Should I opt for surgery on my back?

Question

I recently have had horrible pain in my lower back which resulted in pain going down my right leg. I've been dealing with it and discovered that the sciatic nerve is being pinched by the L5 bone. The neurosurgeon says that it is operable but has suggested physical therapy. I've been doing exercises in the pool and have had one meeting with the therapist. But as a teacher I have been standing all day because sitting is painful. I am in tons of pain but afraid that one back surgery will lead to another. Does anyone out there have expertise or a similar experience. The shock in my leg has almost gone away with just some sensation but my lower back is unbearable. I am overweight and dieting and trying to excercise. Please help me to make this decision. Thank you.

Answer 1

There is no need to rush to surgery. The only true indicators to rush immediatly to surgery are a sudden inability to control your bowel or bladder, or focal significant weakness such as a drop foot, or widespread neurological deficits.

It's good that you are in for physical therapy. The book mention by bc12... is written by Robin McKenzie a world reknowned PT out of New Zeland. He has been studying mechanical back and neck pain for many years and many of the same methods he used more than 30 years ago have since been validated by many studies. His training is available to PTs, D.O.s, D.C.s and MDs as post entry level training. Therefore, not all physical therapists have this training. Not that you can't recover with your current physical therapist, but that if your current regemine does not work, I suggest you find someone who has completed this training by going to http://www.mckenziemdt.org. While not everyone can recover with conservative measures, the MDT method quickly screens who will do well with this method and who will not.

It's good that you recognize that weight is a factor and exercising in the pool is an excellent way to achieve your weightloss goals if you are getting up your heart rate enough.

Finally, the fact that your leg pain is subsiding is a very good indicator. This phenomenon is called centralization. As pain moves out of the leg and towards the back, the joint is attaining a more normalized position. Centralization can infer that you are on your way to a recovery. Failure of your pain to centralize in the first 3-7 visits is a sign of a poor outcome. Your back may hurt more now, but if your leg has gotten better, this is good...the back pain should now start to subside as well.

Good luck for a speedy recovery.

Answer 2

I had back surgery about 2 years ago and it saved my life, literally. I could not have gone on in all of the pain that i was in. you would not believe the instant relief after the surgery. I had a different type because i had a tumor growing around my spine and it I was much more invasive than the surgery that you are talking about but I would defiantly suggest surgery rather than taking drugs for an unknown period of time. Pain killers are way too addictive and my surgery enabled me to live without anything more than Motrin. Good luck and God bless! I see that many people say to go to a chiropractor but be careful. With my problems it could have left my paralyzed. have you had an MRI to make sure that it is only sciatica. That is how my started. My condition is very, very rare so don't let me scare you. Just get all of the appropriate tests before letting them do anything.

Answer 3

i had the same thing your describing from an injury to L5 S1 that gave me what you are describing which is called ridiculopothy. sounds funny but it's not. I was on workers comp so I had to go thru phys. therapy and then a series of 3 shots before a surgeon would do a mini discectomy. I still have residual pain and a slight drop foot. knowing what I now know I would have still opted for the surgery but would have let the surgeon fuse my spine as well. this type of surgery is extremely difficult(pain full) and can lead to further surgeries. just make sure you have the best Dr. you can get and expect it to take as long as a year to three years to completely recover. I still have what they call residual pain to this day some 10 years later. the best thing I did was to walk even tho walking is very pain full it really helps. losing weight is more important than anything else you can do as excess weight places allot of strain on your back. I would also investigate the newest thing in backs which is laser surgery. at any rate don't let this go on for too long as you may develop drop foot and i was told that if you wait longer than six months after your injury to have surgery it may not work. above all else I would advise you to pray about this before you make a decision. good luck to you and God Bless You.

