Bulging Discs in back?

[mosesbotbol]

Originally Posted by BeerAdvocate

I have a good Chiro and I have seen him for my back problem but he cant help me.

What is his specific reason why his chiropractic adjustments are not working? How many have you had? Have you 20-30+ adjustments already?

[BeerAdvocate]

I had 6-8 adjustments, and I actually felt worse afterwards.

[mosesbotbol]

Originally Posted by BeerAdvocate

I had 6-8 adjustments, and I actually felt worse afterwards.

You should feel worse. Your back has been "out" for a long time and getting straight is going to hurt more as I posted earlier. You should have 20-30 sessions with going 2-3 times a week.

Unless your body is aligned, you're going to have a lifetime of back pain. Surgery could very well make it worse for life. No one knows how much scar tissue you'll have from surgery and if that pushed against the nerve- you lose.

It sounds to me you did not give chiro a fair shake. You'll find great two weeks after your shot, but it's just temporary- not a "cure".

Transforming your body is a cure.

[mash]

I realize that there are lots of opinions and anecdotes about back pain, which usually means that nothing works predictably. You don't hear people disputing the usefulness of Insulin.
That said, there is no evidence, none, that chiropractor treatments help with chronic back pain. I would be very wary about going to one ad infinitum, or "forever", if they aren't helping you.

[mosesbotbol]

Originally Posted by mash

That said, there is no evidence, none, that chiropractor treatments help with chronic back pain. I would be very wary about going to one ad infinitum, or "forever", if they aren't helping you.

There isn't? How did you come to this statement? How about the millions that no longer have back pain from Chiropractic treatment?

Spinal alignment is critical for energy flow throughout the body and when the spine isn't aligned, there's unequal pressure put on the disks. It's a pretty simple. An unaligned spine twists the hips and creates unequal leg lengths which does cause injury and puts further pressure on the disks.

This is not to exclude spinal lengthening and reducing weight. If one's waist is less than 8" chest width, time to start losing weight!

[shilala]

Originally Posted by mosesbotbol

There isn't? How did you come to this statement? How about the millions that no longer have back pain from Chiropractic treatment?

Moses, there's no doubt that it works for some people. I think what the doc means is that it's not been studied, nor formally presented to any acting medical body like the AMA.
I've never seen any numbers like that, and I'm crazy anal about doing my due diligence. I've read volumes of papers both presurgery and postsurgery. In all those Google searches, I've never seen any numbers or studies come up that regard chiropractic effectiveness for chronic back pain. Granted, it may be because I never specifically looked. I just assumed they didn't exist.
I'd sure like to look at some, if you know of any. I suppose it'd be hard to find any that aren't eye-rollers being that there's no reason for chiropractic to do anything but sway numbers in their favor, and no disconnected body that's interested in refuting/retesting their data.
All a person can do is try them and see if they help.

Personally, I have no doubt that they can solve minor to medium issues with adjustment, so long as we lose weight and exercise. It's pretty much common sense.
I don't think they can solve major back problems, save the whales, and cure the environment as some assert.
One thing I think most chiropractors have over doctors is that they really do care about their patients individually, they'll expend a huge amount of effort to get to know you, your condition, and do everything within their power to help. That positivity alone can go a long way toward healing people, and I think it's 100% awesome.

[mash]

Originally Posted by mosesbotbol

There isn't? How did you come to this statement? How about the millions that no longer have back pain from Chiropractic treatment?

Spinal alignment is critical for energy flow throughout the body and when the spine isn't aligned, there's unequal pressure put on the disks. It's a pretty simple. An unaligned spine twists the hips and creates unequal leg lengths which does cause injury and puts further pressure on the disks.

This is not to exclude spinal lengthening and reducing weight. If one's waist is less than 8" chest width, time to start losing weight!

