Fix my back in Austin
September 29, 2014 5:41 AM Subscribe
I was diagnosed with bulging L4/L5 discs with spondylolysis and stenosis. Doctor convinced me to get epidural / facet injections. After the shots, I started getting very bad sciatica ( I think its sciatica ). I could hardly stand in the shower. Before the shots I was running half marathons. Now I can't run at all. I can't lift heavy things. Only walking makes it feel better. Its been six months with no improvement. The quality of my life is way worse than it was before. What happened post injection? Can anyone recommend a good back doctor / orthopedist in Austin?
What happened post injection?
I think a lot of back pain is functional, in the sense that it functions to prevent you from doing things that will damage nerves in the spine or connecting to it, and when the injection took away the pain, it took away that protection as well.
posted by jamjam at 11:20 AM on September 29, 2014
I think a lot of back pain is functional, in the sense that it functions to prevent you from doing things that will damage nerves in the spine or connecting to it, and when the injection took away the pain, it took away that protection as well.
posted by jamjam at 11:20 AM on September 29, 2014
Have you had an MRI scan? That would show how badly the bulging disc is pressing on your nerves.
posted by KateViolet at 1:58 PM on September 29, 2014
posted by KateViolet at 1:58 PM on September 29, 2014
My wife went through some excruciating back problems that involved stenosis. She tried everything including two epidurals, which had no effect. She wound up seeing a couple of guys that did her some good: a physical therapist named Strickland, and a chiropractor named John Bandy (this is in Austin).
She also wound up changing her diet—it's not clear whether that helped with her back, but it helped with other things, so she stuck with it.
posted by adamrice at 3:45 PM on September 29, 2014
She also wound up changing her diet—it's not clear whether that helped with her back, but it helped with other things, so she stuck with it.
posted by adamrice at 3:45 PM on September 29, 2014
I came across the Egoscue Method of physical therapy after 15 years of chronic back pain (which would periodically rise to the cane + back brace + opiate painkillers level) and give it 100% credit for why I haven't had an episode since I began doing the exercises. I've posted about it here before. I started out doing the exercises in Pete Egoscue's book Pain Free, then (when it became obvious that the exercises were working and my pain was decreasing) visited the San Francisco clinic for personalized treatment.
They have a clinic in Austin if you're interested in an in-person visit.
posted by Lexica at 4:32 PM on September 29, 2014
They have a clinic in Austin if you're interested in an in-person visit.
posted by Lexica at 4:32 PM on September 29, 2014
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posted by ATX Peanut at 7:52 AM on September 29, 2014