[Eurotrash]

Hi
I've found out thet I've got a slipped disc (l4 l5) and it gives me loads of pain at night, it feels like someone has just stabed me in the leg. I'm doing the phisio, and the pain killers at night to help me sleep. I was wandering if any of you have had/ have this and what you have done about it. Have you been operated on? was it painful? effective? any extra advice wil be appreciated.
thanks
PJ

 

[preppie]

Hi
I've found out thet I've got a slipped disc (l4 l5) and it gives me loads of pain at night, it feels like someone has just stabed me in the leg. I'm doing the phisio, and the pain killers at night to help me sleep. I was wandering if any of you have had/ have this and what you have done about it. Have you been operated on? was it painful? effective? any extra advice wil be appreciated.
thanks
PJ

I have the same slipped disc as you, the L4-L5 is the most common disc to get damaged. The pain in your leg 'could' be caused by a -hernia-.
I had the same 'stabbing-pain' at night and especially in the morning.
Took tons of painkillers that helped a bit, but not the entire night.

No surgery for me, because the Doctor told me I was too young (26) and the chance of healing was more than 60%.
So I went to a therapist and after 20 sessions my back felt a lot better.
After 6-8 months the pain faded away, sometimes it comes back, especially when I have to stand up for too long or when I sleep on my belly.

Go find a decent therapist and do NOT sleep on your belly but on you side or back (otherswise the L4 L5 gets compressed in a wierd angle = painfull)

 

[Jesus]

I have had 3 different doctors tell me I needed surgery.

But I had this theory that my disk start slipping when my back muscles get too tight, and pull everything off center.

So after getting a massage from a professional, and having my wife give me a "mini" massage every other night, I have a lot less problems. And when I do get a "flare-up" I just go get a massage and spend a while in a jacuzzi. Problem solved!

 

[greenmeanie]

i have two herniated disk that give me pain right behind my left knee and make my left leg feel like it is asleep.
right now i am on medicine that might help shrink the nerve back down to where it is suppose to be. but DOC told me no more weight lifting and to take it easy and it is driving me crazy.

next step he said may be theropy but from what i heard from others they had them chasing balls and playing catch WTF??
i dont want the surgery route either just hope this pain goes away soon.

 

[s1ngletrack]

Anyone tried an inversion table? I've used one for other back problems.

 

[Dhextremecb]

Ha, dude, I've got a good remedy for ya. Percocets and Beers!

 

[Eurotrash]

thanks for the replys, at least I'm not the only one with this problem and apparently the pain does go away after a while on it's own.
keep me informed on how things evolve for you guys
cheers
pj

 

[Animal Chin]

i've been told i have the exact same problem, although i don't know for sure, since i am booked for a cat scan in january, but everyone tells me the problem is a slipped disc. serious-ass pain (literally) and pain shooting down my leg. i never thought sneezing could make me want to cry until now. i'm biting the bullet and am going to try a chiropractor that deals with soft tissue problems, since physio isn't helping too much, but it is teaching me a few exercises to do. the only thing that sort of helps is the celebrex i'm on. but as previously mentioned, it also takes time to have the pain fade away. it's driving me nuts.

 

[Slugman]

Tip from an Engineer who designs implants for spinal surgery (and who has a bad back), do conservative therapy and avoid surgery (or wait as long as you can). Most spine surgeons will consider someone in their 50’s as a young patient… unless they deal with scoliosis.

Lots of stretching, keep yourself hydrated (the disc are a large part water and actually respond to your hydration levels), and if you want some additional physical activity try swimming (minimum load on your back). Message, hot tub etc are also great helps.

The problem is that once you start down the path of surgery, it will not end. If they go in and remove the disc tissue that is hitting the nerve roots (Nerve branches off the spinal cord), then you have just removed some of the material that helps absorb loads and maintains the disc height. Discs do not re-grow, and as we age they actually shrink. So if the disc height is lessened, over time the nerve root will again become pinched. However this time it will be by the bones, so to relieve the pain they will have to go in and add a spacer and fuse that spinal level.

If they suggest a fusion, you’re in trouble (but there is hope since being on RM means you’re probably in decent shape). Typically it will be between 5 (bad health, obese, and smokers) and 15 (good health, relatively fit, and non-smokers) years, then the levels adjacent to that disc will start to fail. It's called Adjacent Disc Disease, and it exists for even successful surgeries. Basically it means that you’ll be getting more levels fused later on.

There is about to be a lot of Hype about artificial disc... probably in then next 3 - 6 months; be cautious of this. Spine surgery is much more complicated than hips or knees, and there are a LOT of unknowns. Granted I think it will be a HUGE improvement over the current fusion treatments, but there is still no assurance that it will prevent adjacent disc disease. Plus, a lot of surgeons will need a learning curve to get it right... not just the procedure, but figuring out if the device will be beneficial for you.

