I have a 4 mm herniated disc on L5. How long for recovery?

Question

I was diagnosed about two weeks ago with my L5 bulgging 4mm, by an MRI. I will be receiving physical therapy. How long should I expect to be recovered, at least 90% or better. Any expierences would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

i am a chiropractor and specialize in spine related injuries. the disc acts as both a cushion and a spacer between each vertebrae. if a disc is bulging/herniated, that bulge can put pressure on the nerves exiting between each vertebra which causes a "pinched nerve." also if the disc is wearing out (getting thinner) you lose the space between the vertebra, which leaves less room for those nerves to exit--and again can pinch a nerve. the nerves in your cervical spine (neck) go all the way down your arm while the nerves in your lumbar spine (low back) form the sciatic nerve which runs all the way down your leg. if any of these are "pinched" they can cause pain, numbess, tingling, weakness wherever these nerves go (down arms/legs).

as a chiropractor i see this type of scenario on a daily basis. for those who have degenerative disc disease, disc herniation, disc bulging, etc.--normal chiropractic care can usually help with those problems. but there are also many people out there that have had this problem for many years and can't find relief with anything they try--including chiropractic.

but now there is a treatment that is perfect for your situation and the best part is: it's non-surgical and non-invasive. if you haven't heard of it yet it is called spinal decompression. this type of treatment focuses on disc injuries and the problems they cause. i use the DRX9000 spinal decompression system in my office and it works wonders for people with these types of injuries (approx. 90% successful). the DRX9000 is fda approved and is the best decompression system available (there are cheap knock-offs that don't give the same results). as far as recovery time is concerned this treatment takes approximately 5 weeks.

my recommendation would be to see a chiro, especially if you've never tried it before-just to see what they have to say. also do some research on this treatment and then contact someone (usually a chiro) who uses it in their office. i would just google "DRX9000" to find info on it and doctors in your area who may have it. this treament is able to encourage the disc to go back to it's normal orientation and also rebuild its height--which then takes the pressure off whatever nerve it is compressing. doing some physical therapy can help short term, but like a previous poster wrote--their pains only returned with time because PT can't rebuild disc height or "suck" that herniation back into place like the DRX can, although PTs may say they can by doing the Mckenzie method (again short term fix). pain meds, cortisone shots, epidurals won't do anything to solve the problem--all they do is cover it up and they become less and less effective over time. surgery AT BEST is 50% successful and usually doesn't solve the problem since most people need another surgery 5-10 years down the road for the same issue. it's typically a viscious cycle.

this treatment is extremely effective for degenerative disc disease, disc bulging, herniation, etc. and also sciatica type of cases, especially if you haven't had surgery yet. i've had many patients who were scheduled for surgery, tried this treatment as a last resort, and then ended up cancelling their surgery altogether after treatment was completed. it really does work and that's what my recommendation would be for you. good luck and hopefully this gives insight to others experiencing similar problems--there is a solution!!!

RESPONSE: cptdt seems to have some misinformation regarding the decompression study, so here's a site with the research article (it's kind of a heavy read) -
http://www.orthopedictechreview.com/issues/novdec03/pg36.htm

Answer 2

Disc Herniation Size Mm

Answer 3

My husband had an injury last year that resulted in a herniated disc between L4 and L5. He had surgery in april this year (he is 24 also). He had the protruding part of the disc shaved, plus a small amount of the surrounding bone (to give his nerve roots more room). Had everything gone perfectly, the doctor would have had him stay overnight after the procedure and go home the next day. He had a small spinal fluid leak that the doctor found though (most likely from an epidural last year) that had to be repaired. Because of this, he ended up staying three nights in the hospital, and had flat bed rest for 48 hours following surgery. He had an IV catheter put in his hand before surgery. While he was under anesthesia, they put in a urinary catheter (I'm pretty sure this is standard procedure). After surgery, he was on a morphine drip for a day and then went back to taking percocet (that he had been on before surgery), but within three weeks, he was off all pain meds. His pain was significantly reduced immediately following surgery. By the time he left the hospital, he was walking normally (no more cane!) and was able to stand up straight again.

