Going great! will be posting a video of it on our youtube soon! Back in the gym the past month (not super heavy lifting yet) and running up to 3 miles.
Jeez L5-S1 looks like trouble and must have even had left leg symptoms. Good you made a move to get on better chances for pain reduction or disappearance.
Hi I am a physical therapist from India .. a big fan of your work ... Hope you have a speedy recovery.
I myself am suffering from L5-S1 grade 2 spondylolythesis and had an episode of sever pain shooting down my left leg along with L5 myotomal loss. Like you even I am under the delima for undergoing surgery. So at that time I opted for root block injection. My pain has subsided but I still have some lingering pain in my left leg and occasionally right leg too. I am also having the same turmoil like you should I opt for surgery or treat it conservatively.
Looking at your successful journey with your back surgery it has given me hope and motivation to tackle my problem as well. It about time I also address my problem and get on to my life pain free as nobody need to live on pain. Thank you for inspiring me . By this post you have indirectly helped me to make a decision for my problem too .
Thanks for the well wishes and the support. It sounds like you have very true mechanical compression with that myotomal loss. There is so much physical therapy can do and we are definitely not out imaging, however, there also comes a point when we’ve exhausted all those options, and still aren’t living the life we want. Regardless of outcome, if you’ve been in the work and still need surgery, you know it’s the right call. Wish you the best of luck! 💪💪💪
Currently trying to decide as well. Did you have persistent numbness in the leg or foot? On my second epidural shot, so no pain. However the second flare was pretty bad and now have lingering numbness.
Honestly no. Had a pretty atypical presentation. Essentially just low back pain around the PSIS, with trace numbness in the calf.
That is great news you’re are no pain with the epidural.
My epidural helped a ton, but still had significant limitations. Knocked the max pain from 8/10 to 6/10 and standing/walking tolerance from 30s to 5 min.
But it served the goal of what we needed which was primarily diagnostic.
As a PT who has been dealing with a very similar issue for the past 4 years suffering a disc extrusion in my L4/5 I can directly relate with your feelings. Symptoms habe massively improved from the initial time and the worst peak of it and I am exercising regularly, biking lots, but still have days where I feel stiff and just sitting upright in a chair is constant discomfort and having to move around to feel comfortable and I had to change jobs to avoid constantly flaring it up and playing sports is just a distant thought. I want to tell myself that it is improving and avoiding surgery is the best paths forward with the risks that are part of it. But there are times when I do still wonder if going for surgery will ultimately improve my life. Was it the accumulation of worsening symptoms that made you ultimately decide for surgery?
Sorry to hear about the struggle! And yes, it was the impact it had on my day to day life and who I am as a person. Just standing and walking were painful. While I was still going to the gym, I wasn’t lifting outside of a few upper body machines and could only do a rower.
Before, it was modification - but I was able to still live my life. Play sports, lift, run with my dogs etc.
When it interrupted more of my life, was when I knew it was time - even if it meant the unknown with surgery.
Hello Sir,
How is your recovery going?
Going great! will be posting a video of it on our youtube soon! Back in the gym the past month (not super heavy lifting yet) and running up to 3 miles.
Did you consider consulting with Dr McGill and see what his opinion would be? Considering he is literally the best in the field of low back rehab
I did not! If i had the opportunity to, I would have though!
Jeez L5-S1 looks like trouble and must have even had left leg symptoms. Good you made a move to get on better chances for pain reduction or disappearance.
Definitely did! Although the low back was the chief complaint. Thank you for reading!
Hi I am a physical therapist from India .. a big fan of your work ... Hope you have a speedy recovery.
I myself am suffering from L5-S1 grade 2 spondylolythesis and had an episode of sever pain shooting down my left leg along with L5 myotomal loss. Like you even I am under the delima for undergoing surgery. So at that time I opted for root block injection. My pain has subsided but I still have some lingering pain in my left leg and occasionally right leg too. I am also having the same turmoil like you should I opt for surgery or treat it conservatively.
Looking at your successful journey with your back surgery it has given me hope and motivation to tackle my problem as well. It about time I also address my problem and get on to my life pain free as nobody need to live on pain. Thank you for inspiring me . By this post you have indirectly helped me to make a decision for my problem too .
Thanks once again and keep up the good work .
Thanks for the well wishes and the support. It sounds like you have very true mechanical compression with that myotomal loss. There is so much physical therapy can do and we are definitely not out imaging, however, there also comes a point when we’ve exhausted all those options, and still aren’t living the life we want. Regardless of outcome, if you’ve been in the work and still need surgery, you know it’s the right call. Wish you the best of luck! 💪💪💪
Currently trying to decide as well. Did you have persistent numbness in the leg or foot? On my second epidural shot, so no pain. However the second flare was pretty bad and now have lingering numbness.
Honestly no. Had a pretty atypical presentation. Essentially just low back pain around the PSIS, with trace numbness in the calf.
That is great news you’re are no pain with the epidural.
My epidural helped a ton, but still had significant limitations. Knocked the max pain from 8/10 to 6/10 and standing/walking tolerance from 30s to 5 min.
But it served the goal of what we needed which was primarily diagnostic.
Wish you the best of luck!!🤞
Super insightful! Thanks for sharing your journey! I’m sure it’s gonna give you amazing insight into what our patients are going through!
Definitely! I will be much quicker to refer out than I was before if we are ultimately not meeting the patients goal
As a PT who has been dealing with a very similar issue for the past 4 years suffering a disc extrusion in my L4/5 I can directly relate with your feelings. Symptoms habe massively improved from the initial time and the worst peak of it and I am exercising regularly, biking lots, but still have days where I feel stiff and just sitting upright in a chair is constant discomfort and having to move around to feel comfortable and I had to change jobs to avoid constantly flaring it up and playing sports is just a distant thought. I want to tell myself that it is improving and avoiding surgery is the best paths forward with the risks that are part of it. But there are times when I do still wonder if going for surgery will ultimately improve my life. Was it the accumulation of worsening symptoms that made you ultimately decide for surgery?
Sorry to hear about the struggle! And yes, it was the impact it had on my day to day life and who I am as a person. Just standing and walking were painful. While I was still going to the gym, I wasn’t lifting outside of a few upper body machines and could only do a rower.
Before, it was modification - but I was able to still live my life. Play sports, lift, run with my dogs etc.
When it interrupted more of my life, was when I knew it was time - even if it meant the unknown with surgery.
I wish you the best of luck on your journey!! 💪💪
What surgery did you have? Disc replacement, fusion, other? Thanks. Prayers for continued healing.
Single level microdiscectomy and laminotomy - about as conservative as a surgery as you can get! Thank you 🙏
Wow man. Thanks for sharing this. Glad you’re doing better
Thanks for reading Shawn!! Hope all is well!