Bulging disc but no back pain
June 4, 2008 9:03 PM Subscribe
I have been recently diagnosed with a bulging disc (not sure if this the same as a herniated disc) in my lower back--L5. It is pressing against nerves that is causing extreme pain in my right hip and leg. I cannot stand, sit and walk without pain so the doc gave me several drugs which has taken a bit of the edge off. I have decided to have surgery in order to get my life back again.
Funny thing is that I have NO BACK PAIN AT ALL.. Does this mean that after surgery I'll be having back pain from now on as a trade off for no more extreme hip and leg pain?
Surgery does not necessarily mean you will have no pain in the future. Back surgery is invasive. There are no guarantees about how your body will react. Especially since spinal tissue does not really heal, not like broken arms, torn tendons, and other body parts do. (Yeah yeah, IANAD.)
I have a ruptured L5 S1/2. They wanted to fuse my spine. I started taking muscle relaxants and stuff. I was bedridden for months. MASSIVE sciatica. I could barely move. Determined to find natural solutions, I changed the way I moved (no crazy forward or side bends), worked to live as drama-free as possible (I hold stress RIGHT on my injury), and I found a pilates place that specialized in physical therapy and was covered by insurance. Regular exercise with a pilates physical therapist made an AMAZING difference. By strengthening my core muscles, I ended up protecting the injury and gaining flexibility and movement. Over time my pain faded and when it would act up, I learned what to do and what not to do.
Every body is different, every injury is different. But I would try other options before surgery if possible. Again, that's just my experience. All I can tell you for certain is that surgery isn't always a cure and you need to trust you own instincts and you own body. Try to find ways to take control of you own healing. Of course doctors are going to recommend surgery... that's their job. But you're the one who has to pay those doctor bills and live with the pain.
posted by miss lynnster at 9:38 PM on June 4, 2008 [1 favorite]
I have a ruptured L5 S1/2. They wanted to fuse my spine. I started taking muscle relaxants and stuff. I was bedridden for months. MASSIVE sciatica. I could barely move. Determined to find natural solutions, I changed the way I moved (no crazy forward or side bends), worked to live as drama-free as possible (I hold stress RIGHT on my injury), and I found a pilates place that specialized in physical therapy and was covered by insurance. Regular exercise with a pilates physical therapist made an AMAZING difference. By strengthening my core muscles, I ended up protecting the injury and gaining flexibility and movement. Over time my pain faded and when it would act up, I learned what to do and what not to do.
Every body is different, every injury is different. But I would try other options before surgery if possible. Again, that's just my experience. All I can tell you for certain is that surgery isn't always a cure and you need to trust you own instincts and you own body. Try to find ways to take control of you own healing. Of course doctors are going to recommend surgery... that's their job. But you're the one who has to pay those doctor bills and live with the pain.
posted by miss lynnster at 9:38 PM on June 4, 2008 [1 favorite]
A friend of mine had something similar and he opted for a new type of treatment that does not involve surgery. It involves stretching the back with some sort of robotics(?) to get rid of the pressure. I'm not sure on the details, but it is M.D. hospital research type stuff. The point of the matter is that his back is now completely fine and the whole process only took a few months. He also could not walk really or move much and the condition ran in his family. i can try to find out details if you like!
posted by figTree at 10:06 PM on June 4, 2008
posted by figTree at 10:06 PM on June 4, 2008
Does this mean that after surgery I'll be having back pain from now on as a trade off for no more extreme hip and leg pain?
