What do I do about the pain from bulging discs?
A little over a year ago I got into a pretty bad car accident. My car was totaled(windshield cracked, front end ripped off) (a guy and his friends with no license, registered vehicle or insurance hit me when I had a green light). Well I didn’t go in the ambulance that night because I felt fine and thought it would be unnecessary, but on the ride home my neck started to hurt. So my parents took me to the ER just to be safe. They put me in a brace, took a CAT scan. The next day I went to a chiropractor that I would be seeing for the next year and 10 days(as of tonight). After Xrays, I was told to have had bulging discs in my neck and back. I never really knew all of the specifics but was told I should get an MRI if my insurance would cover it a while ago. It started with chiropractic adjustments 3 times a week, then 3 times and massage, then 2 and massage, then my insurance stopped paying. (no more massages, but he still adjusted me). I had a very busy schedule as it was my senior year and I was involved in countless activities(I would sometimes have to leave school at lunch for appointments) so I did have some gaps in my care, like if I couldn’t go to an appointment, then I didn’t have another one set up. I know that caused a problem, but started regularly again, and just recently massages again. I kind of started to live with all of the pain. Until recently, I’ve been in as much pain as I was when I first got into the accident. I finally stood up and confronted my chiropractor at one of my re-exams and told him how I couldn’t stand for 30 minutes doing the dishes without back pain, constant neck and head aches and how I was constantly miserable from the pain, sometimes in tears. I was told I should have been healed after about 6-8 weeks. and here I am over 50 weeks later always in pain. I feel like a 60 year-old and I’m only 17. What am I supposed to do? The treatments help somewhat, but not well enough to keep me out of pain and I can’t stand the thought of living like this for the rest of my life. I don’t want surgery because only 51% of back surgery is effective and that’s a bit extreme for a 17-year old’s back pains, I think. Also, I don’t want to be bed ridden in pain for hours at a time before the age of 25. I just don’t know what to do, but the pain is driving me crazy. Any suggestions would be great.
Thank you all so much, my chiropractor is a part of a network of doctors that do non-surgical spinal decompression, but it’s ,000 and I can’t swing that going to a private university. I didn’t know that an inversion table would do the same thing. I usually take ibuprofen and it doesn’t work, and I took aleve last night and it did help. I will look into the other options and I’m planning on getting an MRI to make sure it is just a bulging disc and I’ll speak with my doctor about the other options. Thank you all once again. You can’t believe how relieving it is to know there are other options.
In: Cat Scan License · Tagged with: About, bulging, discs, From, pain
on June 22, 2010 at 3:03 pm
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I developed a bulging disc between lumbar 4 and 5 by running too much on the jogging trail. I’ll tell you what I did. You’ll have to decide what is
applicable in your case. After reading your case, the information I’ve got below for an inversion table is good for lumbar bulging disks but I would certainly do research to determine if it is safe for neck or cervical injuries because it may not be. Just a precaution!
1) My chiropractor recommended taking daily doses of 100 mg. of Vitamin B6. It strengthens nerve insulation. I noticed an improvement in 4 to 6 weeks.
2) Aleve is a good NSAID medication that is sold over the counter.
The doctor can prescribe a stronger form of the drug in the name Naproxen. The doctor can also prescribe Tramadol which is a narcotic and good pain reliever.
Back ice packs are a good idea also.Usually they can be placed around the waist area for the best relief.
(They connect with velcro) You can buy them at most pharmacies
— example at the site below:
http://www.shapeupshop.com/fitness/recovery/ice_heat_wrap.htm
3) I bought the Teeter inversion table. You can invert yourself partially
or completely for spine decompression. It feels great.
It costs a few hundred but I like it. This is the best bang for the
buck as far as I’m concerned regarding lumbar bulging disks.
http://www.teeterhangups.com/home.html
4) I purchased the Rebuilder 2407 Electronic Stimulator (information at the site below). This product was intended for a variety of ailments including nerve damage due to diabetes but I found it helpful when the electrical attachments are placed slightly to the right and left of the spine where the bulging disk occurs. In my case, just slightly lower than waist level to the right and left of the spine. I paid $699 for this (although they’ve reduced the price since), so it’s something to consider even though it’s a little expensive. I bought the more expensive model since it had the AC adapter associated with it rather than just the battery (and so it supplies more power). It definitely makes you feel good when you use it at 7.83 Hz.
http://www.rebuildermedical.com/
Take Care
on June 22, 2010 at 3:16 pm
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Have ever been prescribed “steroids” for the inflammation surrounding your injured areas? It’s the dose pack were you would take 6 today, 5 tomorrow, 4 the next day and so on?
If you haven’t you should ask you doctor if this is something that would help you..
I have had disk problems for years and know for certain the pain you describe, but your dr. was correct this usually corrects itself once the disk slides back into it’s regular position.
You are right to make sure that surgery is your very very last resort, I have had several friends/family who has had back surgery and not one of them was every fully back to “well” again. It seemed the surgery did more damage than good {that’s just the people i know, not saying that happens to everyone]
Are you doing the exercises daily that help your back strengthen up? Physical therapy would have given you a sheet to show you what you can safely do..
If you have tried these things, go back to your doctor and make sure it’s just a bulging disk, and nothing worse….
Best wishes…:)
on June 22, 2010 at 3:51 pm
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That’s sad. I can only think to keep seeing a chiropractor until it gets better. Sometimes when I hurt myself really bad from working out, I find Aleve will stop the pain completely whereas aspirin and Tylenol aren’t dealing with it. Maybe that won’t help your situation, but it is worth a try. Your doctor could prescribe something stronger. My mom has been to a doctor for her back. They don’t operate at first. They gave her steroids because sometimes it destroys the part of the disc that is out of place. It works like 1/2 the time. They also gave her a cortizone shot. I don’t know if you or your parents have insurance to pay for it though. Good luck. I hope it gets better with time. I hope the disc eventually gets back into place.
Yeah, I think the guy who said inverting yourself with a Teeter is right. It decompresses the spine.