bending neck refers pain to

[christianman]

Firstly a big hello to all on this excellent forum,
I am a fellow back injury sufferer I have been almost confined to my home since June 2004 with a bulging disc at L5/S1. I won't bore you all with the details except to say that for the first 5 months the pain was so severe that I could not even get to sleep let alone sleep, even with the heavy drugs the doctor prescribed (I do not take them anymore as they don't work for the pain) I lost a stone in 6 weeks.
Surgery has been offered to me but I prefer to try everything else first!! So I have been to see a Chiropractor first twice weekly until November 2004 and then as I seemed to be getting a little better I attended once a week.
By Xmas I was sure I was on the mend, but alas in Jan this year I had a relapse that has been just as painful only difference is that I seem to be a bit more mobile this time.(if you call a limp and slow pace of walking mobile)
I have a very strange pain that I have not read about on the forum and was wondering if anyone else suffers from it too, when I bend my neck forward I feel a very tight sharp pain in my buttock and calf. Also I suffer from the leg pain like many others report on here, and suprizingly unless I touch my spine very little pain in the back, it is more tight and stiff than anything else.
Thanks in advance for reading this, life can be very lonely with this condition, as the understanding of a bad back is lacking in most people,the world and it's mother seem to suffer from it , but very few actually end up virtually prisoners in their own homes.

 

[livingdead]

The inflammation takes awhile to subside after the injury, even when you feel better do very simple exercises like walking in a circle, short squats or even just lifting a knee up repeatedly in the standing position, you have to be patient for a few more months. Then possibly lose some weight and do crunches and consider variations of the yoga sun salutation. A visit to the chiropractor or shiatsu person(and other similar modalities can help) chiros can take xrays. Hope this helps.

 

[stephannie1202]

Thanks for the tips jbarry, nice to know folk care enough to read and answer.
Are there any websites showing the yoga exercises ? I live in rural isolation so classes are not an option.
Lucky me I am naturally thin so weight isn't an issue, and I am a good girl and do take slow walkabouts in my local town, even if the old ladies overtake me! Some days however I do not feel fit enough to travel the 16 mile round trip for exercise on the flat, regards the pain it seems to be one step forward and two back, just as I think I am recovering a bit my leg kicks off loads of pain again. Progress is very slow and I tend to thnik it is important to exercise when possible.
Thanks again

 

[Beatle fanatic]

It sounds like you have a condition called nerve root tethering. These can occur after a disk prolapse, where the nerve root and surrounding tissues heal by sticking to each other. When you flex your neck this pulls the spinal cord, which in turn pulls on the nerve roots, and any that are tethered will give pain in the area that they feed.

This could be serious - advise that you discuss this with your chiropractor.

An X-ray will probably show no more than a small loss of hieght in between the vertebrae, suggesting a loss of hieght in the offending disc.

Please do not do any 'crunches' until this is further investigated, as this could further prolapse the disc.

There are other Posts on Nerve Root Tethering and disc injuries, if you do a Forum Search.

Chhers Andrew.

 

[Tyler W]

Thanks Andrew for the reply,
I have had an MRI that reveals a "bulging "disc between L5/S1, the surgeon said that there is also wear and tear of the vertebrae, however he also said that many people have the same condition and show no pain and symptoms such as I have,he suggests surgery, but as you know from my previous post I prefer to wait for a while and try other methods.
The neck pain has gone away at times but since this last flare up (Jan) it is back, I have mentioned this to my Chiro, she calls it "sheath"pain and suggets that my neck pain will be the last thing to go.She has picked up problems with my neck from the MRI, even though the surgeon did not !
What do you mean by Crunches ? are these pelvic tilt exercises? I do many of these in hope of strengthening my lower back.
Thanks again for taking the time to reply- I am off to search the forum now