Neck disc bulges and return to golf

[Justsomeguy]

C3-c4 and c6-c7 bulges per MRI. Other issues there, but those plus nighttime numbness and daytime pain the highlights.

Short golfing life just about 5 years but pain avoidance had instigated some weird swing accommodations after back and neck issues. Not a solid enough base to play through it without making downright weird accommodations.

Eventually the neck pain after a bad mat aggravation drove me to a neck ortho who ordered MRI.

Went through some PT to get range of motion back. Been doing rest and massage, heat. Haven't played golf for 4 months bc I'm sure it will aggravate it at this stage.

Hoping to be pain free for a month before starting back to fitness and golf. But after 4 mos beginning to wonder.

Anyhow - anyhow - question for those who have dealt with cervical bulges non-operatively:

How long did it take to heal? And did your neck ever really get back to normal?

[texcrom]

My neck never did, so ended up with C3, 4, & 5 being replaced with Titanium discs.

The incredible pain is gone, but I’ll have a stiff neck the rest of my life. I honestly don’t remember how long I was out; seemed like a couple of months. But once released, my doctor, who is a golfer, told me not to worry about swinging or taking a divot. Said I couldn’t hurt myself. That took a couple of rounds.

And I can now play golf as well as ever!

[Kgglonghorn]

had to have microdiscectomy on C6, C7. Never looked back. Was one of the best decisions of my life and have been golfing ALOT since the surgery 7 years ago. was off the course for 6 weeks during recovery.

[Justsomeguy]

How invasive was the procedure?

[Kgglonghorn]

I had the procedure at 8:00 am, was home for lunch, back traveling on a plane the following week and back in the dugout another week later with my boys.

[Kgglonghorn]

no heavy lifting for several weeks though.

[c0bler]

Hey,

I had cervical radiculopathy at c6/7 last year that KO'd me instantly. Unbearable pain in my neck, shoulder blade and down my left arm into my thumb and next two fingers. I was trying desperately to avoid surgery and went the PT route. I started out with PT twice a week for 2-3 weeks, then went down to once per week for probably 2 months then every two weeks until I stopped going completely at around the 4-5 month mark. I was fairly committed to the at home PT and took it seriously. Because of the timing (october - feb/march) golf wasnt a big worry since I am in the PNW. I would say around 6 months after the injury (april) I started feeling really healthy and by June I was golfing all summer. After having the injury and grinding through the PT I am extremely cautious with my posture/neck/lifting but 14 months removed from the injury I feel 100%.

 

My advice to you would be to get back into PT and do the at home PT until you sorted it. Another thing that helped was a orthopedic pillow with neck support and only sleeping on my back. As soon as I did that I stopped feeling like i was taking steps backwards every night.

[BogeyBoogy]

Had ACDF on 4, 5, and 6, 13 months ago. Lived with pain and numbness and no good sleeping position for about 5 years. Had the surgery and was able to swing clubs in 6 weeks and played 18 after about 10 weeks. Like the guy from Tennessee above, no more pain or numbness, but will live with a stiff neck and such, but I can play golf, fish, and do anything else I want.

[soregongolfer]

Find a PT who knows the McKenzie Method. It's a stretching technique that worked wonders for my neck. You can find it on youtube.

[LeftDaddy]

I just had ACDF at C6/7 in early January. My doc says to wait 3 months before I start golf again. I don’t always listen to my doctor like I should, so I’m thinking I’ll at least start putting and chipping two weeks from now. Sucks to be sidelined, but don’t want to go through that pain, loss of strength, numbness, etc again!

[Sean2]

It took a good 4 months before I could swing again.

[Justsomeguy]

I've just started back to pitching and chipping. So far so good. Day 1 felt a little balky afterwards, but worth it.

If I finish work early enough tomorrow theres an AW session in my future.

[Justsomeguy]

Today was gap wedge day. Great feeling. No ill effects after session. Limited reps. Real ground here in Louisiana no mats.

Actually struck the ball pretty well. Very encouraged.

[SkiSchoolPro]

Yes, this and other p-t, massage, exercises etc. helped me. My 2014 MRI showed ruptured discs c5-6 and 6-7. Pinched nerve was causing pain and some left arm weakness and other issues. Got a monitor for my laptop and try not to spend long stretches on the computer anymore. Saw a chiropractor for a while when things were bad, but have had little or no issue in recent years.

