herniated disc

[tara27]

i just found out i have a herniated disc at L5-S1. i am having excrutiating pain. my leg is weak and i get numbness in my butt and my right foot gets swollen. Is surgery the only answer for me. it is measuring at 6mm in transverse and 2 mm in AP dimension. I am wanting a second opinion. Can you help?

[JainMD]

Hi Tara,
How old are you?
There are many different terms used to describe spinal disc pathology and associated pain, such as “herniated disc”, “pinched nerve”, and “bulging disc”. The bones which form your spine are called as vertebrae. The space between two vertebras is cushioned with disc. When disc bulge or break open due to any reasons like ageing, or trauma to spine, it is called as herniated disc and this can cause pinching of nerve. It can happen in any region, but is more common at lower back in lumbar region and cervical region.
It is advisable for you to do physiotherapy for relief of pain and spasm of muscle, pain killers and pain management specialist for conservative management.
But if this fails, the option left is surgery.
You may want to consider surgery if you have had severe shooting pain in hips radiating down to foot for more than a month. Only about 1 person in 10 still has enough pain after 6 weeks to think about surgery.
As there are complications associated with spinal surgery, the doctor will exhaust all his conservative management and then opine for surgery.
I think you should follow your doc's opinion and get best physiotherapy along with other conservative management as described above and then decide about further course of action.
What doctor has to say?
Hope this helps you.
Bye.

[sthie700]

I have 2 herniated discs in my lower back from a car accident. Have you tried an epidural injection by a pain management specialist? I had the pain going down the leg as well, and the injection worked wonders. If that doesn't work, getting an opinion from a neurosurgeon is your best bet.