Herniated Discs
Many people suffer from some kind of back pain.
I have had back pain for 4 years now, due to a on the job lifting injury.I had lifted a 17 lb water softner while working at my work station.I admitt that I should have taken better percautions in lifting.I thought, at first i had just strained a muscle in my left shoulder.I let my supervisor know, and we just left it at that.As the week went on, my left arm started to get numb and i could not even raise my arm over my head without feeling a tingling sensation and strain.It got worse after a couple of days and i went to my family physician.He thought it was bersitis(sp?) and gave me pain medication.The strain and tingling became worse and turned into actual pain.I went back to my doctor and he recommended a neurosurgeon.I had x-rays, MRIs, and he finally found that I had 2 herniated discs in the cervical spine(C5 and C6).I went in for more grooling tests such as, them injecting dye into my spine and tuning me upside down to get a better x-ray!And another MRI and C-scan.This all happened between the months of October thru February!In the mean time, I was given many medications, like anti-inflamitory pills and pain killers.They finally found out that the herniated discs were pinching a nerve that ran through my left shoulder and left arm,making my fingers numb.
The neurosurgeon recommended Physical Therapy first and leaving surgery as a last alternative.
The physical therapy worked well.But i had to go through alot of therapy to finally relieve what pain i had.I had to be put in traction, ultra-sounds,heatpack therapy and massage.I also was assigned to do special back exercizes.By the time March rolled around i felt better but still a small tingling and numbness in my left thumb(i still have it).During all of this, the company that i had worked for put me on medical leave from the end of October until the first week of January, and was soon fired for not having my medical leave papers in promptly.They were only 3 days late and my doctor was out of town so he was not able to sign them.I was supposed to turn these papers into my work every month.Anyway i was terminated after 3 days of not having them in....there was a whole big lawsuit(long story)and i didn't end up getting compensation for a whole year and a half!
I had a baby girl 2 years ago, and boy was that pregnancy ever hard!!My back ached everyday, every minute when i got up to my 6th month of pregnacy!I could not lay down to sleep, i had to sit while i slept because of the shooting pain in my left arm.I had called to talk to my neurosugeon about what i can do, but there is not much they can do to a pregnant person!A secretary of my doctor recommended i see a chiropractor.The chiropractor was so afraid to touch me because i was pregnant.He did help a little though with heat message and he cracked my back a couple of times, but a couple of hours later, the pain was back and i was miserable!
Relief finally came when i went into labor!It sounds funny but as soon as i started feeling the contractions,the pain was gone!!!When my daughter was born, my back was fine again except for the numbness in my left thumb.
Today, i still have an ache once in a while and the numbness is still there, but i am very weary about having surgery to correct this.I have only heard bad things about it.I am afraid they could slip and cut a nerve and i could be paralized for life!It happened to a cousin of mine, so surgery is a definite no-no for me.
Thank you for listening to my story...
There are alot of people that suffer from the same problem i have, and i have found some interesting links on the web for you to check out!
Thank you again for listening, and if you too suffer from back problems..i sympathize deeply!It is not fun!All i can say is be careful in what you do and don't take your back for granted!
Click on the logo to go to the links i have found...
