Re: Back and leg pain

Posted By chel on June 19, 1998 at 14:17:45:

In Reply to: Re: Back and leg pain posted by John on June 04, 1998 at 21:49:56:






: : Mri shows a bulging disk and a shallow central protruding disk, my question is what is the difference and why do I have pain down my leg and and have ankle and calf swelling?  I also have had X-Ray, CT, EMG, and Bone Scan  I appreciate any helpful explanation or any help with the pain other than any spinal puncture.
Dear Ray:
The bulging disc means that there is inrease in the size of a disc at a
: particular location. A centrally protruding disc means that the bulge in the
: disc is at the central portion of the disc. Your leg symptoms may be related
: to having pressure on the nerve that may be related to these disc bulges.
I hope this answers your questions.
Hi Ray,
I know what you are going through.  I herniated my L5,S1 disk about 6 months ago and I have the burning pain that travels down the back of my left leg, starting from my butt and ends just behind my knee.  My disk is putting pressure on my sciatic nerve.  That is what is causing the pain.  This is also called "SCIATICA".  The pain has gotten better over the months but still hasn't gone away.  I still have to take alot of ibuprofin every day to make the pain go down.  I went the chriopratic route but it didn't help me at all.  Excersise seems to help, but too much of it make my back muscles go into spasm.  In a few days I am scheduled to get an epidural injection.   I will let you know how that goes.  All the doctors I have talked to and articles  I have read says to try everything before having surgery.  Hope you feel better.  Hang in there.   John
Hi Ray,  It has been a full 24hrs since I had my epidural injection.  It feels like someone has given me a new leg. My pain is about 95% gone.  The doctor says it should take about 3 days for the epidural to take full effect.  I did get a small headache but that went away with some asprin.  I did not know this till yesterday but I have to go back in two weeks and get another  injection.  This is the first day in about 6 months I haven't had to take any Ibuprofin for the pain.  My leg feels great but my back aches a little where they stuck me.  I bet you are woundering if it hurt.  The answer is no.  I have had splinters in my finger that hurt worse than this.  If you want to talk leave your email address here.  Hang in there.  John