Not to sound too down about it, but I wanted to share my perspective. If you are in such severe pain that there is no other option – don’t worry that much. The treatments they are doing today are predominately minimally invasive, so you’ll have a lot less post-operative pain. There has also been a huge increase in growth agents that help your spine fuse, so you’ll be back up and riding sooner than every before. Spine surgery is one of the fastest growing markets, and it is evolving at an incredible pace… And since most people around here are fairly fit, the medical industry may find a solution in the next 10 years that will allow you to not have any more surgery!

 

[Eurotrash]

just a quick update on the situation
I've been on painkillers, physiotherapy, cuartizone, and friday, I had an injection of cuartizone (don't know how to spell that) strait into my back under x-ray guidance. My back feels a lot better now, I hope that it lasts!
I can't believe you've got to wait until january for a scan! I waited 5days and it wasn't private, it was free on the national health! It's at times like these that I tell myself that it is worth paying more for well... just about everything and having decent health cover over here in France. It would still be nice to get bike parts for the prices you guys pay! oh well. I'll see how it goes, I've got an apointment friday to see if the injection has worked as well as it should. thanks for the interest
PJ

 

[chuffer]

i have been suffering from bike related back problems for about ten years now (i am 32). after a couple of MRIs and a dozen or so doctor visits they told me i was not a candidate for surgery. too young, too mobile still. 'we dont operate because it hurts, we only operate when you start to lose appendage use,' is what i was told! at the time i thought holy-WTF?!! now i am grateful that they didnt operate.

anyway, i have finally found a 'routine' that keeps me going.

it is pretty a bit of everything that was mentioned above but i'll just repeat again:

1. stretch before, during and after. make it your fawking religion, man. dont over do it, but get yourself limber and stay that way.

2. keep your back and just as importantly STOMACH muscles strong, however, you've gotta figure out to do this with jacking your back up worse. i find that now that i exercise more, i have less back problems. muscles help me protect my back from getting tweaked.

3. hydrate as above. big point!

4. warm up and stay warm once you are warmed up. wear sweat wicking clothes and try not sit around too much. waiting around at the jumps or waiting in the lift line are tough. you gotta keep the back warm.

5. pay attention to how you sit at the PC, how you sit in the car and how good quality your matress is. these three things really aggravate a bad back and can slow your recovery a lot.

6. i tried accupuncture for 20 sessions of 29 needles. i dont know what it did -coulda been all mental, who knows, but since those 20 sessions i have made a huge turn around. for a while i couldnt walk, sit, stand or sleep without pain...i was really starting to wonder wtf i was gonna do with my gimp-ass self.

7. did i mention stretching and staying fit yet?

8. blah blah....i guess i like to see myself talk.

 

[Brian HCM#1]

It also may be a spondylolisthesis which is basically a slipped disc allowing the lower vertebra to slip forward (injury 20 years ago I had in a skiing accident). I've tried several different methods of pain relief, it seems a chiropractor gave the best results in relieving the pain. It comes and goes now all the time and some days are better than others. Physical therapy should also help as well as abdominal exercises to help strengthen the muscles around it.

 

[SuperSlow]

the pain in your leg could also be sciatica (sp) nerve damage

 

[Slugman]

Wow... quicker than I thought!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6338591/

Artificial spinal disc approved for back pain
Alternative to surgery helps maintain mobility, company says

WASHINGTON - Johnson & Johnson’s artificial spinal disc won U.S. approval for relieving severe low back pain, the company said Tuesday.

The metal-and-plastic disc, called Charite, is an alternative to surgery that fuses two bones in the lower spine.

Charite is the first artificial disc to reach the U.S. market. The product has been sold in Europe for more than a decade.

Johnson & Johnson said the disc relieves pain while helping to maintain mobility in the lower back. Experts hope long-term studies will show the device also reduces stress on adjacent discs — the shock-absorbing pads of cartilage between vertebrae.

Medtronic Inc., Synthes Inc. and privately held Spinecore also are developing artificial discs for the lower back as well as the neck.

 

[Kntr]

I slipped the same disk about 10 years ago and it still bothers me a lot. I stand 10-14 hours a day at work. My left leg burns and tingles due to nerve damage. The best thing I do for my back is heat and massage. Aleve works for the pain but the heat and massage work for the tingle in the left leg. Sit in a Jacuzzi as much as possible and let the jet blow on your back. I use to go to bed with a heating pad on my back too. Stretch and work out your back if you can as much as possible. Good luck. Sometimes I thing I will go crazy if the tingle, burn, pain in my leg doesnt go away. So far I just deal. Things could be worse.....