bulging disc l4 l5 treatment?
i have hip pain shooting down my leg, what should i do?
mri results: impression: L4 L5 degenerative disc disease with disc bulge and right lateral neural foraminal protrusion with mild thecal sac and moderate to severe medial right-sided neural foramina narrowing and moderate medial left-sided neural foramina narrowing in combination with posterior element hypertrophy.
will this go away soon?
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Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but as a general rule discs don’t repair themselves.Not only that , the longer the injury goes untreated, the lower the success rate when treatment does occur.
March 13th, 2010 at 11:53 pmTo make matters worse, the "pain shooting down my leg" is indicative of sciatica, a condition where the sciatic nerve is pinched or damaged. This is often a permanent condition, that at best would improve mildly if surgery to free it was undertaken.
I personally have been plagued by back problems since the age of 15. I had my first back surgery at the age of 15 for a herniated disc. Since then I’ve damaged my L4 L5 like you, but can’t have surgery because of other medical problems.
In terms of treatment I think I’ve tried pretty much everything, with no success. Physiotherapy can provide temporary relief. Facetary blocks (injection of medication directly into the spine) did absolutely nothing for me.
If this injury is fresh, I’d advise you to go see a nerosurgeon. You may be a candidate for surgery and that, in my opinion, would offer you the best chance at regaining an almost "normal" back.
The pain isn’t going to go away by itself, and if you don’t do something about it it is very possible for it to get worse.
The pain shooting down your leg is the compression of the Sciatic Nerve by the bulging disc. Fortunately for you there is a conservative treatment option that your insurance will most likely cover. It’s called Physical Therapy. Physical therapy involves the strengthening of your core muscles as well as education on proper posture. You’ll likely be taught exercises and strength training techniques that help put the disc "back into position" and help keep it there. You might also experience some massage or other manual therapy techniques as well as some modalities like hot packs, electric stimulation, or even ultrasound.
And the best part, physical therapy works. If I had to guess I would say that almost 50% of patients that walk into an orthopedic physical therapy office are sufferers of back pain. I highly suggest finding a local orthopedic physical therapist and making an appointment.
March 13th, 2010 at 11:53 pmI had exactly what you had. I am a nurse, but not a doctor. All I can do is tell you what I went through. I went through physical therapy,and medication for 2 yrs to ease the severe pain going down my legs. My area of involvement was L1 – S2. I understand the numbing, burning, tingling, vibrating, cold and swollen sensations. There were so many sensations going on I could not figure out how to escape them. All of a sudden, one morning when I went to stand up from a laying position I fell to the floor. The bulging discs ruptured. I was in such severe pain, and lost bladder control, that I had to go to the ER. I ended up having emergency surgery. The bulging areas were now being compressed, and the annular tear, tore more.
March 13th, 2010 at 11:53 pmThis is something that will not go away on it’s own. Degenerative is degenerative. That is a process that will keeps on happening. You can "manage" your condition with physical therapy, medications, and rest. Also, proper physical exercise. But, all it takes is one wrong move, maybe a sneeze, bending over, or just plain it’s time for it to go. Then you will be in serious world of hurt. Trying not to scare you, but, I ended up with 4 surgeries, two were emergencies. I had rods and screws put in place on two separate surgeries. They put in cadaver bone that my body rejected. It ended up being 18 months of shere hell. I could have avoided all of this if I had gone to a spine surgeon when it was’nt so severe. I let it go by taking the advice of my family doctor, who was conservative in her treatment plan with me. I let her conservitisim control my care. So please, on your own accord, find a spine specialist and ask what you can do now to prevent a crisis? Have things lined up and researched before this situation becomes an emergency. In an emgerency, people take over and things get done to try to prevent further damage, but it may not be the road you want to go down. With me, in the emergency, I didn’t have choices, decisions were made for me. They all did the best for me at the time, but in time, it made things worse. I went through 7 years of recovery, ended up with Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy/Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome. I had it once before the spine surgeries, and was in remission for 10 years. Letting my chronic spine issues go and not taking care of them sooner, I relapsed. Trust me, you do not want to suffer this. I wish I would have investigated my condition early on and asked the right questions, such as, what are my chances for this progressing? What are my treatment options now? What therapy or medications can I take to ease the pain, but still keep me active?
You have enough going on now to warrent these questions to a surgeon. Don’t let this go on without knowing your risks. From one back patient to another. From a nurse to a back patient. Seek out your resources now.