Thanks man, trying not to get bummed out. I was so psyched up to get back at it.
Yeah I did actually get an MRI back in 2012, I thought I had posted that but upon re-reading I didn’t.
I had a herniation of L4/L5, a bulging disc in L5/S1 and some damage on L3/L4. I also got lucky and was assigned a orthopaedic surgeon with specialities in Sports Injuries, and she gave me some really solid advice and education about my injury.
In a nutshell, I am hypermobile, and whilst the laxity of my tendons/ligaments allows me to get into deeper lifting positions - especially useful in the clean/front squat, it also puts me at a much higher risk of exposing bones/joints to greater sheering forces. So in my case, as I hyper extended on low-bar squats and overhead presses, I was just running the discs into the ground. It was during an overhead press that I herniated the disc anteriorly (in toward my body) and laterally. That meant that any overextension of the back (i.e. McKenzie stretch) would result in more pain as the discs were being compressed again. Once we figured that out, rehab exercises took a completely different direction and I trained myself never to hyperextend and fixed my lordosis. After about 4 months I could hyper extend with no pain, but also very self conscious about limiting the range.
I had done a ton of ab work, fixing my lordosis and postural issues.
I am 100% certain that bad posture from working at a computer has done this. I’m a programmer, and was starting a new business venture pushing 60hr weeks this past few months, during which my abs turned to mush and my upper has recently turned into a bag of knots. Unfortunately I think I just jumped into heavy legs too quick without focusing on bringing my core up again first.
TL;DR
Previous injury was L4/L5 herniation - Rehabbed with core and glute work. Removed low-bar squat and hip-dominant movements. 3 years later, jumped back into heavier loads too soon after many months off, neglecting core work that I would have done in the past, potential re-herniation. Trying not get depressed.