[Federica]

#33623

I am 3 weeks after microdiscectomy l4/l5 .I had almost no nerve pain immediately after surgery but it started to come back slowly.
I have nerve pain only in my calf (before surgery it was mostly in my thigh)and it is different kind of pain than I had before the surgery, sometimes dull, sometimes pins and needles and my leg feels very heavy all the time. It gets much worse at night (to the point I can’t sleep), but during the day pain is much lower.
What could cause it? Could I reherniate?

[Donald Corenman, MD, DC]

#33624

Nerve roots after decompression can swell causing root congestion and some return of mild symptoms. This is not unusual. Other reasons could be seroma (fluid collection-not uncommon after surgery) and even a recurrent herniation but recurrent HNPs normally cause a return of relatively significant leg pain. This first thing I do in your type of circumstance is to give a short course of oral steroid.

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