Question
I have been going to an Orthopedist for 2 months after being in a car accident. (struck from behind at 50mph while we were at a full stop) They took x-rays and the Ortho Doc said I have a degenerative disc at L5 and that it is hereditary.  There is no one in my family, looking back at generations that has ever had this problem.  My real question is 7 years ago, I had a child. The anesthesiologist gave me an epidural, but when she tried the first time something weird happened and she said to the nurse that was assisting, " I've never seen that happen before", needless to say a few years later I experienced a numbing sensation in my hamstrings, that skipped my calfs and went right to my feet. It felt like someone just gave me an epidural. I went to a Chiropractor and he x-rayed my Lumbar and noticed that almost all the fluid had leaked out of the sponge at L5 disk. Could this have happened due to the Epidural I received 3 years prior?

Answer
Hi Karen,

Many women experience some level of back pain during and following pregnancy due to the the extra load placed on the back and poor posture. Because you did not have the numbness in your legs until a few years after the epidural, it is unlikely to be the cause. The epidural may have increased your susceptibility to back pain but would not be the only cause for your L5 disc problems [degenerative disc disease]. What your chiropractor described as 'the fluid leaking out of the disc' is the same thing as saying you have degenerative disc disease. There are many causes for degenerative disc disease such as trauma, age, amount of load put on your spine etc. Your car accident may have also aggravated your disc problem causing the numbness in your hamstrings and feet.

So it is possible that the epidural you received 3 years ago may have contributed to the problem but it is unlikely that it is the only cause for your pain. Did the numbness in your hamstrings start after the car accident? How old are you? The car accident and your pregnancy are likely the causes for your present day symptoms.

I hope this helps!

Dr. Liza