Prolapsed disc - After surgery

[The Crimson Ghost]

I am 20 now and have been having sharp pain through my left leg since november last year. Started doing physiotheraphy in february and acupuncture in march. the pain was so bad and did MRI. The orthopeadic surgeon told me the prolapsed disc is quite severe on L5/S1 and recommended surgery. At the same time L4/L5 is a bit out off shape but the surgeon recommended surgery only on L5/S1. The surgery went on successfully and I feel a lot better. I should have been resting for 1 month after surgery and because of time constraints and I have to go overseas to study, I have no choice but to continue on my normal life.

The problem is now I'm starting to feel little bit of pain on my legs(thigh and calf) especially when I sit too long. Is it normal after surgery? Im doing back strengthening exercises everyday and planned to start swimming soon. Any sports that is good for me? I'm really afraid that I will get another prolapsed especially on L4/L5 because before the surgery it has been nightmare for me. I can sit, walk for more than 5 mins during that time. Even lying down is painfull and I cant sleep. I'm think I'm ok now but I still feel little bit of pain especially when sitting. I'm taking Neurobion pills for spine recovery at the moment too.

Please advise. Thanks.

 

[?Earl Hickey?]

Hi there,

I'm afraid I can't offer advice but was wondering if you could keep me informed of your progress and any advice you have/receive. I have exactly the same problem as you (bad L5/S1 prolapse and L4/L5 looking slightly dodgy but not as bad) andhave surgery on 6 June. Any tips or advice would be most welcomed.

Many thanks
Steve

 

[Bryony S-f]

Hi to you both,
Firstly I would say that you may like to seek chiropratic/ostepathic advice as they may be able to help.
There have been lots of previous postings on this subject, so do a search with of all back problem threads from the main page.
I would also say that surgery of this nature should always be the absolute last resort when all avenues have been exhausted, IMO there should be far more links in the chain not just GP-Hospital_surgery. I might also suggest that Private practice Physio might be more beneficial than NHS, sorry to say but time constraints at present mean that so many clients are being offered sub standard treatment( not blaming physios, blaming the system).
I myself have endured 23 years of shoulder pain, several surgical interventions, countless drugs and injections and the bottom line is it didnt work, now in my early 40s I am riddled with OA and facing another surgery to replace humeral head surface.

have you had soft tissue assessment, might be worth a try.
Best regards
Gaz

 

[Curagorodd]

I didn't know I had prolapsed disc till I meet a specialist. I did physio and acupunture and it doesn't help much. In fact the pain got worst and I ended up doing a MRI scan and the surgeon adviced me to do surgery because I don't have much time and have to further studies. I've no regrets doing surgery. I feel much better now. I still feel some pain but at the same time still worried with my L4/L5.

 

[Bonarobrevela]

Glad to see that Alainm posts have been removed. Blatent advertising on forums like this are really not welcomed. I'm all for people discussing new techniques and methods but people really shouldn't dismiss all other techniques in favour of their own. I have found via research that the back is a ridiculously unpredictable creature. What works for one person may not work for others etc etc

Having exhausted all non-surgical methods of trying to get rid of this awful pain I am going into hospital tomorrow for a microdiscectomy, I will keep people posted on how I get on.

 

[phyday]

I'm not dismissing anything, just pure facts and articles from the newspaper. Not invention of mine:
[link=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4824594.stm]http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4824594.stm[/link]

[link=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,172-2097779,00.html]http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,172-2097779,00.html[/link]

I think that people who are suffering from back pain desserve to know what treatment works and what treatment doesn't. Most of the time, they are not well informed and end up losing lot of time and money.

SteveB, good luck for your operation and have a read at:
[link=http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/po/050523.shtml]http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/po/050523.shtml[/link]