[jmcgolf59]

Sorry to hear about this. I have had cervical problems and it can be extremely frustrating and very painful. The good news it can be fixed so hopefully you find a solution. I have a herniated disc in my neck from doing kettle bell swings one morning back when I was trying to play professionally. Physical therapy and 8 months without swinging a club was the solution that ultimately helped me after a few years of trying everything. I have fully recovered since however I probabaky will have to have surgery someday but I’m glad I found a solution while I was younger and able to avoid surgery for now.

As far as golf there are a few things that were affected that you may experience if you have a bulging or herniated disc. I noticed after I recovered that I without a doubt lost some range of motion with my backswing. I just couldnt make as big of a turn as I used to. I suggest doing physical therapy to help with this bc we already lose enough range of motion by age so you don’t want to couple it with injury. Physical therapy helped get this back closer to normal.

 

Any sort of injury to the cervical area or spine in general can be awful because of the pain and it’s hard for people to know sometimes how much pain you are because they can’t see the injury because there’s no cast or anything so it can be frustrating in that sense when you’re trying to compete. Bottom line is take care of it ASAP bc it will affect your whole life if not. There is a solution out there even though you may not find it right away.

[jmcgolf59]

C5 c6 were my affected areas

[susan77429]

So glad I found this thread.  I am 40 and as of January started feeling burning muscle sensation between my shoulder blades. Didn't think much of it and kept working out and playing golf and getting massages to work out the kinks. Well, beginning of Feb it went from 2 to 10 in pain! Lots of burning pain in my upper back, neck, shoulders and massive headaches and pressure in me trigeminal nerves. Heart rate and blood pressure up. Mri shows herniated disc c4/5 and bulging at c5/6. Trying IDD decompression therapy through a chiro that one of my clients had success with after an accident.  He says I should be back to normal after 6-8 weeks of treatments and a couple of adjustments.  This is well two and I'm still struggling with neck pain and also headaches.  Glad to see some of you have recovered without surgery.  I probably won't play golf for 6 months or at least until I feel normal for a few weeks.  Totally sucks. Especially at the age of 40. 

[tets]

Just found this post and glad I did.  In upstate NY so did a lot of simulator this winter.  About 3 weeks ago got a pain in my neck, back, shoulders arm and hand.  It became unbearable after a few days. Went to sports medicine doctor, got x rays, then MRI.  unfortunately it showed several issues, but the worst was herniated disc at c6-c7.  The pain has been so bad I can’t do daily activities, sometimes I’m almost in tears.  Actually ate $989 in 2 Springsteen tickets when at the last minute I realized there was no way I could go.  Anyway my doctor is going to do the injection into the area(under X-ray) to see if that helps.  If not I will be seeing about surgery.  Has anyone had any luck with the injection or have any advice?

Edited April 4, 2023 by tets
Spelling error

[JG43]

Hey @Tets - your situation sounds about same as mine.  Severe pain from neck down left arm last weekend.  MRI showed several issues but main issue is herniated disc at c6-c7.  I got a steroid trigger shot in my shoulder this week, which along with the prednisone and a lot of heating pad application has helped get the pain to a manageable level.  I'm scheduled for epidural on June 7.  Curious how you've been progressing since your shot and if there's any other remedy that's helped you so far.  Watching the PGA right now is killing me knowing I might not be able to play for a while.

 

On 4/4/2023 at 3:21 PM, tets said:

Just found this post and glad I did.  In upstate NY so did a lot of simulator this winter.  About 3 weeks ago got a pain in my neck, back, shoulders arm and hand.  It became unbearable after a few days. Went to sports medicine doctor, got x rays, then MRI.  unfortunately it showed several issues, but the worst was herniated disc at c6-c7.  The pain has been so bad I can’t do daily activities, sometimes I’m almost in tears.  Actually ate $989 in 2 Springsteen tickets when at the last minute I realized there was no way I could go.  Anyway my doctor is going to do the injection into the area(under X-ray) to see if that helps.  If not I will be seeing about surgery.  Has anyone had any luck with the injection or have any advice?

 

 

 

[tets]

Hey JG43,

I had the 1st injection and it took a week or 2 to kick in and gave me about 70% relief.  The doctors did another shot on May 10..  numbness and tingling are still there, but he said that won’t even go away with surgery in many cases.  It has allowed me to play golf, though I haven’t been playing very much lately… the PGA is in my city this week so I’ve been down there every day watching. I just watched for eight hours saw all the big names… gonna put my feet up for a while and watch it on TV now.  Ask your doctor about the spinal injection. It will probably get you through the summer.