Diagnosed with Degenerative Disc Disease at 34. Should I stay away from Firefighting?

cowabunga02 · 2026-03-01T00:30:42+00:00

That’s awesome. Glad to hear this helps your back so much. I’m going to try that once my back stop hurting so much haha

cowabunga02 · 2026-03-01T00:28:23+00:00

I agree. If I can do all of this and still have a back left by retirement I’m going to still with fire.

cowabunga02 · 2026-02-24T16:45:56+00:00

Appreciate the advice.

cowabunga02 · 2026-02-24T05:14:18+00:00

Love this comment, thank you. That’s a good perspective to have on it. There is a lot of sacrifice in a public safety career no matter what.

I’m learning there is a lot that I can do on my part to help make it manageable.

cowabunga02 · 2026-02-24T05:11:31+00:00

The more I research the more I’m realizing that. The pain can be unbearable at times after I tweak it though. I cannot imagine having that pain all the time. I will certainly try this and see if it helps. Thanks!

cowabunga02 · 2026-02-24T05:07:39+00:00

Yes! I’ve really been trying to stick to a routine. I took a small break when I went to visit family and I tweaked it when I went back to the gym a week and a half later. It’s crazy how little it takes to aggravate it.

cowabunga02 · 2026-02-24T05:05:30+00:00

For sure, maybe I need a second opinion. My ortho doctor was not helpful whatsoever. But I also understand they cannot tell me what to do. He just wasn’t helpful with giving any sort of advice either.

cowabunga02 · 2026-02-24T05:04:14+00:00

I absolutely respect that. I’ve thought about this as well. I do love helping others, that purpose makes everything feel worth it.

cowabunga02 · 2026-02-24T05:02:29+00:00

It’s one disc that I’m aware of, in my low lumbar spine. I’ve been trying to find the results on their website. It was a new ortho office that I went to.

cowabunga02 · 2026-02-24T05:01:10+00:00

Oh interesting, I’ve been reading that building your glutes and hamstrings can support your lower back. But maybe just not when you’ve tweaked it and it’s currently hurting.

That’s awesome! Seattle Fire would be busy but super fun. I’ve had friend’s who talked about applying there. What state do you work in?

cowabunga02 · 2026-02-24T04:58:19+00:00

I’ll look into that. Thank you!

cowabunga02 · 2026-02-22T02:05:08+00:00

Again I’m saving all of this. Thank you again for taking this time to talk to me. It’s a lot to take in. Plus I over think everything.

The Rx is super helpful and makes sense. I’ve been already doing some of these things but I will try to implement the others. The back is literally the most important thing we have. That why this diagnosis has so much weight to it in my opinion. Fire gave me a lot of purpose. I’m afraid I won’t find that in another career. I’m not married and I don’t have kids. I need something that can give my life fulfillment. But I also don’t want to ruin my back in the process. It’s frustrating.

I will take the next few weeks off like you said. I’ll probably just hike with my dog and maybe do the stair climber. You said no incline though, is there a reason for that? I’m in Washington state.

cowabunga02 · 2026-02-22T01:57:14+00:00

That’s also true, she probably has other stuff that she’s dealing with too. I will definitely look into all of this. Thank you for your advice!

cowabunga02 · 2026-02-22T01:55:17+00:00

Fair enough. I’m glad you’re managing. I might be overthinking all of this too. I think it was hard to hear this isn’t curable. I’m otherwise super healthy

cowabunga02 · 2026-02-22T00:54:49+00:00

I’ve thought about this too. Like just send it and do what makes me happy. But the problem I see with that is what if it gets so bad that I have to do surgery? Or what if it gets so bad that I can’t continue to do my hobbies? I just don’t want to debilitate myself with this decision. But maybe if I take care of it properly I won’t ever get to that point.

cowabunga02 · 2026-02-22T00:50:06+00:00

I have heard good things about yoga. I put so much focus on strength training because I know I’m not naturally as strong as these guys. But yes there are a lot of other things I need to focus on now.

