my 81 yr. old mom recently had back surgery (discetomy) for a herniated disc. she had the surgery on feb.7.?

Question

her pain was mainly in her legs as the herniated disc was pressing on a nerve. my question is, should she still be having leg pain ? it has been almost 4 weeks since her surgery. has anyone had a similar experience with this type of operation ?

she went for her post-op check up last tues. and her surgeon put her on a week of prednisone.

Answer 1

I'm a physical therapist, and in my experience with treating patients this is very common. Since she was experiencing the leg pain due to the disc herniation (probably), the nerve gets very inflammed and nerves are VERY finicky creatures--that is, they get inflammed very easily, and when they are any little thing can progress the pain. The surgery in and of itself is a trauma to the area, so the doctor giving her cortisone will act as an anti-inflammatory to reduce the nerve irritation. After the next check up, she can also request to have physical therapy to further help with pain management. Of course, cold packs applied to the buttock area on the side of the primary pain can help (10 min/4-5x day, always use a cloth/pillowcase between the skin/cold pack) since they also act as an anti-inflammatory. Usually applying the cold back over the site of the surgery may be uncomfortable for older people that have this surgery (why I recommend over the buttock).

On a personal note, my father also had this type of surgery (however he is 75) and it is a long recovery, and discomfort is to be expected. Just remember that recovery is hard at any age, and especially as our bodies get older and heal slower. Love and patience are the key!

Answer 2

To begin with I truly question why ANY Dr would do this kind of surgery on a person of this age.
Surgery on the back at any age is bad and usually doesn't really even cure the problem so the fact that your mother is still in pain doesn't surprise me.
She is still in the healing process and considering her age and the fact that she probably has degenerative disc disease in her entire back anyway will probably prolong the healing process.
Prednisone is a steroid that is being used as an antinflammatory process and I wish you luck because even though the swellling may go down,the fact that she probably does have degenerative disc disease she is probably never going to heal totally or completely from this surgery.
Using a back brace may end up being your last resort as I'm sure that after this experience you probably won't be able to talk her into another back surgery unless they could give her a money back guarantee which none of them ever will ! ! ! !
Having worked in the OR and hearing an Orthopedic Dr say that he never operates on backs because surgery will never helps and only makes things worse so he sends "back patients" to the Neuro-Surgeon. . . IF I ever have back problems I will seek alternative solutions as I have done with the degenerative disc problems I have already encountered just recently.
I wish you and your mother well and I wish you luck.

Answer 3

I, too, am wondering why she still had the surgery. If it were a fractured hip, no question. Anyway, if she is still having the same pain, probably the disc removed was on the wrong level. The problem was mechanical-the disc pressing on the nerve root. If the disc has been removed, she should feel relief already since the pressure is gone. That steroid is also not a good idea. Good luck!

Answer 4

If the thing fixed was not the cause of the pain.

Much pain is from muscles below is an example of what may help (based on headaches).
Begin with a couple swigs of molasses or a couple of bananas daily - magnesium (which regulates many things in the body) and potassium (a needed building block for muscles).
Drink at least 1/2 gallons of water per day. Running a body low on water is like running a car low on oil is the analogy the head of neurology at UCDavis told my husband about 10 years ago.

Now to the cause - muscles - your back, neck shoulders and head have tender spots. They are knots in the fibers of the muscles called trigger points. It makes the muscles tight which makes them press on nerves and other things causing the pain.

The cure - start with a professional massage, you will also want to go back over any place you can get to 6-12 times per session up to 6 times per day rubbing (or lightly scratching on your head) every where that is tender until the knots go away. The place where the skull connects to the spine press up under the edge of the skull (to get to those muscles).

For more information read The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook by Davies. It teaches what to do and where the pain comes from.

Answer 5

The prednisone is to try to get her body to heal quicker, but it can screw her system up kinda- especially if she's diabetic.

She should have relief of her symptoms by now. If she's really obese, and has a lot of other medical issues, it can take a little longer.. If the disc was pressing on the nerve for a long time, it might not get much better.

Also, the surgery might have failed and might have to be redone.

Answer 6

My mother had the same problem and her doctor seemed to think it was all in her head. I asked another surgeon about it and he said it was real common to have the same problems after surgery that you had before. I think surgeons who specialize in spinal problems will do the surgery whether it is going to help the pain or not.

Answer 7

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