Question
Thank you for your reply.  It is very helpful. I tried to view the pages you suggested, but it requires an authorization password?  Can you give me one? Sincerely,  Christine Fiori  -------------------------    Followup To    Question -   The MRI shows an annular tear L5/S1 and a herniated disc L4/5.  The herniation is 15 years old and the tear is 8 weeks old.  The pain in my left hip and down the front on the left leg to the knee is very sharp. The sciatica is is not new but the intensity is stronger than before the tear in the left foot (hot, burning pins & needles).  I have had chiropractic, VAXD(traction) and epidural cortizone injections (3) for the past 6 weeks with some results.  Will the tear heal on its own or should I consider surgery?  Will I jeopardize my recovery if I return to work now (my job requires me to be on my feet most of the day with a lot of squatting & rotation)?  Thank you for your help. Gold bless you!    Answer -   Hello, Christine,    In my experience, annular tears require surgery.  On the other hand, the symptoms may not come from the annular tear, but from nerve root compression, which usually results from muscular contractures local to nerve roots, which contractures also lead to disc herniation by ordinary mechanical pressure.    Squatting and twisting create conditions adverse to the healing of a disc tear.    However, since you have gotten some relief from chiropractic, there is room for improvement apart from surgery.  Traction and cortizone are essentially useless because neither deals with the muscular contraction state.  Please see the article, Beyond Stretching (somatics.com/page4.htm) and also somatics.com/page3.htm on chiropractic treatment.    with regard,  Lawrence Gold  

Answer
Dear Christine,

There should not have been an authorization password (technical glitch) and the problem has been corrected.

You may now get free access to the website and pages indicated, Beyond Stretching (somatics.com/page4.htm) and somatics.com/page3.htm.

with regard,
Lawrence Gold