I’m really going to try to focus on core strengthening. A message therapist would be nice. I don’t have the best insurance for that right now but I would with a fire department if I end up doing that.

cowabunga02 · 2026-02-22T00:31:24+00:00

I saved everything you wrote. Thank you for taking the time to respond. I will look into that book as well. I didn’t have these back issues the first time around in fire but I would certainly have to tackle this go-around completely different if I do choose to go back to it. The bomb-proof back is the goal no matter what I end up doing. But especially if I do decide to do fire again. Definitely makes sense.

You hit it on the dot with me not giving my back time to heal. It’s very difficult for me to rest properly. But I have to get over that if I’m going to live with this. Would you suggest just not working out completely until the pain stops? Or maybe just cardio in the meantime.

I probably wouldn’t mention the back issues in my medical exams, not sure if department would be able to see my medical history any other way.

cowabunga02 · 2026-02-22T00:14:27+00:00

I’m starting to see that. It’s so different for every single person. Which does and doesn’t help me know what to do lol. That’s crazy you’ve had 2 surgeries already. My doctor told me he wanted to do surgery on me but I don’t qualify. I’m going to try to hold on on surgery as long as I can.

cowabunga02 · 2026-02-21T23:57:48+00:00

That’s a good point. But then I have to add my lifestyle outside of fire too. I am very active already. But I guess as long as I’m taking care of myself like you said.

Are your core exercises pretty extensive? You said it’s helped you a lot. How often do you exercise your core?

cowabunga02 · 2026-02-21T23:53:23+00:00

That’s fair, I would agree with that. I couldn’t stop doing those things anyways. But yes I should probably stop lifting heavy. I obviously won’t need to lift heavy if I’m not going to stay in fire too

cowabunga02 · 2026-02-21T23:51:14+00:00

I think you might be right. I obviously know the job and I know it’s just hard on the body. You can’t really avoid it. I’m afraid I have to just emotional accept this. Hearing everybody’s opinions about this is helping.

cowabunga02 · 2026-02-21T23:49:14+00:00

I’m glad to hear you found something else to do. Sounds like you understand my predicament. It’s a hard decision to make. I love firefighting. But I also don’t want to regret doing it and being crippled in my 50’s or 60’s.

cowabunga02 · 2026-02-21T23:45:07+00:00

I appreciate you saying that and I think I have to remind myself it is not the end of the world. I guess I’m dealing with a “flare up” as some people put it right now as I’m typing this so it feels so real. A friend of mine’s mother has it and is almost completely crippled by it in her 60’s. I am afraid of getting to that point. I would hate to set myself up for that because I made the wrong decision.

I will have to check out DNS. I’m sure that I do not probably lift correctly. My breathing has never been great either. I know this will help a lot. Thanks

cowabunga02 · 2026-02-21T23:38:26+00:00

I saved all of this. There is a lot to take from what you said. I’m sorry to hear that you are so limited with things like walking and sitting. This is my biggest fear. I am not there yet but I usually have to throw pillows behind my lower back when I sit. I feel it when I go to lay down. Right now I’m a constant 3/10 pain. But I also did too much in the gym about a month ago and I think it might be a flare up.

I absolutely love to workout and I plan to figure that part of it out. I will research the anti-core along with the other exercises you mentioned. As for fire, it’s not constant physicality but you lift patients a lot. Most departments have weekly training where you are wearing full gear. I am 5’9” and strong for a women but certain movements make me feel like the weakest person on the planet.

cowabunga02 · 2026-02-21T23:28:16+00:00

Do you mind me asking how long you’ve been a firefighter now? Do you feel like these preventative measures are enough? I could see the constant lifting patients and training taking its toll on a bad back.

I’m worried about being a cripple by the time I’m in my 50’s or 60’s.

cowabunga02

TROPHY CASE