapy every day. I felt like I wasn’t doing my part. I had to remind myself that my daily training was small but important, and everyone else had their own. Without a healthy back, I was never going to be able to do my part. Learning to go my pace and take care of my needs was a daily battle, and one I still face today. After this injury, I now feel equipped with the discipline to focus on my training and my needs rather than looking at what everyone else is doing.
After 7 months off the mat, I went through so much pain, physically and emotionally. My wrestling career had to take a pause while my spine healed, but upon my return, I was a mentally stronger athlete and person. Like myself, many athletes experience disc bulges and herniations, but there are measures that can be taken to prevent these injuries. Posture, weightlifting form, core and glute strength, and overall mobility are all areas athletes can work to improve on their own or with the help of their coaches. Taking time to address these areas can not only protect you from injury during your wrestling career, but are good practices to use throughout your life to safeguard your back as you age.
