Slipped disk

[joiner1970]

I've always on and off suffered with a bad back but thought I had it under control with exercise etc until recently. Ive been unable to work for over 8 weeks now with a slipped disk in my lower back causing numbness and pain in my right leg.

When it first happened the pain was so bad I got my wife to call me an ambulance and I was taken to a&e. I came out the next day as high as a kite. Then I had to pester the local doc to get a physio which I got a few days later luckily. After a few weeks seeing the physio once every two weeks she refered me to a consultant at hospital for an MRI .

I've just had the MRI this weekend and I will have to go back to the consultant soon. When I saw him Friday he said I would need a microdisectemy to basically trim the bulge . I could however just leave it longer and it might heal itself. In his own words he said he wouldn't have the op but at the same time its quicker to get back to normal.

I'm not really in agonizing pain like I was but if I stand for too long my leg goes hot and cold it also goes numb and I get calf cramps. General advice is to exercise but if I do symptoms get worse. I've been using McKenzie method basically bending the spine backwards , this was good for awhile but now seems to be making me worse.

Has anyone here had this op or suffered from sciatica I'm looking for a bit of advice please.

PS I'm only 41

Chris

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[Deansocial]

Have you been and seen a ostiopath? My mum suffers slipped disks all the time, docs did sod all, here have some more pain killers n such. Ostiopath got the disks back in place and releaved the pain straight away. Might be worth a try.

 

[greg mann]

Three months ago I was in the same boat. A very good chiropractor fixed me up and I am without pain today. Before this episode I would not have believed it possible but I felt "what could he possibly do badly that would not be obliterated by surgery anyway?" and I knew no one who had had a good surgical experience so I gave him a try. So glad I did.

You have my sympathy, but if possible try to avoid surgery. I understand your pain.

 

[joiner1970]

I tried chiro before when my back went about 3 years ago, it was ok but I don't think it worked that well for me.

I'm gonna try a few more stretching exercises that I've been recommended on another forum from another sufferer.

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[Deansocial]

Maybe try a different 1 as some are not all that great

 

[Guy Ashley]

Chris

My sympathy and I can empathise with you, (had the same trip to A & E in an ambulance off my face on morphine due to a trapped nerve)

I have suffered with a crushed disc since 1993 and for years the doctors used to say take these tablets and go and lie down for a week!

Eventually a sports physiotherapist at Northampton Saints RFC diagnosed within about 3 seconds what thye real issue was. I went to see an osteopath and eureka the difference was amazing.

They are back specialists and you can go in hobbling like Quazimodo and after 30 minutes of manipulation you leave feeling you could run a marathon.

I go every three months now and I can say without doubt that if I hadnt gone to an osteopath I would not be working now.

I guarantee you will feel the benefits.

 

[Wooden Lungs]

I went to a Chiropractor for a while a few years ago and it didnt help all that much with my back pain and sciatica.

What did make a tremendous difference was giving up smoking.
I know that sounds crazy but I gave up about 3 years ago and have had no sciatica or back problems since.

Yes I've had aches and minor strains from a hard day but nowhere near as bad as when I smoked. ( Heavy smoker [sad] )

So I can only assume smoking tenses your body up and with all the physical work too it gives you issues.

I hope you don't smoke.. and I hope your back gets better and you can make the right decision about the op route and get back in the saddle.

I know how disheartening it is to have trouble with your back and did consider changing career before.

 

[Alan m]

sorry to hear about your back chris.
i know all the experts say it makes it worse in the long run but a bone setter can work wonders

 

[cliffp]

Ive had a bad back for 28 years (herniated disc like you). 7 years ago it was so bad I was off work for over 3 months. At its worst I couldnt walk or stand for more than 10 mins. I also had numbness and a dull ache in my right leg.  I saw a physio every week for the whole 3 months. He just gave me exercises to do and gave moral support. It did eventually get better in that I could walk for 10 miles or more, stand pretty much all day and even do heavy jobs. I have to be much more careful with my back now - even if I lean forward to pack a bag I can get a nasty jolt of pain that leaves me in pain for days. I keep my back strong by going to exercise classes 4 or 5 days a week. I do things like pilates, yoga, circuit training, core conditioning, abs, legs, bums, tums classes. I have found that things like sit-ups, plank, bridge pose etc etc - everything that strengthens the core keeps me healthy. I wouldn't rush to have an op as it is irreversible and I was told that some surgeons are too keen to operate. I was referred to a rheumatologist who I was advised would be likely (by virtue of his specialism) to be more conservative (he was). Of course your mri may indicate worse or different problems. You could always try and get a second opinion. It is very depressing to be wiped out for so many weeks as I know. I would never have believed how much better I would get. Hopefully you will too and I think you are correct to think carefully about what to do. By the way, I recommend a product called the 'backfriend'

http://www.medesign.co.uk/shop/backfriend.php?gclid=CIeN-5D5g7MCFUfLtAodOW0ArQ

These are excellent for turning a bad seat into a good one and are a lifesaver when you go out to pubs and restaurants.

Cliff

 

[joiner1970]

That looks good cliff, funny enough the night I was rushed into hospital I had been at a restaurant in the day for a meal we had won as a raffle prize. I reckon sitting down all that time did the most harm.

