my non-surgery success story 2 years after Very Large Extruded Disc L5-S1

[Guest guest]

I now am a month shy of 2 years since my accident where I fractured my left

pelvis and blew out my L5-S1 disc. I also had small herniations in three discs

in my neck. At first, only my pelvis fracture was diagnosed, it took over 6

months before my disc herniations got diagnosed, at which point the MRI showed

it as a 11 mm extrusion located in the " Central " position where it was pushing

mostly into the middle of the spinal canal, distorting the thecal sac into a

V-shape, but also going out up and down and sideways a bit... it looked like a

big round-headed screw. I am a 50 year old woman with borderline osteoporosis

and a history of low back pain, so I have a lot of challenges in healing

compared to a younger person.

When my ruptured disc was first diagnosed by MRI, I was sent to a Neurosurgeon

who offered to do surgery as soon as I decided that I wanted it. I was given no

analysis of my condition, no explanations, no time to ask questions, no guidance

about physical therapy, no referrals for any treatment, I was simply offered

surgery. I declined. I wanted therapy. I had made it 7 months from my

accident without surgery, but I was in horrible pain so it was really tempting,

but I did my research online and decided to try to tough it out with therapy.

It took a while to find a good physical therapist. The first two that I tried

just made me hurt worse, but the third one was a good match for me. I went to

therapy twice a week for a year, and gradually I got better to a point where I

am back to my normal active self, doing a lot or hard work, and my pain is just

intermittent now. A year ago I had lost hope, I was still in mind-numbing pain

and being one year post-injury I was worried that I wouldn't heal much more, but

another year has given me a lot more progress. I didnt start therapy until about

9 months after my accident, but I truly feel that it made all the difference in

the world.

The therapy I got included muscle stretching, pelvic-work, Cranio-Sacral

Therapy, myofascial release, visceral energy release, and very gentle MacKenzie

extension exercises and probably some other " modalities " . My therapist had a

lot of training through the Upledger Institute, and had worked for years at the

local hospital rehab clinic before going into private practice. He seemed to

know more about my problems than any doctor I ever saw. He also is just a

wonderful person who treated me for free for most of the year after my insurance

ran out. I can't begin to count my blessings on this one!

So... that's my success story, offering hope to folks who don't go the surgical

route. I do still have some problems and some ongoing pain off and on, so I'm

going to keep doing therapy once in a while, but my progress is enough to

celebrate. If I can heal this much, then there's hope for you! I truly believe

that surgery would have been a bad choice for me, especially being my age and

underweight, not to mention other reasons why I would probably be a bad

" candidate " for surgery. The most important thing is to find a physical

therapist who is a good match for you.

- Peg in Western Massachusetts