I herniated a disc and play football CAN I PLAY THIS SEASON.

Question

ok well i am 17 im 6;4 and i weigh 300 lbs i play strong tackle for my high school i made all county when i was a junior last year and am a d-1 prospect. i herniated a disc in my lower back in may and during conditioning worsened the problem... i had sciatica bad before even seeing a doctor then i was put on aniti imflam... predisone for 10 days and nothing besides ibuprofin 800 mg since then i havnt taken the ibuprofin in 3 weeks now my sciatica does not hurt any more but i have not been actice since i was told not to be.... i have been working out just no squats or dfeadlifts... nothing on my back but i do still military press.( over 155) so my question is if you think i will be able to pay football for my high school this season which satrts in 2 weeks.? doctor says if i were 30 he would give me a shot of cortisone. but thats all he said.... football is my life and a carreer for me i also play basketball for my highschool thats how i herniated the disc.

Answer 1

I slipped four discs my junior year. One of them partially ruptured. I had a shot of Cortisone in my back 3 months ago. I still feel and hurt in my lower back. I am trying to play football this year but I don't know if I will. I went to football this morning and my back was hurting and I'm going tonight as well. I played right guard, Right Def. tackle, and every special team last year. This year I talked to coach and he said that I will only be playing right Offensive guard this year b/c of my back. I haven't done squats or powerclean in 8 months. It should have healed by now but w/e. I think I'm going to talk to my doctor before i make a final decision. But I'm not sure. I'm going to practice anyways until my back keeps me from it. I know several guys who have slipped upper discs in their back and they play non stop all the time. But i guess mine didn't.  

Answer 2

You need the opinion of at least two orthopedic and/or neurosurgery specialists.  

Can you play?  That's going to be your and your doctor's decision.

Should you play?  In a position that's going to take vertical pounding on every play, how much do you value your health for the balance of your adult life?  At what price?  Those are big decisions.  I don't know if it is wise to attempt to resolve them with input over the net.  You have the rest of your life to live.  

Answer 3

I cracked my third disc my senior year at my first hitting practice. I never went to see the doctor and started popping pain pills like crazy. I was so numb that I could throw my body around and hit like normal all year. It wasn't until I got into college I went to the doctor for a physical and I was informed that I smashed my disc. To this day I still have none stop back pain. If you want to play I'm sure you can fight threw it. But in the long run you could pay for it. Back then I was a nose guard.