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  1. #26
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    Thumbs up

    Quote Originally Posted by Moeghoul View Post
    Wear good shock absorbing shoes as well. Avoid walking around barefoot on hard floors, etc. as much as possible.
    WAY ahead of you.

  2. #27
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    Buzz, be easy on the extension, just lying on your stomach might be enough for now. Seriously think about the epidural injections and going for lumbar traction
    fighting gravity on a daily basis

    WhiteRoom Skis
    Handcrafted in Northern Vermont
    www.whiteroomcustomskis.com

  3. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by Vinman View Post
    Buzz, be easy on the extension, just lying on your stomach might be enough for now. Seriously think about the epidural injections and going for lumbar traction
    That is what I am going to go in for I have decided. Some shots and traction is nothing is the grand scheme of things.

    Still want to see a few other docs, but need some relief now and know how to start.

  4. #29
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    You're a week into this agony. Doctors should be prescribing PATIENCE. It's a slow recovery, amigo. If your lucky that epidural will kick in within a day or 2.

  5. #30
    =FLO= is offline www.coloradofreeskier.com
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    Quote Originally Posted by Moeghoul View Post
    You're a week into this agony. Doctors should be prescribing PATIENCE. It's a slow recovery, amigo. If your lucky that epidural will kick in within a day or 2.
    Completely agree, epidurals and massive core strengthening will hopefully solve the problem, surgery should be your last option.

  6. #31
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    Core work is already helping and going in soon for a shot in the back. Then some manipulation and movement of my back to see if that pesky piece will move of the nerve.

    Time to get some relief so I can ski and get stronger before hand.

  7. #32
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    WTF!?!?!?!?!? NYC Asian Escorts for a bad back???? Are you insane??

    Wait ...... what have you done with Trackhead!?!?

  8. #33
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    Rcovering from Laminectomy right now

    If there is one thing I've leanred in the last year it is that every back/disc problem is different. FWIW, here's my story;
    The stats;
    Age - 41
    Very active lifestyle - Surfing, Snowboarding, Soccer in a league on Sundays, gym twice a week, plus I have 2 kids - you get the picture
    I don't drink, smoke, etc
    Low BP, no Cholesterol issues, etc

    Last November I started having pain in my left leg. It would start in the hip and radiate down to my shin. I'm not a fan of surgery so I saw a Chiropractor for a while. Point of reference; I landed hard on my left hip about 12 years ago and had lower back pain with some pain in my left leg. I had 2 nerosurgeons tell me I needed surgery, ended up going to a Chiropractor then and resolved the problem in about 6 months. In that case I would get short term relief with each visit - not this time. In fact, the adjustments he was doing that seemed to help the most were more like physical therapy.

    Naturally I tried the PT route next. I went to one physical therapist that I didn't like much (mostly just set me up with stretching exersizes and charged me for the visit), then went to a second PT that is fantastic! A couple of months into the second PT I was feeling good enough to call it quits. The next w/e I threw out my back sorting laundry (no kidding - I wish I was). To the good PT's credit, as I worked with them they kept saying, "we think there's something going on in your back" despite the fact that I had no back pain whatsoever.

    At this point I'll spare you the details and the rant about Urgent Care, ER care, ObamaCare and all the rest - suffice it to say it took over a MONTH to get someone to approve an MRI and a follow up consult.

    Now here's where you can throw out all statements like, "don't ever do surgery", "do surgery only if you can't walk", and all other platitudes. As I said, each case is different. If you are in great shape (and I am) you will experience less pain than if you are proud of your beer gut, smoke, etc. The Ortho took one look at my MRI and said two things;
    1) You need a better story
    2) Are you sure you are not having pain in your Right leg?

    My L4-L5 disc was heavily protruding on the nerves - thus the left leg pain. No amount of PT was going to fix it. It's true 80% of disc problems go away without surgery but I've been at it now for 8 months - it's not going away. Surfing, snowboarding, soccer have all been too painful to consider. This is not the life I want - I did the surgery.

