Chronic Lower Back Pain (From Crash in Oct)

I did yoga after a serious back injury in college and again after an accident sidelined me for 22 months.

I should have kept doing it and I'm currently trying to find a place locally with later hours to get back into it.

Works wonders, for body and mind.

 

I have a good Blair Chiro here in Temecula that I work with. Dr. Murray Gailbrath, if anyone is interested.

 

So... I had an MRI about a week and a half ago. I just met with a new Orthopedic specialist today to review the results.

In short... I have major damage/dengerating L4-5 and L5-S1 discs.

Some text from my radiologist.

L4-5: There is moderate disc space narrowing and desiccation. There is a 6-7mm posterior central and right paracentral focal disc protrusion/extrusion that results in moderate canal stenosis and mild to moderate lateral recess stenosis bilaterally, slightly worse on teh right tahn the left. the disc protrusion elevations the posterior longitudinal ligament and appears to prolapse about 2mm below the level of the disc space. The AP dimension of the thecal sac measures about 7mm in the midline. there is minimal bilateral facent arthropathy with ligamentous thickening that contributes to the narrowing of the canal. The foramina still appear adequate in size bilaterally and there is no evidence of compression of the exiting l4 nerve roots.

L5-S1 There is a 6mm posterior right paracentral broad based disc protrusion with slight inferior prolapse. this abuts the ventral aspect of the thecal sac without definitely compressing it. This also touches the right S1 Nerve root sleeve without definitely compressing or displacing the nerve itself. the canal is mildly narrowed. the left S1 nerve root sleeve appears undisturbed. there is mild to moderate right and mild left facet arthropathy. the foramina appear adequate in size bilaterlaly.

I am going to start reading up on this injury as much as possible. The doctors were not very hopeful for a significant recovery... and when asked, "when can I get back on a bike?" All I got for an answer was... We don't have a crystal ball but at this point you're lucky to be up and moving around.

The surgeon wants to fuse those 3 vertebre... at this point I need suggestions and any info you've got. This injury is threatening the active life style that I've known my whole life.

 

:clap: It's a small world, I go there too! He was recommended to by Kathy Sessler and Eric Carter!

 

Lots of good info here: http://www.socaltrailriders.org/forum/rider-down/32028-herniated-disk.html

Consider seeing a Neurosurgen for another opinion as well. The problem with back issues is that most people get diagnosed when the problem(s) have existed for many years making the treatment way more aggressive. I always opt for no surgery whenever possible. When it comes to my back, I will exhaust all other possibilities first. Also consider getting a free consultation from a Blair Chiropractic practioner, it can't hurt!

 

if it comes to surgury, I would ask about disc replacement NOT fusing. But like Denmo. exhoust ALL other options first.

 

It is a small world, I know Kathy too.

 

Kathy and Leigh Donovan taught me how to jump (at a clinic in Kathy's backyard in 2003/2004).

 

At the risk of sounding like an alarmist, this is serious and needs to be addressed or it can blow-up in your face and change your life forever. I had a similar situation (which I neglected) in 2003. My L4-L5 were severely bulging and infringing into my spinal canal. Adding insult to injury, I had Spinal Stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal), combine the two and sometimes you get this rare phenomena known as "Cauda Equina Syndrome". Well, guess what I got? Look it up, it ain't very pretty and most who get it and have it chronically, are much older then I was at the time (39). One's who are lucky enough to get it acutely and have an operation within 48 hrs. of first symptoms, have a much better chance of recovery. Miss that window and you're in a wheel chair for the rest of your life. Not a lot of time passes before I give thanks to my awesome neurosurgeon (Dr. Igor Fineman) who diagnosed my symptoms and returned that night @ 11pm to perform a 4 hour operation. The man was amazing but gave me no hope. He couldn't tell me if I could or couldn't walk again or if I can resume normal life ever again. All he'd tell me is "time will tell" and to "be patient". Tough words to hear for someone who's active. Every body reacts differently and nerve damage is unpredictable. I still had to pay like hell and not one doctor could give me a prognosis on my recovery but at least I wasn't (permanently) paralyzed. Yeah, it sucked to have to learn how to walk all over again using a walker. I have permanent nerve damage and certain parts of my legs and feet are still numb and very weak, hence why I'm so slow climbing on a bike (I swear! :lol: ).

