Pain management and back injections....

[Catdaddy]

Shots worked well for me. They last about 60-90 days.
The shot placement will be made on your description of which side the pain is and how far down it goes. If they hit the right spot you'll be good to go the next day.

I would try that route before surgery. I've also had 3 spine/back surgeries.

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[eliteweldingco]

Shots helped me long enough till the disc severely herniated. Laid in a hospital bed for 3 days waiting on surgery after that.

[kry226]

Sounds a lot like my MRI too. Been fighting the fight since 2012.

Since then I've done meds, injections and ablations/rhizotomies. The injections have done very little for me, but the ablations/rhizotomies (I've done at least a half-dozen) seem to have helped the best in that they usually knocked out up to 90% of the lower back ache, but obviously never helped with the leg pain. What I've noticed is that with the ablations/rhizotomies, the docs don't always get a good burn on the nerve which sometimes results in shorter periods of pain relief.

My doc here in Korea is wanting me to consider decompressive neuroplasty. It's a procedure initially developed at Texas Tech, but something I've never heard of before. I'm still investigating and haven't decided if I'll do the procedure yet, but I think it's definitely something worth considering.

Best of luck to all my compadres fighting the back pain fight.

[Mudslinger]

Herniated disc surrounded top and bottom with bulging discs since 2007. First steroid shot lasted 4 years, after that not so much, maybe a couple weeks Had 3 over 3 weeks to get me to Africa and back. Inversion board almost paralyzed me but physical therapy helped. Had A Chiro doc tell me most would do more damage than they help and he would not touch me. The steroid shots were the most painful shots i have EVER had! Pain down my left leg when everything started years ago and i still cannot kneel long as I will get severe cramps on my left leg. NOW the muscle spasms, tightness and pain are in the lower third of my back to the top of my hips when i walk more than 100 yards at a time or do a lot of bending over. 10:30 apt with the Doc in the morning to see where it goes from there.

[JTeLarkin08]

They wanted to give me shots and if that didnt work surgery for a L5/S1 a couple years back.. I fought it and it was bad.. I needed a career change and went to line school.. First two weeks was awful.. After the 3rd week tho my back pain started to disappear.. I am 95+% again and I owe it all to climbing up but mostly down poles.. When you climb down you have to throw your knees outward and really open up your hips.. I think that stretching literally saved my back. Im not telling you to go climb poles but what I am saying is before any surgery I would for sure get into yoga and stretching and see if it fixes it..

[warrington]

Stretching your hamstrings is number one thing for any type of back issues

Try nufola twice a day for any back or nerve pains

50% success rate on improving those symptoms

No side effects

[glen]

And I agree with Warrington. Stretch as much as you can. Even if it isn’t much of a stretch.

[Brazos Hunter]

I suffered from back pain for well over 20 years. When I first injured it in the Army I was told more than likely I would never walk unassisted again and they were almost right. After years of failed treatments (including injections) I went to my GP for a referral and received one with Dr. Brad White with the TAMU Brain and Spine Institute. After reviewing my MRI he began to say we can try “x”, and I cut him off mid sentence. After 20 years of self medicating I wanted and needed my back fixed so I asked if surgery would take care of it and he agreed it would. Two weeks later I went under the knife to repair 4 ruptured disks and remove some of the Swiss Cheese bone caused by arthritis. In a nutshell it was the best thing I ever did for myself. I know longer deal with daily pain and no longer walk with a limp. You only have one spine so, be kind to it.



Micheal

[Stan R]

I get shots in both knee (bone on bone), both hips (bursitis) , and my back.

I have 3 bulging lower disk and kissing disk whatever on the ones above that.

The shots in the back work depending on where he places the needle.

I have seen DR'S and S&W and at the Texas Brain and Spine Institute.

I wake up in pain. I get coffee and then sit with a heating pad for a bit. I walk with very noticeable limb on both side. I do stretch.

Some days it is hard to make it from the car into work. I am lucky, they allow me light duty.

Just a matter of time before things will need to be fixed.

[Rubberdown]

Lord please heal this man. Help him manage his pain and bring comfort and peace. Amen.

[Geezy Rider]

I had a series of four shots to get ready for a hunt but they only last about 24 hours each. So totally worthless for me My mother in law gets them and they work great for her. So I suppose it all depends on the individual getting them, the doctor giving them and the injury receiving them.

[BigCohiba]

My wife has had 4 rounds of shots with mixed results - all temporary. She had ablation on the left side this past Monday and will get right side done on January 10th. Doc said it could help for around a year then most likely need to do it again. Time will tell.

[tkuehn5410]

I did injections and then nerve ablation and ended up having L5/S1 fusion. Injections can be effective and have worked for me until the herniation was too much to overcome with injections. This was 12 years ago for my first injections and then 10 years ago this week for my fusion.

I have been fighting more issues and have been doing injections the last year or so and am to the point I just booked my next surgery, fusing L3/4 and L4/5 at the end of January.

Try the injections, see if you get some relief, if not then you need to decide if you can live with the pain or not. If not, then don’t be afraid of the surgery. I wish I had done my first one sooner.

Wife did the exact same thing with her back. Her insurance would not pay for back surgery til she did injections and nerve burn. Injections made her better for about two weeks then it’d go back to pain.

She got L4 to S1 fused 6 months ago and is almost back to life as normal.

[huntandfishguy6]

My wife has had back injections numerous time , usually 8 good months of relief. She has four compression fractures in the t8, t9 area, and some in the L areas.

[Texas Grown]

I'd suggest anybody with an arthritic spine like I have, where the vertebrae are fusing together to form a solid piece of bone or otherwise, find an anesthesiologist experienced in "Veritable Nerve Ablation". It involves injections with a local anesthetic. But only for testing to see if it will work for you, which last only 24 hours. But if it works, then you'll get it again a week later for numbing while the actual ablation is done with ultrasonic sound waves. I've had it done twice now. Both in my Thoracic and Lumbar regions. First time it was like having a whole new back after 3 days! And it lasted about 18 months. Nerves to grow, sometimes growing back. That is how nerve damaged patients recover from severed or damaged nerves. I had it done again 3 years ago. It took about a week to work that time. And still am somewhat pain free today. Not completely. But it's tolerable with naproxen. I'm about to start Humira to slow the bone growth/solidification and inflamation down. And this procedure allowed me to do without many drugs including some prescription narcos. It has made me somewhat functional again.


I still have occasional severe bouts with inflammation. And that is what the Humira is supposed to help relieve. This procedure is for pain relief.


And just for the record, I have AS (Ankylosing Spondylitis) of the spine. As well as lots of bony protrusions in many of my other joints. Had my digestive track shut down for 4 days this past summer due to inflammation in the lower spine/pelvic region. I've lost an inch in height in the last two years. I'm down in 65". I used to be 68" when in my 30s.