    RECOVERY;
    It hasn't been so bad. The leg pain is gone. I'm having pain due to the incision and local muscle pain in the back. They took out the staples (yes, staples) after two weeks. It looked like it was healing but I had a lot of discharge so last week I went back into surgery so they could drain it, do a biopsy to check for infection (negative) and stitch it back up. Turns out the staples were irritating the skin causing the discharge. If they had stitched it the first time I'd be back at work already. The biggest hurdle has just been keeping myself from going about my normal activities. Anytime I dropped something on the ground I had to leave it or ask someone else to pick it up for the first 3 weeks. Try that sometime - it sucks! No I just have to be patient for the next week until the stitches come out - then it's back to 4-6 weeks of PT. After that I should be able to do anything I want. Based on how I feel today I can't see that being wrong. I've been catching up on movies and doing a lot of walking. I was able to tune my snowboard and fix some dings in my surfboards this week - can't wait to get back at it!

    Lesson learned - find a good Ortho and listen to what he says. If he immediately dismisses PT or Chiro as an option - find another ORTHO! If he won't listen, or doesn't ask what activities you ultimately want to be doing - find another ORTHO!

    And one other thing since it came up in this thread - I told my Doc I didn't want any Narcotics. They just give me a splitting headache the day I give them up and they really don't do much more for me than Ibuprofen does. I can take the pain, I don't need the habit. YMMV...

  9. #34
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    Well, things have been getting to feel better. Off all meds, still have about 52 out of 60 Loritabs. Hit the Flexeral once in a while to settle muscles when stressed.

    So I hiked a few hikes. Felt good and fine the next day.
    So I have been walking more, same results, good.
    So I have been alternating sitting and standing at work, helping fatigue.
    Just barely feeling good enough for some crunches last week. NOPE!

    Started to get a pinch on my left side, disc feels compressed, range of motion was good and now shot again and pain, numbness down my left leg.

    So trying to get better on my own did not work as well as I would have liked.
    Going to hit of Chiro again to get motion back.
    Talking with my wife, we think the steroid epidurals are needed now.
    Will do PT, well have been, but if they can help me with other exercises that would be beneficial.

    Bummer is I just got my bike back up and running and now I freakin hurt again.

    Will work with the epidurals, see what happens, and if I need this "tag" of my disc that is hitting the nerve cut, then I will also look at that option......but not yet.

    I am not opposed to this little procedure as I was when I first saw the doc, but I also am not ready for that IMHO yet. Other things to try first still.......
    Last edited by Buzzworthy; 09-15-2009 at 02:35 PM.

  10. #35
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    I went through the same thing two years ago L5-Si and the disc above it.

    I had an epidural. It seemed to cause more pain than I had before.

    Once I could walk and put on my socks, and after taking 3 weeks off of work to lay down I started vigorous rehab. It was mostly palates which was a good start to manage the pain. i was in rehab with Huckasorass which I thought was pretty cool all things considered. I think he was in for ACL which is my next conquest.

    In the end, I did a ski conditioning course that was based on plyometrics. This was the final cure. Even though it hurt initially, all of the pain went away within a month of 2x per week 90 minutes or so per session. I had pain down to the bottom of my toes, and there were some drills I couldn't do right away, but I quickly built a lot of strength. This was after I had developed some back stability.

    I really think the plyometrics was the way to go because it has an impact on the nerve system. http://books.google.com/books?id=mLM...age&q=&f=false


    Also figure out how to release your Iliopsoas muscle. You release half way between your hip bone and your belly button on your front side. Wiggle in your thumb around moving your guts out of the way until you reach the muscle. Massage it until it releases and a lot of pain will be released. http://www.lower-back-pain-answers.com/iliopsoas.html

  11. #36
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    Thanks a ton for the info. I need to look in depth at the links you provided. Been doing home stuff, but not getting anywhere.

