Bulging disc - pain management and treatment

[Doggity]

Hi,

I am 35 and have been playing rugby for the last 25 years. About 4 years ago I suffered a forced flexion injury in a scrum which forced my chin into my chest and as a result I have a bulging disc at C5/6 or C6/7 (can't remember - it's been a while!). I also have signs of spondylosis.

Managed quite well the last few years through a combination of physio, chiropractors, osteopaths, exercise and codeine (not necessarily in that order). I've also had a bout of sciatica in the last 12 months, probably down to scrummaging. I still have some numbness in my left foot.

I played at the weekend and Saturday night was in significant pain in my right shoulder and outside of my right arm. I went to our local NHS walk-in centre on Sunday and spent 2 hours only to be told that they weren't allowed to prescribe anything other than paracetamol.

I saw my GP this morning who has put the pain and restriction of movement down to having aggravated my original scrumaging injury and she warned about the possibility of my pain and movement restriction being permanent. I don't mind admitting that I had a good blub in the doctor's office; the thought of being in this much pain for the rest of my life, not being able to pick up and play with my children and not playing rugby again, is just gut-wrenchingly frightening.

Apologies for the rant, but it's actually quite theraputic to be able to write all of this down.

I have been prescribed codeine and amitriptyline. I'm at a loose-end - I don't know what to do next. I'm in excruciating pain and haven't really slept since Friday night. My GP has reassured me that things will improve over the next week or two, but how can she be that confident having also warned me about the possibility of permanent and irriversible damage? Can anyone comment please?

1. How will I know if this will ease and I'll regain full movement and be pain-free? How lonh will it take for the symptoms to start to impropve?
2. What treatments are recommended? e.g. phsyio, sports massage, acupuncture, osteopathy? Is it too late to address the numbness in my foot from the sciatica?
3. Is there life after rugby?!! What am I going to do on Saturdays? I'm joking of course (although it's tought to give up something that's been such an integral part of my life). I desperately want to ensure that I don't make this worse and start any treatment or self-help early before it's too late.

I am very grateful for any input whatsoever. Thank you for reading.

Kind regards.

 

[Troy]

dear tighthead, it's so awful when something like that happens...i went through sort if the same thing myself....i think the doc is right and it will be better in a couple of weeks...
my foot is still kind of numb even after a year but it's not a big deal, my physio it would take a while to heal, it doesn't bother me because it's not sore.
I went for Bowen therapy too which helped so so much - but you can't have other treatments for 7 days either side of the treatment.
I really do think that your pain won't last that long, although i know its hard for you to imagine that now.

 

[AduhtofAppoppy]

Hi, Tighthead,

Sorry to hear of your injury and the threat to your rugby-playing. My partner had a problem very like this, but in his case, it was a loose head.......who fell from the rafters of a clubhouse onto my partner's head and neck!

There is no simple answer for your question about how long will it take, etc, though your doctor, who knows your history, is likely to be closest to the truth. Beauty student is correct, in that Bowen Technique is a good place to start for this type of injury. The 7 day rule is not absolute: many Bowen therapists do not now follow it, as there is no real basis for it. Also incredibly helpful is the Emmett Technique, see www.rossemmett.com.au I use a combination of Bowen and Emmett to treat my partner and he has managed to keep playing (aged 50, now I wish he would stop!). As to the sciatica, Emmett Technique will almost always get rid of that very quickly.

Saturdays, well I guess you don't really need an answer for that. If it's time for you to stop, you will find your Saturdays get filled quickly. If you choose to remain involved at some level, your Saturdays are still sorted. What's your summer sport?

I wish you good luck with the injury and the pain. I hope you can get the appropriate treatment quickly.

Best wishes
Debbie

 

[Jett]

Hello Tighthead

My husband was a rugby player and I used to dread him coming home with yet another injury - broke his nose 7 times and dislocated his shoulder 3 times! Spines are more serious though, and I do commiserate - the pain must be very difficult. Acute pain needs consultation by a doctor or chiropractor.

