Question
I was treated for degenerative disc disease 2 years ago with decompression therapy. I went a year with very mild to no symptoms. About 6 months ago I started to have numbness and strange sensations in both feet. The pain is intermittent but slowly becoming more frequent. I have returned to the chiropractor and am currently undergoing decompression therapy. It has relieved some of the stranger sensations but I am experiencing more frequent numbness in my right leg and feet. I had an MRI done and the diagnosis is :"Broad based shallow disc protrusion and intervertebral disc desiccation are present at L5-S1. This causes mild bilateral neural foraminal stenosis." I do not experience a lot of back pain. Mostly tightness or fatigue of the muscles. When the muscles are tight I experience more pain or numbness. I went to a physiatrist and he dismissed the bulging disc as the cause of my pain. I would like a second opinion, or rather a fourth opinion. Can decompression therapy help in cases of foraminal stenoses.

Answer
Hello Erica, and thank you for taking the time to write to me.
My heart goes out to you with the more frequent pain you are experiencing.  I have read your question carefully and would ask you to consider the following:

1. Are you sure that you have and are undergoing true spinal decompression therapy and not merely traction?

2. If you are in fact receiving spinal decompression do you know if your doctor has adjusted  and fine tuned his ability to target the L5-S1 disc in light of the recent MRI results?

3. Have you enquired with your doctor how many visits you should have and has he offered a specific prognosis with this round of treatments.

4. Are you following the doctor's advice while you are undergoing care?  Our patients are cautioned to avoid any physical exertion, including lifting, bending and rotating. I always advise my patients to avoid sports or exercises which can reproduce these movements.

5.  Are you taking any nutritional supplements to aid in your recovery? I place our patients on a combination of Omega 3 fatty acids, Collagen supplements and Glucosamine Sulfate + MSM supplements, all medical grade and therapeutic doses to assist with the cellular recovery of disc and cartilage injury.

To answer your question as to whether spinal decompression can help in cases of foraminal stenosis - yes - especially when it is secondary to degenerative disc disease.

Please write back to me and let me know how you make out.
Can you also take a moment to rate this response.

Dr. Ron Nusbaum
www.backclinicsofcanada.ca