Not exactly. It's more like you will definitely have at least temporary and possibly lasting back pain in exchange for no guarantee of relief of your hip or leg pain. Surgery is a bit of a gamble which may well help and does so in many cases, but it should be taken seriously, and maybe deferred at least until more conservative/safer approaches are taken (see gramcracker's post). While I appreciate the fact that you have pain, I get the sense that you see surgery as a panacea which it simply isn't.
posted by drpynchon at 10:09 PM on June 4, 2008
Not exactly. It's more like you will definitely have at least temporary and possibly lasting back pain in exchange for no guarantee of relief of your hip or leg pain. Surgery is a bit of a gamble which may well help and does so in many cases, but it should be taken seriously, and maybe deferred at least until more conservative/safer approaches are taken (see gramcracker's post). While I appreciate the fact that you have pain, I get the sense that you see surgery as a panacea which it simply isn't.
posted by drpynchon at 10:09 PM on June 4, 2008
Been there, done that, have a really wicked scar. (x2)
I have had two surgeries for the bulging/herniated L4-L5 - the first in 2000 was to cut away the bulging part and shave off some bone. There was a ton of back pain for months after that. The surgeon said it would be like being hit with a baseball bat. He was being kind. I was able to return to work after about four months and could deal with the pain until the disk gave out again in 2006. I had a spinal fusion at that point and have gone since then with less and less pain. I haven't taken any pills in several months and stopped taking them regularly within a couple of months of the surgery.
My obligatory blog posts about the fusion (so I don't have to retype everything here):
http://blindingnervepain.blogspot.com/2006/05/what-does-l4-l5-equal-i-get-to-have.html
With proper exercise (trunk stabilization as miss lynnster mentioned) and physical therapy, you may be able to avoid the surgery. Since you mentioned hip pain, there is a chance that your leg and hip muscles are taking over for your failing core muscles. If this is the case and you don't strengthen your core, the surgery won't really help, as those muscles not working is effecting your spine. A physical therapist with his/her little model of the lower back can explain it way better than I can.
If you can, as miss lynnster did, find other ways to deal with this that your insurance covers, please consider exhausting those opportunities.
There is a lot involved when getting surgery, even if the procedure is getting less and less barbaric lately. You have to deal with your job (you may only get a certain amount of leave over the Family Medical Leave Act) and then there is the recovery. Do you have someone to care for you?
If I had it to do all over again, I might reconsider getting cut open, but I also remember lying helpless, unable to move without excruciating pain.
Unfortunately, the internet will not always be your friend when you are researching this. As gramcracker pointed out there are a lot of conflicting studies about what treatment is most effective. I know the pain is unbearable, but try to make your decision as clearly as possible.
As for the drugs, I found tramadol (generic ultram) to be very effective for the sciatica and it doesn't f--k you up too badly. Most folks can actually work on it.
Good luck and if you have any questions you don't want to ask here, mefi mail me.
(on preview: figTree - that procedure is called vax-d.)
posted by sciatica at 10:11 PM on June 4, 2008
I have had two surgeries for the bulging/herniated L4-L5 - the first in 2000 was to cut away the bulging part and shave off some bone. There was a ton of back pain for months after that. The surgeon said it would be like being hit with a baseball bat. He was being kind. I was able to return to work after about four months and could deal with the pain until the disk gave out again in 2006. I had a spinal fusion at that point and have gone since then with less and less pain. I haven't taken any pills in several months and stopped taking them regularly within a couple of months of the surgery.
My obligatory blog posts about the fusion (so I don't have to retype everything here):
http://blindingnervepain.blogspot.com/2006/05/what-does-l4-l5-equal-i-get-to-have.html
With proper exercise (trunk stabilization as miss lynnster mentioned) and physical therapy, you may be able to avoid the surgery. Since you mentioned hip pain, there is a chance that your leg and hip muscles are taking over for your failing core muscles. If this is the case and you don't strengthen your core, the surgery won't really help, as those muscles not working is effecting your spine. A physical therapist with his/her little model of the lower back can explain it way better than I can.
If you can, as miss lynnster did, find other ways to deal with this that your insurance covers, please consider exhausting those opportunities.
There is a lot involved when getting surgery, even if the procedure is getting less and less barbaric lately. You have to deal with your job (you may only get a certain amount of leave over the Family Medical Leave Act) and then there is the recovery. Do you have someone to care for you?