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[nehardwoodfloors]

Joiner, I have had that very surgery. I didn't want to waste time trying to fix the bulge, as I knew and my doc knew, that it probably would never heal.
I was stuck bent down. I couldn't stand up straight or I would scream in pain. I had the steroid shots etc.
I asked my surgeon what would be the odds of it healing will physical therapy. He said 10 percent chance of it getting better, so off it came.
Here it is. The surgeon said it was the largest he had seen that year!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7578/sets/72157603252620069/
If you look at the second or third image, you see another bulge about 3-4 vertebrae up. The dr said that is a normal sized herniation!

Surgery was easy, and I was back to work in 3 weeks.

Good luck and let me know if you have any questions.

 

[joiner1970]

Eco

That looks similar to mine but mines not quite as bulgy outy as that, what shows though is the vertebrae either side of the disc is a lighter white colour compared to all the others god knows what this is. I will find out when I see my consultant.

 

[Nigel]

Well I had sciatica for 2 years. Is that the same thing? Fortunately I was OK as long as I kept moving but come the end of the day and the drive home I was in agony.I Tried all sorts and eventually found a highly recommended osteopath. Recommended because he work with the French football team so I thought if he's good enough for Zidane....Anyway first try didn't work as I was too tense and  he says 'You've got to trust me.Come back next week for another go' So I did and second time it worked. When I say worked I mean I could hear and feel my spine cracking all the way up finishing at the neck. It wasn't instant but a couple weeks later I was right as rain.
Now if I a lifting any really heavy objects I use one of them back belts.

Good luck.

 

[cliffp]

Nigel, sciatica is the same thing we have been talking about. It is pressure on a nerve, often by the bulging disc. It affects different parts of the leg depending on which vertebrae has the problem. I think if L5 is affected, it causes symptoms in the front of the thigh, if it is L4 it is the back of the thigh.

My first slipped disc was caused by lugging heavy equipment on oil rigs, the 2nd was unpacking and setting up a huge CRT TV in 1990. The most recent bad episode was triggered by getting a knee injury that made it difficult to get exercise so my back weakened. I then spent a couple of hours in a lecture theatre allowing my lower back to slump in an unsupported position. Afterwards I was having a buffet lunch standing and I felt something 'go' in my back. I was out of the habit of sitting properly ie always with lumbar support and over next week or two, I kept making it worse and it got to the point where I couldn't lean forwards without loads of pain. The final straw was trying to give a lecture - I couldn't sit because my back was in a spasm and couldn't be bent. I tried to give the lecture standing but my core muscles were so shot that after about half an hour I could feel them 'burning' as muscles do when you reach the limit of what you can do with them. They basically damaged themselves to the extent I was off work for 3 months.

I think your situation is quite different to mine. I have two completely flat discs and the collapsing of these have caused the vertebrae to grind together and damage themselves. I can only function by keeping these muscles very strong. In your case you have this acute situation of a bulging disc that might go back into place (I am supposing this - I am no expert). One thing I would say is that it took me 15 years (between 1990 and when my back was very bad 7 years ago) to properly understand that I needed to adapt my lifestyle to cope with my back.

 

[Nigel]

Cliffp,

Yes definitely the same - I had terrible pain from my back and down the right leg to the heel like there was a taught wire inside. I also felt it go when it happened but ironically I wasn't lifting anything heavy just reaching to put a log on the fire. It never stopped me working because it was agony doing anything else! Just had to keep moving. That was seven years ago and since then apart from a few twinges all OK.

Sounds like you have a very severe problem which must be difficult to live with. I work with someone who has regular steroid injections for sciatica [eek]

 

[cliffp]

I don't have sciatica anymore but I do get Paresthesia, which is numbness. It isn't all that difficult to live with because I do the exercises I need to keep it from hurting. When I was bad with it 7 years ago it was the severe muscle damage that was the problem.

 

[promhandicam]

Sorry to hear about your problems Chris. My wife had very bad back problems before we got married and we were told at one point she wouldn't be able to have kids because her back was so weak. She was recommended a book - Be your own back Doctor by Dr Hamilton Hall which had some good tips. She also got quite a lot of relief from an osteopath, but in the end had a laminectomy and lumbar discectomy which cured it  - we now have two kids 15 and 14 and she hasn't had any serious problems since the op despite not going swimming once or twice a week which she was recommended to do after the surgery. So from my (indirect) experience I'd recommend seeing an osteopath in the first instance but if that doesn't work out then don't be afraid of the surgery - it can be very successful.

 

[joiner1970]

Steve yeah the surgery is pretty safe the guy is a top nerve / brain surgeon, I just find it odd him saying he wouldnt have it done. I will know better when I see him Friday .

 

[Tinker]

Cris,
I don't have time for a decent reply right now.  (The BOSS is returnig from a 10 day trip to Germany at any moment.
I have had back problems for longer than you have been around.  I advise for the moment:

BE VERY CAREFUL about taking advise from internet about any exercises.  It depends on exactly what is wrong and where about what exercise can be helpful >>> OR  >>> what can cause serious harm.

Tinker

 

[Alan m]

good advice there tinker. i always aply the same idea to everything i read on the intenet. some out there are just chancing their arm or are deliberatly talking rubish  about every subject.

as a side note , any nice NAINA goodies coming your way