Herniated Disc treatment

[Shorty1098]

My husband has two herniated discs and is in a lot of pain. He has gotten several different opinions and the doctors have told him that physical therapy is not indicated for this problem and will only refer him to pain management for narcotic prescriptions. There has to be something that he can do. The doctors gave him a couple of exercises that he can't do because he has a bad knee, but they couldn't even give him any alternative exercises to do. I don't understand why physical therapy is not warranted here?

[kittyluv1]

That is wrong!  I don't know whether your insurance requires you to get a referral to a specialist from your primary care doctor, but your husband needs to be seen by a skilled orthopedic or neurosurgeon.  Do you have the results of the MRI?  If you post the findings, I might be able to offer some other ideas.

[Shorty1098]

The herniations are at L4 and L5, and no the doctors have not suggested surgery. All they will do is prescribe pain pills and as we can't afford for him not to work, this is not a viable option. There has to be something he can do, and none of the doctors he's been to even seem to care that he can barely walk.

[kittyluv1]

What discs are herniated?  Is this cervical or lumbar? It is true that physical therapy may not be helpful for herniated discs --- once the disc slips out of it's capsule it is not possible to put it back where it came from.  Physical therapy will try and normalize the spine to try and prevent additional pressure from being placed on the nerves which is what is causing the pain.  The doctors have not suggested surgery?  If you can provide some test results, such as an MRI report, I might be able to offer some other suggestions.