If I had it to do all over again, I might reconsider getting cut open, but I also remember lying helpless, unable to move without excruciating pain.
Unfortunately, the internet will not always be your friend when you are researching this. As gramcracker pointed out there are a lot of conflicting studies about what treatment is most effective. I know the pain is unbearable, but try to make your decision as clearly as possible.
As for the drugs, I found tramadol (generic ultram) to be very effective for the sciatica and it doesn't f--k you up too badly. Most folks can actually work on it.
Good luck and if you have any questions you don't want to ask here, mefi mail me.
(on preview: figTree - that procedure is called vax-d.)
posted by sciatica at 10:11 PM on June 4, 2008
Wish I could remember where I just read that something like 70% of bulging disks self-correct. This may not be true but the chances of interventions leading to more interventions is good.
posted by pointilist at 10:49 PM on June 4, 2008
posted by pointilist at 10:49 PM on June 4, 2008
I had and presumably have the same problem, or as samey as these things ever get, which came to light after I hurt myself at the gym and had an MRI.
That was a year (or two? I can't remember) ago, and after a few months of physio, I've been relatively vigilant about doing exercises to strengthen my core, abdomenal and lower back muscles, and other than the occasional twinge if I sit too long or in a bad position, I've been basically pain free since.
A friend of mine had something similar and he opted for a new type of treatment that does not involve surgery. It involves stretching the back with some sort of robotics(?) to get rid of the pressure
They tried one of those with me -- spinal traction. The machine is massive and computerized and quite imposing when they strap you in, and all of the research I did on it indicated that it does indeed bring results in the majority of cases. For some reason, it didn't, for me. I'm not sure if it was operator error (he didn't speak English, so there were some problems getting things sorted there) or just my weirdo vertebrae (the doctors said, looking at the MRI, that they'd never seen a spinal cord, er, channel or whatever it's called, as big as mine), but it caused me more pain, and so we stopped.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 1:33 AM on June 5, 2008
That was a year (or two? I can't remember) ago, and after a few months of physio, I've been relatively vigilant about doing exercises to strengthen my core, abdomenal and lower back muscles, and other than the occasional twinge if I sit too long or in a bad position, I've been basically pain free since.
A friend of mine had something similar and he opted for a new type of treatment that does not involve surgery. It involves stretching the back with some sort of robotics(?) to get rid of the pressure
They tried one of those with me -- spinal traction. The machine is massive and computerized and quite imposing when they strap you in, and all of the research I did on it indicated that it does indeed bring results in the majority of cases. For some reason, it didn't, for me. I'm not sure if it was operator error (he didn't speak English, so there were some problems getting things sorted there) or just my weirdo vertebrae (the doctors said, looking at the MRI, that they'd never seen a spinal cord, er, channel or whatever it's called, as big as mine), but it caused me more pain, and so we stopped.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 1:33 AM on June 5, 2008
I assume you've tried non-surgical apporaches (physio, injections, etc) without adequate relief. Have you actually -talked- to a surgeon, or are you just making this decision on your own? A good ortho will not cut right away, unless it's obvious that there is no other solution. Have you had a recent MRI of the damaged area? What kind of surgery -- diskectomy or fusion? (If you don't know the difference, go talk to a specialist.) A diskectomy is far less invasive than fusion, and is almost always the first recourse (sometimes it's not possible).
I ruptured two disks (L4-L4, L5-S1) in college. After the initial soft tissue damage healed, I had very little back pain -- occasional spasms, but nothing major -- for close to 15 years. During that period, I had quite a bit of referred pain in my lower legs and hips. I did lots of core strengthening exercises (Pilates, yoga, another 30 minutes daily of stretching and isometrics), and saw a physio to learn how to move and lift so as to cause as little stress on the joints as possible. 15 years after the injury, I aggravated it, and after a period of excruciating pain, completely lost the nerve function in the outside part of one leg, although the pain went away. 12 years later, the nerve damage began to become more severe, and I actually began to lose muscle function.
