I know of two cases where disc completely ruptured or prolasped that didn't require surgery.

One came back a month after injury( although stupidlly, still doing the same shit) and the other just kept injurying it where he had cauda equina symptoms( bowel and bladder defiency). Took him a year to recover non surgically.

I also have heard that the disc material does resorb over time. Given the amount of disc material that's extruded. I don't know how I am managing this everyday at a pain level of 1.5. 3 or 4 on a scale of 10 for pain on bad days.

The damage has been done. No way around this, no amount of physical therapy, no amount of injections, no amount of adjustments is going to fix this soft tissue injury. Except surgery.




But traditionally surgery is left for those in incapcitating pain. Pain that prevents you to do normal day to day things. Not pain that is just a nuisance.

For whatever reason, perhaps given my age, level of conditioning, pure LUCK, I have not had that kind of pain. Except my main concern, the reason why I am pursuing surgery is if I wait too long, if that disc material continues to press on that nerve, it will just die.

Ugh. Not sure what to do yet, I am talking to 2 neurosurgeons in the coming month. Given the clinical findings, the obvious is surgery. But given my current symptoms, does not correlate w clinical findings. That's my dilemna.

[Edited on February 26, 2012 at 5:39 PM. Reason : .]

[Edited on February 26, 2012 at 5:50 PM. Reason : .]

2/26/2012 5:39:04 PM

good luck

2/26/2012 6:36:28 PM

My brother had severe back issues...he had surgery, and now it's even worse. He pretty much can't sit, and can't stand for long periods.

2/26/2012 10:56:49 PM

So I guess that's a herniated disc?

If I were you, I might shop around to orthopedists and see what they say. I would be very hesitant about either the options of not doing surgery or doing surgery.

2/27/2012 12:17:50 AM

how does this happen?

i want to avoid this at all costs

2/27/2012 8:01:47 AM

Lifting. Trauma. But more commonly lifting.

Get the surgery. It's not a fusion, so there's a good chance of it working very well, and you'll still retain your ability to move. If you wait too long, and you start to get weakness in your surrounding discs, you'll have to have a fusion, and that sucks.

[Edited on February 27, 2012 at 8:09 AM. Reason : ]

2/27/2012 8:07:21 AM

Studies show that 90% of Americans have herniated discs and they just don't know it. A small bulge can usually fix itself in 4 to 6 weeks. If you have a laborous job that require picking up heavy things you are definitely more susceptible. Sometimes you can have it by just picking up something from the floor. Most people aren't conscientious about how they bend. Flexions or forward bends are bad.

Mine was from lifting(gym kind). I didn't have back pain, I just had a sore butt and hamstring. One day I was sitting in my car, and I sneezed awkwardly and that was when I felt a radiating pain down my leg to my calf. The disc ruptured while sitting, with all that pressure I knew what I had done. I had a herniated disc before and I recovered fine.


The surgery is 30 minutes or up to an hour on average. They will make a 1 to 2 inch incision and no muscles are cut underneath but they are lifted and moved to the side to get to the ruptured disc.

If your surgery goes well, you are up and walking in 3 to 4 days. And only 6 weeks until you can start running or doing moderate excercises.

2/27/2012 11:02:24 PM

Well...you know my experience and thoughts.

I thought my disc was bad.



No numbness, acraw? That's what did me in finally after enduring the pain (and sometimes not enduring it).

I wish you well, whatever you decide.

OBTW, spinal surgeons make $20,000 a pop for those surgeries.

Had I paid for my procedure (lumbar discectomy and fusion with cage) without Tricare, I would have paid IN EXCESS of $200,000. (I have the bill.)

2/27/2012 11:24:58 PM

I knooooowwww. How the fuck did you end up with a fusion considering your MRI looks more tame than mine. WTF.

In the first month and half( and we are talking back in late November), I did have minor numbness on the outerside of my left foot, and I still have residual numbness on my outer left thigh, but not my toes anymore. That was what's concerning to the first Orthopedic surgeon.

That's also what's prompted me to get different opinions from neurosurgeons as well. The more I think about, the more I think this is the best way to go if I ever want to get back to normal actvities.

I just don't want to freak myself out by reading all these surgical horror stories. I know it happens, but I just have to trust my doctor on this and hope for the best. The procedure is minimially invasive.

How is the recovery going for you?

[Edited on February 27, 2012 at 11:37 PM. Reason : .]

2/27/2012 11:34:10 PM

Quote :

"How the fuck did you end up with a fusion considering your MRI looks more tame than mine."

Quote :

"spinal surgeons make $20,000 a pop for those surgeries."

Nah.

I've had problems for 14 years now. It got REAL bad (like, almost passing out bad) in July. I had some MRIs done (because I demanded them). I had honestly tried every non-surgical method to fix it. PT, chiro, heat, cold, traction, inversion, epidurals. That was before the numbness. The epic worked for about two days. I had three over four months.

