Hello, I'm new to this forum. I never had back problem before, but a month ago I did a very bad move while playing soccer. While leaning forward I swing my left leg, almost touching with my knee my heat, to reach a ball. I felt a sudden, very sharp pain running down my leg. Few hours latter the pain was getting worse and when I wake up the next day, I could barely walk. The pain was at my buttock, behind my thigh, behind my knee and on my calf. I also had weak up with numbness on my hill and weakness on my calf (can't tip toes on my left foot).
It has been a month now but I still have the same symptoms: pain, weakness, and numbness. Few day ago I've been to a back specialist where he diagnose me with a radiculomy at L5-S1, I not sure about the spelling but doesn’t want to say more before the MRI. An MRI will be done in 3 weeks.
So far he put me on cortisone steroid. I'm three day into the treatment and it seems to help a little bit, especially with the walking but sitting or driving is still very painful.
After reading some of your post, I can see that some of you, unfortunately, have lots of experience with back pain. My worry is about the weakness and numbness, does it go away after time or is this something more or less permanent. I'm 35 now, and think because this, my soccer career is over!
Any advice is really welcome, thank you!
soccerplayer

Hello, and welcome to Healthboards. I can certainly understand your fear that you won't be able to play soccer anymore, and I think it is a legitimate fear. The pain you describe sounds like sciatica; along with the numbness and the weakness there is a good chance you have a ruptured disc; but it will take an MRI to tell the story. In the meantime, try to rest, use ice and or heat on the area in the back, and take anti-inflammatories to help with the pain.

Good luck; I do hope you will return and tell us how things are going.

Carol

I was taking Ibprufen for 2 weeks and it help a little bit with my inflamation. Now I'm in my third day on steroid, the treatment last 6 days. It fills better walking, but I still have lots of pain when sitting.
Thanks for the advise.

Soccerplayer

wow, im sure that you are seriously bummed out about that. ive been playing soccer for ten years and i am only 17 and i know how bad it is when i have to sit out just because of a hurt knee or ankle. i think back trouble comes with the sport, mine hurts all the time. soaking in a really hot bath for a little while provides temporary relief and calmness. i wish i could be of more help than this, but i dont know much else. be a little more careful next time! dont give up hope, you may get to play again, you never know, but never say its over until it is, or until youre dead. if you still want to play, you just have to fight for it. i hope everything turns out alright for you and if you ever need anyone to talk to jusy email me at REMOVED.. :) :) :) :)






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Hello everyone,

Last week I saw my back specialist and what was predicted with my symptoms is now proven with the MRI. I Herniated the L5-S1 disk in the middle left side if you look from the back.
Now it has been 2 and half months it happens. First I experienced lots of pain, numbness under my heel and calf, and weakness in my calf (couldn't tip toe)
After a month, the Dr gave me a steroid treatment which helped with the pain. The numbness started to disappear after 2 months, and it's almost all gone. For the weakness, I just started to see some improvement a month ago, I can walk without limping or maybe just a little limping, but can't run (I just tried 60ft), my leg is too weak. Same when I try to tip toe, I have definitely more strength then before, but still can't barely hold my weight when tip toeing, as before it happen I could lift myself over 50 times on my left foot.
This worries me, because it has been almost 3 months since it happen. Does someone know approximately how long it takes for the weakness to go away, I know that I already asked this, but I never had any problem like this before, which increase my worried! :confused:

Thanks Curious Artist for your concern. You're still very young in your intensive sport career, therefore enjoy the most you can when playing soccer. But always think about your body first, sometime it's better to let the ball go and sometime even commit a fault in order to protect yourself. I didn't had any major problem for the past 7 years, which make me over confident, but at 35 it's not an excuse.
I hope that you will watch the World Cup this summer, it's going to be great! I'm going for Switzerland :bouncing:
soccerpalyer

Like Carol said, Rest! If there is a chance for it to heal, by all means take it very easy. I believe I would have avoided a lot of trouble if I had taken a little easier in the beginning. I was following my therapist, but maybe it was hurting more than I told him, I wanted back to work. I'm at a year and a half. Good luck on your MRI. Please make sure you let us know, as it put into the memory banks! We are all interested in the same thing here - a cure to our problems. Thanks, LD

Hi.. It sounds like a bulging disk at L5 - S1 that is causing the radiculathapy. This is where just about everyone gets it at some point in their life... Dont worry... They will either give you cortizone to reduce inflammation to the point where you can start physical therapy, or at worse, they will remove the herniation which is a routine operation.. Here are some suggestions...

1. Try ice packs which will reduce swelling / inflammation, but for no more than 20 minutes at a time... It helped me alot..

2. Dont rest TOO much.. If you feel pain, then stop, but otherwise, move around even if you lay on the floor and do leg movements that dont hurt.. You need to keep your muscles strong

3. Insist on getting the MRI sooner and dont take NO for an answer. IF you must, go to another hospital / Dr group..... Three weeks??? Why so long... The sooner they know what it is the better..

May God bless you..

I had the same thing....not a "herniation" but a disc protrusion (bulge) at the L5-S1....a very very large one that caused me to lose my ankle reflex and severe calf pain that in turn made me limp...The first Neurosurgeon I saw said it was the worst he had ever seen and that I needed surgery ASAP and that no amount of physical therapy would help. Well, 12-13 weeks later, I recovered...no more limping, no more calf pain (I will always have lower back pain). I saw a different NS who said that the body is healing itself and that the cells of the body begin to eat away at the protrusion...and that there is new evidence that often times the larger ones heal better than the smaller ones.

Now this could be a little different than a herniation if your disc has indeed torn away...however, my symptoms were exactly the same as yours. I think that it is a very good sign that you are seeing slight improvement....give it some more time...let your body heal and take it easy. Be sure to still stretch and take short walks... Good Luck!

My NS told me the same thing, that the body will heal itself and as long as you can deal with the pain or discomfort, it is better to do PT and not surgery. If the pain is too great, or are too weak, you need surgery.. BUT, he also told me that it could take 1 - 2 years for a complete recovery. Even a herniation will heal itself and scar tissue will seal up the crack. Also, your disc will always be a bit weaker than before, so dont do anything crazy that could re-injure it. Practice correct posture all of the time and strengthen your core muscles to reduce the load on your spine (especially the stomach muscles). Go see a physical therapist at least 2 or 3 times so that they can show you the correct excercises and posture...

M

Here is an update of my situation,
It has been 3 months since I herniated my disk L5-S1. The pain is almost all gone also the numbness under my left foot is gone.
My concern now is the weakness of my calf. I see some improvements but very little in 3 months. Each time I try to run on the treadmill, I feel a cramping on my left foot. After 5 min it feels like I ran a marathon on my left leg. Mmusilli you said that it can take up to 1 to 2 years to fully recovery, but my practitioner said that sometimes the weakness never fully recover, which is worrisome! :confused: