8mo ago

Has anyone experienced a spinal disc bulge, hernia, and/or or stenosis/radiculopathy and how long did it take to recover?

Turns out I have a disc bulge between two of my cervicals and it's pinching a nerve, which is very very painful and weakening my arm and finger sensitivity.

I'm not here asking for advice, rather to get an idea of what's down the road for me depending on the type of treatment I'll end up following. I am seeing a doctor, I have an appointment tomorrow. I also had a CT scan done.

So basically if you've had something similar anywhere on your spine I'd appreciate to know about it. Did you recover fully? How long did it take? What treatment did you follow? Did you complement it with anything such as specialized exercises, acupuncture, massage or else?

39 comments

Several years of pain and ineffective treatments along with wrong diagnosis. After I got c5-c7 fused things felt much better after a year. That was 11 years ago and I continue to not have the constant inescapable pain I had back then. When your muscles never relax because the nerves are frayed and impinged, it's bad.
It's a rough surgery, but addressed my problems. I consulted with 3 surgeons before picking one I trusted.
- The years of misdiagnosis and useless treatments are the worst. I now have a set of docs that I am literally afraid of losing as these actual listen and dig into the why.... The listening! So damned important.
  My primary guy is amazing and kept going until we found. I went from age 14 until 35 before finding this guy, and he's the first to actually believe me.
  I almost accidentally killed myself on ibuprofen... Pain so bad I lost track of how much I was taking since I couldn't sleep and almost killed my liver. Blood pressure spike well into the stroke ranges....
  Glad you found a good one who got you fixed up.
- Oh wow! How come they gave you the wrong diagnosis? No imaging used? That sounds like a nightmare, glad you found a solution in the end.

usually the physical therapy approach has a plan of care of around 8-12 weeks, usually 2-3 doctor visits a week, with a set of exercises to be done by the patient in between. for the patients that actually do the exercise homework, it cures around 75% of patients. unfortunately most patients don't do the homework exercises.
also a large portion of modern western adults don't get nearly enough exercise in general, and also have really bad ergonomics in work and rest. the way you sit at work, the way you hold your head when using your phone etc. part of treatment can be helping to figure out how you weakening and hurting yourself.
- I was one of the people who did my homework exercises, and still do (mostly). It's worked well enough.
  
  I wish my father would have. He almost immediately wrote them off as unnecessary and blamed insurance for not wanting to pay for surgery even though multiple doctors recommended physical therapy instead. He's now two or three years into the pian.
- I have 4 bulging discs, pain was insane, found an exceptional physio, did everything prescribed and as close to pain free as u can get now going on 3 years, if I miss even 1 or two days of the rehab exercise I can feel the pain returning. Find a good physiotherapist that really knows muscoskeltal things, and do what they say people!

I went through a severe disc intrusion, 68‰ central spinal compression.
Full treatment was anterior cervical discectomy and fusion, followed by a few years of on/off physical therapies and some follow-up steroidal spinal nerve epidural shots for pain treatments.
I note this is likely a more extreme case than you describe, but it might give insight into potential risks or perhaps unexpected things to look forward to.
My issues went untreated for close to about 20 years after onset of first neuropathic symptoms.
Initial symptoms:
Arms burning/pain from any position angled over shoulder height.
Headaches and neck pain, frequent.
Weakness in left arm and hand.
Later these turned to outright muscle spasm in shoulders and neck. Everything became more painful.
Started losing reliable use of left hand and would lose balance and use of left foot. Lots of aching pain in left thigh.
This was around time of diagnosis, consider baseline for me.
I attempted many months of various physical therapy and drug treatments. Some stalled things getting worse, none resolved things. Important to note, I had nerve damage by this time to the central canal.
A neurosurgeon performed a Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion, removing the bad disc layer and using a structure to bond the associated spinal bones C5 and C6 together, including a titanium plate and 2 screws.
I woke up in the recovery feeling better than I had in literal years.
That said, this surgery took place in 2016. I'm still recovering from the nerve damage and muscle death caused my the initial injury.
From the immediate pressure release, I was back to my baseline function within just a few weeks. Surgery related stuff resolved quickly for me.
I slept better than the previous 20 years. Absolutely worth it for me.
I mainly needed physical therapy exercises to keep the neck and shoulder areas stretching out since the muscle trauma can cause tightening.
Since that time, I'm still recovering from the associated nerve damage from the initial compression, but it's still an amazing night and day improvement.
Aside from the main surgery itself, the things that made the biggest differences for me:
Steroid epidurals: neuro anaesthesiologists can isolate areas inflamed in the region and can target painkillers and steroids to hugely improve many symptoms, often permanently. Not simplest, but easier than surgery and has also helped me with some associated shoulder stenosis greatly. Takes pressure off nerve damage to allow healing and pain relief.
Tizanidine: prescription muscle relaxer. This one functions a bit different than Robaxin / Soma / Valium, and was a life saver for years before they identified the stenosis itself. It was the only relief for the tightness or cramping I'd experience in neck, shoulders, left thigh and calves.
Swimming and cycling: done in low intensity, these have been the most successful exercises at rebuilding the muscle deterioration in my central and lower back. I use a pedal-assist style ebike that let's me focus the work based on pace and heart rate, with it taking the brunt of harder hills.
Stretches!!! While the strength stuff from PT matters, the stretching stuff matters 10000x more! Needed to work with the therapist to figure stuff that wasn't in the books etc... Strange angles to isolate the areas specific to my injury. Once we dialed in what I should try to feel from a good stretch, I've been able to catch the bad stuff as it starts early pretty often.
Good luck on your treatment, whatever you choose. I hope you find real relief.
Feel free to DM me if you have specific questions or if I can help. This is a lot to digest, and I'm happy to offer clarity.
- Thanks for sharing this! Those images look very painful. Was this caused by an injury I gather? Or was it just degenerative?
  Also thanks for placing an emphasis on the stretching. I typically don't see the benefits from stretching unless I've done some hardcore workouts or something. Will keep in mind.
  
  My doctor and I suspect a childhood injury initially, but absolutely degenerative over time after the fact. My symptoms had largely been just pain for most of my life, but 2014-2016 saw them start to affect walking and hand use.
  The thought was that youth masked things, but middle age caught me 😄

L5-S1 disc protrusion.
Happened 4 years ago. Constant pain 24/7, unbearably so when I stand. Spent a year unable to walk, got surgery, could stand/walk for a hour-ish these last few years but had a reinjruy when I pushed myself. Now even with drugs the lowest my pain gets is a 5, walking to bathroom gets me to 9. Picking up my wheelchair on monday, hoping for a new surgery but idk. Just trying to cope day by day now.
So, yeah. Here's hoping your injury isn't as bad. ♥
- I'm sorry to hear. That's awful... Thank you for sharing

Took about 3 months. Mine was 2 disc bulges pinched a nerve that ran down my leg. At first The whole front of my left thigh felt like a big steam burn. The area got smaller slowly and by 3 months it was just a thin line, about a finger width from the top front of my thigh to knee that is just numb to this day.
The pain in my spine was roughly along the same time line.
The treatment I had was just over the counter pain medicine and then physical therapy to strengthen muscles around the area, apparently more muscle makes it less likely to compress and pinch a nerve again.
- Yup, strengthening the back muscles is the most important part. I got rid of my lower back pain by sitting like this for half an hour (sometimes more) after I wake up: https://lowbackpainprogram.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/how-to-sit-to-relieve-back-pain.jpg
  At the start it's a bit hard before the necessary muscles toughen up, but after a couple of days it's no problem at all and that sitting pose is quite enjoyable. Thats the only lower back strengthening I do daily and for the past six months I feel the best I felt since I injured my lower back so I highly recommend it.
  
  Woah... I've caught myself sitting like that unconsciously for years and kept thinking it was bad lol... That position is my go to on bad days. Never thought about it actually putting things into a good state.
  Excellent.
  
  Do you switch sides or stay in the same position the entire time?
- So if the knee is still numb- you didn't recover fully, is that correct? Was this recent or a long time ago?
  Will keep in mind the muscle strengthening, I'm sure I'll get a referral for a physiotherapist at some point.
  
  At least for me, even though I've recovered full movement and only have minor to moderate pain after activities which stress the area - the pinched nerve was damaged for long enough that I will have surface numbness on parts of my leg for the rest of my life.

54M with a L4/L5 bulge here. Happened 4 years ago.
Been on 900mg Gabapentin ever since. The bulge is non-operable as it is not large enough. I know what you're thinking, if it's so small, what's my problem? The bulge is sitting perfectly on the nerve (sciatic?) going down my right leg. Ever since, my right leg has felt partially asleep and with out the gabapentin I get a lot of lower back pain.
I have a few other issues due to it as well. Using the full strength in my right leg results in painful cramps throughout the entire leg. I don't have the full control over the leg. Walking over rough ground can be interesting, because the leg isn't doing exactly what I tell it to do. It's not enough to stop me from doing things, but it can make hiking interesting at times.
Yes, I did physical therapy. Even to this day, I still do the exercises the therapist had me doing.
I'm about 15 pounds overweight, but I am active.
This is the way I'm going to be for the rest of my life, barring some procedure being developed that makes correcting a bulge like mine safe to correct.
- If the gabapentin helps, have you looked at pregabalin? My doc suggested it and it's like a super gabapentin. Much more effective, less side effects.
  It's been a huge help for me... Made the difference between active and not active most days.
  Steroid epidurals also helped me a lot, but your needs might vary.
  
  I've not had any side effects from gaba, so haven't explored alternatives.
  I did have the steroid shot procedure, but it had zero effect. Day to day my condition is manageable, I just won't be skydiving any longer. One hard opening and it could make my situation a lot worse and yes I am a former skydiver. So that's not really a joke.
- Ahhh I feel for you and I dread my case now! Thanks for sharing

Yikes. So this isn't about me, it's about 4 people who had lumbar or sacrum disc bulges/ruptures. Also over different points in time where medicine advanced.
First was a music conductor about 22 years ago, 35-40 y/o. He opted for the surgery at the time. Full quick recovery. At the time it was about 50/50 for full recovery, or worsening of the issues.
Second was a family member about 21 years ago, ~40 y/o he opted out of the surgery for deep steroid injections and physical therapy. It took about a year and a half, but it resolved, and no problems since.
Third was about 12 years ago. Again early 40s, opted for surgery. Surgery was a success, but didn't resolve it nearly as quickly or as well as the first person.
Fourth was ~6 years ago, late 20s. Long history of back problems do to sports related compressions when she was younger (she was a 'flyer' in cheerleading). She was told she'd be an excellent candidate for the newest minimally invasive technique, but opted out of surgery and got the injections like the second person. However it did not, and has not resolved. She still refuses the surgery. It limits her ability to bend over, and get to the ground, still has pain and sciatica. She regularly sees a chiropractor (against the recommendations of everyone).
I think, nowadays, a good orthopedic doctor will be able to give you the best care. It's not fun, but it doesn't need to be as scary as it used to be. Plus the symptoms can always get worse. You're doing the right thing and listening to your body.

Got two bulging discs 5 years ago (L4/L5). Have impingement on my femoral and syatic nerves.
I ride a desk for work and do hobby farming to stay active outside of work, and work part time as a first responder (EMS)
I have a cane for bad days, and meloxicam for really bad days/weeks.
Doing CPR sucks, running sucks, basically most excersises suck. I can't pick up my kids as much as I'd like, and I am having a hard time convincing my wife to let me try bull riding... doing to much gives me nerve shocks down both legs from by butt down to my heels.
But, I push through and try to stay active.
I've done physical therapy twice, both times made it worse. Tried a chiropractor, each visit would give me about 45-60 minutes of relief after the procedure.
Long car rides are about the worst. I'll be bent over almost double getting out. During isn't bad, it's the straitening out afterwards.
- Thanks for sharing. It gives me hope seeing you can do what you want to do in spite of the issue.

I did. The pain gradually diminished, but it took a couple of years for it to fully go away. The numbness in my fingers never went away. Swimming and arm circles seemed to help, as far as physical therapy goes.
- So, what was yours? A hernia , bulge, or else?
  
  Sorry. I had two herniated discs.
  Bonus fun: I got them just from sitting up out of bed at the age of 17!

By mother's had a bulging disc for what feels like a couple years now. Doesn't sound like it goes away. She can't even get pain meds either because they make her sick.

Still waiting for it to get better ten years later.
And yes,I had world class treatment with no financial limits.

Mine basically fully cured.
Lose weight is #1 followed closely by trunk rotation exercise in the morning. Stretches stretches stretches. Rows and other back strengthening exercises.
I had l4 l5 bulge that I fell on and severed a piece which is now floating.
It pressed on the nerve giving me pain and eventually numbness and foot drop. Chiro and some PT got me good again but I almost lost my leg.
- Wow, success story - not the most usual type of story! That sounds super painful, I can't even imagine what it's like to sever a piece of disc. Thanks for sharing

Twice. First time from waaaay too much time sitting as I had a full time job and then several hours studying for my CPA exam for several months. That time it got better over a couple months just by getting a standing desk at work (I alternated standing and sitting about an hour at a time) and light exercise along with nsaids.
The second time I reinjured it deadlifting too heavy. That one I could not get rid of it despite stretching, PT, acupuncture and laying off most compound lower body work for at least 6 months. But then I went on a week long vacation that involved a LOT of walking…and it was like 70% better when I got home and almost fully healed 2 weeks later.
I still get dull aches here and there but nothing I can’t work around or stretch out pretty easily. Mine never resulted in numbness of extremities but it was pretty limiting. And in my case it really appeared that regular movement and breaking from my day in and out routine made a huge difference.

Had a disc bulge between L4 and L3. Pain was pretty terrible to where I was walking with a cane sometimes and picking up the dogs bowl to feed them was insurmountable. Lived with it for years because I didn’t just want to be in pain meds. Discovered physical therapy, which helped me build strength but could never get the pain to stop. They referred me to get radio ablation, this is what “fixed” it, the PT after was super easy since we were already in a routine and it’s been about 95% better. I can’t do a lot of the high impact activities I was doing before that injured me in the first place, but I can do regular life things again.
- Glad to know that worked out for you! Thanks for sharing

39 comments