Then I had the numbness. Another set of MRIs in October and the bulge got worse.



So I went to a surgeon who does these surgeries very often.

After the surgery, while I was recovering, he told my wife he was astounded that I:
1) wasn't in more pain and,
2) didn't have numbness/pain in my left leg.

Recovery is going well. Got an appt mid-March for XRAYs at my half-way point. Three more months after that and I'll be good to go. Then the Navy has to clear me for service, then the Undersea Medical community has to clear me for submarines.

2/28/2012 12:32:53 AM

I've had the microdiscectomy in L4/L5 in 2010 (which didn't work), then I followed it up with an AILF (Anterior Interbody Lumbar Fusion), a fusion where they go through the stomach instead of the back in L4/L5 exactly a year later in 2011.

That was July 1st, 2011. I'm already playing basketball, riding my bike, holding my kids, doing yoga, walking, etc.

It's been a tough recovery, but I'm kicking the shit out of my back issues one day at a time.

2/28/2012 2:15:42 PM

I had/have a bulging/herniated disc (I believe it was L4/L5) and was in some serious pain for 6-9 months, I went through physical therapy, etc. I was to the point where they were going to give me a few cortisone injections, and if that didnt work I was going to be looking at surgery.

Soooo, I stopped trying to doing a whole lot of strenuous activities that would put strain on my lower back and gradually the pain has gone away. I'm pretty much pain-free now and can do almost the same stuff that I could before my injury.

2/28/2012 2:34:38 PM

had the same exact MRI pics. had the surgery when i was 19. was out for 3 weeks. not 12 years later...im doing everything....jumping, running, pick up bball. pretty much year after i had it i was good to go.

good luck!

2/28/2012 10:46:01 PM

I am posting several links for your education. I think alot of people mistaken back pain as a muscular injury, but when people say, "I tweaked my back", or "I have back pain" it is almost always disc related. The back muscle spasm or tightness of the back is actually a protective mechanism your body employs when it is trying protect it from further injury.

Here is a primer. This guy is awesome. He may be chiro-biased on some of his resources. But maybe not, he went through a microdiscectomy himself.

http://www.chirogeek.com/index.htm

And part of this thread is also to share with those who have chronic back pain but is scared of surgery. You should be, although a discectomy is quite minimally invasive these days, surgery is surgery and anything can go wrong. The odds of that is minimal if you go to a surgeon with good hands. That's why you should always "shop" around. The surgical techniques just get better and better because they know people want to recover quickly to get back to their activities.

The following link is on surgical and non-surgical options for people with disc related issues.

A fourth down from the top of the page, they discuss what I am most likely will got through. Either a conventional microdiscectomy or an microendoscopic discectomy. If I am a candidate for surgery, I will most likely ask for the microendoscopic discectomy.

http://www.neurosurgerydallas.com/2_2_3_4.php

My injury is right in the spinal canal that the endoscope would have easy access to the disc material. At least that is my guess and that is what it looks like in the MRI.

2/29/2012 12:00:06 AM

I have a ruptured disc right now in my back. Did it working out last fall. I can manage the pain by taking Naproxen or Ibuprofen. I see a neurologist in March, but I absolutely do not want to have surgery unless it has an extremely high success rate. My worry is also that it'll kill the nerve if I don't do something about it.

Sucks, I used to work out a lot and now I've basically stopped in fear that I am going to make it worse. I feel like shit.

2/29/2012 6:27:42 PM

Microdiscectomy has >90% success rate. I've thought about this a lot, if I were a couch potato, I would forgo surgery and be OK with living comfortable at this pain level. But it's not OK for me, I'm pretty active.

Right now I still of neural tension from that compression that will not allow me to run properly. Delayed reflex once I push off the ground. Also, numbness on the outerside of my thigh is more concerning. Altough mild, it could be permanent if I don't fix this.

If you have been with a ruptured disc for over a year and if your MRI looks anything like mine- one that large is already in the spinal canal, you are more than likely will have surgery. Just my guess. Who knows, my neurosurgeon my have some other conservative options.

That's the point of the meeting. Although it's their job, they want to exhaust all conservative options before surgery. If you're in constant pain, at a 7 or above, that's another story. I wouldn't even think twice about surgery. Would hate to keep taking pills the rest of my life.

Shop around for surgeons. Talk to people who have had the surgery and who they may recommend.02

2/29/2012 11:32:14 PM

^^

You are doing a good thing by seeing a neurologist.

If that disc materials to press up against that nerve, yes it will die. It will scar. Who knows what can happen to your spinal canal.

I don't have much of a choice really. My disc material is IN the spinal canal.

No more than 6 month should you wait if your pain is not getting any better.

That's the time frame where the surgery will help. Any longer than that, you waste money and likelihood of perm. nerve damage.

3/1/2012 3:48:40 PM

I am having surgery after all next week. EEEEEK!

4/4/2012 2:05:13 PM