Does anyone have any advice on how to ease the pain of a ruptured disk?

Question

The doctor told my fiance a few months ago that he had a ruptured disk. He gets burning pains in his left leg when he stands or walks for more than a half hour or so, and he doesn't want to go through surgery to correct the problem (we have heard it doesn't really do much good, and also, we don't have the money for it). Does anyone know what we can do that would be non-invasive to help the situation? Right now he's using a cane, but that only helps slightly. Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Answer 1

My father-in-law had the same problem and he dropped dead after having a heart attack from all the pain meds he was on. Before the drugs took over his life he tried a few things........A special bed that has magnates in the mattress? A prescription for medical marijuana, and regular massage. Good luck, I am sorry for the pain your husband is going through please don't let this pain ruin your lives as it took my father-in-laws. Keep trying to fix it.

Answer 2

There are a couple of exercises that will really help this area for pain and inflammation. The first one: Lay on your back on the bed with your bent knees up in front of you, feet flat on the bed. Cross one leg over the other by putting your ankle on your thigh. GENTLY lift the leg that isn't crossed about two or three inches off the bed. Hold this stretch for a few seconds, then let go. Do it several times. You should feel the stretch in the sciatic nerve and hamstring muscle. Regular stretching will keep this area very limber and make your pain a lot less. Second exercise: very much like the first one, but done standing in a pool (about chest deep water is good.) Stand flat on the bottom of the pool, legs just slightly apart for balance (about shoulder width). Cross one leg over your other, same as the other exercise--put your ankle on your thigh. Then hold your arms straight out in front and pretend to "sit" down in the water until your uncrossed thigh is parallel to the bottom of the pool. Hold on to the pool edge if necessary so you can do this. When you get into the "seated" position, raise your foot that is still on the pool bottom up about 2 inches. Hold this position for about 15 seconds if you can, then relax. Both exercises should be done often and evenly--on both sides of your body--to get even benefits. And if I were you, I'd get off the Vicodan as soon as possible. The more you take the more you need--it's addictive, and the withdrawal is not pleasant. If you manage your back with exercise you can manage the pain with Tylenol.

Answer 3

Try stretching every morning. A physical therapist can show you a couple good stretching techniques for this.
Also, if this is a chronic problem, you could check with your local area hospitals...many of them have "pain clinics". They have anesthesiologists that are there to administer injections of different types, depending on your pain and the area involved. These can help alleviate pain and symptoms quite well.

Answer 4

Try increasing vitamin D intake. Low vitamin D levels is linked to chronic pain.