I went to see a back specialist, who ordered an MRI. The lower disk was completely gone on one side and the vertebrae were beginning to fuse together -- at an angle! Traction was not going to work with that, and would probably make it worse. I had spinal fusion surgery three months later (2.5 years ago). Once the soft tissue healed, I still had very little back pain. I had regained most of the movement I lost (although there's still some nerve damage). I also have a 9" scar down my spine, and still have activity restrictions (no running, no backpacking, careful with the bike, no lifting over 50 pounds, etc). The scar tissue gets inflamed very easily, and I'm often stiff and creaky. I'd do it again, although not much earlier.
Surgery is not a panacea. Surgery of any kind is never 100% safe, and a good doc will avoid it if possible. That said, it will probably help the referred pain. Surgery is disruptive and painful, the recovery period sucks rocks, and there will probably be some permanent effects.
posted by jlkr at 4:18 AM on June 5, 2008
I ruptured two disks (L4-L4, L5-S1) in college. After the initial soft tissue damage healed, I had very little back pain -- occasional spasms, but nothing major -- for close to 15 years. During that period, I had quite a bit of referred pain in my lower legs and hips. I did lots of core strengthening exercises (Pilates, yoga, another 30 minutes daily of stretching and isometrics), and saw a physio to learn how to move and lift so as to cause as little stress on the joints as possible. 15 years after the injury, I aggravated it, and after a period of excruciating pain, completely lost the nerve function in the outside part of one leg, although the pain went away. 12 years later, the nerve damage began to become more severe, and I actually began to lose muscle function.
I went to see a back specialist, who ordered an MRI. The lower disk was completely gone on one side and the vertebrae were beginning to fuse together -- at an angle! Traction was not going to work with that, and would probably make it worse. I had spinal fusion surgery three months later (2.5 years ago). Once the soft tissue healed, I still had very little back pain. I had regained most of the movement I lost (although there's still some nerve damage). I also have a 9" scar down my spine, and still have activity restrictions (no running, no backpacking, careful with the bike, no lifting over 50 pounds, etc). The scar tissue gets inflamed very easily, and I'm often stiff and creaky. I'd do it again, although not much earlier.
Surgery is not a panacea. Surgery of any kind is never 100% safe, and a good doc will avoid it if possible. That said, it will probably help the referred pain. Surgery is disruptive and painful, the recovery period sucks rocks, and there will probably be some permanent effects.
posted by jlkr at 4:18 AM on June 5, 2008
Anecdotes are great but don't know how helpful they are to you. All I can do is add my own: Bulging disk between L4/L5, due to a wedge-shaped L6 (that should actually have been an S1, but decided not to fuse to the other sacral vertebrae - hooray for abnormalities) and a mild curvature. Symptoms got bad around 15 years ago. I did physical therapy, I had nerve tests done, I took massive amounts of ibuprofen, I ended up doing a surgical consult. While sitting in the office I noticed many other back injury patients, all post-surgery, many of whom were complaining that the surgery had made things worse.
As I was about 20 years old, and as I had no indication that the disk was causing nerve damage - pain, but no damage - I bolted. Corrected my posture, learned what I could and could not do with my back, learned how to deal with the occasional flare-ups. Things improved. I started exercising more: Working the back muscles did a lot, but my day-to-day issues really went away when I started working on the abdominal muscles. I actually over-strengthened the back, and running + other work has since helped balance this more. I went about 10 years with manageable pain (mostly sciatica and dull aching in the lower back after exertion), and 5 years with basically no issues - even the sciatica has gone away.
