Back injury

[bigironkiller]

Herniated my L5/S1 disc in 2007. All other surrounding disc are in the beginning stages of degeneration. I have no limits on flexibility and daily activities and even manual labor dont cause any serious pain, just minor discomfort. Havent lifted anything heavy(over 300lbs) since the injury. I was really into powerlifting before the injury and my disc injury came from incorrect training. From what I have read and an orthopedic told me is that the L5/S1 disc doesnt contribute alot to flexiblity, but does handle alot of the weight on the low back. He said worse case scenario would be to do a fusion surgery(which he said could also happen naturally over time if the disc deteriorates more). He also said a disc reduction procedure could be done if the disc material intrudes on any nerves.

As far as my ambitions of powerlifting go here are my questions:

1.If i did do the fusion surgery is that an end to heavy deads and squats? I know I would have to take of the surrounding discs due to transfer of load, but I have available platlet rich plasma injections to keep other disc healthy

2. Should I even attempt to try and continuing my powerlifting goals or find other ways to satisfy my exercise needs?

3. Besides decompression therapy, chiro, PT and medications what can I do to insure a continuing healthy spine.

Supps I do take on a rotating basis are SuperCissus RX, Glucosamine/chondrotion/MSM

I have been killing my core since the injury and stretch like a freak

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Nemesis RR]

"I know I would have to take of the surrounding discs due to transfer of load, but I have available platlet rich plasma injections to keep other disc healthy"

Can you give me some info on the plasma injections?

 

[bigironkiller]

A while back just scouring google I came across PRP injections(Platelet Rich Plasma) as a way to increase the healing of injuries and keep things like degenerative disc healthy. Basically they take quite a few vials of blood and run it through a centrifuge. What they are doing is creating a highly concentrated sample(to inject) of the growth factors in the blood. Procedure is not all that expensive either.
Here is a couple links to some good info:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/17/sports/17blood.html

http://www.orthohealing.com/plateletrichplasmatherapy-prp/

Cant find the link I was looking for but just do some searching and you will find all you want.

Also of interest is the use of stem cells for regenerative process. A few clinics in the US are using stem cells harvested from the individuals adipose tissue or bone marrow and injecting in injured areas. Cost are not covered my insurance I would do anything to lift heavy again. From reading, a single course of treatment would cost about 9K.