Pleases bear with me. For last 2 years left leg has dragged at times and trouble starting to walk after sitting. Play golf a lot walk most of time. This fall developed stiffness in lower back . Dull ache in both hips all the time. Went to Orth he injected both hips for bursitis. Did no good. Did MRI said buldging disc. Referred to spine surgeon, said some buldging but surely nothing to warrant operation. Gave me stretching exercises. No help. Also when playing golf after a while sharp pain going down right leg and pain in hips is bad. Frustrated went to family Dr. He said no bursitis and should not have been shot. Said buldging disc pinching nerve causing all problems leg dragging, hip pain, stiffback, pain down leg. Is referring me to pain Dr. for epidural injection. Have not seen yet. Is this the way to go for cure? Have read about decompression done by chiaos saying 89% effictive. Does this work? This is my first go around with this stuff and I need good advice.

Sounds like you have some similar problems as me. I had the injections, but they didn't help. I've recently had a minimally invasive procedure done to decompress. I'm still waiting for it to take affect. No luck yet. It seems that most doctors prefer to start with the injections. Hopefully that will work for you. One thing to keep in mind is that they do just cover the problem and don't fix it. If it relieves your pain, thats great. But keep in mind the problem is still there so you will still need to take precautions. Good luck!

Interesting. Dr said could cure

gobucks,

Surgery may be necessary, but if you have had this going on for two years, you are putting yourself at risk for permanent injury without the proper treatment. I will share some recommendations with you based on my own experience. I have undergone temporary paralysis, lost lower body functions, and endured 8 spine surgeries. The first couple were with general ortho and general neuro surgeons who fo course do work on the spine. However, this does not make them spine specialists, and that is who I would recommend that you seek out. True spine specialists who work on nothing but the spine and preferrable have done nothing but spines for years. These are the ones who are trained first on the newest techniques and equipment to allow you the best opportunity for full recovery.

Thanks to finding a really great spine specialist (I visited about 10 before finding the right one for me), in spite of having had broken vertebrae, DDD, herniations into the spinal cord, and much more, with a 10 level fusion I am not only walking, but very active even with lots of hardware.

If you will use the search button at the top of the boards, you can either pull up threads I started or search for the topic "how to find a spine specialist in your area" which I hope will help if you are not familiar with how to check out doctor's credentials. Still, after you find names and verify credentials, it takes a few visits to find ones who will work with you based on how involved you wish to be in your care. Not all want patients to ask questions like I want to do, some cut off meds at a set period of 6-8 weeks post op regardless of the patients status, some treat from day one until you are fully recovered, and others prefer pain management to intervene. I liked for my doc to treat me, because he is the spine specialist and better understands what I describe and would react faster if I had a change in my condition, where if a PM were handing the pain, they may wish to treat with medications longer instead of getting me back to the spine doctor pronto. I wanted a doc who actually read the films instead of just taking radiology reports and I wanted a doc who gave me more than 2 minutes of time if needed. Some doc's use braces and others don't, but since I had exeperince of muscles atrophying, I liked that this doctor also believed in not bracing and beginning PT much earlier than general ortho and neuro's did. You will know when you are so impressed with a particular doctor and are on the right path.

Have nothing against chiro's and many people feel that they are what they need. Just believe that if there are bulging or herniations, DDD, etc then chiro's are not the best bet. One other thing too that my spine specialist told me that neither the general ortho or neuro's told me and they had already let me go 10 months with a severely pinched nerve; if a severely pinched or compressed nerve is relieved within say about 6 months, there is excellent chance of full recovery, but it drops to a 75 percent chance at 9 months and only 50 percent chance at a year. I was fortunate that I got rid of the pain, but kept the numbness, because it could have been the other way around. So, even though your two years may not have been a constant severe pain, combined time has mounted. Please consider seeking out a really good spine specialist so you can remain active with your golf and life activities.

Mery Christmas.

hmmm. as for as good advice there is truck loads out there problem is there has never no sure fire cure cause its not a illness it is a injurie weather degerative or sudden inpact still a injurie and all injuries are different and sadly with back injuries the end result are more offten not what one would hope for.some ppl get great results quickly but many ppl face a uphill battle for help and relief.

Pleases bear with me. For last 2 years left leg has dragged at times and trouble starting to walk after sitting. Play golf a lot walk most of time. This fall developed stiffness in lower back . Dull ache in both hips all the time. Went to Orth he injected both hips for bursitis. Did no good. Did MRI said buldging disc. Referred to spine surgeon, said some buldging but surely nothing to warrant operation. Gave me stretching exercises. No help. Also when playing golf after a while sharp pain going down right leg and pain in hips is bad. Frustrated went to family Dr. He said no bursitis and should not have been shot. Said buldging disc pinching nerve causing all problems leg dragging, hip pain, stiffback, pain down leg. Is referring me to pain Dr. for epidural injection. Have not seen yet. Is this the way to go for cure? Have read about decompression done by chiaos saying 89% effictive. Does this work? This is my first go around with this stuff and I need good advice. :angel: Have read about decompression done by chiaos ? can u tell me about this ?You are in need of a great dr's opion .. sounds to me like u have a pintch never / disc promblems .. Have u ever heard of the radio frequency surgery for many things ? if you would want this infrom post me ill be glad to give it to u . luvcky I finnally had found a good dr but it had took me 5 years etc. hope to hear from you

Consider muscle imbalance, most breakdown of the spine is a result of muscles which are too contracted. You have to stretch them out to take the mechanical pressure off of the discs. There are machines like the MEDX which isolate the inner spinal muscles to strenghen them. Remember when you were a kid and could touch your toes? That's because you're muscles were nice and loose. As we get older, we sit a lot for our occupations, we simply don't use our bodies enough and they get tight. So while not an answer to everything (You may not be able to stretch enough due to pain) correcting the mechanics of your spinal problem can only help. Think Erognomics and listed to the surgical advise of Quietcook who has been there and done that.

It's well known that surgery helps some, does nothing for some, and makes other worse. Doctors generally don't recommend surgery in the lower back as you are not compromising your spinal cord, lucky for you :) you just get to suffer pain. So they wait to see if it will resolve on it's own (And for a vast majority it does) and for the rest of us we write in forums.

Be very wary of Chiros if you have herniated discs. I have been to 3 chiros and two did high velocity twists of my neck. The latter made me much worse. Then I read how this is a very BAD thing to do. And this is not just MD's badmouthing them. I have read many studies online that there is increased risk for patients with herniated discs. Every Chiro will tell you they can help and it is "Safe", they like to quote statistics of number of proceedures performed vs problems. But it's your body - don't do it. I have yet to have any chiropractor take a complete history (i.e. not just ask you about symptoms but actually a physical exam - because they don't do this). They just twist and crack and pop. I imagine there are a few good ones but how do you know? Why risk it? I have also never seen a Chiro who really knew how to read MRI films - they only look at reports. They are not trained to recognize lesions and tumors. If you know you have herniated discs then steer clear until you have a definitive diagnosis. I imagine a chiro could help with some injuries - but what? A very well trained PT is probably a better choice.

:angel: Have read about decompression done by chiaos ? can u tell me about this ?You are in need of a great dr's opion .. sounds to me like u have a pintch never / disc promblems .. Have u ever heard of the radio frequency surgery for many things ? if you would want this infrom post me ill be glad to give it to u . luvcky I finnally had found a good dr but it had took me 5 years etc. hope to hear from you
Yes please. my e mail gobucks274@aol.com. Thanks