So yeah. If you are experiencing nerve damage you need to see a doc. If your neurology consult does not indicate damage, it becomes a matter of how much you can bear while working to correct the issue. If pain is manageable, you may be better off waiting - but do not wait if there is active damage taking place. You do not want to risk that.
posted by caution live frogs at 6:46 AM on June 5, 2008
As I was about 20 years old, and as I had no indication that the disk was causing nerve damage - pain, but no damage - I bolted. Corrected my posture, learned what I could and could not do with my back, learned how to deal with the occasional flare-ups. Things improved. I started exercising more: Working the back muscles did a lot, but my day-to-day issues really went away when I started working on the abdominal muscles. I actually over-strengthened the back, and running + other work has since helped balance this more. I went about 10 years with manageable pain (mostly sciatica and dull aching in the lower back after exertion), and 5 years with basically no issues - even the sciatica has gone away.
So yeah. If you are experiencing nerve damage you need to see a doc. If your neurology consult does not indicate damage, it becomes a matter of how much you can bear while working to correct the issue. If pain is manageable, you may be better off waiting - but do not wait if there is active damage taking place. You do not want to risk that.
posted by caution live frogs at 6:46 AM on June 5, 2008
@figTree I'm pretty sure your friend did VAX-D... I'm a HUGE fan of it, check out my recent post here.
posted by hummercash at 7:40 AM on June 5, 2008
posted by hummercash at 7:40 AM on June 5, 2008
The best way to do this, if surgery is the choice you want to make, is to find a surgeon who has experience with this exact surgery and has a good track record. That means talking to former patients.
posted by gjc at 7:50 AM on June 5, 2008
posted by gjc at 7:50 AM on June 5, 2008
Response by poster: Yes I have seen an Ortho and a Neurosurgeon. I had a MRI and CT scan. Both docs explained what is wrong and my options, risks, etc. I just need to get back to walking so that I can work (short-term disability will run out) and taking care of family--I'm in my late forties. Have already been bed-ridden for a month. Surgery recovery time has been estimated at 4-6 weeks. It will be a Discectomy.
Everyone talks about exercise and physical therapy. Hey, if I could move without pain, I would have started that WEEKS ago. I miss my normal exercise routine also--mainly walking and step class.
Have also talked with others who deal with this condition--surprised to see that it affects so many folks that I know. Many said that they went with the 3 cortisone shots route which didn't help them and they ended up having surgery any ways.
Thanks for all of your suggestions.
posted by sandra194 at 7:58 AM on June 5, 2008
Everyone talks about exercise and physical therapy. Hey, if I could move without pain, I would have started that WEEKS ago. I miss my normal exercise routine also--mainly walking and step class.
Have also talked with others who deal with this condition--surprised to see that it affects so many folks that I know. Many said that they went with the 3 cortisone shots route which didn't help them and they ended up having surgery any ways.
Thanks for all of your suggestions.
posted by sandra194 at 7:58 AM on June 5, 2008
Maybe try some acupuncture? I have had it done a few times and was pleased with the results. Though I doubt I was suffering at the same level you are.
What about an inversion table? I love those. Hang upside down to relieve pressure on the spine, stretch things out a bit.
I would try as much as I could before succumbing to surgery.
Good luck.
posted by a3matrix at 8:18 AM on June 5, 2008
What about an inversion table? I love those. Hang upside down to relieve pressure on the spine, stretch things out a bit.
I would try as much as I could before succumbing to surgery.
Good luck.
posted by a3matrix at 8:18 AM on June 5, 2008
When I see a patient with a lower lumbar disc, I have a couple of questions.
1: Is there significant motor weakness from nerve compression? Is there muscle atrophy in the distribution of that nerve root? Either of these suggest to me a need for urgent operation.
2: If the complaint is pain, not motor weakness: Is the pain *intractable* and *debilitating*? That means that some medical treatments have to have been tried and failed; and that a person has to be experiencing significant lifestyle alteration from/because of the pain. Bedridden for a month certainly qualifies.
So if either of the above is a "yes," non-conservative options are on the table.
Spine surgery alone is *never* an option.
