Question
Hi,
I don't know if chiropracty can possibly help a friend's mother.
She's 81 and has been diagnosed with a bulging disc causing back and leg pain. Her daughter is a nurse and not open to chiropractic, her mother follows her daughter's lead on medical care.
She is scheduled for a back operation at the end of the month which is supposed to snip off the protruding disc material and install some hardware to relieve pressure on the disc by fusing or mechanically bonding two vertebrae.
She has been in remarkably good health still driving herself around and going to an exercise class 3 times a week. Things went bad after a stay in the hospital for a UTI (complicated by bladder neuropathy which suppressed intial symptoms) & consequent stay in ICU when a bolus of fluids caused CHF.
The extended stay in the hospital, medications and CHF caused her to be weak enough at discharge for them to recommend physical therapy.
It was during one of the physical therapy sessions that she had the pain start and it has never gone away. They used injections for the last month to try to alleviate the pain. I told my friend that from what I know about back injuries (mine was fixed by chiropracty) it seemed to me that injecting the meds for pain relief allows a person to move normally and that may cause a proper orientation of the spine relieving future pain.
I suggested at least seeing a chiropractor for an evaluation, as we have a copy of her radiography (including 2 MRIs) on a CD.

My question is whether or not you think this might be a good idea or do you think her advanced age may not make her a candidate for chiropracty.

Michael Polidori

Answer
michael ,
great question. I see several seniors from ages 60-95. I have much more complicated and difficult cases then what you are describing. A disc bulge is not as bad as a herniation. I ABSOLUTELY DO NOT RECOMMEND SURGERY IF SHE HAS NOT TRIED CHIROPRACTIC FOR AT LEAST 8 WEEKS. What does she have to lose?
It sounds like the physical therapist did something wrong. It is a shame that her daughter is so close minded. Chiropractic is more safe to a senior than surgery. It's common sense and you would think a nurse could figure that out. The injections only reduce inflammation and block pain. It sounds like the disc bulge or a misaligned vertebrae are pressing on the nerve. I would suggest she see a chiropractor that uses Thompson technique (low force technique), also something else that can be tried is Cold laser therapy if the chiropractic alone isn't working. Make sure the chiropractor releases her ilio-psoas muscle. It is a muscle that connects onto the lateral aspect of the disc and can alleviate the leg pain almost immediately.
Good luck!!!
and tell her daughter that when you have surgery you can never reverse those procedures. Surgery is always a last resort. Shame on her for being so ignorant. Also surgery statistics are not in her favor. Postpone the surgery for another 4-8 weeks PLEASE!