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Answer 4

I cured my sciatica with this natural treatment ( http://cure-sciatica.info )
Normally, I would not answer a question like this as my expertise is generally in medication but I had severe sciatica while I was pregnant with my 3rd child (after having had twins) and I had sciatica so bad that I was finding it difficult to walk. I tried massage therapy and physical therapy and could not take medication
I went to the chiropractor and the pain was instantly relieved. My hips and lower back were out of alignment because I had carried twins the year before. On occasion a Doctor of Osteopathy (DO) can also work but they usually only work on one joint at a time - the chiropractor will do your whole back which works faster. Anyone who does not believe in chiropractors will tell you they are quacks - don't listen.
I don't necessarily believe that chiropractors can cure things like diabetes but they can definitely relieve some types of back pain especially if a pinched nerve is involved which is usually the cause of sciatica.

Answer 5

I had back surgery for L5 3 years ago.Mine had been bulging since 1987.I have had tens of thousands of dollars spent on rehabs and physical therapy's. They relieve pressure for a short time but do not solve the problem.Find you a Orthopedic surgeon that knows what hes doing and don`t waste time or money on a problem that will not fix itself until you have it surgically removed .My surgery was done in morning and i was up walking same day.Micro diskectomyIts roughly a 40,000 dollar deal

Answer 6

two to three weeks is a good estimate. A lot depends on just which direction the disc is bulging. Try to avoid surgery if at all possible. Almost 50% report no improvement or a worsening of condition after a lumbar laminectomy.

Answer 7

A 4 mm herniation is somewhat small (but big enough to cause a big pain), but recovery may be affected by several factors including whether you smoke, drink, your age, weight, and how much you sit during your normal day. The average male aged 18-55 usually feels significantly better within the first few treatments, particularly if they are classified under the McKenzie method nomenclature as someone with a derangment syndrome, unilateral/asymmetrical with pain no further down than the knee. (The McKenzie method is widely used among therapists who treat back pain). Many are pain free by their 6-8 visit. (At 2-3 times a week). It does require significant adherence to the program on your part.

Those who do not fall within this category (ie, they are older, smoke, etc) or have constant pain that radiates to the foot, there is still room for complete pain relief, but it may come a little slower.

REVISED.
Regarding the comments on decompression therapy: First I would like to say that research on the McKenzie technique on "rebuild" of disc height and change in disc pressure has never been measured in this technique. So to say that it doesn't do this is erroneous. The McKenzie techniqe HAS been shown to result in anterior displacement (that is the goal for someone with a posterior herniation) of the disc on MRI (although studies so far contain small number of subjects), but most importantly that is has been shown to effectively reduce pain and disability in both the short term AND intermediate outcomes. Long term results are limited (really haven't been done), but one year follow up reveals that only 35% has a reoccurance of pain and 75% continued their exercise program. Long term results comparing McKenzie based therapies to manipulative therapy and other exercise therapies reveal no significant difference between the three therapies at long term results.

The SAME can be said about spinal decompression therapy. One long term study revealed good results, but again involved a small number of patients (77) and only at 1 year follow up. No large group long term studies have been done on this method either. Research on decompression DOES demonstrate a change in disc height and pressure, yet there were many who were treated and did NOT change in disc height and pressure yet they reported complete relief. So to say that restoring change in disc height and pressure automatically results in less pain is not necessarily 100% accurate. The fact that no placebo can be administered in this method (and other methods...McKenzie included) is compelling.

Finally, the effectiveness of McKenzie based therapy and spinal decompression has NOT been compared; therefore, to suggest that one method is superior over the other is erroneous. What I will maintain, however, is that the McKenzie method gives the patient the knowledge of what to do if the pain does reoccur whereas those undergoing spinal decompression cannot exactly put the DRX9000 in their living room.

RESPOSE: Goines article posted by moist 1 does nothing to refute anything I have posted above. Spinal decompression has been shown to be effective in these studies (which I do not refute); Yet, it too lacks long term effectiveness studies. Goines' article measures only at the 90 day mark. Large group long term studies are typically marked at including at least 100 subjects and at least a 2 year follow up. Of course, if he does have any articles that meet those criteria, I would be happy to review them, but I have yet to find one on a medline or CINAHL search. There are about 8 full text articles on spinal decompression listed under my sources and none of them are long term and none of them compare it to the McKenzie method.

Answer 8

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Answer 9

go to a specialist and then get a second opinion.maybe by chiropractor or pain management specialist or orthopedist.
none of us can tell you that.
it all depends on many factors including the cause and the pt and your health and age before injury and more..

Answer 10

8 - 12 months, but personally it took me 6 but the doctors said 8 - 12 months so it depends if you use physical therapy or work out with it.