10 Exercises That Helped Me Return to Sports After Disc Herniation

During April 2023, at the age of 32, I experienced my first herniated disc. Two weeks after another round of reserve duty, during a sunny parkour session.

The back didn't feel right from the start of the training, maybe it gave me early warning, but when there's finally free time and good weather, and who knows when the next round will be, I felt I had to make the most of every minute to move my body on the ancient walls of Ashdod.

I received the sharp stabbing pain that clearly said, "Buddy, your session is over!" and while I limped to the car, my mind was racing with thoughts about what happened and how serious it was.

I was lucky it happened at the beginning of the holiday, which gave me a whole week of minimal commitments and plenty of time to rest. What I didn't know was that this grace period was just the beginning of a long process that I could only say was behind me six months later. Both physically and mentally.

At the time of writing these words, I had already returned to jumping, flipping, range of motion, and heavy weights.

In the list I prepared for you, you will find the ten exercises that helped me the most, ranked from easiest to hardest.

The exercises at the beginning of the list I did in the first months of the injury, and the exercises at the end of the list I did more towards the end.

Throughout the entire period, I continued to do parkour as much as I could without pain. Sometimes it only included walking on two legs or on all fours, and sometimes it developed into advanced elements and acrobatics, depending on the condition of my back.

I'm sure that incorporating some of these exercises can help you to return to sports!

1. Spinal Twist

   Lie on your back with your knees bent and the soles of your feet flat on the floor. Place your arms to the sides in a T-shape. Allow your knees to roll slowly to one side, keeping your shoulders pressed to the floor. Hold for 5-10 seconds and return to the center, then to the other side. Repeat the movement several times.

   
   
   
   

2. Walking Forwards and Backwards

   Start by walking slowly forward with small, focused steps, then return backward in the same way. Be mindful to maintain stability and work at a pace that suits you. This is one of the few exercises I continued doing even while in pain, as long as the pain was only in my back. In all cases, I found that after a few minutes, the pain would ease and the walking would improve.

   
   

   

3. Pull-Ups/Parallel Bars/Push-Ups and Any Bodyweight Exercise with a Static Spine

   The key here is the effort of the whole body with a static spine; the exercise that "wraps" this doesn't really matter, and you can vary and play with it. I did pull-ups and parallel bars because they are relevant to parkour, but you can definitely do push-ups against a wall, planks, rows, etc. The idea is to engage and strengthen large parts of the body without large movements in the spine; those will come later.

   
   

4. Mountain Climbers

   Start in a plank position with your hands under your shoulders. Bring one knee towards your chest in the opposite direction without keeping a straight back. Bending and twisting the back is exactly what we want to work on here.

   
   

5. Slanted Walkthroughs

   Start in a plank position with one hand on an elevated surface. Without lifting your hands from the surface, perform a "walk" forward with your legs until they pass between your hands and straighten completely in front of your body, then return in the opposite direction to the plank position. The goal is to perform the movement with as few steps as possible and smoothly until you can "jump" from the plank position to the straight position.

   
   

6. L Hang

   Hang from a pull-up bar with straight arms. Raise your legs forward at a 90-degree angle so that your body forms an "L" shape. Hold this position for a few seconds, then bend your knees and hips, hold that position, and return to the L position. Try to do 3-5 repetitions and then release.

   
   

7. Variable Pace Running

   Short distances, increasing speed, and stopping as soon as pain arises. If I were training in another sport, I might do longer distances, but surprisingly, parkour doesn't involve much running for distance.

   
   

8. High and Depth Jumps

   This is key if you sports involves ANY kind of jumping

   • High Jump: Stand straight, slightly bend your knees, and push yourself up with your arms raised.

   • Depth Jump: Jump from a high step to the ground, land gently, and then jump again for height.

     
     

9. Rolls

   You cant rehab yourself to do flips without going through rolls first. Forward, backward through the shoulders, on a mat, grass, or sand. The important component here is the range of motion in folding the body and the speed. As our condition improves, aim for higher speeds.

   
   

   

   
   

10. Dynamic Plow Pose

    My variation of the plow pose from yoga - lie on your back with your arms to the sides. Raise your legs upward to the "candle" position and hold for 3-5 seconds, then continue to bring them over your head towards the ground behind you, resting there for 5 seconds and returning to the "candle" position. With progress, you can also play with the angles of the stops or add leg splits.

    
    

I hope this list can serve as inspiration and a tool for anyone dealing with similar injuries.

If you can think of someone who might benefit from the information in this post, sharing it could help them too!

I would also love to hear your personal experience in the comments.

For advanced readers, during my recovery, I documented large parts of my training on my YouTube account and also on Instagram, where you can get a broader context about the other exercises, training structure, etc.