In answering you, I'm going to keep the OP in mind. I don't want him to believe that a) chiropractors are backed by data showing they can cure chronic back pain and b) you should go for one forever, if you don't get better it's just because you haven't gone enough. Both of these statements are false, and are not wise to follow.
Is it true that people have had relief of back pain going to a chiropractor? I'm sure they have. Same as people that go to massage, wear copper bracelets, get acupuncture, see a naturopath etc. Have "millions" gotten better? I don't know, where are those numbers from? How many people have gone to chiropractors and not gotten better? What is their success rate? If people go to a chiropractor for 10 treatments and don't get better, what is their chance of ever getting relief? How about 20? How many people would get better if they did nothing, and let nature take its course? Do all chiropractors follow the same protocol, if not do some have higher success rates than others? Are there certain types of back pathologies that respond better to chiropractic treatment than others?
This is what I mean by evidence as opposed to anecdotes (people saying "I used a chiropractor, I got better, you should use one too. I don't know anything about your condition, but I'm sure you'll have the same result I did.")

As with any therapy, if you are using a chiropractor and not getting better, you should seriously consider whether you should keep going. Are you helping yourself? Please be a critical observer, this applies to traditional medicine as well.

[treatneggy]

Reading this thread , it's obvious everyone's experience is different.

My wife went to the emergeny room 1yr ago this past Feb. (for what her GP over the phone said was a pulled muscle) - she had no feeling in her right leg from the waist down and was in so much pain she could barely even move.

It took 5 hours and 2 or 3 percoset before the attending physician decided to do an MRI, stating that "we won't find anything wrong with you," even after poking needles in her leg from the knee down to her toes and her telling him she couldn't feel any of it. End result was severely herniated L5-S1 and bulging on L3-L4 and L4-L5. Followup with spine specialist the next day resulted in her being in the operating room two days after that, because according to him "we could give you all the drugs at our disposal and it won't help". During surgery they removed a good portion of the L5-S1 disc and shaved the bulges off of L3-L4 and L4-L5.

The surgery took away "most" of her pain, but to this day she still has neuropathy and only partial feeling in her leg and foot due to either the nerve still being pinched or permanent nerve damage. The last x-ray she had done showed disk degeneration progressing up into L2-L3.

[BeerAdvocate]

Well I never thought my post would get 5 pages of responses. Thanks to everyone.
I am not anti-Chiro by any means. My wife & I along with both of our famalies have been going to the same Chiro for years and we all like him. He has done great things for all of us. But I also think that Chiro's can not solve all of your problems each and every time. I am not dead set on surgery. I will talk to a Neuro-Surgeon, My regular Dr, My pain Dr and my Chiro before I make a decision. I like all of them and trust their advice.

[mash]

Originally Posted by BeerAdvocate

Well I never thought my post would get 5 pages of responses. Thanks to everyone.
I am not anti-Chiro by any means. My wife & I along with both of our famalies have been going to the same Chiro for years and we all like him. He has done great things for all of us. But I also think that Chiro's can not solve all of your problems each and every time. I am not dead set on surgery. I will talk to a Neuro-Surgeon, My regular Dr, My pain Dr and my Chiro before I make a decision. I like all of them and trust their advice.

That just shows you how controversial treatment for back pain is, and how common it is. As one of my colleagues says, if you ask a 40 year old if he's ever had back pain and he says no, he has dementia.
Sounds like you have an open mind and a balanced approach to this, best of luck with your pain.

Originally Posted by BeerAdvocate

After a month of being in pain, I had an MRI today and found out that I have not one but two Bulging Disc's in my very lower back.
Im in so much pain that Percocet & beer wont even cure it. So I am getting an injection on Monday to get me through until I can see a Nero-Surgeon on June 8. Has any here ever had a surgery for a bulging disc in their back?
What can I expect?

How did your appointment go?

