Hello guys,I have been lifting for a few years and always had back stiff issue since I started using weight and have been sort of dealing with pain since two years ago but I tried to work through it.Two months ago I have had enough,and my parent help me pay for a visit to a orthopaedic and the doctor help me do a MRI and said my pain was due to lifting weight and He told me to not do any weight lifting and just swim.So I Went back home and started swimming for 2 weeks,but it’s very inconvenient and so I started doing bodyweight exercise and for 2 month everything is good and normal.

Four days ago out of boredom I started to use my home gym again,but was avoiding exercise that I am sure will compress my spine or cause my herniated disc to worsen.I avoided overhead movement and also bent over(I did do staggered row though),today back is a little bit uncomfortable,I thought if two more days I still feel not comfortable I will just return to bodyweight since my body cannot take the intensity of weight lifting…I really hope it can though

This is a common misconception. Whatever you see on the MRI may not reflect the actual situation. When you scan the spine of an adult, you will most likely see some form of degeneration, it's part of natural ageing, and that's not a valid reason to quit lifting. When you see wrinkles on an elderly skin, is that something you want to waste your time fixing?

Having signs on MRI does not mean having symptoms (pain, numbness etc.). And most of the time they are poorly correlated with one another. Your pain is likely due to the "stiff back issue" that you mentioned. If you're lifting with correct forms, there's really no reason to avoid continuing (or maybe you already did, since the post has been a year).

Feel free to contact me or my colleague if you'd want some insights/advices on fixing your pain and avoiding unnecessary surgery. You can even visit our rehab centre if you're near KL/PJ.