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  • Miriam
    Participant
    Post count: 1

    Dear Sirs,

    My osteopath tells me I have a medial slipped disc that is not yet pressing on the nerve hence no leg pain… I’ve asked my husband to do the leg raise test and nothing hurts… I don’t get it…
    I’ve had back pain for over 8 years, I think I strained something eight years ago doing too much physical work, picking up things that weighed more than me. I saw a chiropractor for 6 months but that didn’t help. The past eight years I just didn’t do much physically because everytime I did it would get more painful. Then in July 2015 I did yoga for 3 weeks, made it ten times worse, I thought I was going to strengthen my back but it did the opposite! Finally in December I found an osteopath, I live in Thailand so not much treatment around here! After one visit I felt so much better. He said my psoas muscle was ‘buggered’ for lack of a better word, so worked on that. Then a few days before my next apt I broke up a fight between my dogs, and oops smth went very wrong. I was bent over double and couldn’t straighten anymore. Everywhere I’ve read a herniated or slipped disc you would bend sideways to accomodate the pain, the only place I felt comfortable was bent double, I couldn’t straighten at all. It wasn’t so much pain as I just felt stuck. After I saw him I could straighten a little better and he gave me a belt to wear to hold my back straight when I walk. I’m mostly resting now and just wear the belt 2-3 times a day when I walk anywhere, even to the bathroom. Please can you just tell me what condition would make a person bend forward like that, would make a person feel stuck in the forward position, but no pain down the leg… Is it possible it is a disc and he’s right? Unfortunately I’m in Thailand so can’t come and visit you and have no access to your type of Dr here either… I”m happy to pay for a consulation online, I fully understand there a limit to how much you can tell me without physically seeing me or MRI’s or X-Ray’s but a man with your experience would surely know what on earth makes someone bend forward and be stuck in that position.

    Hoping to hear from you at your earliest convenience,

    kind regards, Miriam Bryer (+66(0)801109644 (Thailand)

    Donald Corenman, MD, DC
    Moderator
    Post count: 8656

    Your pain probably is from a degenerative disc. Without leg pain, it is unlikely that you have suffered a herniated disc that is compressing a nerve root. You have developed what I call a “lower back attack” (bent over to stay comfortable without leg pain). If this is the case, it will pass over the next week or so and you will probably be back to baseline.

    If you develop leg pain in this episode (can take as long as 2 weeks to occur), then your probably developed a herniated disc. If this happens, make sure you do not develop leg weakness. See the section https://neckandback.com/conditions/home-testing-for-leg-weakness/ to check for this disorder. Weakness generally means surgery if you have the resources.

    You can see if a local doctor might consider giving you an oral steroid like dexamethasone (Decadron) as this medication can significantly reduce the pain and swelling of an annular tear (the main component of lower back attack). This medication is not without some risks but can reverse the severe symptoms.

    Dr. Corenman

    PLEASE REMEMBER, THIS FORUM IS MEANT TO PROVIDE GENERAL INFORMATION ON SPINE ANATOMY, CONDITIONS AND TREATMENTS. TO GET AN ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS, YOU MUST VISIT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL IN PERSON.
     
    Donald Corenman, MD, DC is a highly-regarded spine surgeon, considered an expert in the area of neck and back pain. Trained as both a Medical Doctor and Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Corenman earned academic appointments as Clinical Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and his research on spine surgery and rehabilitation has resulted in the publication of multiple peer-reviewed articles and two books.
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