Buldging lower lumbar disc

[ronwest]

Up to you to decide if you want/need surgery but it should be the absolute last resort.

A couple of things... when the disc is bulging you need to get flat on your back - not sitting, not standing - both sitting and standing load the disc.
Anti-inflams may be of assistance but you're better off using them in conjunction with other treatment.
When you've been good and your back has settled down, get a tennis ball or golf ball, put it on the floor and lay your butt cheeks on it (one at a time obviously). You're attempting to trigger glutes and piriformis (which when triggered will take pressure off your sc nerve). You'll know when you're in the right position 'cause it hurts like hell. Stay on each trigger point for 30 seconds to 2 minutes. If you're doing it right, you'll feel the muscle relax somewhat.
Any soft tissue therapy should be of some assistance - up to you to try them and see what works best for you.
One thing's for sure - when the pain gets bad enough you'll do something about it ;)

[DJR David]

Not a permanent solution, but certainly helps.

Get yourself into a swimming pool as often as you can. Take the weight off your back.

Long term, for future protection look at exercise building strength around your lower back. have a fitness expert help you with this though

Hi

had the same thing and found traction worked a treat on the sciatica pain, then went to a chiropractor, now only have to go there every couple of months.

[mcnews]

Originally Posted by Fev

im looking for a permanent kinda thing with a trip to a therapist every now and then. how many times a week do you go to the therapist?

Whenever it starts to tighten up too much or I am doing too much flying and travelling and working all over the place on a laptop rather than in the office. Generally around once a month, sometimes now ony every few months, sometimes if in a bad spell 2 or 3 times in a month.

Chiro to me seems to be the biggest quackery of the lot. Crunch here and there and see you next week and every week after for the rest of your life... Physio standard response is do these exercises and lose weight, stay fit etc. which is common sense stuff and also I have found a complete waste of time, just go once and get the exercises and keep those up.

Accupuncture has done so much for me it is generally my first port of call now for any injury or sprains I have. I even cut the tendon to my thumb and had to have microsurgery to put the tendon back together and the resulting scar tissue left behind made things uncomfortable. Hand physio etc. says keep rubbing it and manipulating it hard which hurts like hell and is really, really hard to try and do yourself. I went to the needle man and hey presto, one treatment and half the scar tissue has broken up and gone and it is getting better all the time now...

[Au2falcons]

Fev,

I've put up with Spondiliosis for about 13 years till the age of 23. It's a slippage of the lower lumbars, for me caused by poorly formed lumbar vertibrate that don't lock into each other. So I can fully understand what pain is, and i've also done it without the pain killers.

For those 13 years doctors said nothing could be done, so instead I missed out on alot of life, thanks doc. By absolute coinsidence a mate suggested I see a Chiropractor in Sydney for a different opinion. What do you know, now two years on & i've forgotten I have a back problem. Naturally your treatment will depend on your problem. I was seeing him twice a week, then once a week, then once a fortnight and then once a month, over a six month period. I have now reduced my visits because it feels great, down to six weeks visits now.

The pain was non existent after the first three weeks. This chiro is highly qualified and very professional. I'm speaking from my personal experience, I think it's worth the visit to the city to see this guy for another opinion.

If you are keen, pm me & i'll give you his details.

Cheers,

Adrian.

[atec77]

Originally Posted by Fev

i dont take anything for it.. yeah im a real man






who cant handle the pain anymore. im seeing a gp to get some references for neurosurgeons soon.. i saw a specialist in the san hospital in sydney last year and he just told me theres nothin you can do, see physio or something.

You need an mri then find a decent skeletal guy who can show you how to relieve the pain , I have one here in Brisbane who is amazing and manipulates the pressure points and uses huge needles ( you know acupuncture) ...
down you way I have no idea but the right person will remove most of the pain in the first visit and time will then help.

[Sourbastard]

Opium is the answer. Whatever the question was.

Do these people look like they are in pain?


Of course not. Drugs is the answer!

Send me 55 dollars.

