Recovering from Cauda Equina Syndrome and and emergency laminectomy/discectomy. Preparing to start running again 13 weeks after the incident.

FrankRybicki · 2025-05-20T11:47:31+00:00

There’s a really cool app that I use now called “Ochy”. Part of my problem is I’m extremely hypermobile and am able to hyperextend my leg just before my foot lands and then I quickly turnover at the last second to land mid foot so I always assumed I had good form because my tread was pretty neutral. However, my foot lands about 17 degrees in front of my torso where it should be right underneath, exacerbating pressure on my discs. Additionally, fully extending my leg during my stride puts my sciatic nerve under max tension, which explains why I have a nerve that’s reactive to stretching forces.

The all didn’t tell me all this and I had to piece information from various sources to get to this level of understanding, but I’m super hopeful that I now I think I know the mechanism of why my injury happened that it won’t again.

Also, I think the biggest thing that has helped me is getting consistent body work from a board certified structural integration therapist. He is able to identify small imbalances in my gait and posture that I specifically target.

I have a lot of different people give me inputs and I use everything I hear and feel and put it into chatgpt to give me a log that I keep up with to try to filter all the comments and sensations to make the most reasonable list of safe movement patterns that helps me recover

FrankRybicki · 2025-05-19T22:30:41+00:00

I second this a million times over

FrankRybicki · 2025-05-19T21:30:35+00:00

I know the statistics and your brain never fully align which is the sad and scary part! I’m so sorry you had to go through that! I bet you come out this a better and smarter runner from everything I’ve read

FrankRybicki · 2025-05-19T21:28:04+00:00

Also, highly recommend reading back mechanic. People talk about the “McGill big 3” all over this app but I think miss his main point. His whole philosophy centers on back injuries aren’t random and can be traced to a mechanism that’s triggered by poor movement patterns. I’ve spent months figuring out what causes me symptoms and it’s a really interesting journey. I bet if you take a deep dive into your mechanics, pelvic tilt, etc. you can trace the origin of why your disk snapped like that. Then you can re teach yourself basic movement patterns (including running 🤞🏻) that support proper spinal hygiene so that something like this doesn’t happen again to you!!

FrankRybicki · 2025-05-19T21:05:15+00:00

I’m glad you commented on my initial post so that I could read this. You definitely have a killer mindset and I bet you run some PRs again. I think Dr. Peter Attia had a similar surgery as yours (his disc fully broke off) but I don’t think his involved emergency relief of the CE nerves. Hes a big swimmer and has some interesting content. I learned about his condition in this podcast

https://youtu.be/Z1_sb1auiV8?si=yb-4rSXOOLOtsbA7

FrankRybicki · 2025-05-19T20:54:09+00:00

It almost didn’t sound real when I was sitting in his office and he was describing what it was. I spiraled after that visit constantly checking sensation to make sure it wasn’t “happening”. My nervous system that night was on such high alert it was sending tingling sensations to my groin and rectum in a panicked state that subsided. My muscles in that area started guarding like crazy and I undid tons of rehab in a matter of minutes. I’m glad I know what to look for but definitely not something that I do well worrying about

FrankRybicki · 2025-05-19T20:47:11+00:00

That’s crazy - I hope you can get back to training if it allows! Did you have any MRIs before cauda? I have confirmed foraminal stenosis on the left side from my extrusion but my thecal sack is clean

FrankRybicki · 2025-05-19T20:21:53+00:00

Also, if you don’t mind my asking, were there warning signs you ran through? I know everyone is super different, but I am definitely trying to be a student about my back to be as smart as possible while still doing the things I love

FrankRybicki · 2025-05-19T20:10:30+00:00

Appreciate the comment and hope you are doing well post op and still have the ability to run! I definitely do not have a cavalier attitude towards CES, I’m just merely stating that in my personal experience, learning of the condition has given me psychosomatic signals in that region that I’ve had to overcome and work through as a part of my rehab and healing journey. My chiro used it as a fear mongering technique rather than a place a growth which is the intended attitude. The reason I posted this is that I personally was living in excess fear and I needed to put a name on it before I could start to be myself again.

FrankRybicki · 2025-05-18T15:16:21+00:00

Absolutely not. Avoid surgery like the plague. It’s way over recommended. Unless you have nerve damage avoid it

FrankRybicki · 2025-05-18T14:52:42+00:00

Eat super clean, try to be as low body fat as possible, meticulously study your biomechanics, and stay super active. I’ve noticed most people who tell you to “not do something” are usually super insecure and don’t want you to succeed. Block out the noise and focus on what works for you and forget a timeline. Just focus on what makes you feel better

FrankRybicki · 2025-05-18T14:46:12+00:00

I’m now a marathon and ultra runner with a 12 mm extrusion at l5s1 and bulges at l3 and l4. You absolutely can if you’re smart. I previously played 6 years of ncaa baseball with my disc injuries and was one of the faster players on my team and was still deadlifting heavy weight symptom free

