Questioni lifted something too heavy almost 3 years ago. the first x-ray taken showed minimal retrolisthesis at L2-L3. the doctor said it was permanent and not to ever bend and twist or i'd be in big trouble. he treated me conservatively, with ibuprofen/naproxen. the problems in my back grew worse and worse. i had an mri several weeks ago which showed:
All lumbar intervertebral disks show dessication; levoscoliosis and spondylosis lumbar spine; hemangiomas T10 and T12 vertebral bodies; significant disk bulging L1-L2, L2-L3, with circumferential annular tear, more prominent at L2-L3; producing significant deformity of thecal sac and nerve roots; moderate disk bulging L3-L4 (disk is well maintained); minimal L5-S1 left central disk protrusion without deformity of nerve roots.
What does all this mean? Can any of it be treated? Since it has been almost 3 years and the problem is worse, can any of these problems be corrected? I am seeing an orthopedic doctor later this week, and want to be as well informed as possible. Thank you.
AnswerHi Phyllis,
Your spine is in bad shape, it needs some serious work. The Ortho will most likely recommend epidural injections, PT and surgery if conservative approaches fail.
The good news is yes, you can overcome most of the problems.
The spondylolithesis is permanent, but it isn't that big a deal. Your annular tear is the biggest problem, that needs to heal up before anything else can be done. Steroids will only slow the healing, I recommend you take glucosamine sulfate with MSM 3000/mg/day if not diabetic. This should speed up the healing of the tear, then find a doctor that does flexion/distraction, this will help tremendously.
Here is a link that explains the procedure and lists certified doctors doing it actively.
http://www.coxtechnic.com/homepage.asp
Depending on the amount of your present disability, I would go the conservative route, epidurals are rarely a good idea since they don't fix anything, they only temporarily mask the symptoms while destroying connective tissue and other cell types. This is equivalent to shutting off the fire alarm instead of putting out the fire. It's a false sense of security, in the end you will pay. Physical Therapy will obviously be of little help unless they use F/D or spinal decompression, stretching and not excising is the first step. Ice it down 3X/Day over the low back for 15 minutes. Take the GS with MSM and get therapeutic ultrasound over the area damaged. This will increase the blood supply to the effected areas to promote healing. In a few weeks, see if you can tolerate the F/D, if you can, stick with it for 6-8 weeks at 3x/week. You should notice significant improvement after 2 weeks, if not, change doctors or contact me for personal referral.
Unfortunately our health care system is set up to treat disease, not prevent it. This should have never gone this far without some intervention, it takes total neglect to get a spine in this condition.
Fortunately it isn't all irreparable, there is much that can be done. If you have any further questions, feel free to ask.
Here is the link..........
http://www.coxtechnic.com/homepage.asp
Good Luck!
Dr. Timothy Durnin
drs.chiroweb.com
