[Anglosaxon]

#12003

Thank you.

Gauging motor weakness might be difficult. Within an hour of sitting, I’m in pain and within 2 I’m almost in tears. The pain is largely in the upper hamstring. The lower back is not too bad. It used to be worse, but some physio has helped.

I get a few pins and needles walking and a slight limp.No bowel problems.

After an hour of laying down the pain begins to ease.So I have spent most of my days in the last 3 months between meetings on my back or in bed.

To be honest I’m keen to have the micro disectomy it seems a common operation, but I understand that decision may not be mine. I’ll find out Tuesday. What do you think?

Thanks again.

[Donald Corenman, MD, DC]

#12004

Motor weakness has nothing to do with pain but has to do with the severity of compression of the nerve root. Now weakness can occur due to pain inhibition (the inability to fully contract a muscle due to increased pain) but this is not neurological weakness.

An easy way to test for weakness of the L5 and S1 motor nerves is to do heel and toe raises. Simply walk on your heels for some distance (keeping the toes off the ground) and then walk on your tip-toes. If you do this for 30 seconds and find that your heel falls while tiptoeing or you cannot keep you toes off the ground when “duck walking”, you most likely have some weakness. Weakness requires surgery in my opinion.

If you have had pain for three months and you have a disc herniation that fits with your symptoms, you also need surgery.

Dr. Corenman

PLEASE REMEMBER, THIS FORUM IS MEANT TO PROVIDE GENERAL INFORMATION ON SPINE ANATOMY, CONDITIONS AND TREATMENTS. TO GET AN ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS, YOU MUST VISIT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL IN PERSON.
 
Donald Corenman, MD, DC is a highly-regarded spine surgeon, considered an expert in the area of neck and back pain. Trained as both a Medical Doctor and Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Corenman earned academic appointments as Clinical Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and his research on spine surgery and rehabilitation has resulted in the publication of multiple peer-reviewed articles and two books.

[Anglosaxon]

#12030

Great thank you.

The consultant got me to tip toe up on one foot which showed obvious weakness against the good foot. We went through the MRI scan and then he offered me the 3 choices:

More Physio
Injections
Micro discectomy

No brainer went for the operation, as 4 months have passed and nothing is improving, so hopefully not too far away.

I will keep readers updated, I promise.

[Donald Corenman, MD, DC]

#12031

Thank you. I think the followups are very valuable for individuals to read to understand the evolution of these disorders.

Dr. Corenman

PLEASE REMEMBER, THIS FORUM IS MEANT TO PROVIDE GENERAL INFORMATION ON SPINE ANATOMY, CONDITIONS AND TREATMENTS. TO GET AN ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS, YOU MUST VISIT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL IN PERSON.
 
Donald Corenman, MD, DC is a highly-regarded spine surgeon, considered an expert in the area of neck and back pain. Trained as both a Medical Doctor and Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Corenman earned academic appointments as Clinical Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and his research on spine surgery and rehabilitation has resulted in the publication of multiple peer-reviewed articles and two books.

[Anglosaxon]

#12049

Hello Dr

Looking down the spine the prolapse is clearly left of center, so I was wondering why all my pain is down the right buttock and right leg. Seems the wrong side.

Thank you.

[Donald Corenman, MD, DC]

#12055

To the writer two weeks ago: Five months of nerve root compression from a herniated disc without leg pain relief is a long time for this disorder. I think there might be a chance that you could still benefit from an epidural steroid injection (ESI). I would give the total time for relief after an ESI as two weeks. If you are not at least 50% improved, then I would have the microdisectomy.

To Anglosaxon: On the MRI axial views-radiologists are dyslexic. When you look at the “top down images”, these are really “bottom-up” (right is on what you would think the left side is). Look at the images and you will find little “L” and “R” markers on the extreme sides of the images on your computer screen.

Dr. Corenman

PLEASE REMEMBER, THIS FORUM IS MEANT TO PROVIDE GENERAL INFORMATION ON SPINE ANATOMY, CONDITIONS AND TREATMENTS. TO GET AN ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS, YOU MUST VISIT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL IN PERSON.
 
Donald Corenman, MD, DC is a highly-regarded spine surgeon, considered an expert in the area of neck and back pain. Trained as both a Medical Doctor and Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Corenman earned academic appointments as Clinical Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and his research on spine surgery and rehabilitation has resulted in the publication of multiple peer-reviewed articles and two books.

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