Fighting with a bulging disc?

[hugh jameson]

I've always wanted to fight, I'm out of shape right now but I'm working hard on getting in good shape for fighting. The only problem is that I have a bulging disc, and before everyone comments the same reply I've gotten 1,000 times when it comes to anything regarding my bulging disc, no, my physical therapist doesn't think MMA would be good, but he said maybe boxing, but basic PTs don't know sh** about fighting usually, and he doesn't lift or do any martial arts so what does he know? I would far more trust people on here who have bulging/herniated discs and who also fight. I want to know what martial arts would be recommended with a bulging disc in my lower back, (once I'm in great shape, flexible, strong core, great cardio/endurance,etc.)

 

[Noah_Legel]

Your spine isn't something to be nonchalant about. I have several bulged disks, and I still train, but honestly, I'm in real bad pain for DAYS if I get taken down once or twice in training. Competitive fighting would be out of the question, at this point--competition is nowhere near as important as my health.

 

[dvcochran]

I think your last sentence hit the nail on the head; (once I'm in great shape, flexible, strong core, great cardio/endurance,etc.)
So you understand this Has to come first. What type/style of fighting are you wanting to get in to? I would research the styles that compliment your goal and start there. And start easy enough not to trash your back or you will be going nowhere.
As mentioned, boxing is excellent both as a compliment to any other MA style and ideal for strengthening your back.
I have some degenerative neck issues and ruptured a disc about 35 years ago. It only really gives me trouble if I slouch too much/often or pick up something very heavy the wrong way. I would say depending on your age and recovery plan you should be able to do most anything in time.

 

[skribs]

I think your last sentence hit the nail on the head; (once I'm in great shape, flexible, strong core, great cardio/endurance,etc.)
So you understand this Has to come first. What type/style of fighting are you wanting to get in to? I would research the styles that compliment your goal and start there. And start easy enough not to trash your back or you will be going nowhere.
As mentioned, boxing is excellent both as a compliment to any other MA style and ideal for strengthening your back.
I have some degenerative neck issues and ruptured a disc about 35 years ago. It only really gives me trouble if I slouch too much/often or pick up something very heavy the wrong way. I would say depending on your age and recovery plan you should be able to do most anything in time.

Great job gatekeeping the martial arts away from people who aren't at peak physical health. All of that can be trained alongside martial arts. In fact, for myself and for many students, we didn't have the motivation to go to the gym and work on that stuff until we started martial arts and saw what we could improve by getting into better shape.

 

[skribs]

I've always wanted to fight, I'm out of shape right now but I'm working hard on getting in good shape for fighting. The only problem is that I have a bulging disc, and before everyone comments the same reply I've gotten 1,000 times when it comes to anything regarding my bulging disc, no, my physical therapist doesn't think MMA would be good, but he said maybe boxing, but basic PTs don't know sh** about fighting usually, and he doesn't lift or do any martial arts so what does he know? I would far more trust people on here who have bulging/herniated discs and who also fight. I want to know what martial arts would be recommended with a bulging disc in my lower back,

There are 3 people you need to talk to (in this order) before you start martial arts:

1. Your Doctor (not your PT) to know what types of movements and activities to be careful when doing, and what to avoid entirely.
2. Your Master, Coach, Chief Instructor (whatever it's called at your school), to let him know what your doctor said. If he's not on board, find a different school.
3. Yourself, to make sure you don't get too stubborn and try and do something you shouldn't.

Your back is going to be involved in any martial art that you do. Even in boxing, your core and your back are involved in the punches, and your body is a legal target for blows. However, if you don't compete, then most of what you do is going to be light sparring, which isn't as dangerous.

(once I'm in great shape, flexible, strong core, great cardio/endurance,etc.)

I wouldn't worry too much about doing all of this before starting martial arts. (To clarify - I would still talk to your doctor regarding your back, and if he says not to do martial arts I would wait on your back injury). A lot of what you learn is going to be irrespective of your physical condition. The proper way to do a technique, footwork, strategy, timing, rules, reflexes, all of these can be trained by anyone, regardless of your physical capabilities. Being stronger, faster, more flexible and having better cardio will be important if you want to use the techniques, but they can be learned concurrently with the gym training.

 

[jobo]

I've always wanted to fight, I'm out of shape right now but I'm working hard on getting in good shape for fighting. The only problem is that I have a bulging disc, and before everyone comments the same reply I've gotten 1,000 times when it comes to anything regarding my bulging disc, no, my physical therapist doesn't think MMA would be good, but he said maybe boxing, but basic PTs don't know sh** about fighting usually, and he doesn't lift or do any martial arts so what does he know? I would far more trust people on here who have bulging/herniated discs and who also fight. I want to know what martial arts would be recommended with a bulging disc in my lower back, (once I'm in great shape, flexible, strong core, great cardio/endurance,etc.)

well yes, i was told, that ma or soccer or any other similar was completely out, in fact walking with out a stick was unlikely yet here i am 20 years later doing ma, playing soccer.

but if he said boxing, why not start with boxing

having an end goal is fine, but your putting the cart before the horse, first do the exercises that you mention, then see what activities you can do with out pain, discomfort is probably desirable and unavoidable, but pain/spam is a sure sign your pushing to far to fast

one thing is certain, if you dont try you definitely wont be doing it, start with the exercises the pt has given you, id bet hardly anyone actually does those religiously then build on them, concentrate with building the muscles to have good posture,, you need to get used to them, you will be doing them for the rest of your life and then see where that takes you

nb i found that hanging off a bar and wiggling my waist around did a good job of centralising my disc then build the muscles to keep it there

 

[CB Jones]

I agree with @dvcochran

You could start learning the basics of striking while you get in better shape and build a stronger core.

