Question
Dear Patricia,
My clinical view: Strong pain in the right leg only during some activities (bending or sitting for long time)
The finding of my MRI was as follows:

Right posterilateral disc protrusion at the L5/S1disc level with moderate compression of the right descending S1 nerve root.

I am 2 months after the origin of the problem and i am following the conservative method of treatment with laser and electrotherapy.
The worst situation is when i am trying to drive. The pain is very strong and that is why i stopped using the car, but i want to find a solution on this.
My question is how long it takes for a disc like this to be healed? Any tips?

Answer
Adonis,
Every few months I like to follow up on patients who have written to me for help. I wanted to check in with you on your disc protrusion and see if there has been any improvement with the pain you were experiencing. If you tried chiropractic, I'd love to hear how it went. If you decided to opt for surgery, then I hope it alleviated most of your symptoms. In any case, I was just following up on some of my patients with the more serious conditions. Feel free to get back to me if you wish, or if I can provide further help.

Patricia M.
Email: [email protected]




Did your doctor suggest surgery at all? With a "moderate" compression of the S1 nerve root, including the pain you are experiencing, especially while driving, it might be worth thinking about surgery. See what the doctor suggests. In any case, I do have to admire a physician who doesn't immediately want to perform surgery but rather try conservative measures. If you haven't tried a chiropractor yet, then I urge you to do so. They specialize in problems such as this, and they have many modalities which they can provide for you that might be life-changing, such as massage therapy, physical therapy, heat, vibratory or ultrasound therapy, all of which may significantly improve your pain. Many chiropractors nowadays are trained and licensed to provide acupuncture, which can work better than surgery. Some even provide acupuncture without needles, so it is painless. NOTE: My son had a painful soft tissue back injury, so I took him to a chiropractor who provided acupuncture without needles. Within 3 weeks he was pain-free. I realize your problem is much more serious, and involves a herniated disc, however, I was once skeptical about chiropractors, but this has made me a believer, especially in acupuncture.  Give it a few weeks to work, however. It won't work overnight, but anytime you can avoid surgery that is preferable. IF this doesn't help then you could ask the doctor about surgery. I do feel that consulting a chiropractic physician would help immensely, so give that a try. They are usually covered by insurance, so it would be affordable too. If I can help further please let me know.