[paule11]

as MCnews said accupuncture is good
I remember having back problems buldging disk continuous sciatica couldnt pick up a peace of paper of the ground strengthening my abdominals and stretching hamstrings did a lot of good .
Try any alterantive healing type things before getting surgery .
When I was geting acupuncture I got taught taichi as well never beleived in any of that sort of stuff but it all works.
Better to try an alternative than get cut open gofind an energy healer pranic, reiki ,reconnective do a search on google see if they help better to spend a few $100 than have an operation that you may have been able to avoid

[fmc351]

Originally Posted by sourbastard

Opium is the answer. Whatever the question was.

Do these people look like they are in pain?


Of course not. Drugs is the answer!

Send me 55 dollars.

Opium, pfft.

Smack is where its at, acupuncture fee, drug fee, consultation fee.

$55
$55
$55
$165

Youre squandering opportunity.

[Sourbastard]

Originally Posted by fmc351

Opium, pfft.

Smack is where its at, acupuncture fee, drug fee, consultation fee.

$55
$55
$55
$165

Youre squandering opportunity.

Dont forget all that massaging you do to your buldge. Add 50 dollars.

[fmc351]

Originally Posted by sourbastard

Dont forget all that massaging you do to your buldge. Add 50 dollars.

Since youre a specialist Ill take that under consideration.

[Fev]

Originally Posted by sourbastard

Dont forget all that massaging you do to your buldge. Add 50 dollars.

my buldge massing comes free thank you!

well thanks everyone about your answers, im at work, about to leave as i cant stand the pain, about to go find some prescription drugs.. maybe some valium and mix it with bundy :P
im headin off to my local GP to get some good advice and start getting this sorted.

[GASXD]

Originally Posted by sourbastard

Dont forget all that massaging you do to your buldge. Add 50 dollars.

LOL....
Swimming is great for a bad back, I just finished a 4 yr mechanic apprenticeship and my back is stuffed. I have 3 disc that are looking sad and if i can tell you one thing is that, try not to think about the pain it only makes it worse.

[Fev]

Ok well i went and saw my GP.. he looked at the MRI's, yes i have a bludging disc BUT thats not what is causing the problem, apparently somthing in my very lowest back, above the tailbone is having to much weight put onto it which is then making it enflamed and causing all the pain and sciatica.. I cant remember what he called it, was a hard word to remember but he injected me with a local anesthetic and courtezone twice on either side of my spine and MAN i havnt felt this good in 2 and half years!! its still sore and tender, sitting at work its a little bit sore but its somthing i can live with..
What i need to do is strengthen the muscles in my back, lose some weight(115kgs -6ft 4, id like to be down to 90-95) although im not really fat or anything, just a bit flabby. and ill probably get these injections every couple of weeks.. i think ill try the acupuncture aswell and see what that does, luckily im not scared of needles, whereas my older brother you gotta chase him around the room hehe

anyways, Thanks for all the replies guys im very grateful

[ronwest]

Originally Posted by Fev

yes i have a bludging disc BUT thats not what is causing the problem, apparently somthing in my very lowest back, above the tailbone is having to much weight put onto it which is then making it enflamed and causing all the pain and sciatica..

Piriformis Syndrome?

http://www.rice.edu/~jenky/sports/piri.html

Get a tennis ball, lol.

[Fev]

nah it wasnt that

[ronwest]

Originally Posted by Fev

nah it wasnt that

Not yet, anyway.

Give it time... ;)

[GTP owner]

For the diagnosis try sacroiliac joint....the sacrum is the tailbone, the ilium is the pelvic bone, the joint between the 2 can become inflamed and produce "sciatic nerve" type pain. It is very, very painful in some cases, even more so than a true bulging disc causing leg pain.

[ronwest]

Originally Posted by GTP owner

For the diagnosis try sacroiliac joint....the sacrum is the tailbone, the ilium is the pelvic bone, the joint between the 2 can become inflamed and produce "sciatic nerve" type pain. It is very, very painful in some cases, even more so than a true bulging disc causing leg pain.

That could be on the money.

Intra-articular synovitis (severely inflammed SIJ) would be indicated for cortisone inj.

[mik]

this device was on a current affair last year i think? ......any way they interviewed people who had used it and the majority gave it the thumbs up, i was interested in it for the family and myself, but if i recollect it right the home device was about $1200, a bit pricey for the peasants .http://www.enar.com.au/enar.html it might be worth a look.

