i found out 6 months ago that i have herniated disk in the left side of my neck. The pain in my shoulder actually started when i was 15 and it was only when i threw a football or baseball. Then in novermber i actually herniated the disk. I stopped playing and the pain wasnt too bad. Just the nerve pain. But 3 months later i found out i had bone spurs and degenrative disk in my lower back. Now the pain is in both legs though my left is worse, pain in both shoulders and arms, my hips, and lower back. there is always pain in 1 or 2 parts of the body. I hear cracks, and my knees almost gave out 2 days ago. I dont understand what is happening at all. Is there anyway i can improve it? i am going to see a therapist, neuroligist, and orthopedic surgeon next week. I just wanted to know that will it get better or am i basically done for the rest of my life?
Last edited by cooldragon; 05-04-2005 at 10:44 AM.
Punt the neurologist and go directly to a NeuroSURGEON. S/he will need to examine you and see if your condition would warrant surgery. If so, then I suggest at your age you look into minimally invasive surgery like one from Dr. Jho.
Yes. When you see a Neurosurgeon, if your condition warrants, they will sign you up for physical therapy if they think that will help you. Always try to go as conservative as possible. Physical therapy, meds, MI surgery, full blown surgery.... yadda yadda
will physical therapy help my situation? I just dont want it to get worse and i hope it gets better. I have been depressed for two weeks because of the pain and i just want it to end.
i am also having alot of trouble walking now. My knees feel like they are going to give out. Both my legs and arms feel really weak and i have been laying in bed for two days now. Hopefully i can make it to monday when i have my appoiment.
The sooner you see a NeuroSurgeon and get that MRI so you can be diagnosed, the better.
In some cases, PT and even chiropractic care can help the situation. However, you need to get to a NS so your MRI can be ordered, because it can take a few days to schedule you, and the written results back to your NS can take 2-3 days as well.
i actually already have the mri's for my neck and lumber spine. I just need to go to the neurosurgeon now. i have the reports on a cd so he can look at it. I hope physical therapy could help me. I was dumb and didnt do anything except take medication for the past 6 months.
I waited 2 years til I almost couldn't walk before I got help. It was too late for PT or even an ESI. You've heard that God protects fools and children (and I'm not a child), so I lucked out on that first surgery by having a top-notch neurosurgeon. I still have just a small numb patch on the top of my right foot, but I can walk, so I'll take that any day, and it always reminds me not to screw around when health is an issue.
I was told that herniated disks are actually more a young persons problem. The way it was discribed to me is that the gel inside the disk is still gel-like for young people. It gets thicker and harder as you age. Therefore it is more likely for a younger person to have the insides squirt out.
If you have muscle weakness and loss of control, then it seems to me that therapy will only strengthen the muscles that you still have control of. And if you are already pinching those nerves, won't you be just rubbing the pinched nerves around if you do more therapy?
You are real young to be giving up this ground already. But the docs will help you decide this stuff. You don't want to be taking pain meds from 18 on. They can deteriorate other things. Plus your inablity to exersize.
my back pain is feeling alot better now. However my foot is getting tingly and a little numb. I think standing and laying down helps me out alot but sitting down proabably pinches my nerves.
Is there anyway to know how badly my nerves are being pinched. Because i did not have this weakness problem till last week. Hopefully i can recover and cannot wait to go see the therapist and the other doctors.
i felt alot better today. i stood up pretty much the whole day and had barely pain at all in my back and there was barely any nerve pain in my leg. But when i sat for five minutes it went back to the numbness kind of feeling in the leg.
I was wondering could i have some type od arthritis. because i somehow felt sharp pain in my elbow when nothing even happened. also my knees, shoulders, sometimes make a clicking sound like when you crack your knuckles.
Cooldragon-
Forgive me if you posted it and I missed it, but have you had any type of injury previous to all these problems? What kind of physical activity do/did you participate in if any? Do your parents or grandparents have any back problems?
nobody in my family has any problems. I played football and 3 years ago i played alot more. I used to be the quarterback and one day i just started getting sharp pains and heard noises in my shoulder area whever i threw the ball. This never went away but i kept playing and finally in novermber i suffered a herniated disk in c5-c6. I also found out later that i had 2 bone spurs in my lumber spine and signs of arthritis. I now hear cracks and clicks in both shoulders, knees, elbows, toes, fingers, and wrists.
I never had any injuries before the herniated disk. I was perfectly fine.
I think that you would be best suited to see an orthopedist to check your joint health. I've had problems with my joints, and since Bextra and Vioxx are off the market, I've been using a supplement called Glucosamine-Chondroitin. I would ask your doctor about taking it and see if it might help you.
whackedback
Last edited by whackedback; 05-09-2005 at 02:01 PM.
no i never weight trained in my life. I actually went to the therapist today but he needs my blood report to see how he can treat me. So i have to go to my doctor today and see if i can find out what kind of problem there is.
I am going to see the orthopedic tommorow and see what he says as well.
