Is this pain coming from disc problem or muscle imbalance

[tossedup]

Here is what is wrong with my back. It turns out that I have herniated disc in my back at c3-4, c4-5, t6-7, t8-9, L4-5. Disc C5-6 bulging and are pressing on the thecal sac ( protects your spinal cord) along with L4-5 in my lower back. These two disc are also pinching my L5 nerve root. At L5-S1 the never root is also getting pinched. Both of these nerves are right above your hips and run down your hamstring. I have chronic disc degeneration in all areas of my back.

I have a dull aching pain behind my left shoulder blade that is constent. The only thing I can do to make it stop is windmills of the the MM dvd or go to the chiro. Would this be muscle pain because I can temporarily make it go away with the windmills or is it a disc problem? Any idea?

[Iamjennmedic]

I would say disc just because pressure on the nerve could cause that kind of pain. The relief could be from the shifting and loosing of the muscles (making the pinching less). Given your hx I would bet its from the disc issues. I would bet that the C5-6 are the ones that are causing the problem. The dermatones that run through them affect that area. What is your doc doing to help you? Do you know what the case of all these problems are? Trauma or something else?

[UConnJulie]

What Jen said!

[Iamjennmedic]

Originally Posted by UConnJulie

What Jen said!

Thanks Julie

[tossedup]

I think it is coming from my disc also. The only thing my doctor does is try to get me to get another steriod injection (I have already had 15) or give me some pain meds. I am sick of taking the meds and I don't have the $300 to get another injection.

[Iamjennmedic]

When I get a chance I will see what kind of other options you might have. I will try to either post on here or pm you tonight.

[tossedup]

Thanks darling!!

[tossedup]

Oh yea car wrecks caused all this crap that is wrong with my back.

[Iamjennmedic]

OK a couple things real quick. For the herniation make sure you are using perfect form on your lifts because that can aggravate it. Applying heat and cold will help with the pain some as will an anti- inflammatory or muscle relaxer. Are you taking vit D etc. Also surgery can be done if the herniation is bad enough so that it doesn't cause permanent damage. When were the accidents?

[UConnJulie]

Have you been to a good therapist? A good manual therapist can help a lot ...

[tossedup]

I have been to a PT on two diffrent occasions for about 3 months at a time and also have had quite a few massages. My chiro also does ART and it makes the pain greatly reduced for about 30 min

[tossedup]

Jen I am not taking any vitamin D and I have looked at the surgery option but I really don't want to go that route. All the accidents were 4 plus years ago.

[UConnJulie]

Honestly, if you haven't gotten relief with conservative measures, and there is confirmed nerve root and thecal sac involvement, surgery might be the only thing that relieves your pain.

[Iamjennmedic]

I agree with Julie on this one totally. The damage will be permanent (from the herniation) if you don't relieve the pressure. I would start taking Vit D to help with the degeneration. I will have to rel-ook at what you are doing as far as exercises too, some things can make the pain worse. What kind of treatment did you get when you had teh accidents? Have you checked to see if there are any good back health clinics in your area? You might want to check around and see what is offered and what services they can provide. How old are you again? You have a lot of back stuff going on that we usually don't see at a young age ( I think you are younger than me if I remember right) so there for I am wondering what care you were given post accident.

[tossedup]

I will start the vitamin D asap. Take a look at my training log first or second post it has my reovery workout attached to it. I didn't get any treatment at all when the wrecks occured. I thought I was ok untill about 2 weeks later when my back was still hurting. I will check into the back clinics and see what I can find. I am only 27 and this has been going on for the last 8 years. It is not debiltating pain but it is pretty constant and sometimes gets real bad and I am laid up in the bed for a couple of days. I have seen a couple of diffrent surgoens and they both said the same thing. I was young and I have more better days than worse. When it gets to the point that my bad days out weigh my good days then they will operate. Thanks for all or your replies ladies.

[Iamjennmedic]

Ok a couple notes here. First is that you didn't get proper treatment for your back when you had the accidents. I find that really dissapointing so now you need to focus on maintaining your back health and trying to improve it a bit. The Vit D will help prevent further damage to an extent, I would try to do a lot of mobility work so that your muscles don't tighten and create more pain. When you think you have found a good clinic send me a link and I will check it out. Also I looked at your log briefly and one thing that jumps out is the shrugs. I would consider dropping those until the herniation in the cervical region is gone for a while. Keep doing everything else though, lifting will help a lot with the density in your bones. Can you think of what triggers the pain that leaves you in bed for a couple days at a time?

[tossedup]

Yea I know I didn't get the proper treatment and I have been paying for it for ever since. Did you look at my recovery routine for my off days? I try to do some mobility work every day along with foam rolling. Any idea what I should sub in for the shrugs? They have never bothered me before but I don't want them to start. The last time that my back bothered me extremely bad was when I bent over to pick up some cloths that were laying on the right side of my body. My hamstrings were pretty tight from working out the day before but I didn't lift anything terribly heavy or anything like that. Let me know what you think when you get a chance. Thanks.

[tossedup]

I found a place close to my house called Spinal Corrective Care Associates. I have a free consultation with them next Wendsday. Let me know what you find out about them Jen.