I would like to offer some ideas that may help nutritionally - I have not seen this information in action but believe it is worth a try. It is based on the theory that the body can heal itself if we give it the right building blocks in the form of the right foods to work with. The protocol is as follows:

Back pain, has recently been shown to be due to impaired circulation from a build-up of cholesterol plaques causing a shortage of nutrients and poor toxin removal, resulting in disk degeneration and leading to collapsed disks, pinched nerves and chronic pain. These vascular plaques may be cleared by following dietary interventions that help arteries to clear themselves, similar to help for coronary artery problems:
· strictly vegetarian diet (anti-inflammatory, reduces calcium loss) – wholegrains, legumes, vegetables and fruit.
· no animal products or fats (anti-inflammatory, reduces cholesterol), limited vegetable oils only, no hydrogenated/damaged fats
· Oat bran, rice bran with freshly ground mixed seeds (linseed, sesame, pumpkin and sunflower seeds) daily mixed with boiling water - sweeten with blueberries, apple etc - for vitamins, minerals and essential oils for repair.
· reduce coffee (reduces stress, calcium excretion)
· low salt (hypotensive)
· stop smoking (fewer pro-oxidants which increase inflammation)
· extra vitamin C (antioxidant), with adequate Vitamin E, selenium and zinc
· vitamin B6 (50-150mg/day – helps pain resistance),
· powdered ginger1/2-1 tsp/day (reduces nerve pain transmission)
· Capsaicin cream/gel can be used over the affected area to block the transmission of the pain message back to the brain
· When recovered a bit, exercise for bone strengthening and pain-relieving endorphin-production

Try it for a month and re-assess. I do hope this is a help for you - and if you do decide to follow it, I'd love to know how you get on. Do ask for more information if you need it.

Caroline

 

[BK ~ ? ~]

Beautystudent, Caroline and Debbie,

Thank you all for your replies and your support, for which I am very grateful. I can certainly empathise with multiple dislocations (fingers and knees for me!) and a broken nose (twice), but I've never heard of injuries from loose-head props falling from the rafters! Debbie, your partner has my deepest sympathy!

I'm still unsure about my next steps, but am interested in both Bowen and Emmett Techniques that you mentioned. I hadn't really considered a nutritional approach, and as a committed meat-eater and (ahem) social beer drinker, I can see I'm going to struggle with this one. I'm a non-smoker anyway, does that count?! I'm not dismissing it, and I can see the health benefits in a diet with less red-meat, extra bran, oatmeal etc, I'm just not convinced of the benefits of vegetarianism. Will have to research into that one some more.

I know that with the lack of exercise if I carry on eating and drinking like a true prop-forward, the pounds are going to pile on, so I'm on to that already. I'm 6ft and about 17st, although muscular and not really barrel-esque (honest)! Although I haven't been advised specifically to lose weight, my assumption is that if I lose some weight it should help ease my neck pain.

I've looked up some details of the Bowen & Emmett Techniques, and forgive my ignorance, but I'm struggling to tell the difference between the two. Can someone enlighten me please and advise where I might start looking for practitioners in my area? I'm in Hampshire.

Thanks again, and kind regards.

 

[rashal s]

Hi again, Tighthead,

Sorry, wasn't keeping up with messages today. I have had a look at my contact list for Emmett people near you but unfortunately my weakness in geography means I am not sure which counties border Hampshire! May I suggest you look at the following websites: www.rossemmett.com.au which has a Practitioners section and two Bowen websites: www.thebowentechnique.com and www.bowtech.com where you should find many Bowen practitioners.

I am intending to write an article to post on Healthypages about Emmett as it is very much the "new kid in town". Yes, there are similarities between the two therapies, ie they are both light touch muscle release. Both are gentle and very effective, neither are manipulations but work on soft tissue. Differences: the move itself is different, as are the sequences and Emmett is more result-driven - we expect to see changes more or less immediately.

My view, and this is shared by many other people who do both, is that Emmett works more quickly and using the two together makes both therapies much more effective.

I hope this helps, feel free to PM me if you need any more information. Good luck!
Debbie

 

[....................]

As someone who has been a vegetarian for the past 25 years, I would love to say that I enjoy wonderful spinal health ...I only wish it was that simple...
Not doubting food has an impact on our overall health but would disagree with the theory that the 'body can heal itself if we give it the right building blocks in the form of the right foods to work with' if we're talking about serious spinal problems. I think there is a lot more to it than that.

I have a number of spinal problems, which include a prolapsed disc (which resulted in surgery last year), degenerative disc disease and spondylosis. Even with being a non smoking vegetarian, they happened anyway!

Tighthead, I hope your sciatica resolves soon. It is a horrible pain and can be a long, slow process to recovery (I hope it isn't in your case though).
I have personally found physio and hydrotherapy really helped with assisting the re-gaining of mobility and assisting me to return to sport. I know others have found accupuncture and osteo helped as well.

Good luck.

