I have a bulging disc and degenerative disc disease has anyone had success with an inversion table?
141381
When my SI joint is out, it is impossible to function and I really dislike the haze that pain meds induce!!  I have had an inversion table for 2 years and believe it was heaven sent!!  It is, however, an acquired taste as alot of people are not comfortable hanging upside down.  Also if you have circulatory, heart or any type of balance or inner ear problems, this is not the treatment alternative for you!!  Definately try one before you buy one. If you do decide to take this path.....purchase a well built quality model!  Good Luck!
740176
Your condition is not so common for someone your age, but it does happen. Surgery wouldn't be the answer especially bone fusion. That's a pretty big deal and usually a last resort, mostly done in patients with instability in their back, or severe disc degeneration. Trust me, you don't want to go there. \n\nThe first step I would take is to go and see a chiropractor regardless of what your MD thinks. You may receive full pain relief without the cost of injections and pain killers. Someone your age will recover quickly if you are in descent health already, i.e not over weight and inactive. \n\nIf you are opposed to that try massage therapy or physical therapy. Most recent research has proven that chiropractic is better for long term pain relief of lower back pain than physical therapy or massage therapy.\n\nThere is a company offering free massage via a table using jade rollers and intense heat. The name of the company is ceragem. The web site is www.ceragem.com  Check for a location in your town. They are not everywhere so if you are in a small town you are out of luck. \n\nIf you must have surgery please visit this web site www.laserspineinstitute.com It is the only type of surgery to consider if you are a candidate for it.\n\nGood luck and ask a friend for a good chiropractor in your area. It could make all the difference in the world\n\nA quick note on spinal decompression:  It is covered by insurance if you find a DO or MD with the unit. Chiropractic offices that have them are overcharging as it should only be 2 to 3 grand for the proceedure. It is effective but also not 100%. Try manipulation first. If thats not successful try decompression but do it at an MD or DO's facility for insurance sake.
602706
Massage and yoga. Both are extremely effective. I have friends that have tried and they had scoliosis before. It is perfect now. Perfect back. I STRONGLY recommend it
334790
Sorry my friend, there is a wide range of outcome for a slip disc...some, but few, ever recover to full capacity.\nExercise, stretching, physiotherapy, and in extreme cases (eg severely debilitating or life threatening), surgery. \nChiropractice is more contraversial in terms of helping with slip disc. Some swear by it, some shoot it down. Doctors and physiotherapists generally don't endorse it though. \nAsk your doctor for what kind of exercise or other methods you can do to help you ease the problem.
816068
Have any of the Drs. ordered any tests? If it is a bulging disc or bone spur, an MRI would show that. If an MRI comes back negative, then it is something else. \nAsk your Dr. for a referral to a neurologist. That will be the best bet in getting accurate testing, diagnosis and treatment. \n I have a bulging disc and bone spur and it is horribly painful. My family Dr. was unable to find a problem, but the neurologist immediately ordered an MRI and the problem was spotted. \n\nGood Luck!
539821
I work in a clinic that has a DRX9000.  I have also been treated using the DRX9000.  My take on the DRX9000 is that it is a very good tool to help treat disc injuries.  But, it is just a tool.  These machines are becoming quite popular, and rightfully so.  However, opening a clinic and buying the machine does not make you an expert at treating back pain.  If you are a twenty something in good physical shape with no previous episodes of back pain and have a single disc herniation, then the DRX9000 will probably work great as the only treatment necessary.  Unfortunately, this is rarely the case...at least in the patients I see.  Most patients have had bad pain for months or years.  These patients develop chronic muscle imbalances in the pelvis, sacro-illiac problems, and even secondary neck pain and stiffness.  Our clinic integrates MD's, PTs, and DCs to treat these conditions in addition to the DRX machine.  \n\nThe bottom line is that when used appropriately in combination with other appropriate treatments, the DRX9000 is very effective.  I was treated for a disc herniation at C5.  It has been two years since I was last treated and have had no return of symptoms.  \n\nThe peer reviewed research on the DRX9000 is very scarce.  I have no reason not to be honest with you, so I hope this helps.
969120
You would be better off trying to get disability if you were properly diagnosed with a more legitimate problem rather than vertebral subluxation.  Vertebral subluxation is a vague diagnosis perpetuated by the less than credible chiropractic "profession".\n\nCheck out the following links to learn the truth about subluxations.\n\nhttp://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/chirosub.html\nhttp://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/chiroasst.html\nhttp://www.acsh.org/healthissues/newsID.656/healthissue_detail.asp\nhttp://www.chirobase.org/01General/chirosham.html\n\nMany chiropractors claim that research justifies their form of practice but this is really not the case.  See the following;\n\nResearch Findings\n\nDuring the past few years, two reports about the treatment of low-back pain have placed chiropractic in a favorable light. One, issued by the RAND Corporation, concluded that spinal manipulation was appropriate for some cases of low-back pain. The other, produced by the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR), judged manipulation useful for controlling symptoms while awaiting the spontaneous recovery that occurs within a month in most patients with low-back problems.\nAlthough chiropractors have promoted these reports as endorsements of chiropractic, they are not. They merely support the use of manipulation in carefully selected patients. Only a few of the research studies on which their conclusions were based involved manipulation by chiropractors; most were done by medical doctors and physical therapists whose practices are not identical to those of chiropractors. Most chiropractors manipulate the vast majority of patients who walk through their door, some use techniques that have not been studied scientifically, and many urge all of their patients to undergo monthly or even weekly "preventive maintenance" visits throughout their life. In addition, many chiropractors emphasize a technique that is more vigorous (and therefore less safe) than the controlled manipulation used by other practitioners. The only places where "chiropractic" and "chiropractors" are mentioned in the body of the AHCPR report are in the passages about the make-up of the AHCPR expert panel.