[strik9]

i finally went after 12mts of pain. got the mri and x rays. i,ve been getting tremal and selabrex and panadine forte, of a mate. hardly takes the edge of the pain.( well i self medicate with beer)lol. i have bulging (and alot of minor injuries he says) dics ect. the doctor told me to take a panadol. and perscrided selabrex. yeah right. no idea. i can hardly walk for 10mins at a time without, agony where i need to sit down. yep a panadol should do the trick.(pigs butt)

[Fev]

Originally Posted by GTP owner

For the diagnosis try sacroiliac joint....the sacrum is the tailbone, the ilium is the pelvic bone, the joint between the 2 can become inflamed and produce "sciatic nerve" type pain. It is very, very painful in some cases, even more so than a true bulging disc causing leg pain.

That sounds more like it.. all the way down to very very painful bit... now that ive been screwed around by more doctors missing the real problem with me(yr 6 broke me arm and wrist.. doc only saw the arm broken, 2 weeks later of pain i got it redone and they found the wrist was stuffed too.. pricks)

its definately better now but i gotta take weight off it and strengthen the muscles now.. still painful.. but its more centralised and sharper but not more painful then before

[Fev]

Originally Posted by mik

this device was on a current affair last year i think? ......any way they interviewed people who had used it and the majority gave it the thumbs up, i was interested in it for the family and myself, but if i recollect it right the home device was about $1200, a bit pricey for the peasants .http://www.enar.com.au/enar.html it might be worth a look.

looks to be one of those magnetic thinamajigs.. it isnt a healer, it pulls away the electro pulses that send pain messages to your brain.. or atleast thats what i think it is

[GTP owner]

Forget the magic thingamyjigs. I am a chiropractor, and i see these conditions, including bulging discs, sciatica, herniated discs every day. Find a good chiropractor and you will not go wrong. I see a lot of these conditions on referral from the local medical practitioners, who also come in for treatment. I see a lot of patients before surgery, with the aim of preventing unnecessary operations. We have a fairly good success rate, but NO treatment is completely risk free, nor guaranteed for success.

[ronwest]

Originally Posted by mik

this device was on a current affair last year i think? ......

You see this type of thing from time to time and they beg the question that if they are so good why aren't we using them exclusively?

However, once upon a time I would poo-poo anything that didn't fall within my fairly narrowly defined belief systems.
Having now been around the block once or twice I'm happy to accept that there is no one fit for all, whether it be the generally accepted modalities or all manner of weird/notsoweird devices.

If someone tells me that an enar or magnets or mystical incantations cured them, I'm only too happy to accept that. It may not be my treatment of choice but then again, I'm not them ;)

[atec77]

Originally Posted by Fev

I have severe pain constantly from a bulging disc in my lower spine which is giving me sciatica down both of my legs, all the way to my calves and ive seen a specialist hat MRI scans or whatever they were which he looked at.. and all he told me was there isnt really anything you can do about it, it should go away after a while..

Well Another 6 months on and its NOT getting better.. its getting alot worse..
im at the point where i cant stand up or sit down in the one spot for more then 5 mins without having to move from the pain, which is damn hard since i work at a computer all day and usually have to stand on the train going home..

has anyone had the same but has had somthing done about it? ive seen some things on the net but i dont know where to start in sydney..

You need to see someone trained as these people have in muscle/skeletal http://www.musmed.com/qld.html find one in your area as I have some badly bulged disks and after a couple of visits to Phillip Watson in Sunnybank can work again ( suffered terribly for months)
Don't see a bone cracker unless you want more pain but I expect an mri should be done if you don't have the shots already to take and good luck

[Russ]

Originally Posted by Fev

That sounds more like it.. all the way down to very very painful bit... now that ive been screwed around by more doctors missing the real problem with me(yr 6 broke me arm and wrist.. doc only saw the arm broken, 2 weeks later of pain i got it redone and they found the wrist was stuffed too.. pricks)

its definately better now but i gotta take weight off it and strengthen the muscles now.. still painful.. but its more centralised and sharper but not more painful then before

