L5 S1 2cm herniation with plantar flexion weakness

Viewing 6 posts - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)

Author

Posts
Asni
Member

January 14, 2015 at 2:10 pm

Post count: 3

#12032

Dr. Corenman,

I have had sciatica for exactly 5 weeks. The pain was completely gone by the second week and I am left with plantar flexor weakness (unable to do any heel raises on left, not even raise it an inch from the ground since this started). Am I still able to recover my strength in the calf muscle if I do a surgery? I have a 2cm herniation impinging the S1 nerve.
I went to a general practitioner and he said the herniation will shrink over time and you will recover your muscle strength which he qualified as paresis (4/5) when he asked me to push his hand.
I have loss of feeling in the back of my thigh and when I try to do plantar flexion exercises like with a towel I feel like my left muscle does not even respond like the right gets hard when I do it but the left doesn’t.
from your experience with people who had my case is it too late to try to get surgery? are steroid injections helpful because the mri shows S1 nerve larger in size with lots of inflammation? why you think the pain went away so quickly leaving me with the motor deficit only? Is it good that there is no pain? Is the nerve permanently damaged? Would physio help?
Are you aware of any orthoses that help with the push off on the left because I have an obvious limp right now and I am looking for anything to help me walk better?

Thank you in advance Doctor.

Respectfully Yours

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

January 14, 2015 at 11:05 pm

Post count: 8660

#12035

I would disagree with your physician.

Motor weakness developed from nerve root compression in my opinion needs to have surgery sooner than later. I am currently putting a paper together regarding motor strength return with and without surgery. It is still too early to draw absolute conclusions but the chance of useful motor stength return with surgery is about double with surgery vs. without.

This does not mean that without surgery there is no chance of motor strength return but the odds are better with 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.

Asni
Member

January 15, 2015 at 2:11 am

Post count: 3

#12037

Dr. Corenman,

Thank you very much for your prompt reply. I hope one day motor deficit becomes an absolute emergency treated within 24 hours.

I just wanted to know how soon does damage to the nerve become permanent? and if people in my case can find orthoses to help them in the push off phase of walking?

Thank you so much for all your help.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

January 15, 2015 at 4:22 am

Post count: 8660

#12038

For a foot drop (L4 or L5 nerve root compression), an AFO (ankle-foot orthosis) works well. There is no well-functioning orthosis for a gastroc-soleus (calf) weakness.

For permanent damage to a nerve, it really depends upon the amount of compression and the amount of force to the nerve with the initial compression. I have seen nerves that are decompressed within 24 hours not recover but nerves that were compressed for 4 weeks recover.

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.

Asni
Member

January 21, 2015 at 1:42 pm

Post count: 3

#12042

Dr. Corenman,

I am waiting to get an appointment with a surgeon and I am trying to do some physio to keep the muscle active.

I was assigned the two foot heel raise and my toes on the affected left leg curl down while doing it is that normal? is there a neurological explanation for that?

I had a last question about the pain that is no longer there while I still have plantar flexion weakness. Is the fact that there is no pain whatsoever a good sign that the herniation is resorbing? or a bad sign of the s1 nerve too damaged to send pain signals especially that i lost feeling in the back of the thigh?

Thank you very much doctor.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

January 21, 2015 at 10:28 pm

Post count: 8660

#12045

Toe curl in the affected weak calf muscle leg is common. Your brain tries to recruit all muscles that flex the foot when you attempt a heel raise adn the toe flexors are some of these muscles.

The lack of pain is probably not a great sign in the face of weakness after an epidural steroid injection. The nerve can be too damaged to send signals but on the other hand, damaged nerves tend to send chronic pain signals. Coupling the loss of sensation of the back of your thigh with no pain means that this nerve is not functioning well.

Surgery is necessary in my opinion.

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.
Author

Posts

Viewing 6 posts - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)

You must be logged in to reply to this topic.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC

Average rating:

81 reviews

Eric S

Sep 26, 2021

by Eric S on Donald Corenman, MD, DC

Successful pars repair at 46 years old

Back in November of 2018 (at 46 years old) I came from Vancouver BC to have a pars repair done with Dr. Donald Corenman at the Steadman Clinic in Vail Colorado. I'm finally posting this review nearly three years later in late 2021. The reason I waited so long was I wanted to know the final result before I posted my review. Unfortunately in that time Dr. Corenman has retired. Nevertheless, I want to post this review of Dr. Corenman and his staff at the Steadman Clinic in their excellent treatment of my L5 pars interarticularis.

