What should I do about my bulging disc?

[hpj99]

Hi, I just turned 16 and I was diagnosed with a bulging disc at L4-L5 about a year ago. I've had two epidural injections, one about a month after I was diagnosed, one about two months later. Neither one helped for more than a few weeks before the pain was back 100%. I also went through a few months of PT which didn't help either. I'm a competitive swimmer and throughout the past year I've had to take off weeks at a time. For the past 3 months my parents have kept me out of practice to try and heal my back completely before returning. There hasn't been much improvement and I really want to get back to swimming. Any suggestions for treatment? Should I get surgery even though I'm still very young? Or should I just deal with it and swim through the pain? Sorry for the long story and thanks in advance :)

[jay10990]

Hey i was robed in philly pa and the beat my back so bad, and knocked my 2 teeth out and left on concience. well ill never go on vaca to phily lol. well its been since october 2010 and a have a back bulged disk and i take 800 mg of ibu and it still hurts, it realy hurts when i sleep. i gonna try the black cherry extrack 750 mg and see if it helps.

Let me know if you have any other things that will help me. 21 and the pain feels like im 100.

[bigsissie]

Glad to hear you back will heal but continue to be very careful in with it in the future. I am sure practicing 5 hours a day was not good on it and probably was why you were not getting any relief. I take the NOW brand Black cherry capsules 750mg. The first week I took 2 -3x a day then went to two per day, usually at bed time. Hope they help. My best advice is to just give yourself time and don't push it. Best of luck to you. Also if you have any more questions later just message me and I will answer the best I can.

Sissie

[hpj99]

Thanks so much for the advice! I will definately stay away from surgery if possible.
@bigsissie  About the black cherry extract, what is the best way to take it? I have tried traction therapy and arrosti therapy. My physical therapist used a TENS unit on me and I was taking Meloxicam for the inflammation. Nothing helped much, though that may be because I was going to two 2.5 hour practices a day at the time.
@esor15   My doctors said that my back should heal by itself in six to eight months, maybe a year. That was a year ago and I haven't made much progress but that's probably because I have been pushing myself to keep swimming instead of resting..

[esor15]

Wow,that is a hell of a thing for someone of 16 to deal with! what have the DRs.said?My husband has degenerative disc disease for about 12 yrs ,He is 53,I was diagnosed last year with the same thing,on top of all my other health problems! I hope you really consider a lot of options before you decide to get back surgery! Most of the time it only makes the problem worse.I heard my husbands DR.tell him ,(never get back surgery)it would be like shooting a doe with a 30-30-.So I hope you get the help you need and hopefully ,it wont be back surgery.

[bigsissie]

Have you tried any therapies besides PT? There are many therapies to try before surgery such as traction, acupuncture, chiropractic adjustments, aqua therapy, ect. For the pain you may try a TENS unit. It helps me sometimes along with anti-inflammation meds. I take Black Cherry extract and it works great for inflammation and does not cause any medical problems like overusing ibuprofen. You don't want to have surgery as that will permanently weaken you back. The only time you should go for surgery is if you are at risk for nerve damage. Try some of the different therapies and rest your back. You don't want to end up with irreversible damage because you have pushed yourself too hard.  You can also do back strengthening exercises at home that will help. Best of luck to you. I hope you are on the mend soon.

Sissie