Then increase the training as your back allows.

And even then wrestling and grappling might be out of the picture. Your Doctor and PT might not know about fighting but they do know about potential damage to your back.

 

[skribs]

agree with @dvcochran

You could start learning the basics of striking while you get in better shape and build a stronger core.

That is not at all what I got from his post.

 

[dvcochran]

Great job gatekeeping the martial arts away from people who aren't at peak physical health. All of that can be trained alongside martial arts. In fact, for myself and for many students, we didn't have the motivation to go to the gym and work on that stuff until we started martial arts and saw what we could improve by getting into better shape.[

???What did you say???

 

[jobo]

he is saying, that your saying, that people need to get fit before starting to train ma, and i for one agree that that is, though not strictly necessary the best way to progress

 

[jobo]

he is saying, that your saying, that people need to get fit before starting to train ma, and i for one agree that that is, though not strictly necessary the best way to progress

 

[skribs]

???What did you say???

Gatekeeping - "you can only participate in this activity if you meet my standard of approval for entry." For example, if this were a football fan site, and I told you that you couldn't be a real Seahawks fan unless you were a fan before Russell Wilson got drafted.

You're saying he has to be in shape before starting martial arts. That's telling someone not practice martial arts until they meet some minimum physical fitness level.

 

[jobo]

Gatekeeping - "you can only participate in this activity if you meet my standard of approval for entry." For example, if this were a football fan site, and I told you that you couldn't be a real Seahawks fan unless you were a fan before Russell Wilson got drafted.

You're saying he has to be in shape before starting martial arts. That's telling someone not practice martial arts until they meet some minimum physical fitness level.

well he is correct, in this particular instance at least, someone with a bulging disc SHOULD look to build up '' fitness'' before doing anything that might cause a relapse, to do other wise would be plain silly

 

[skribs]

well he is correct, in this particular instance at least, someone with a bulging disc SHOULD look to build up '' fitness'' before doing anything that might cause a relapse, to do other wise would be plain silly

The sentence he quoted included a lot of other things that are unrelated to the bulging disc, such as cardio and flexibility.

 

[jobo]

The sentence he quoted included a lot of other things that are unrelated to the bulging disc, such as cardio and flexibility.

flexibility is definitely related to bulging discs, if you had ever had one you may know that touching your toes for an example or lifting your leg head high for another cause extreme difficulties( PAIN).

if your going to spend some months on other training before doing ma, you may as well work on your cardio at the same time

 

[Tez3]

Great job gatekeeping the martial arts away from people who aren't at peak physical health. All of that can be trained alongside martial arts. In fact, for myself and for many students, we didn't have the motivation to go to the gym and work on that stuff until we started martial arts and saw what we could improve by getting into better shape.

The OP's post was about fighting not about training martial arts and as such the advice given was good. No one is saying he shouldn't train martial arts, he is being told to find a style that suits him and get fit before he FIGHTS.

 

[skribs]

The OP's post was about fighting not about training martial arts and as such the advice given was good. No one is saying he shouldn't train martial arts, he is being told to find a style that suits him and get fit before he FIGHTS.

Based on contextual clues in his post, it's clear that "fighting" means "training martial arts", since he's even asking what martial art to take up once he's in shape.

 

[Tez3]

Based on contextual clues in his post, it's clear that "fighting" means "training martial arts", since he's even asking what martial art to take up once he's in shape.

Well no, he stated quite clearly he wanted to fight and was looking to a style to use to do just that. He did use plain English and one doesn't need to read between the lines to find the meaning. He said in the first sentence 'I've always wanted to fight, I'm out of shape right now but I'm working hard on getting in good shape for fighting', he mentions it several times. he asks for recommendations for styles he can use to fight. He isn't saying 'oh I'm looking for a style to train in' he is saying 'I want a style which I can fight in'. So his aim is fighting, it's also obvious that he isn't likely to be put off taking up martial arts either.

 

[skribs]

Well no, he stated quite clearly he wanted to fight and was looking to a style to use to do just that. He did use plain English and one doesn't need to read between the lines to find the meaning. He said in the first sentence 'I've always wanted to fight, I'm out of shape right now but I'm working hard on getting in good shape for fighting', he mentions it several times. he asks for recommendations for styles he can use to fight. He isn't saying 'oh I'm looking for a style to train in' he is saying 'I want a style which I can fight in'. So his aim is fighting, it's also obvious that he isn't likely to be put off taking up martial arts either.

I bolded a couple extra words for you. He says "I've always wanted to fight", which makes it sound like he hasn't been in a fight yet. He doesn't mention any martial art he's trained, or how the back injury affected his training. It sounds like he hasn't even started training martial arts.

If you look at his last sentence, it makes it clear that "in good shape for fighting" doesn't mean martial arts training. It means cardio, flexibility, core and strength work.

I didn't take much time reading between the lines. I read "I've always wanted to fight" and "I'm working out" and "what martial art should I take?" and came to that conclusion.

Yes, he used the word "fight" instead of "take martial arts class." But I used a spritz of brain power and concluded based on everything else that he said, that he's wondering what martial art to train. Just like when people walk into my Taekwondo dojang and tell their kids "I'm gonna drop you off at the dojo for Karate class." It takes me barely any time to read between the lines and tell why they're there.

 

[dvcochran]

Gatekeeping - "you can only participate in this activity if you meet my standard of approval for entry." For example, if this were a football fan site, and I told you that you couldn't be a real Seahawks fan unless you were a fan before Russell Wilson got drafted.

You're saying he has to be in shape before starting martial arts. That's telling someone not practice martial arts until they meet some minimum physical fitness level.

How you read that into what I said I have no idea, but you are consistently... you.