"Spine surgery plus six weeks of acute rehab plus lifelong efforts at physiotherapy, exercise and stretching to improve core strength in the affected area" is an option, and I wish they would coin a single word to reflect the fact that surgery needs to be done in this context to have any reasonable chance of a successful outcome.
The old study that showed that 79% of people who had a lumbar disc operated on for pain, were still in as bad or worse pain 2 years after the operation, is probably not reflective of current practice today. We're less quick to operate and surgical techniques and hardware have improved. But it is a caution; surgery is no guarantee of success.
Surgery doesn't always cause permanent low back pain in the operative site. There is some transient soreness - you are being operated on there - but it usually goes away within a couple of months.
posted by ikkyu2 at 9:33 AM on June 5, 2008 [1 favorite]
1: Is there significant motor weakness from nerve compression? Is there muscle atrophy in the distribution of that nerve root? Either of these suggest to me a need for urgent operation.
2: If the complaint is pain, not motor weakness: Is the pain *intractable* and *debilitating*? That means that some medical treatments have to have been tried and failed; and that a person has to be experiencing significant lifestyle alteration from/because of the pain. Bedridden for a month certainly qualifies.
So if either of the above is a "yes," non-conservative options are on the table.
Spine surgery alone is *never* an option.
"Spine surgery plus six weeks of acute rehab plus lifelong efforts at physiotherapy, exercise and stretching to improve core strength in the affected area" is an option, and I wish they would coin a single word to reflect the fact that surgery needs to be done in this context to have any reasonable chance of a successful outcome.
The old study that showed that 79% of people who had a lumbar disc operated on for pain, were still in as bad or worse pain 2 years after the operation, is probably not reflective of current practice today. We're less quick to operate and surgical techniques and hardware have improved. But it is a caution; surgery is no guarantee of success.
Surgery doesn't always cause permanent low back pain in the operative site. There is some transient soreness - you are being operated on there - but it usually goes away within a couple of months.
posted by ikkyu2 at 9:33 AM on June 5, 2008 [1 favorite]
I'm in my late twenties and had a bulging disc last year. Minimal back pain, but hip and leg pain from manageable to severe, plus numbness in my foot. I wasn't bedridden, but it meant no more physical labor in my construction job. Setting roof trusses was off the to-do list, and walking wasn't easy.
My doctor recommended the cortisone shot series and surgery only as a last, last resort. Her reason (on preview, what ikkyu2 said) is that surgery has a relatively low success rate plus a potential for worse pain or less mobility. Her largest concern was the numbness and "foot drop", where I would catch my toes while walking because my foot wasn't lifting up correctly because of muscle weakness.
The shots did work over the course of two months. There was still some tenderness and pain, of course, but today I have no long-term effects. My disc will always be at risk, and I try my best to avoid any heavy lifting.
If it helps, my physician was a Doctor of Osteopathy (D.O.), which includes additional study of "hands-on manual medicine and the body's musculoskeletal system." Her specialty was in back pain, and I was very happy with her treatment of my issues.
posted by shinynewnick at 10:25 AM on June 5, 2008
My doctor recommended the cortisone shot series and surgery only as a last, last resort. Her reason (on preview, what ikkyu2 said) is that surgery has a relatively low success rate plus a potential for worse pain or less mobility. Her largest concern was the numbness and "foot drop", where I would catch my toes while walking because my foot wasn't lifting up correctly because of muscle weakness.
The shots did work over the course of two months. There was still some tenderness and pain, of course, but today I have no long-term effects. My disc will always be at risk, and I try my best to avoid any heavy lifting.
If it helps, my physician was a Doctor of Osteopathy (D.O.), which includes additional study of "hands-on manual medicine and the body's musculoskeletal system." Her specialty was in back pain, and I was very happy with her treatment of my issues.
posted by shinynewnick at 10:25 AM on June 5, 2008
Now see, if you'd told us all that in the beginning (that you'd seen specialists, had the MRIs, a diskectomy had been recommmended, etc) you wouldn't have gotten all the exercise/stretch advice. Now, I would hope that you had been doing at least some of that before this incident, because you are going to be doing it afterwards. Back surgery is a life changing event. You *will* be doing exercises every other day (at least) for the rest of your life, or you *will* be back under the knife.
