anyone ever have a herniated disc before? who the fk do i see? orthopedics doctor?

[Jelet]

i dont know which section to post this in. but im going to post it here because this is the over 35 section and would like experienced peoples thoughts...

which type of doctor do i see?

I rushed to the emergency room in an ambulance on tuesday night squatting 310 pounds.

at the bottom of the movement my back gave. and i heard a pop. i then took a seat and it hurt real bad. i thought about my future how this can effect me if im out for the gym for a long time and then got dizzy and laid to the floor almost passed out... and then couldnt get up and then i got an ambulance to bring to me the hospital.

they took an xray and heres what the report says.


"Examination:CT lumbar Spine"

Indication:weight lifting injury

comparison: none

Technique: 3mm thick axial images were obtained through lumbar spine without intravenous contrast. Thin section reformatted images were obtained in the axial, coronal, and sagittal planes.

Findings:

The paraspinal soft tissues are unremarkable.

There is no evidence of acute lumbar spine fracture. The reformatted images demonstrate unremarkable alignment the lumbar spine with maintenance of the vertebral body weights.


There is evidence of early loss of disc space at the L4-L5 level. there is a moderate degree of left paracentral disc protrusion which indents the thecal sac to left of midline. the the disc protrusion extends laterally to slightly narrow the left neuroforamen.

impression: evidence of degenerative disc disease at L4-L5 with moderate left paracentral disc protrusion which extends laterally to the left to slightly narrow the neuroforamen"



it also says "no gym till seen by specailist" but wtf is a specialist. (srs) who do i see? an orthopedics doctor? which type of doctor do isee?




this is truly the worst 6 months of my life. first my shoulder kept me out of the gym, just started recently training upper body again(but still couldnt train shoulders or chest.. but i was getting there..) and now i got this.

FML

[PapaBunny]

I have the same issue a little lower. My DDD extends from the base of my head to my lower lumbar and I have multiple bulging disks. Bulging and heniated are different. Bulging has not made it past the annulus fibrosus(the stuff that holds the disk in place) but instead puts pressure on it and bulges out putting pressure on nerves and causing all sorts of crazy pain issues. Herniated is when the disk tissue is out past the annulus fibrosus.


You shold consult your PCM and they should refer you to Ortho and/or Pain Management. Ortho will tell you if you need surgery if not pain management will try to help manage the pain (without really fixing anything) This has been my experience---yours may differ.

I had multiple injections at the site of the bulges but they did not work so I had a procedure called a an IDET ---http://www.neurotherm.com/idetprocedure/


this procedure simply kills the nerves around the disk and helps to aleiviate the pain cause by the bulge hitting nerves.

If the disk is indeed herniated they can go in and shave off the herniation and after some healing you could be g2g.

Good luck, this type of injury is so different in everyone that gets it, it can casue little to no issues or it can cause crazy ammounts of pain and other issues.

[KenJenkinsII]

I had this and went to my pcp and did pain management but it was only temporary relief. The chiropractor is the only thing that helped me get better.

[PapaBunny]

I had this and went to my pcp and did pain management but it was only temporary relief. The chiropractor is the only thing that helped me get better.

Man, thats awesome. I wish I could have found relief with the Chiro. Really would have made things easier. I have talked to others who have experienced positive results with a chiro too but the guy I have to see just made stuff worse and I could not afford to pay for a different one on my own.

[Tommy W.]

Go to a neurosurgeon. Ortho's are great for some things but when it comes to discs you need a spine guy

[beachguy498]

Right now you have a lot of trauma to the area, so I'd get to an orthopedic doctor, bring the MRI report. Ice it up and don't do anything that causes pain in the mean time. I've had chiropractic help with my lower back, although most orthos lean towards PT. Unfortunately a lumbar injury is one that takes time and rest to heal.

Rob

[KenJenkinsII]

Man, thats awesome. I wish I could have found relief with the Chiro. Really would have made things easier. I have talked to others who have experienced positive results with a chiro too but the guy I have to see just made stuff worse and I could not afford to pay for a different one on my own.

My chiro told me the best thing I could do after he had me feeling better was to hang on a chin up bar for one minute every morning and night to decompress my spine. It has been a miracle for me and everyone I have told about it. But I felt like my chiropractor was definitely looking out for my best interest and cared more about getting me better than making money off me. I am sure that is not always the case.

[PapaBunny]

My chiro told me the best thing I could do after he had me feeling better was to hang on a chin up bar for one minute every morning and night to decompress my spine. It has been a miracle for me and everyone I have told about it. But I felt like my chiropractor was definitely looking out for my best interest and cared more about getting me better than making money off me. I am sure that is not always the case.

Funny you say that. I have been on the hunt for a cheap inversion table for that reason. I will hang from a chin up bar and/or hang upside down form the bar for a bit when it is bothering me and it really does help.

[KenJenkinsII]

Funny you say that. I have been on the hunt for a cheap inversion table for that reason. I will hang from a chin up bar and/or hang upside down form the bar for a bit when it is bothering me and it really does help.

He actually told me that using an inversion table at an older age was not recommended. The risk of sending a blood clot to your brain was higher. So I went with the chin up bar. I feel like I get a better decompression from it than my inversion table anyway.

[PapaBunny]

He actually told me that using an inversion table at an older age was not recommended. The risk of sending a blood clot to your brain was higher. So I went with the chin up bar. I feel like I get a better decompression from it than my inversion table anyway.

Interesting...one would think that at 35 blood clots would not be a big issue. I always chalked that up to an older mans issue...70's plus.

[KenJenkinsII]

Interesting...one would think that at 35 blood clots would not be a big issue. I always chalked that up to an older mans issue...70's plus.

It definitely is more of an issue for men older than you and I.

[Looton]

I'm no expert. Just feeling your pain Jelet, that's a rough go.

I had back pain twice from working construction many years. I went to a D.O. and physical therapist, a back specialist at the University of Washington - no help. Just treated symptoms.
Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_...athic_Medicine
It wasn't as bad as you and the University of Washington back specialists said jogging was giving the best results and they were still stumped as to why. Better than swimming.

I hang on the 2x6 wood door jamb on my kid's room door. I hang by fingertips and change my hip position. I stopped doing dead lifts and RDL when my low back got painful. I had to pull my left leg into the car by the pant leg.

Just my .02 from my experience. Your experience sounds like hell. But it'll work out in time. Other folks have gotten through it, you will too. My ex wife had a disc fused, so did a buddy from work. Surgery should usually be the last option IMHO.

[sidegrinder]

Had the same thing happen to me last spring. I was squatting 275# and heard the "pop". Sh$ttiest feeling ever. My pain seemed to be a few inches right of the actual spine. I saw 5 different docs, orthos, and pts. The best thing was being religious about the stretches the pt gave me. They gave me the most relief.
You only get one back, so take your time with this. I havent done squats or deadlifts since this, and life goes on. Running actually seemed to help also. Weird I can run 15+miles and have no pain, but some days it hurts just from moving dumbells around. Best of luck!

[Juggertha]

I hate to say this, but I wish backpain was visible.

I wish I had some massive scar or rash so that people could visually see the pain I go through. Sure, they see it when i drop to the ground... or they get a little shocked when I have to pick up my leg to pull it in the car... but it's generally out of people's minds - even those closest to us.