Answer 4

My daughter is 2 1/2 and wears glasses for esotropia (crossed eyes), she had the surgery a year ago. Her eyes are nearly always straight with the glasses on, and cross without them - that's normal because her eyes cross because of farsightedness. The glasses correct the farsightedness, the surgery only corrected the amount of eye turn that wasn't due to being farsighted. Do his glasses correct for farsightedness (the prescription would be a number with a + in front)? That's what my daughter's glasses are - basically if your son is more farsighted than normal, he'll cross his eyes in order to compensate. If that's the case, then no, I would not do the surgery because as his vision gets better - which it will - then his eyes will work on their own. If you get the surgery, you risk over-correcting the turn, which means yet another surgery. I know that glasses and 2 year olds are tough! But I really feel like going that route is better if his eyes are usually straight in glasses. Of course, if his eye doctor is recommending surgery, and doesn't think there's worry about over-correcting, then I would consider it. As an aside, my daughter doesn't have the cable temples (the wrap around ones) and her glasses stay up quite well, have you tried getting them adjusted better? Good luck in whatever you decide

Answer 5

My first point of advice would be to find a doctor of Chiropractic and get some relief. Then start working on reducing the muscle tension and inflammation that is occurring in the low back. This being done by stretches, not exercises.

You mentioned pressure at the L.5 level... is confirmed with x-ray? Is there any problem with the disc at that level? Which way is the vertebra tilting? Lots of questions in need of answers. Should you have this information, it would be advisable to present it for evaluation. I will respond as honestly as I possibly am able to do so.

Apparently you are not getting the relief you need, at this point. Suggesting there needs to be another approach if you are to receive any benefits from treatment.

Answer 6

Before you do surgery work on losing the weight and doing Your swimming. Losing weight is going to take stress off of the back. I think you should do physical therapy because many times They can offer treatment that helps with the pain. I would also recommend you try chiropractic treatments. They can often help with the pain without having to have surgery. I've enclosed a link for you can find a qualified chiropractor in your area.

Answer 7

Dear Back Pain!!! Thanku for being honest.OK,u r over weight and u're trying to diet and lose weight!! Great going. r u cutting out your food supply entirely???r u exercising too much??? This can also cause pain. Sudden refusal to satisfy the EATING/HUNGER demands that the body was used to can cause you to lose weight but disproportionately!!! YOUR SPINE will be forced to adapt to the forces of gravity and the sudden change in your body!!! Please have a complete research done..please don't give up.
In the mean time:
1. Shift weight between each leg when standing OR pleace ur leg on a raised platform. PLEASE AVOID HEELS OF ANY KIND IF YOU"RE A WOMAN!!!!!
2. Have a mattress check.NOT TO BE TOO CUSHY and shouldn't be TOO HARD either.Remove ur fluffy comfy pillow and use a smaller one . When in the lying position, you could also place a small pillow or rolled up towel in the small of your back.
3. If you have an exercise trainer or even better, a Physical Therapist near by, please ask for BACK-STRENGTHENING EXERCISES!!!! Trying swimming too!!!
I wish you luck and blessings.

And OH BY THE WAY.... REMEMBER TO BEND YOUR KNEES IF YOU HAVE TO PICK SOMETHING FROM THE FLOOR!!!!

Answer 8

Oh my god....get your butt to a chiropractor and then to a massage therapist (in that order & preferably on the same day), although your first appointment at the chiropractor will likely be an evaluation. You'll think you'll have died and gone to heaven. Unless you have a definite physcial condition that warrants surgery I wouldn't do it, especially not before I have tried every other option out there.

Answer 9

its an option, but ur right....one can and usually does lead to another, i had 2 back surgeries 17 days apart, and awaiting a bi-level fusion.....all within 6 mos, and i have more pain now.
that is something u have 2 decide. good luck

Answer 10

i did spine surgey here ..........http://www.getadr.com/
amd it wa sthe best thing i ever did. i wanted a result like this..........http://nymag.com/nymetro/health/bestdoctors/2005/11964/ i needed 2 discs so i had to go overseas because our medical treatment for spine isses is pathetic,If you send them your MRIs they will analyze them for free.chiorpractors are a waste of time if you want to do physical therapy check this out.http://www.amazon.com/Treat-Your-Back-Robin-McKenzie/dp/0958269238/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-8163448-7733438?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1189049426&sr=1-1
good luck ..if you have any questions shoot me an email