2007-01-31 03:07:46 · 16 answers · asked by cindie008 1 in Health ➔ General Health Care ➔ Pain & Pain Management
I am in pain everyday & I am seeing a doctor regularly. He just recommended seeing a neurosurgeon for consultation. I have to take pain medication everyday. I can't sit or stand for long periods of time. I take daily walks.
2007-01-31 03:35:12 · update #1
Lots of people have abnormal MRI scans of their back but don't have any symptoms or any problems. The explaination of your question is highly dependent upon your symptoms. I saw a study back in the early 1990's that took a bunch of MRI's of normal, healthy people's backs. Guess what? 50% of the MRI's were "abnormal" in this study. I personally have an "abnormal" disk in my back, but it doesn't bother me very often. So, I simply don't think about it.
So, your question really can't be answered honestly and fairly unless we know about the person experiencing the "abnormality."
Nevertheless, it doesn't sound like cancer. That's good. That's a relief.
Is the person experiencing a lot of pain, enough to be considering surgery? Then they should discuss the issue with a neurosurgeon.
Does the person NOT want surgery? Then discuss options with a primary care provider, and possibly a chiropractor as well.
My gut instinct about this question is that the person with these findings would be best treated medically (and NOT with surgery). I would first of all make sure a non-surgical approach was safe by consulting in person a doctor. Then, I would try to forget about it.
I see MRI reports all the time mentioning a "tiny" this or "mild" that. Almost all the time it is in people who won't benefit from surgery.
2007-01-31 03:25:39 · answer #1 · answered by Tom Heston 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Annular Tear L5-s1
2016-11-07 09:12:38 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yeah I totally understand your pain. In Nov. of 2006 I had a completely ruptured disk at L4-L5 and the pain from my left buttocks down to my lower leg was unreal. I was operated on by a great neurosurgeon in Minnesota. The surgery was a hemilaminectomy with microdiskectomy, basically they take the part of the disk that has been irritating your spinal canal and surrounding nerves and they remove it. Then, they place as much of the disk back into place, saving as much of it as possible. My surgery was 90 minutes long, easy as can be, instant pain relieve, and no problems. Neurosurgeons have the best training as they go through as 6 or 7 year residency, so they come out very well qualified. Don't worry it is very routine surgery for these surgeons. Good Luck!
2007-01-31 04:22:19 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Paracentral Annular Tear
2016-12-29 17:44:13 · answer #4 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This Site Might Help You.
RE:
Please explain: Tiny L5-S1 left paracentral anular tear and mild diffuse disk bulging?
2015-08-13 00:42:07 · answer #5 · answered by Aylmer 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You have a small tear in the connective tissue surrounding the lowest level disc. These can sometimes be problematic but not always. It sounds like yours is. I would suggest a course of epidural steroid injections to help with the pain. If the pain keeps returning, a discogram may be in order. The discogram will help determine if the pain is truly coming from that disc. If it is then the disc can be treated with a minimally invasive procedure called IDET (intradiscal electrothermal annuloplasty) or with surgery.
Ask for a referral to a respected interventional pain management specialist.
2007-01-31 05:03:57 · answer #6 · answered by rwill54287 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First of all the L-5 means Lumbar region and there are five vertibrae in your lumbar region. So, that is what the five means. The S-1 means your Sacral region which is directly below your L-5 vertibrae. There are 3 of them in the sacral region. I have spina bifida that is in the L-5 region of my spine. It is very painful and i can relate to what your going through. If you have a diffused disk, i would talk to your neurosurgeon about that. They are the ones who handle nerves & spinal cord problems. They might want to consider fusing your disks together to keep them from slipping.
2007-01-31 04:55:18 · answer #7 · answered by big pappy 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Lumbar disc 5 and Sacral disc 1. Its the disc between L-5 and S-1. In the disc, there is a fibrous ring that surrounds the nucleus, which is gelatinous. The tear is in the fibrous part of the disc which can allow the nucleus to seep out, but that would be a "ruptured" or "herniated" disc. A "bulging" disc is the fibrous part of the disc pushing out of the disc space possibly into the spinal cord or spinal nerve area. Imagine if you put a sponge in one hand, and then laid your other hand on top of the sponge and pushed. This is what your vertebrae have done to your L-5/S-1 disc. Physical therapy can usually get it back in place, but its a potential problem forever. Most people who suffer from disc issues, always have them again at some point.
2007-01-31 03:17:27 · answer #8 · answered by panthrchic 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Basically what this means is your back MRI is the same as many other americans but yours recieved an MRI because you were having back pain. Unfortunately these findings do not result in curative surgical treatment and you get medical management (pain meds, physical therapy). The small tear is not something that is sewn back together and there is no evidence that with time these become large annular tears. Disc bulging is only significant if it compresses a nearby nerve.
2007-01-31 03:13:41 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
That is what is commonly known as 'slipped disk'. Most such herniated disks heal without any problem. Some, however, continue to bulge until the spinal cord is impacted and damaged.
Your doc should be watching this condition carefully.
2007-01-31 03:12:32 · answer #10 · answered by credo quia est absurdum 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