 

[Adriene]

Thank you all for taking the time to read and reply to my post.

I am encouraged by the many suggestions, and that there are options other than painkillers. Equally, I've been quite frightened by some of the unfortunate tales of long term, acute suffering from some individuals in this forum. I am grateful that I consider my position to be manageable, albeit painful, but at least I am mobile and I still have many avenues to explore. I am certainly mindful of the many others in a more unfortunate postition.

I am seeing an osteopath, who specialises in sports injuries, on Friday and have also found a Bowen Practitioner just a few miles away, so we'll see how I get on.

The sciatica doesn't really bother me, I'm just left with the residual numbness on the outside of my left foot, but I can't say it affects me in any way, but I'd like to get it sorted if it's not too late.

My neck and arm however are bl**dy painful, although I have managed a couple of half-decent night's sleep the last couple of nights. I don't like the groggy after-effects of the amitriptyline though.

I have heard that amitriptyline can cause weight-gain. Does anyone know if that is true? I've read about fluid retention, but not weight gain as such. Last thing I need.

Caroline - I am going to look at my diet to make sure I'm eating a lot more healthily, so thank you for your suggestions. Porridge is a good idea - we all like porridge in my family. After the 6-Nations has finished this weekend, I'm off the beer, so I can gauge how my body is responding to my lifestyle changes.

Thanks again all!

Best wishes.

 

[Circo Bbilanello]

Hi Tighthead

I wish you all the best in your endeavours to recover - please keep us posted!

Caroline

 

[123glamma]

Hello Tighthead,

Another option could be tachyonized products. ATTI offers a range of items to help with back problems. I know many people who have used them to manage and/or recover from all manner of muscular & skeletal problems.

You may also like to consider treatments from a Tachyon Practitioner. He/she can help you to uncover the emotional blocks that may be contributing to the pain ... although this is not always necessary for a healing to take place.

Best Wishes.

 

[connorrulz1234]

Hi all,

I've seen the osteopath a couple of times now. The first time I had to sit in the car for 10 minutes before I could drive home, the pain was so intense and I was so nauseous.

Whether it's the osteopathy, a positive attitude or time itself - or more likely a combination of all three - my symptoms do seem to be improving. I have had 2 days now with no painkillers or amitriptyline. I took the amitriptyline at bedtime 2 nights ago and none at all last night, just a couple of codeine. I had an early night and slept most of the night without too much interruption. If it wasn't for this man-flu, I'd be feeling a lot better today no doubt.

I have been thinking that if it gets a lot better, I could even manage one last game of rugby, but I'm not that stupid! My boots are well and truly retired.

Anyway, just wanted to keep people posted and to thank you again for the positive thoughts, which has really helped.

Now, does anyone have a cure for man-flu? Now that's suffering...!

 

[Twfvrbagtd]

Hello,

I would like to add to this topic with an Ayurvedic treatment as we have treated quite a few cases of bulging discs or various degenerative conditions of spinal cord in our centre (whether acute or long-standing ones). There are a few lovely treatments starting from the external to internal ones. There are a few non-manipulative yet very effective treatments for such conditions. All of them are traditional Ayurvedic therapies and ancient herbal medicated oils are used for the treatments.

Kati Basti is a fantastic treatment in which effected area is being pooled for 20-30 minutes in warm medicated oil specifically selected for that particular condition. Whole affected area must be constantly submerged in the oil and the temperature of the oil has to be kept constant. Thus, oil is allowed to slowly penetrate through layers of tissue to the problematic area relaxing muscles, decreasing inflammation and providing nourishment to the surrounding tissue. Treatment is then followed up with massage of the surrounding area and gentle steam with towels. It relieves the pain tremendously and we had a few clients that managed to come of their anti-inflammatory drugs following several sessions of the treatments.

Pindasveda is another treatment that helps muscles to relax. It is a massage with a poultice filled with hot herbal powders. Through oily medium the herbal extracts penetrate into the surrounding tissue breaking down the stiffness. In fact, in ancient India, this treatment was used to relieve soldiers returning from battles. This treatment is not applied directly on the prolapsed disc area, but on the secondarily effected tissues (i.e., surrounding muscle stiffness). The relief can be felt already after one treatment.

There are certain Ayurvedic herbal supplements and a special set of Ayurvedic oil and decoction enemas that improve the healing process through internal route too, but you would have to see an Ayurvedic Consultant for those.

Let me know if you would like to learn more.

All the best,

Kristina