I have been dealing with back problems for 4 years. I started with the chiro, then did anti inflammatories, then injections, then a ton of painful tests, then a micro-discectomy, then a multi level spinal fusion. and now I am a chronic pain patient. My back is debilitating!! I had to retire from the job I loved (police officer). Now I take powerful pain meds and my doc wants me to consider a spinal cord stimulator. I guess my point in telling you all this is that you need to be sure, get more then one opinion!! See a spine specialist. FRom my understanding neuro-surgeons are more for thoracic (neck) pain. I included the link to the blog I started maybe it will answer some more questions. BEcause of this pain I have gained weight and became depressed and oh did I mention the blood clots I got from my fusion surgery? I dont mean to scare you just being realistic.

http://lucy655-chronicpainpatient.blogspot.com/

[ZachF88]

I had a compression fracture of L5 a day before my 17th birthday (Auto accident). With this, I have 3 bulging disks. I did not have surgery (due to my age). I am now 23 and certainly feel it some days. The best thing I did was to buy a foam roller and use it 2-3 times a day. It hurts like hell at first, but then it gets better. All surgeons are assholes (know this because I have way too many surgeons in my family) and I must say chiropractors are a hell of a lot better than some of these surgeons who just want to cut you up and your wallet. I know at some point I will need surgery, but working out, keeping the belly fat down and stretching will prolong the surgery. Best of luck my friend!

OK...here's my ...

I've had back problems since after my freshman year in college, and it is was ended my college football career. Now this was in the early 90s, and treatmetns weren't as advanced as they are now. Surgery was not recommended back then, as those who had it generally didn't get the results they were hoping for.

Here's the story with my injury. I was doing squats with weight that was not a huge amount for me. I finished a set and racked the bar. As I did so, I felt pain in my hammy. I thought it was actually my hamstring and lightened the weight and finished all my lifting for the day (2 more sets of squats and 3 sets of cleans were included). Then I went and played ~5 games of basketball that night. The next morning, I couldn't move. PAIN and numbness on the back of my right leg from my hip to my heel. Went to a chiro for a while, and he thought pinched nerve. Got treatment for about 3-4 weeks and didn't see a huge improvement. He had me go get an MRI, adn that's when they found it. Herniation at L5-S1, and 2 bulging discs above that, plus the typical "degeneration" that they seem to throw into everyones report. Immediately had me see a neuro, who prescribed some steroids and told me to use Advil for pain. When I went back to campus at the end of the summer, I was in the trainers room doing therapy every day of the week. I had the classic foot drop, which they recorded me walking to use as a teaching tool. It got better and better. In the spring, I was able to play in spring practices and the spring game. I felt great, but had good and bad days, and then through the summer, so I made the decision to give it up. One thing the head trainer told me has stuck with me to this day. Eveyone will be different...You can look at an MRI of someone that looks REALLY bad, and they feel absolutely no pain, while someone who barely looks like they have anything wrong in theirs is in crippling pain. You gotta base your decisions on how you feel, in combination with how things look, not just one or the other. And he said he didn't feel that surgery was a good option.

Over the years since then, I've gone through periods of inactivity and that is when I had more flareups. I've played basketball with no issues, and in the last 2 years, I've gotten into triathlons. I still have been symptom free. I have a good chiro that I go see when I need to. he doesn't just do the crack here and there, so you're good. He adjusts where the body needs it, and the techniques he uses actually work. I've been very pleased with the results I saw from him.

All I can say is do what you feel is right and will work for you, and please get opinions from more than one doc. It will only serve to help you make the best decision.

[Ranger_B]

Travis Just my 2cents but avoid surgery at all costs. I have broken my back twice and had bulging disks a few times. My last time I severed the nerve with the disk and it has now left my right leg in a constant state of numb. I have had 6 surgeries and who knows how many procedures injections, chrio treatments, fusion, lameectomy discotmy, fusion hardwear removal. Blah blah blah. Long story short is if you have other options exhaust all of them before surgery and get a second opinion. Wish I had known then what I know now. Research everything the doctor get references and then google alot.

Either way I hope you start feeling better.