spondylolisthesis and the gym
Hi I’m a 29M and had been diagnosed with spondylolisthesis and disc herniations for several years. I first noticed this pain after I herniated my disc while working out and it happened three times after the first time. At the moment, I’ve been recommend by my Doctor to stay neutral (limit extension and flexion - kinda sucks). I was a high performing athlete in basketball and was extremely into working out (and still am) after leaving basketball but now limited to what I can do in the gym in terms of progressive overload, certain lifts to target certain areas, and avoiding harmful exercises. For instance, I don’t do barbell squats or deadlifts anymore and modify. However, I’ve realized I can’t do incline presses, overheard presses, or even flat chest press as I get overarching with heavy weight and or from extremely ROM. This even occurs if I do arm workouts with heavy weight or moderate weight or even with pull ups as I need to arch a bit to feel my lats. Every workout I’ll have some pain at least 3/10 and some exercises I get anxiety or fear of pain, which limits my ability to do the exercise meaningfully. I still do my rehab exercises even though I feel even with a strong core it won’t make a difference. I tried a brace today but it felt awkward and got a bit of social anxiety of people staring at me for lifting light weight with a brace (I know I shouldn’t care but it did ruin my workout).
I was wondering what others with spondylolisthesis do at the gym for maximizing muscle hypertrophy and growth. What are your modifications and what works for you. Are there certain things you use or certain warm up exercises. How do you deal with the anxiety or fear further injury or pain.