    I am plateaued at this point. Not getting better or worse.

    I keep saying in my head that I will get the eppy and soon, but I have had 2 a while ago when I first bulged these discs and I honestly don't want to go through it again.

  12. #37
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    Quote Originally Posted by ska21 View Post
    Also figure out how to release your Iliopsoas muscle. You release half way between your hip bone and your belly button on your front side. Wiggle in your thumb around moving your guts out of the way until you reach the muscle. Massage it until it releases and a lot of pain will be released. http://www.lower-back-pain-answers.com/iliopsoas.html
    Oh man, that freakin hurts!! I feel this area sometimes and wondered if I had a hernia.....now this makes more sense in why I had to stop crunched for a bit as this muscle was all knotted up.

    edit: I can feel direct pressure in the disc area by only pressing on this muscle, is this right?

    edit 2: Something let go in my disc area in my back and I can now touch my toes! I had trouble getting socks on this am. Wow.

  13. #38
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    Repeat and repeat regularly. I hope that breaks the ceiling open for you.

  14. #39
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    Thumbs up

    Back feels better today, so far so good!

  15. #40
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    Have lost an inch now on my waist, some of the belly and feel stronger after working on core exercises. Still hurts on a daily basis though and the epidural is coming I believe.

  16. #41
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    Severe coughing put me on the floor this am. Holy ouch now. Time to get back into a doc and get the dreaded steroid shot.

  17. #42
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    I get the best feel with Nikes. They have good cushioning.

  18. #43
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    Steroid shots are great Buzz, and nothing to dread. You will feel great immediately after because of the painkillers included in the dose. I have to get one every few years when my l5-s1 blows up. Not sure if they have to snake an epidural to the injection site, but they always give me a drug cocktail beforehand to make that a pleasant experience. Just take it easy for a few days after the shot.

  19. #44
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    Scheduled for steroid epidural Nov 25th. Sciatic pain is just killing me for the last week. Nothing I do can get the pain to go away.

  20. #45
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    Knock on wood, but going on 2 years to the day from my injections. Only even seen my doc a couple of times since and it was just follow up. Hope they work as well for you as they did for me.
    "I dont hike.... my legs are too heavy"

  21. #46
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    Quote Originally Posted by Professor View Post
    Knock on wood, but going on 2 years to the day from my injections. Only even seen my doc a couple of times since and it was just follow up. Hope they work as well for you as they did for me.
    Thank you, I hope so too.

  22. #47
    =FLO= is offline www.coloradofreeskier.com
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    I have dealt with the same problems for years, had the discectamy in 2002, and had L4-S1 fusion on July 21, 2009. I am feeling much much better now, nerve/leg pain is gone, I am now focusing on core strengthening and stretching. Your symptoms are exactly the same as mine in 2002, I hope you don't develop severe degenerative disc disease like me.

    My biggest advice, stay away from chiropractors, they are not doctors and can make your problem so so much worse. An adjustment on a bulging disc can tear the shit out of it. Hopefully an epidural, tons of PT/core strengthening, and stretching will solve your problems. Get a large excercise ball, they work wonders just from rolling around on it and doing core exercises on it.

  23. #48
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    Re epidurals: resist the temptation during the period immediately after the injection to immediately go back to normal activities - it's very easy to do due to the near-miraculous results from the combined steroid and local anesthetic. this will lead to major relapses since the underlying problem may still be there.

  24. #49
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    Quote Originally Posted by PB View Post
    Re epidurals: resist the temptation during the period immediately after the injection to immediately go back to normal activities - it's very easy to do due to the near-miraculous results from the combined steroid and local anesthetic. this will lead to major relapses since the underlying problem may still be there.
    Appt at 1:30PM day before Thanksgiving. After procedure done, going home for rest of day and have a long weekend to relax and heal.

  25. #50
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    Appt moved up, getting epidural in 45 minutes. Oh man I need this to work, back is hurting bad.

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