Please help! I am desperate

Tagged: L5-S1 herniated disc and leg pain treatment

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

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Xena021
Participant

July 21, 2018 at 9:16 pm

Post count: 3

#28803

Hello, my name is Xenia, I am 31 years old and on June 10th I had severe leg pain and that’s when my journey started with the Low back pain radiating to left leg.. I am taking oral medications and I’ve been on them for about 45 days along with physical therapy. Medications don’t work and they haven’t been improving the pain am getting. Physical therapy can’t do much because everything hurts. I can NEVER sit down, it is very painful to walk or stand. I literally haven’t been able to move for 45 days! Not even with medications. I’ve never felt that kind of pain. My MRI states “left foraminal disc extrusion/herniation at L5-S1 with a 6mm disc fragment within the neural foramen displacing the left L5 nerve root posteriorly”.. they told me about the cortisone injections but I am unsure if it will help or if it is safe to do.. I am lost and don’t know what is the right thing to do!! Do I need to go into surgery? Do I need to get the injections? Every doctor I ask they advise me with different things.. some said I don’t need to do anything except oral medications and physical therapy, some said I need to get into surgery, some said I need the injections!! ? please help me

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

July 22, 2018 at 10:26 am

Post count: 8660

#28804

You have a herniated disc in the foramen at L5-S1 which is compressing the L5 nerve root. This causes L5 radiculopathy which can be unbelievably painful. There are three indications for surgery: muscle weakness, intolerable pain or failure of 6-12 weeks of conservative treatment.

The first question is do you have motor weakness? For the L5 nerve, weakness would be noted in foot drop (the foot does not easily clear the ground when walking or “slaps” when your heel hits the ground) and/or in ankle stability (feeling like you are going to sprain your ankle when you walk on uneven surfaces). You can test these muscles by reading this: https://neckandback.com/conditions/home-testing-for-leg-weakness/. If you have motor weakness, the ‘dye is cast’ and you need surgery.

If you have no weakness but your pain is intolerable and medications don’t work, you can consider surgery. An injection can be helpful but if your pain is severe, surgery is a good option.

Finally, if you fail 6-12 weeks of treatment and your pain is impairing, surgery should be considered.

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.

Xena021
Participant

July 22, 2018 at 10:56 am

Post count: 3

#28807

Thank you so much doctor for your reply. Currently I am in my 6th week, I have a little bit of weakness in my foot but no drop foot. Since the herniation/extrusion is in the foraminal space with the position of the fragment, are any of these indications for surgery? Or do you think physical therapy is enough? I have been working with a physical therapist for 3 weeks now and it’s been up and down. Thank you again so very much for your time. I am trying to see a neurologist but the closest appointment they gave me is in August so I truly appreciate you getting back to me.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

July 22, 2018 at 11:57 am

Post count: 8660

#28809

The fragment is located in a spot that can cause more pain (and is somewhat more difficult to remove surgically sometimes). I would want to consider epidural steroid injection if I was in your shoes. See https://neckandback.com/treatments/epidural-injections-and-selective-nerve-root-blocks-diagnostic-and-therapeutic/

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.

Xena021
Participant

July 22, 2018 at 10:43 pm

Post count: 3

#28812

I will be taking the epidural steroid injection soon. Sorry to bother you but I do have another concern that no doctor has been explaining to me. Will the steroid injection help in minimizing the inflammation of the nerve? I am scared that after my injections I will get back to the same pain I am having. It is so hard for me to move or walk and it takes me a lot of effort to walk to the bathroom. I just don’t want to experience that pain anymore or to be in bed for that long. With your experience and after knowing what I have, do you think the injections will help in healing the nerve? It’s a constant pain in the leg, no medications are helping and not even the strongest ones. Again I am very thankful for you answering me ??

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

August 5, 2018 at 6:54 am

Post count: 8660

#28884

Steroid injections that bathe nerves can be quite effective to give long term relief and possibly yield permanent relief. Yes, it is possible that the injection(s) will yield temporary relief only but that unfortunately is the unknown (art) of medicine.

I had an epidural injection 6 months ago with permanent relief (at least 6 months of relief and ongoing).

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

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Donald Corenman, MD, DC

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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.

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