215339
Have you had a physical therapist help?  Depending on the location of your problem, you may get relief by learning better posture and strengthening muscles around your spine.\nThis is not something to invent by yourself for sure.\nYour physician, who should have x-rays or scans, should be able to provide this info to a good physical therapist.\n\nI am extremely sorry if your health insurance will not cover this.  I know that the US healthcare is near shambles right now.
306962
The "Wallace ligament" method is just a way to replace a bad disk by replacing it with shock absorption material which is tied with ligaments around the spine; in this way you avoid having to fuse the spine. Good luck with your operation.
124265
You should find a good chiropractor. If it is a problem with a disk you may not be able to do anything except going through surgury. Surgury is usually extremely painful so you have to weigh your options and decide if it is really worth it.
716274
In terms of your disc herniation, it is doubtful that it will disqualify you. A large number of the human population has asymptomatic disc herniations confirmed by MRI studies on asymptomatic patients. Further MRI studies on cadavers, in which during life- had no complaints of back pain. It is estimated that some 30-40 % of the population have disc herniations. Furthermore there is absolutely no clinical correlation between size (mild/moderate/marked) of the herniation and severity of the patient's pain. \nRegarding your steroid. If at some point of time the pain becomes too great, whereupon all conservative treatment methods have failed. Sure, go with the steroid. A steroids main purpose is to inhibit inflammation- because inflammation results in pain. Inflammation is somewhat good in that its real purpose is to move "cells" to the area to help repair. If you INHIBIT this process, you in effect INHIBIT healing. (ice slows the process down some whilst decreasing pain). Steroids have also shown to result in periarticular osteoporosis ( slight bone loss at the point of injection). Spinal decompression makes sense as your first line of treatment. Think of your disc like a jelly doughnut. Some your jelly has leaked out. The jelly is irritating surrounding nervous tissue--> pain. Decompression causes a negative vaccuum in that disc to help it suck the jelly back in. If your chiro is good... he will then start you off with some stabilization exercises to help with the pain and future occurances of pain.
151237
It sounds like you have a bulging disc compressing on the layers that surround your spinal cord.  But, it seems to be very small.  Obviously, as with anything, wait to hear what your doctor says about it.
379743
My mom suffers from exactly the same.  She has tried everything available to her and she has managed to control it, but of course, she was not able to reverse the deformations in her body.  She takes prednisone in very small dosages everyday, glucosamine and now fosamax for osteoporosis.  I think that what has also helped a lot is her physical therapy twice a week.  All together keep her still walking, although with a walker.  Can you provide additional details about that oil?
824866
I was in the same boat, 2 surgeries and all was well...crashed racing again then......had 2 world class neurosurgeons that wouldn't touch me saying surgery at this point will damage more tissue. After about 6 years of nasty death inducing pain, it did fuse and go away to a bearable point.\n\nSince then they have come up with a papaya injection. It was too new when I was hurt but may be an option, check into it. It dissolves the disc causing trouble and if in the hands of a skilled Dr... I think it would be the way to go. Few do the procedure  though.\n\nTake care....\n\n\n====================
884623
1.  What level is the herniated disc?  Is it cervical, thoracic, lumbar, or sacral?\n2.  How severe is the herniation?\n3.  Do you think that physical therapy will help with this?  \n4.  What options do I have for recovery?\n5.  Do you think that surgery will be necessary?\n6.  What options can we try before surgery?\n7.  What is the success rate for pain relief with the surgery?\n8.  If the dr wants you to take pain medications, make sure you know the side effects of the drugs and what to report when taking it.\n9.  Do you think anti-inflammatory medicines will help with the swelling around the disc?\n10.  What else should I know about disc herniations like the one I have?  \n\nHope this helped.
1015245
Well, you can get rid of the problem completely - after having a one-time treatment called Atlasprofilax and letting your discs some time to regenerate. It really seems to work.\n\nJust - the treatment is available in California and Europe only, costing approx. 220 dollars. It worth even a long journey! :-)
727980
OH MY GOD\n\nthose bring back possibly the worst short term pain memories of my life. I had the same problem. Two severe herniated discs. I went through a year of physical therapy, swimming, strong back muscles, no activity, lots of activity, braces, pills, basically anything you can think of. \n\nI went to the doctor at one point and said that I have two options. Surgery or epidural steroid injections. I took the ESI like anybody would and it was done in a rush after they got the doctor who performed this right before he left to go home. I dont know if this was normal but they only put 3 numbing needles. Then I easily went through the worst pain of my life. The needles into the epidural space are just immensly, undescribably painful. I was put in a wheelchair afterwards and then they said it will get better worse before it gets better. After 2 or 3 days it did get better to some extent, I could walk longer, stand longer, etc. In the end, the ESI did not work for me. They only served as an immense surge of pain. \n\n\nSince your husband already has 4 discs herniated, I would go for surgery. It is painless, quick, just so much better. I would much rather live a full life rather than a half life filled with steroid injections