Bulging discs in my neck - advice?

[Brandon Mccaghren]

Tell us more...what kind of surgery? Did it work? Recovery time?

I'm feeling pretty good right now. Had the surgery back on December 2, so it has been nearly 5 months now. I go back on this coming Tuesday and I hope to hear him say that I'm 100% clear to roll hard.

I've been training, and as long as it's people that I trust, I will roll pretty hard. But my game is much, much more limited than it was before as far as inverting, granby rolls, posturing inside the guard, etc... Having said that, I do expect to eventually recover and start playing with that stuff again. I just think it will take me quite a while to recover psychologically, ya know?

I had to have the surgery. The tricep on my right arm was basically dead. My whole arm was shorting out (like a faulty electrical cable) multiple times per day. Pain was getting pretty severe. I was missing training all the time.

I took advantage of the time off, though; I'm WAY stronger than I've ever been. I have added about 15 pounds of muscle and have been working incredibly hard. If I can get my game back to where it was, pull my weight back down, and retain the majority of the muscle I've added I'll be much better for having gone through it.

[David 'Lo Pan' Callaham]

I have this. I've been off mat since January, resting my neck and taking a prescription anti-inflammatory. My doctor suggested either cortisone shots or surgery, but I wanted to give self-healing one more try before I did something invasive. I feel great now (and had never advanced to tricep atrophy like many people), but we'll see what happens when I get back on the mats. I have a long history of not tapping to any types of chokes or cranks that aren't explicitly putting me to sleep, and I'm pretty sure my pride in those cases has permanently damaged me for the rest of my life. Good luck and please report back. Brandon, I'm also curious to hear your updates as they come in.

[christopherd503]

I have a few minor bulging disk's and I have had a fusion due to a ruptured disk between C6-C7. I still continue to roll but I limit my time on the mats and try to avoid any unnessary stress or pressure in my neck area. I have rolled full time post surgery and it is doable but be smart about it. Haven't read everything on this post but If you have a pinched nerve that is causing your arm to fatigue and go numb then you will need some corrective surgury. I have found people online that have double fusions and they still continue to roll but recommend alot of stretching of the neck area before rolling. Let me know if you have any questions my wounded 10th planet soldier.

[Andrew Sarasin]

Here is the video I was talking about that I was going to make about disc hernia tigons. It took a while to make since I'm a newb at making vids but here ya go!
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eG_GCfw53Rc

[Andrew Sarasin]

Update on a bit of details.. Sorry, plus you can't even see my face lol.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5jy_3Ghg2b0

[Toby Shell]

I had the same symptoms as BMach. It all started because of getting stacked up while rolling. I rehabed it the first time with Chiro and message (my fiancee is a message therapist). I thought I was better and ended up re injuring it. After the MRI and meeting with the doc I decided to do surgery (I had herniated the disc between C5 and C6 into 3 pieces). I had a Secure C artificial cervical disc replacement. It is basically a synthetic disc with alloy pieces on top and bottom that secure to the spine and hold it in place. The bone will eventually graft around the alloy pieces to keep it in place. The bonus to this type of surgery vs a fusion is I will be back to 100% once I am completely healed. There is no loss of range of motion and not a high percentage of having to do another surgery like with a fusion. I just had my 3 month post op appointment yesterday. I have complete range of motion and it feels like it did before the injury (no pain in the left arm and no weakness). The doc released me to start heavy lifting again, but still no full speed rolling. Until the bone completely surrounds alloy, there is still a chance it could shift.

[christopherd503]

Toby,

I have had a disk replacent with a fusion and I have full range of motion. My neck gets easily sore but I try to stay away from most action that puts my neck out there. Guillotines, neck cranks, shooting, etc. Still a little sceptical going 100 percent and training full time so please keep me posted on your progress along with everyone involved with this post.

[Andrew Sarasin]

sounds cool, i don`t think i have herd of that surgery. I hope more sugents will start doing them. fusing two vertebra's together seems like a bad idea..

I had the same symptoms as BMach. It all started because of getting stacked up while rolling. I rehabed it the first time with Chiro and message (my fiancee is a message therapist). I thought I was better and ended up re injuring it. After the MRI and meeting with the doc I decided to do surgery (I had herniated the disc between C5 and C6 into 3 pieces). I had a Secure C artificial cervical disc replacement. It is basically a synthetic disc with alloy pieces on top and bottom that secure to the spine and hold it in place. The bone will eventually graft around the alloy pieces to keep it in place. The bonus to this type of surgery vs a fusion is I will be back to 100% once I am completely healed. There is no loss of range of motion and not a high percentage of having to do another surgery like with a fusion. I just had my 3 month post op appointment yesterday. I have complete range of motion and it feels like it did before the injury (no pain in the left arm and no weakness). The doc released me to start heavy lifting again, but still no full speed rolling. Until the bone completely surrounds alloy, there is still a chance it could shift.

[Brandon Mccaghren]

Doc cleared me for 100% training on Tuesday! Time to get my cardio back!

[Toby Shell]

Doc cleared me for 100% training on Tuesday! Time to get my cardio back!

Awesome!!!