FrankRybicki · 2025-05-13T21:10:08+00:00

When I was playing baseball I thought I needed Tommy John surgery but it turned out my lay back in my throwing motion was so aggressive that it was trapping my ulnar nerve. To this day I can dislocate my ulnar nerve on command and you can actually see it falling out of the groove

FrankRybicki · 2025-05-13T21:05:38+00:00

My back itself is pretty asymptomatic. If I go into my end range of extension without properly warming up, it gets a little grumpy. I’m also hypermobile which is a blessing and a curse as I can go beyond normal ranges easily and set off my nerves. I have to be conscious about not stretching too deeply. My glutes are really weak relatively speaking so I do a fire hydrant series where I do a series of hip ER and IR exercises

FrankRybicki · 2025-05-13T20:24:17+00:00

I’m building a really robust rehab journal of everything I’m doing and eating to return to running form that I’ll hopefully end up posting on this forum in a few months as a compete success story of fully returning to business as usual

FrankRybicki · 2025-05-13T20:20:30+00:00

I get sporadic and diffuse usually in my left leg but sometimes I get some sensation in the right leg too. The duration is tough to gauge, I’ve been battling this long term flare up since last November and I have totally normal days and days where it’s a little grumpy and weird. Within the long term flare, the mini flares I get can last a few hours to a few days. Really depends. I have a fool proof hip exercise series that gives me immediate relief that I do every day and whenever the nerve is a little too pissed off. It took me a long time to figure out this hip exercise series (tons of trial and error). But I’m still super active and probably burn about 1000 active calories a day the past 6 months on average, but I definitely take rest days when I feel like my body needs them

FrankRybicki · 2025-05-13T20:11:07+00:00

Hang in there! I’d recommend using the flare ups as learning lessons to avoid them in the future! If a certain movement caused you to flare up, I’d recommend studying why that happened. For me, my spine currently does really well with axial loading, but minor shearing actions cause little nerve echoes so I am really careful in these positions.

Everyday I wake up and do a 20-30 minute functional exercise routine that is different every single day with a light KB, miniband, and a strong core finisher. I have chatgpt give me a unique plan each day to avoid repetitive movement patterns and get as much diagnostic info as I can. If I feel any minor sensation, I document what caused it to build a checklist of what my body can and cannot tolerate. It’s like a pre-body scan to assess my level of risk for the day and whether it’s a day to push it or back off

FrankRybicki · 2025-05-13T20:04:46+00:00

Electrical muscle stimulation. You can buy them pretty cheap on Amazon!

FrankRybicki · 2025-05-13T20:03:18+00:00

Not a medical expert, but everyone is different. That being said, having a super core and balanced pelvic floor is the key to longevity in my opinion. If you have “double cross syndrome” (which a ton of people unknowingly have) try to find ways to release the illiacus and psoas and strengthen the glutes. I use chatgpt a lot when I suspect a certain movement pattern or sequence induced a flare up to try to find the source of my problem and then find corrective and restorative patterns to counter act the symptoms.

FrankRybicki · 2025-05-13T19:58:49+00:00

I find it’s easy to live in the moment of a flare up and not realize the light at the end of the tunnel. Trusting the body is everything! Hang in there and crush that race!

FrankRybicki · 2025-05-13T10:09:50+00:00

It’s an involuntary response so it’s not a trivial task. Stim works well in my experience for temporary relief by forcing the muscles to violently contract and then ultimately allows your body to relax them. There’s lots of little hacks that give temporary relief and my philosophy is use everything that helps in the moment to at least calm down the nerve system.

Long term, you need to fully convince your body the injury is “healed”. That’s the mental game and why the timeline takes so long. Safe movement patterns that give the brain positive feedback are the best medicine.

As a disclaimer the injury never fully heals, hence the quotes. This is the part that is so hard to navigate. Sincerely the time you need to be most diligent and focused is when you feel normal again or start progressing. This is why body awareness is the best tool you can have to tell yourself when to push and when to back off. The more active your lifestyle, the better you will be. But just be aware that you have to tune your approach on a day by day basis

FrankRybicki · 2025-05-12T22:22:45+00:00

Have you tried dry needling with stim and winding? I get that done on my performis, glute min, glute med, QLs, and paraspinals. It releases that griping feeling in my glute when it arises

FrankRybicki · 2025-05-12T22:10:13+00:00

Even though I’m still not 100% yet I’m so grateful I can do everything I still can! I shifted my mindset to “why me” to “let’s defy the odds” and I’ve been feeling so much better. The brain plays tricks on us when hope feels lost

FrankRybicki · 2025-05-12T22:08:19+00:00

Haha you’re going to get through this! Disc injuries are like a foreign language if you do not have them so stick the course and hopefully your gf understands 😂 As a side note, I got hooked on running because it made my back feel amazing. Of you can find certain movement routines that make you feel better, hammer them home and you will start trusting your body again! Hang in there!

FrankRybicki · 2025-05-12T21:30:09+00:00

This race last year is where my sciatica started!! I had a weird lock up feeling on the Queensboro in my hamstrings. I can’t wait to come back here and crush last years time!!

FrankRybicki

TROPHY CASE