The Best Exercise to Rebuild Your Back After a Herniated Disc (Even After Surgery)
Back In Shape PodcastShow Notes
If you want to rebuild your back after a herniated disc — even after a microdiscectomy — the single best exercise is one you already do dozens of times a day: the squat.
If you've got a herniated disc, a disc bulge or degenerative disc at L4/L5 or L5/S1, or you've had back surgery and you're wondering what to actually do, this session makes the case for the squat (paired with the hip hinge) as the exercise to build everything around. It sounds almost too simple — but a squat is just getting out of a chair, and you do it whether your back is injured or not. The only question is whether you do it with skill and intention, or keep winging it and flaring yourself up.
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We explain why surgery is a cleanup operation, not a repair — a microdiscectomy removes the herniated material but doesn't heal the strained annulus fibrosus, so the rehab still has to happen. We cover why your spine is loaded all day whatever you do (standing puts 100% of that load through the disc, sitting pushes it to 140–190%, and getting out of a chair with a rounded back spikes it around 2.2 times), why the squat is free, scalable and something you can't avoid anyway, and why building the technique first is what makes everything after it safe. Along the way: why "just don't squat" is advice you'll break getting out of the chair, why the Smith machine and leg press miss the point, why recording your own form is non-negotiable, and why your circumstances and mindset matter as much as the disc itself.
🔑 Key Topics Covered 🏋️ Why the squat is the best exercise: you do a squat every time you get off a chair, a bed or the toilet — so the question isn't whether to squat, it's whether you do it well. Learn it with care and you protect your back dozens of times a day; wing it and you keep flaring up. 🔧 Surgery is a cleanup, not a repair: a microdiscectomy removes the herniated material but doesn't heal the injury or rebuild the annulus fibrosus. That's why the rehab still has to happen afterwards — the same rules apply whether or not you've had an operation. 📊 Your spine is loaded all day: standing puts 100% of the load through the disc, sitting takes it to 140–190%, and rising from a chair with a rounded back spikes it around 2.2 times. Your injured back is being tested constantly — which is exactly why the squat is worth getting right. 📹 Technique first — and prove it: record yourself. What you think you're doing, what you're actually doing, and what you should be doing are often three different movements. Aggravation-free with correct form is the standard, and the camera is how you hold yourself to it.
Chapters 00:00 The best exercise to rebuild your back after a herniated disc 01:15 It's the squat — and here's why 02:18 What you've actually injured (and what surgery does and doesn't fix) 06:15 Why your spine is loaded all day, whatever you do 09:57 Punt the fridge: why you keep flaring up 10:36 "Don't squat" is advice you'll break leaving the room 11:24 Why the squat is so accessible and scalable 15:27 Bodyweight isn't enough: you have to challenge the tissue 16:54 Using the squat to safely find your limit 19:48 Why the Smith machine is a bad idea 22:33 Scared your form is wrong? How to validate it 25:54 What "aggravation-free" really means 29:12 Should you get a microdiscectomy? And second opinions 33:36 If a doctor says "don't squat" 37:09 Elevated heels, leg press and the ego trap 44:45 Why you don't stretch before you strengthen 48:09 Mindset and circumstances matter as much as the disc 57:33 Getting back to sport and hobbies without overdoing it 59:54 What to do in a flare-up 1:03:06 Stop obsessing over symptoms — get granular about rehab
#HerniatedDisc #Squat #BackInShape #Sciatica #SlippedDisc #Microdiscectomy #BackPainRelief #SpinalRehab
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