Bulging disc

> My Wife had an MRI which revealed a bulging disc at L5 S1. I am trying to help her decide on a course of action. Neither of us has ever heard of anyone having acceptable long term results from back surgery. That first operation always seems to be just that...the first.
If you haven't already fully explored the Chiropractor route I'd sure do that before allowing any surgery to happen.

Yes, I should have mentioned that she is seeing my Chiropractor. He is a genius and healed, not accommodated, my back issues.

Since you asked, I as usual will tell it to you straight. With a bulging disk or anything else serious in your back the absolute last thing you need is a chiropractor messing around.

I had a fractured disk in 1994, and I knew immediately when it went bad because I felt the pop. There were two kinds of pain from the disk pressing on the sciatic nerve: One was a constant dull ache that was just enough to make life miserable and difficult to concentrate on anything. The other was a sudden massive pain that can only be described as the worst toothache imaginable, except it seemed to be in my leg. All I could do was a silent scream until it subsided in a few minutes.

It took months to arrange the surgery, but I knew the instant I came out of anesthesia I was cured because the pain was gone. It has never recurred.

I've had back problems all my life. Mostly wear and tear, old injuries, some just genetic. Chiropractors have brought me some relief, but not all are the same. I've had the most success with the minimalist who don't go overboard. I picked up an inversion table about a year ago and I must say that it helps me after a long day on my feet, to just hang upside down and take some of the pressure off my disks. Part of my daily routine now. Another really good relief is using a hard foam cylinder, 6" or so in dia. and rolling on my back across it. Bulging disk on it's own will heal by itself. If it's pinching a nerve, see a doctor. Only as a very, very, very last resort, even contemplate surgery. Not for a bulging disk. Blown disk and fusing vertebrae maybe, bulge, no way. Rest and let it heal on it's own.

My wife shattered T-11 in a sledding accident in 1998. She had surgery the next day. They cut a piece of bone off of her hip and fused it in place of the shattered disk. Then used rods and clamps to hold it all together..then she worn a brace for several months during recovery.

Her hip has hurt the most for quite a few years now, she also has bad back pain. She tried to go back to work for about a year but was in agony after an 8 hour shift (Waitresscook). She would come home walking like an L. I keep suggesting to get the rods and clamps taken out but she doesn't want anyone touching anything, ever.

Also had two brother-in-laws that had similar Surgeries and they both cant work and are on meds all day long.

Only ones I ever see with any success are sports stars with million dollar doctors. Get what you pay for I guess.

If you are going to spend money, at least spend it one real medical doctor.

> If you are going to spend money, at least spend it one real medical doctor.

As a lifelong no back problems (except skiing and dirt bike trauma) guy I developed a severe mid back pain problem last year. Toughed it out, then finally went to my primary care provider. X-rays revealed developing rheumatoid spine degeneration, misaligned vertebrae some bulging discs, but mostly a lot of weight gain and too many hours sitting in a crappy office chair. He poo-poohed chiropractic and sent me to a Doctor of Osteopathy who spent two hours with me showing me how to use the foam roller, floor exercises, and a short term steroid injection so I could start the exercises immediately. He also laughed about the primary doctor's diagnosis, said most people my age show some rheumatoid degeneration and small misalignments, no big deal. Most of his time was spent trying to convince me to walk more, swim more, stand up straight, sleep on a hard bed, and don't slump in chairs.

I was cured and am an IronMan today. The key is to have a real medical doctor diagnose, then accurately refer you to the back experts, not the surgeons.

Coworkers of mine are on their 5th back surgery, with vertebrae fused or pinned and are two cane crawling Gollum types, sad to see. Folks with severe back (and hip) problems should explore noninvasive (not chiropractic mumbo jumbo) alternatives for a while before going under the knife. Sadly, the last surgery my friend underwent was an anterior approach (open up the belly) and now he's functionally disabled, but still alive. I dunno, but the surgeon's solutions seem to be a last resort.

> My wife shattered T-11 in a sledding accident in 1998. She had surgery the next day.

Surprised an immediate T-11 surgery was called for and resulted in long term disability. That part of the spine is very stable and a wait and see approach might have been better unless the T-11 vertebrae damage was effecting the spinal chord.

I was off work for 5 months with a bulged disk with sciatica.
I got epidural steroid injections.
Not a painful or uncomfortable procedure.
Two treatments held me for about a year.
Then one follow up when problem reoccurred.
That was maybe 7-8 years ago.
No major problems since except if I stand for a long time (say 1-2 hours)

I have a bad disk at C7, the Peyton Manning injury.
I went through 9 months of PT and 2 epidurals some 14 years ago.
Also had Chiropractic help 2 times weekly.
I lift weights on an irregular schedule to keep the muscles strong or else I have spasms.
Each case is different but a good spine doctor will make all the difference.
I was never a candidate for surgery.

I had my first one in October. It hit me in the middle of coaching my boys little league game. I fought it for a few days. I had to roll out of bed to the floor and get myself to my knees to stand up. I couldn't bend over to put socks on, needed help to put underwear on. I went to an ortho and they set me up for a double epidural injection and it has felt good for 6 months so far.