Hi Fev,

I consider myself fairly well informed to make a constructive suggestion with regard to your problem. I had a ruptured disc at L5 S1 level in the lower spine and it took 3 years of complaining and poking and prodding and all the other bullsh$! under the sun being carried out on me until one day I saw a Neurosurgeon who knew what he was talking about and got something done about it. I had an ADR (artificial disc replacement) operation in Sept. '06 and it has helped me considerably although I still have some serious nerve problems due to having to wait so long to have something done. Mine is a workers comp. injury so I think that should put you in the picture as to why it took so long. I won't go there, but I will suggest to you that it might pay you to see if you can get a referral for a course of steroidal injections into the area where the disc bulging is present. It basically acts to reduce the inflammation around the disc and in theory it will hopefully help to reduce your symptoms as well. The injections were ineffective for me since the surgery but they may be beneficial for you as from what you have said your's is a bulging disc not herniated. I still have a fair bit of inflammation in the area which the Doc reckons is basically my body telling the artificial disc that it doesn't belong there. I still do regular exercises, including walking, but unfortunately the nerve damage is permanent so I just have to live with it, My strongest suggestion to you is NOT to do any heavy lifting or strenuous activity involving twisting or constant bending and stretching as it will probably only aggravate it. Forget the Physiotherapists, the one I saw treated me like a rubbery figurine and practically tied me in a knot, that doesn't help believe me. I haven't read through all the replies in the thread so I'm not 100% sure what recommendations have been made already but a good chiropractor and a sensible exercise program specifically designed for you would probably be a good start, consider the injections I mentioned earlier, and to honest with you avoid surgery unless it is absolutely necessary.

Best of luck
Cheers
Russ :

[Go baby Go]

HI Fev,

I guess this shows how many different things can go wring with the back hey.....

I have a few prolapsed discs.... the straw that broke the camel's back was making party hats for the club display for FPV day last year.....
The way my physio described it was it's like a tube of toothpaste or jam donut - once the liquid comes out, it can't go back in. The bottom disc has nothing left in it, the next one up is about 20% "full and the third one up is about half. apparantly something to also keep an eye on is the liquid causing calcification on the discs....but that could only be my case and not a general concern. The scan looks freaky.......

Physio helped dramatically in the first instance (2 mins max of sitting before i was in agony), then MRI's showed my dodgy discs..... i had no luck at all with chiro - but I think it's purely a case of whatever works for you. A friend had no luck with physio but had success with chiro...

Anyway, epidurals gave some success (inject cortisone and other stuff directly into the disc- not one of my finer moments let me tell you), but i now do a pilates based rehab program. It's main function is to strengthen the muscles around my back so it helps hold me in the correct position. It is not quick - like anything muscles take a while to become strong- but i now can stand for longer than 10 mins and walking for more than 10 without needing to stop. I'm 200 times better than what I was......

FYI - There are quite a number of blokes that are there doing the same thing- far more than women actually - and they don't mind coz' they get to perve on the other ladies....

A friend had keyhole surgery on the Thursday, was walking on the friday and back to work on the monday (for prolapsed discs). he is back into club motorsport and reckons is moving better than he has in years. My old boss had surgery and 2 years on is still nowhere near back to normal- so I guess it's just a matter of doing your research, and seeing a few different specialists... everyone i have seen though recommend seeing a neurosurgeon before making the call..........

Good luck!

[Fev]

Thats where i have my buldging disc. But its not what is causing the pain apparently as its my very LOWest back which is where all the pain is.. down around my waist is where the pain comes from.. i had my injection of cortisone and a local mixed in with it but its wearing off, yesterday i could barely walk after seeing a movie in an uncomfy seat(10,000 BC Is mad!!)

i will be going back for more injections soon

[GTP owner]

The injections help to decrease the inflammation, as well as numbing the pain. The hope is that the joint can heal itself in the mean time. it sounds as though the joint is still damaged, or is being damaged, hence the continuation of the symptoms. You may need a sacroiliac support belt to hold the pelvis together, preventing excessive movements of the region, which allows you to continue with your daily activities while getting better.
The biggest issue we find with the injections is that because you do not feel pain when you use the damaged region, you can continue to injure it without any awareness of it.