Question:
I have moderate herniations at L4-L5 & L5-S1 which cause me annoying (but not excruciating) lower back pain and sciatica. I have been forced to severely limit my activities. I cannot ride a bicycle, sit for prolonged periods (I haven't been to a movie theatre in more than 5 months), or bear any significant weight on my back. In that I'm only 43 I find these limitations to my lifestyle profoundly depressing. I have always been an active and athletic individual.

I have no prejudices whatsoever against surgery to correct this, but it seems that no two professionals can agree on a course of treatment. I have had 2 surgical consults; One neurosurgeon wanted to completely remove both of the discs. A spinal surgeon want's to do a microdiscectomy (reduction of the discs) . My primary care physician feels my condition is not serious enough to warrant surgery and has prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs which just make me sick. I've been in PT for a little over a month now, and inasmuch as it's helped, I can't say that I feel it will ever get me back to normal.

I would be particularly interested in hearing from individuals who have undergone the more less invasive procedures to treat herniated lumbar discs. (microdiscectomy, percussive disc suction, etc). I am very interested in knowing what the outcome has been for individuals who feel it has benefited them and for those that it hasn't. I would also like to know how bad they were when they decided to go ahead with the surgery.

Answer:

Most people with Sciatica can ride a bike with no ill effects according to my surgeon. I've had three spine surgeries, a botched laminectomy by a local, then two three level fusions by a spine specialist with 90% symptom relief and ever improving health for remaining discs. My advice is get the best doctor you can whose does a lot of what you are having done with a high success rate, ask. I've also had surgery by a neuro for for piriformis syndrome to remove a periferal blockage of four of the nerves in the left leg including the sciatica. This one is about 60 - 75% positive and real nasty to heal.

I've been diagnosed with bulging disks at L4/L5 with annular tears & degenerative disk disease in that area. I've been in extreme pain the last 6 months with the pain in my back & down my left leg. I can only sit for about 10 minutes, then the pain increases & my legs start going numb. My orthopedic surgeon refused to do surgery as I'm only 27. I am on ibuprofen & Robaxin (muscle relaxer). Neither pill helps the pain. My life has been put on hold now for 6 months. I can't do housework, I can't go to work (data processing) because I can't sit. I can't walk very well.

I have degenerative disc disease in 2/3 (the main problem area), 4/5 and somewhere a bit higher up. I have tears and mild bulging (mainly in 2/3), but the MRI shows no particular nerve impediment.

I've been off work for 4 months (luckily Work Care is covering my wages, because it is a "pre-existing condition exacerbated by work conditions") although the percentage paid will be going down in a few months.

I haven't seen a movie either in 4 months, and can't sit down for long. I don't get the standard sciatica "burning" down the legs, but I do get tingling and a weird feeling I can't describe. I am seeing great massage guy (as well as physio) who is concerned at how tight my leg muscles are, which is probably due to some nerve interference - not necessarily by the disc, but at some stage between my spine and my legs. This in turn affects my back because of the pull on my pelvis.

After extensive reading and consultations, I am very wary of back surgery - particularly when looking at long-term benefits. My main course of action is exercise, which involves flexibility, and strengthening work throughout my whole body, as well as my back. The back exercises, as well as to loosen up the muscles, are to compensate for the problems in the disc area by building more solid support. A slight complication in my case is that the lumbar curve for me is basically dead straight, which probably hasn't helped matters. I also do hydrotherapy, which seems to give me the most relief.

If surgery would fix it, I would have it straight away, but it seems that there are lot more factors involved, eg the fact that as my back has degenerated over time, it has had a secondary effect on the muscles, which also needs to be addressed. And I seem to hear to many scare stories about surgery that goes wrong.

My GP says that I am rather young to have this kind of degeneration (I'm 27), (I wish he'd stop saying that!) so I don't know how I'll be in the future. On the positive side, hopefully my youth will speed up my recovery.

i also have an L5-S1 disk herniation with severe sciatica that has made it impossible for me to function. The pain is terrible. The pain radiates fro mthe rught of my disk down the back of my leg to me foot. I also have some leg weekness.

This surgery is pretty common and if thhe pain is not letting you live a normal life it is definetely wirth having. It usually has a 90% succes rate. I'm attaching a copy I found on this procedure.

I was wondering why you want to rule out surgery. I had a discotomy at L5-S1 in August and my doctor gave it an 85% success rate. I was in the 15% though. I got rid of the screaming pain and a weird tingling that left me unable to stand for more than a few minutes. I now have dull throbbing pain down my right leg and very little reflex at all. I've also lost all sensation in 4 toes. A lot of this was caused by not being treated sooner. This was because I had no pain to speak of, and didn't know that my body was falling apart. The discotomy was routine, very little risk (it's well below the spinal cord) and I was out of hospital in 2 days. I don't regret having it done, it was worth a try in my opinion. I wasn't successful, so they tell me, because I had a large build-up of scar tissue on the spine which the CT scan didn't show. It doesn't matter why, at least not to me. I would go back to your ortho surgeon and see what he has to say.

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