Fast forward to today, I ride but use lots of caution and listen to my body, when it hurts. My surgeon is not one who wants people to rob themselves of the very things that keep us alive so when I asked him if I can ride again, he said, "sure, just don't take any serious falls because you can't afford it". Easier said then done but I've done a pretty good job of that by avoiding unnecessary and uncalculated risks.

Take care of it whichever way you see fit but do not neglect it and pretend it will magically disappear because it won't. Good luck to you.

 

Good advise to go to a neurosurgeon... they specialize in the spine. I'm recovering from an advanced case of spinal stenosis and 5 herniated disks. I'm 68 yr old. My doctor is Sylvain Palmer (considered one of the best in the US) in Mission Viejo. He and his brother developed THE technique to address the spinal stenosis. 5 weeks ago I couldn't walk. I tried the chiropractor, steroid shots, streching, etc, etc... nothing worked. The sciatic pain had become so bad, I crawed around on the floor. After a 4.5 hr surgery, I have NO pain and can start riding again in one week... carefully of course! Palmer told me just try not to crash!... I said I would.

 

Atleast your A-OK, enjoy the happy pills. And be sure to follow up

 

I just feel like I've got to chime in here; I'm a chiro that runs a medical office (just scheduled someone for a discectomy fusion today). Yep, those are fairly large herniations, no findings suggestive of previous arthritis, great radiologist reading it. Most people I've seen with get better without surgery especially when no arthritis component and still within 3 months of injury. Standard protocol is to use surgery as last resort since 1) guarantees you're out of work for a long time. and 2) Not great success rates. Where surgeries are great is to get rid of nerve pain shooting down the legs; I'd do this myself after two months of trying conservative therapy. Where there is less success is when the pain is from the back itself (whether the facet joints or disc). Not any one therapy cures all, otherwise everyone would do it, and I'd have to change jobs. You'll get lots of opinions, including my own from people who have had things work/not work for them. Thats great because it gives you more options.

There was a large study done in the '90s that showed that generally the type of therapy that people preferred were the therapies that actually helped them later on. Conclusion: Find out what works for you.

Give a method a try. If you don't see significant results within two weeks, change. Other methods commonly used in an acute case are Cox flexion/distraction, pool therapy, drx9000 (just DONT sign up for more than 3 sessions!), epidural injections, standard conservative/physical therapy, chiropractic, . . .

Sorry for the rambling, but its a large topic. That's my 2 cents.

 

surgery might keep you off your bike for good

Hello there. I read your post and It discouraging to hear the last part about fusing the vertebre... I have been going to a chiropractor named Dr. Goodman located in thousand oaks, ca. his approach to good health is good spinal alignment. As is most chiropractic work. However if you walk into his place of business you'll see his walls filled with pictures of people, professional football players, skateboarders, actors, Olympic athletes of all sorts, martial artists kick boxers, cyclists, retired armed forces, and the list goes on. All are believers that surgery is not the answer when it comes to getting back to the things you love and painkillers only delay the healing process... I went in with a pinched nerve in my lower back and after 4 months of going once a week its completely gone away.

I would advise you to seek chiropractic work before you resort to surgery. sometimes its a must but before you even consider it, see a chiropractor.


They are the nicest people i've ever met

425 Lombard Street
Thousand Oaks, CA 91360-8215
(805) 495-2735

 

I participated in this thread to weigh in with my own back problems back in February of last year, but I am happy to say that I have seen marked improvement after having implemented the following remedies.

- bike fit: You can never discount the importance of it, so I won't rehash it here. There is no need to preach to the choir.

- P90X Yoga: I discovered yoga while going through the entire 13 weeks of the program. Believe it or not, the painful contortions seem to have helped keep the back pain at bay.

- Single speed biking: The freedom to pedal in saddle and out of saddle, and also to rock the bike sideways allows me to work my back while riding. The geared bike forces me to stay in one position and just use the legs to pedal, but the singlespeed biking has been very beneficial to my lower back.