I fractured my pars at age 42 back in 2014 when rolling on the gym floor, and was denied treatment by the Canadian healthcare system, probably due to my age. First my GP told me there was no surgical option for a pars defect, which was quite incorrect! I tried to live with it, but the symptoms worsened (periodic random spine slippage and weeks of resultant pain after just bending over to tie my shoe, so I eventually learned to mostly squat and hardly bend). When I finally consulted with Canadian spine surgeons, I was told they believed my pars defect had been congenital (since birth). This was absurd, considering I had done extreme martial arts (including jiu jitsu) for years prior, as well as 5 years of reinforcing steel full time in my 20s, probably the hardest job on the back you can find. No pars defect like mine would possibly have allowed this--ergo it was impossible that I had had the defect since birth. I did however have an asymptomatic congenital spina bifida occulta that made me more susceptible to a pars fracture. In 2014 in one instant, I went from having the strongest back people I knew said they'd ever seen, to being unable to safely bend over and tie my shoe without a non-negligible risk of my spine slipping randomly (which would lead to weeks of pain after each occurrence). This was due to the unilateral L5 pars defect, otherwise known as spondylolysis. It was when lying in pain on the floor 4 years later after maybe the 6th spine slippage event post injury, that I had had enough, and resolved to have surgery. If Canada's "universal health care" said no, I would make lemonade from lemons, and find the very best surgeon in the world at pars repairs. That was Dr. Donald Corenman. Dr. Corenman back in 2018 ran a website https://neckandback.com/ that dedicated many pages to the science of every aspect of pars repairs, from eligibility (good discs on MRI), to best surgical techniques (minimal open compared to minimally invasive), best imaging to use (i.e., O-Arm with Stealth imaging vs. older fluoroscopy), the ideal amount of BMP to use and why not use too much or too little, and much more, all to do with pars repairs, pages upon pages of his site just on the pars, with scientific references and his own extensive expert opinion. As a health research statistician, I was very impressed with this. It was in stark contrast to the websites of other spine surgeons which barely gave the pars a word or two, focusing almost exclusively on fusions. I had found the best surgeon in the world for pars repairs, and so after Dr. Corenman personally screened my MRI to ensure my discs were healthy, I booked the surgery.

Being 46 years old at the time of surgery in 2018, with a 4-year-old pars fracture from 2014 combined with a congenital SBO meant my pars fragment was somewhat atrophied, but it was "very solid", said Dr. Corenman in the operative report. Nevertheless, it was challenging with two things to fix, the pars and SBO, and OR time was around 4 hours. Recovery over the following months was guided by a very clear "Spine binder" from the Steadman Clinic with strict rules of "no BLT" (no bending, lifting or twisting), and illustrated physiotherapy guidelines. They even warned patients to avoid fish oil supplements, which could excessively dampen inflammation and hence slow bone healing. They answered many questions I had during months of recovery, with responses coming from the very supportive Lori Fugate (then director of Dr. Corenman's practice), and Ehrich Bean (then physician's assistant at the practice), as well as a couple calls with Dr. Corenman himself after two of the CT scans. Ehrich Bean offered great advice for taking the spine binder conservatively due to the nature of pars repairs vs. fusions. The final post-op CT scan I had was a couple weeks ago at 34 months post-op, and Dr. Corenman had retired, but I got a very positive and informative call from Eric Strauch (current PA at the Steadman Clinic under Dr. Corenman's replacement there, and who had also worked with Dr. Corenman previously). The staff at the Steadman Clinic were extremely supportive all the way through the process. I should mention, the local Canadian spine surgeon did offer me very good post-operative support including antibiotics as needed to deal with a mild surface incision-site infection early on, booking numerous x-rays when I felt something was amiss, as well as booking all four of my post-op CT scans. I am very grateful for that support also.

My final result shows plenty of solid bone across the pars and a healed SBO, with my vertebral body now a solid bone ring instead of being broken at two places as it was pre-op. Does my spine hold up in the real world? You bet! I have recently dug and moved several yards of dirt and sand and gravel by myself (shovel and wheelbarrow!) to fix our water main, pulled roots from the yard, moved several "portable" (these are HUGE) air conditioners up several flights of stairs my myself, and lifted weights. I now run 2 miles (3.2 KM) several times weekly with a hard 100 meter dash in the middle. I bend deeply before each run I go on, with no spine slippage. My spine feels amazing. I can bend over to do exercise, or real word tasks, with no risk of spine slippage.

My sincere thanks to God, Dr. Donald Corenman, Lori Fugate, Ehrich Bean, Eric Strauch, and the Steadman Clinic, as well as the Canadian spine surgeon who offered me excellent post-operative care back in Canada. You have all given me a new lease on life.

Sincerely,
Eric S

Robert S

May 11, 2021

by Robert S on Donald Corenman, MD, DC

Back Fusion Surgery

I had my entire lumbar spine fused in November of 2018. I had scoliosis , with pinched nerves that were so painful I could hardly walk - and standing for more than a few minutes was impossible. Even sitting was painful.
The fusion surgery produced immediate relief! And the recovery was much easier than I expected.
To this day I can do all the activities I love from hiking, to standing in a stream fly fishing to riding my bike long distances - or just walking down the street with my wife.
Kudos to Dr. Corenman and his staff, (including the two Erics) for taking such good care of me!

Leslie R

Jul 9, 2020

by Leslie R on Donald Corenman, MD, DC

TLIF

I had my TLIF surgery on 6/24/2020 by Dr. Corenman, I can not say enough good things about the Dr or his staff. I was always treated with respect and explained everything throughly, that made it easy for everyone to understand. I highly recommend Dr. Corenman and the Steadman Clinic.

Submit your review
First Name, Last Initial:
Email:
Review Title:
Rating:	1 2 3 4 5
Review:

Check this box to confirm you are human.
Submit Cancel