This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

Hello,

It has been a while since I logged on. I recently asked a friend of mine who is a radiologist if he can do an MRI of my spine. My back pain was too much to handle. He did one and found that I have three herniated discs and one is a thoracic herniated disc.

My neurologists were quite surprised. I have been doing brain MRIs for the longest time and no spine MRIs. Now, they tell me that there is an annular tear indenting the right L4 nerve root.

If you have back pain causing you difficulty to walk far but have no other severe symptoms of MS, please check for herniated discs. Do an EMG and make sure that the weakness in your legs has nothing to do with other factors than MS. My right leg is weak and now they're telling me it could be because of my herniated discs. Please check your spine carefully.

take care,

beyondms

Hi beyondms,
When I was diagnosed, the doctors did both a brain MRI as well as a cervical spine MRI. They found an enhancing lesion at the site of prominent disk bulge. I asked my neurologist's nurse what I could do about this and she stated that short of surgery there was nothing that could be done. I wasn't willing to accept this answer. It just seemed too narrow minded and reminded me of the saying that "if the only tool in your toolbox is a hammer then every problem will look like a nail." Anyways, I chose to give massage therapy a shot and it helped me quite a bit. For what it's worth, I think that the disk bulge was a left over from a car accident where I was rear ended on the freeway and had a whiplash injury which left me with problems for about 2 - 3 years.

NHE

I'm glad your docs found this. I've had a lamonectomy/distectomy on 2 disks and the surgery worked wonders for me. I hope your docs can fix this. This is really good info for folks. napay

_________________
My Starting Point
Understanding MS 101: Doctor Talk and People Talk<br /><br />

Thanks napay, NHE, I hope so too. My back pain has been there for years and yet my doctors kept dismissing it, saying it has to do with the MS and muscle pain. I knew there was more to it. I kept cracking my back at night and the pain was getting worse over the years. I played football in high school and I had a car accident at 18 years old.

Now, I just hope it's not too late to take care of these herniated discs. I have initiated physiotherapy and now I will look into massage therapy. As for surgery, most doctors here in Canada will avoid back surgery.

In the U.S., there are several minimally invasive techniques, including this one:

http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid= ... ated+discs

The video shows the full surgery so it's not for the faint of heart. My point in posting is that patients need to consider everything before blaming MS for all their problems.

beyondms

My back surgery experience showed me that there was a third option.

For years I tried the Chiropractor and then the Orthopedist. These kinds of doctors have a vastly different approach to what they do. But, neither ill recommend surgery.

I had to find a different kind of doctor who has within their professional practice and field the ability to recommend back surgery. Much like how it's very hard to find a Neuro who will talk about supplements. I found a neurosurgeon. Then stuff started getting fixed. You might need t find the right kind of doc. napay

_________________
My Starting Point
Understanding MS 101: Doctor Talk and People Talk<br /><br />

This article came out yesterday. Anyone ever try spine decompression?

New Non-Surgical Back Pain Treatment Offers a Healthy Alternative to Back Surgery

Tue Jun 19, 3:01 AM ET

Recent studies have suggested that back surgery may not be necessary for the relief of back pain. Manhattan spinal decompression specialist Dr. Steven Shoshany is pleased to offer a new, non-surgical treatment for herniated discs.

(PRWEB) June 19, 2007 -- With more and more studies pointing to back surgery as an overused treatment for back pain, Dr. Steven Shoshany (back pain and non-surgical treatments can relieve some of the suffering.

Neurosurgeon Wilco C. Peul, MD, head of the spine intervention study group at Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands, led a study of 283 patients with confirmed cases of severe sciatica. The study found that 95 percent reported recovery after one year, whether or not they had surgery.

“Americans have back surgery twice as much as people in other countries,” said Dr. Shoshany. “1.5 million disc operations are done worldwide each year, but surprisingly many of these operations do not need to happen. Non-surgical treatments have been proven to be just as effective.”

Spinal decompression causes a decompression to the spine that sucks the disc material back into the disc and brings fresh blood flow to the area, while helping with the healing process. An exam and MRI will determine the level of treatment for each patient and Dr. Shoshany said patients are usually back to their daily activities within two to three weeks after treatment.

"What's interesting is that more and more studies point to the fact that back surgery should be a last resort when all other methods have failed," said Dr. Shoshany. “For anyone considering surgery to get rid of back pain, this is a healthy alternative treatment they may want to consider.”

Spinal Decompression is FDA cleared and a well-documented treatment; it is a safe and effective treatment for herniated discs. Visit www.drshoshany.com or www.nycdisc.com for a spinal decompression specialist in Manhattan.