There is always the chance of surgery causing permanent damage. It is far less likely with a diskectomy than with a fusion. Diskectomies are usually done through small incisions (less tissue damage), and require much less healing time than spinal fusion.
Have you tried the injections? They may work for you, even if you don't know anyone they did work for -- my doc had patients who had one injection and didn't get another one for four or five years. It depends upon the patient and the type of nerve compression.
At this point, you really have nothing to lose. Having the diskectomy will remove the immediate cause of the nerve compression. yes, you may have pain in your back for a couple of months while the incision heals, and you will probably always have scar tissue to be pulled on, but it's far better than laying in bed, no?
posted by jlkr at 11:04 AM on June 5, 2008
There is always the chance of surgery causing permanent damage. It is far less likely with a diskectomy than with a fusion. Diskectomies are usually done through small incisions (less tissue damage), and require much less healing time than spinal fusion.
Have you tried the injections? They may work for you, even if you don't know anyone they did work for -- my doc had patients who had one injection and didn't get another one for four or five years. It depends upon the patient and the type of nerve compression.
At this point, you really have nothing to lose. Having the diskectomy will remove the immediate cause of the nerve compression. yes, you may have pain in your back for a couple of months while the incision heals, and you will probably always have scar tissue to be pulled on, but it's far better than laying in bed, no?
posted by jlkr at 11:04 AM on June 5, 2008
Response by poster: jlkr: thanks, yes --a bit of back pain cannot compare to the hip and leg pain I am experiencing now. One reason shots don't appeal to me is that it seems to be a long and drawn out cousre of treatment that may or may not work--so this week I could be fine, next week I have to call into work again, etc. And one doc talked about a 3 shot series that must be taken.
But the doc has said that he can see the disc and bone spirs pushing on the nerves that are cause the acute hip and leg pain. It makes sense to me to remove that problem and the hip and leg pain stops. Then I am happy to RUN to physical therapy, exercise, and do other things to help stregthen and maintain my back after surgery.
posted by sandra194 at 3:49 PM on June 5, 2008
But the doc has said that he can see the disc and bone spirs pushing on the nerves that are cause the acute hip and leg pain. It makes sense to me to remove that problem and the hip and leg pain stops. Then I am happy to RUN to physical therapy, exercise, and do other things to help stregthen and maintain my back after surgery.
posted by sandra194 at 3:49 PM on June 5, 2008
I have a herniated and dessicated L4/L5 and while I had a great deal of pain years ago since I started exercising I haven't had any pain or numbness. Since exercise is too much for you right now, try getting a TENS unit and using that to work the area first.
posted by bunnytricks at 4:18 PM on June 5, 2008
posted by bunnytricks at 4:18 PM on June 5, 2008
Unfortunately the surgery option may also result in a long and drawn out process that may or may not work. The shots are minimally invasive, and according to my doctor, always her first step before moving to something as drastic as surgery (unless the disc has ruptured, then it is already go time). Best of luck with any of your options, hope you have a speedy recovery.
posted by shinynewnick at 11:19 AM on June 6, 2008
posted by shinynewnick at 11:19 AM on June 6, 2008
This thread is closed to new comments.
Just of note, there's a good amount of controversy whether surgery is really better than observation and non-surgical therapies for herniated discs in the long-term. If you believe that either a) surgery will definitely fix your problem or that b) non-surgical management will definitely not fix your problem, you've got some more reading to do / you've got some more questions to ask your surgeon. Just hoping you don't have false expectations.
The SPORT trial is the big one I'm aware of that has caused a lot of controversy (because in some ways the results are hard to interpret).
posted by gramcracker at 9:30 PM on June 4, 2008