Question
QUESTION: I am 26 yrs old and one month ago I gave birth to my second child, both by c-section. A few months before I conceived my second child I obtained a back injury resulting in my disc hitting a nerve and subsequently some issues with my hip/ SI joint area. My question is now I am experiencing as much pain in the area of my spine that I received my epidural as I am in the area that my disc is out....the disc is my L1 so the pain runs from my very lower back shooting down the back of my right thigh. The other pain is obviously a lot higher. Could the pain be bc of the epidural or just my injury radiating out because of some kind of movement I am doing to compensate for the pain of the pre-existing injury? On a 1-10 pain level scale both areas are about an 8 all the time. I did experience spinal head aches which is why I am wondering if the new pain is related to the epidural. Plus the guy did struggle giving it to me and I can only assume it was because of the pre-existing disc injury.  Thank you for your time.

ANSWER: The answer is yes.  Yes, the pain in your back can definitely be due to the epidural.  The injection goes right next to be bones and the injetion changes pressures that are directly related to the brain.  Often patients who get spinal taps get terrible headaches for up to a year following.

As for the disc, the disc never really heals.  I've written a 4 or 5 page article about in my website (on my website?) www.dynamicclinic.com, under the articles section.  The pain that goes down you leg is probably due to dermatomal pain referral.

I'm so sorry for your pain.  It makes it tough to enjoy babies, and everything else, too.  Have you tried chiropractic for your disc issue?  It responds really well to it.  If you want a referral for someone nearby, please PM me and I'll find someone for you.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for taking the time to answer my question. If you don't mind I do have a follow up question or two.......If it is an injury in the injection spot what kind of doctor do I seek out to check it because I was also googling on the Internet ( reading about back pain and head aches in relation to epidurals ) and I read a few articles where a small percent of women actually got some kind of infection at that spot that only presented with symptoms of back pain. Don't know if that should be a concern of mine. I was going to therapy for the disc but unfortunately once I became pregnant there were very limited options for what they could and could not do for me without causing more stress or strain for me and my daughter. Now I can continue it and look forward to a pain free day one day :] Even if the pain was a 20 on the scale my children are well worth it but I am still seeking out a way to fix the issues permanently. Thank you again for your time and patience with my questions.

Answer
Sure.   There is a chance of getting an infection @ the site of injection, but I'm pretty sure that that is a more rare occurance.  Headaches following epidural are downright more common.  The therapy for disc treatment is really straightforward, and you read that already from my last response.  If you were my patient, I would treat that first, and see what progress you make.  If the disc is the culprit, then you have gotten rid of the pain.  If it's the epidural, then there's a solution that works, unfortunately it's called "time".  Crappy answer, I know, and I'm sorry I can't offer any more on that.  Did you still want a referral to someone out where you are?