anybody had a herniated disc or ruptured disc?

[Zyglamail]

I have a herniated disk in my neck. At the time of the injury I was debilitated. I thought I had broken my damn neck! It didn't take long before I was back on track - and I was largly untreated durring recovery. It'll still flair up at times and get sore, but it's quite manageable.

I'd hold off any thought of surgery untill you give it a good deal of time, and try some forms of therapy. I'd look into prolotherapy for sure. You might also look into the "McKenzie (sp?) method."

Once the laxity in tendons/ligiments allows the spine to get out of position the disk can slip out of its proper position and bulge out. The tightness and soreness come from pinched nerves as well as the muslces contracting to try and hold the spine in position. If the tendons/ligiments can be healed and even strengthend via prolotherapy the spine will get pulled into place and all the associated problems will be alleviated.

The nice thing about prolo is you know right then and there if the procedure is targetting problem areas. For example when I was having mine done the doc would treat a whole area. some tendons/ligiments in a given area where fine while others were damaged. When a non-damaged tendon/ligiment was treated there was no pain at all. When an injured one was treated there was an involuntary reflex further supporting the diagnosis of the injured tendon/ligiment.

 

[117th AirCav]

herniated disk

I have a herniated disk in my L3. When it first happened my whole leg would go numb after standing for 3 minutes. I went to a Chiropractor and massage therapist and they really helped it out. My advice would be to try this route before you get cut on.

 

[Zyglamail]

Chiros have a place for sure, they can often alleviate pain etc but its only temporary. Unless the tendons/ligiments are healed it will be a recurring problem. The message will help get blood(and esential nutrients) to the injured spot and thereby help healing but its still a slow process and prolo seems to be a much faster way to get the healing done.

 

[nuh_mizer]

So many injuries from all over the body are simply cause by strained and sprained tendons and ligamints. When these supporting structires are strained/sprained it allows the bones to become misaligned etc. This is often diagnosed via MRI's etc but it has been clinically proven MRI's are not a reliable means of determining tendon/ligiment damage. Far to many Docs want to put you under the knife which often times causes irreperable damage. If you are loosing the feeling in your hands at times, its likely due to referral pain from C4 and C5 in your neck. If you truely want the problem fixed and due not want to undergo surgery check into prolotherapy. You can find a lot of good info at http://www.prolonews.com/ as well as search for a doc in your area. I have had it done in the past for elbow problems and it worked wonders. I recently have gone back and am getting my mid back treated now.

My doctor mentioned something like what they describe. That would be great if it's actualy what he is talking about b/c my insurance may pay for it.

thanks for the info everybody

 

[Silent Method]

Chiros have a place for sure, they can often alleviate pain etc but its only temporary. Unless the tendons/ligiments are healed it will be a recurring problem.

Right on.

The "McKenzie method" I mentioned is a series of exercises that help you to align your spine and allow disks to "reset" into proper position. It has a MAJOR emphasis on allowing for tendon/ligiment recovery, but it does not provide much in the line of active recovery methods targeting tendon/ligiment damage.

Prolotherapy looks like it addresses this problem quite well.

 

[DepressiveJuice]

go see an orthopaedic spine surgeon. make sure his specialty is spines. more than likely, they'll recommend surgery. i work for two orthopaedic surgeons and most of the patients turn out better after the surgery. some claim that the pain is wors after the surgery. they mostly do fusions but if your disc isnt that bad, then they'll just cut the bulging part out. if they remove the disc, then they'll have to replace it with bone (taken from your hip) and with cages to hold the bone in

 

[Zyglamail]

go see an orthopaedic spine surgeon. make sure his specialty is spines. more than likely, they'll recommend surgery. i work for two orthopaedic surgeons and most of the patients turn out better after the surgery. some claim that the pain is wors after the surgery. they mostly do fusions but if your disc isnt that bad, then they'll just cut the bulging part out. if they remove the disc, then they'll have to replace it with bone (taken from your hip) and with cages to hold the bone in

Why would you want to have the bulge cut out if the underlying problem isnt fixed? The problem isnt the bulge, the bulge is a symptom of tendon/ligiment laxity. Fix the problem and the symptom will go away on its own.

 

[DepressiveJuice]

Why would you want to have the bulge cut out if the underlying problem isnt fixed? The problem isnt the bulge, the bulge is a symptom of tendon/ligiment laxity. Fix the problem and the symptom will go away on its own.

hmm. to make more money i assume no i dont really know why. im just going by what these two doctors do. one has been practicing for over 30 years. the other has been doing it for about 5

 

[Zyglamail]

hmm. to make more money i assume no i dont really know why. im just going by what these two doctors do. one has been practicing for over 30 years. the other has been doing it for about 5

Hehe, dont get me wrong, surgery has its place, but something like a herniated disk generally doesnt warrent going under the knife. I also do not doubt that these sergeons know how to operate, but as we all know, people generally preach what they know and your docs know surgery. Now granted, im no surgeon, but I have gone under the knife and if I can heal myself via a couple simple office visits as opposed to surgery thats the path im going to take.

 

[mrhamilton]

Hey Zyg, I agree with you that prolotherapy does have it's uses, and is highly regarded by C. Everett Koop as a wondrous treatment option. But having seen a physiatrist who specializes in prolotherapy, I was informed that the greatest use for it is in cases of things like whiplash, or other tendon damage. Most herniations are caused by compression type injuries and are not the result of weak or stretched tendons. Although it can be useful after these compression type injuries to help tighten and strengthen the excess tendon length(when you herniate a disk you get shorter, but tendons remain the same length). I am not an advocate for surgery by no means, but like other treatments it does have its place.

BTW i like my injections, but several hundred injections in a specific location on several ocassions does sound like a real PAIN!

later
mrhamilton