My niece is a physical therapist who has had a very specific training for dealing with bulging discs; unfortunately, she is one of a very small percentage who have this training but if you can find one they can do wonders.

I had a ruptured L4/L5 and had surgery in 2006; my surgeon commented at follow-up that he wished all of his procedures were as successful as mine was, I've had very few problems since. In my case, the disc was ruptured and the material was pressing on my spinal cord; as a result I have lost probably 20% of the feeling in my left foot and probably 60 - 70% of the strength in my left foot and ankle - makes field work a bit challenging.

My surgeon was a neurosurgeon, not an orthopedic surgeon, and I believe that made a huge difference in my case. He didn't fuse the vertebrae, as orthopedics are wont to do.

All cases are different but I'd be careful about chiropractic with a bulging disc; it only made my condition worse, as did the physical therapy I tried. And I agree with most posters that surgery should be a last resort, although in my case there was no other option.

"With a bulging disk or anything else serious in your back the absolute last thing you need is a chiropractor messing around."

:good: :good:

I would never let a chiropractor touch me - I won't even speak with one!!

My wife recently had surgery for a ruptured disk between the C6-C7 vertebrate, but this was only after 4 months of less invasive treatment. Physical therapy, oral steroids, steroid injections and some more physical therapy. Four weeks later my wife is doing good and is back to work (she's a clinical laboratory scientist).

Go see a good neurosurgeon, unless there is the risk of permanent damage, surgery should be the last option. It's my understanding that surgery is rarely called for with a bulging disk, but I'm not a doctor ask them.

Be careful about comparing to others who had treatment10, 15 or 20 years ago. Like everything else the medical field is rapidly advancing. The robotics and materials used in my wife's surgery did not exist 10 years ago.

But most importantly go see a good neurosurgeon.

The only problem I had was that the clinic where the neurosurgeon who treated me practiced would only see me after I had been referred by an orthopedist and had been through physical therapy, steroid injections, etc. Then when I finally got in to see him he looked at my MRI for about 3 seconds and said "you need surgery, when can you do it?".

I can't comment on the need for surgery in your wife's case.

If at the last resort it IS necessary, I have been hearing good results lately with back surgery.

I know 4 people that have had to have surgery and all are doing well. I person went from practically immobile and spaced out from drugs to a brand new man over night.

My boss could not turn his head for over a year. After trying steroids and therapy, he got a specialized MRI and had a orthopedic surgeon take a look. The problem was obvious. They ended up going in through the front of his neck and removing a disc and pinning in a artificial disc. He is fine now.

The trick is a slow recovery.

I had one repaired about 3.5 years ago down in the same area L4/L5 I think. Injections didn't help me at all with the pain and sciatic nerve. I was told to spend two weeks after surgery flat on my back and spend a couple months doing as little as possible. I took the two weeks off and then slowly worked my way back into things and doing physical therapy exercises. It took about two months for it to start feeling good again and after that I didn't have any pain. At least for two years until I made the mistake of helping move a gun safe :pinch: felt it pop when we stood it up, and the pain has been a bit hit or miss for the last year and a half.

I've spent a lot of time at Chiropractors and they can help give some temporary relief. My issue is a bit of scoliosis which causes my muscles to spasm and lock down. The chiropractor can help realign and take some of that pressure off, but I don't think they heal the disc any.

Depending on how bad the bulge is some injections and physical therapy can help quite a bit. I tried that route first, but it just didn't do enough to help me.

Good Luck! Hope you get her taken care of! Living with that back pain is not fun at all!

I'll second the Neurosurgeon...

With back and neck problems, the local pain isn't the issue. Almost without exception surgery won't help it either. The radiating pain, numbness and loss of function may be helped. That is why I prefer neuro over ortho. You can't fix wiring problems by only fixing the framing...
I fell from a scaffolding about 25 years ago. L5/S1 and L4/L5 ruptured. It took two years to walk straight again. No surgery and no regrets on the low back. The ortho wanted to operate but the neuro said no.
It cant be said strongly enough, EVERY person and injury / disease is different. Use the tips and tricks as a filter, not a Doctor.
Prayers up, Tom

Way back in 1988 I had what was called a micro-laminectomy that removed the bulge of the disk as well as the nucleus of the disk. It left the cartilage of the disk in place so it could still function. The incision was only 1.25" long, no muscle tissue was cut and the surgeon drilled a hole thru the vertebrae to get to the bulge. Physical therapy was simply walk and walk and walk. I've had very little trouble since then. My back will get irritated from over use, but I can do a few sets of stomach crunches and go for a walk to loosen things up and feel like new the next day. The surgeon told me that I would have these types of episodes and I should focus on building and maintaining my stomach/core strength to help prevent more often irritations.
The other alternative I had back then was a spinal fusion or learn pain management. The surgery was the best choice for me. I would definitely get a second or third opinion before making the choice.
I had my surgery done at Stanford University - Palo Alto Cali.

SD