Question
I recently had micro-diskectomy for big herniated disk at L2-L3. I previously had a rae cage fusion at L4-L5 in 1998. I have multiple lumbar problems including long-standing stenosis at L3-L4. The surgeon opted to 'clean up' the stenosis since they were right 'in the area' and it was bad (5mm?) I did fine after surgery then day 2 started developing problems which would end up with numbness and tingling in my feet that changes, pain down one or both legs and eventually severe pain that started in legs and went to spine--felt like spine was being 'stretched' and leg pain included feeling like skin was 'stretched' and burning at same time. Awful stuff. I was told that after nerves had been compressed so severely for so long they can swell when they are released and that this is a temporary condition. I spent 20 days in hospital all together and am home now with steroid and pain meds. I can't find anything on the net about this. Can you shed some light on this for me?

Answer
Sure Chris,

Google phantom pain, this will explain it for you. I disagree with the "nerve swelling" explanation because they don't swell, the tissues they innervate swell. I think he just explained it to you in an easy way to understand without going into all the physiology. If there is no metal implants left in you, get therapeutic ultrasound to minimize scar tissue.

Flexion/distraction therapy is the gold standard for HNP (herniated discs), I can assist you in finding a qualified physician if needed. Below is a web site that lists doctors and also gets into detail on how it works.


http://www.coxtechnic.com/homepage.asp

Good Luck!
Dr. Timothy Durnin
drs.chiroweb.com