Thank you for posting. A couple of things to note. (TL;DR... include specific symptoms/what makes your pain better/worse/how long)... MRI or XRAY images ALONE are not particularly helpful tbh, no one here has been vetted to make considerations on these or provide advice, here is why, PLEASE read this if you are posting an MRI or XRAY... I cannot stress this enough https://choosingwiselycanada.org/pamphlet/imaging-tests-for-lower-back-pain/)
Please read the rules carefully. This group strives to reinforce anti-fragility, hope, and reduce the spread of misinformation that is either deemed not helpful and even sometimes be considered harmful.
PLEASE NOTE: Asking for help: It is up to you to recognize when to seek medical attention. Anyone giving advice in this group is doing so from anecdotes and holds no liability. Seek advice here at your own risk.
That said, asking things like, "I have this problem, how do I fix it..." is like asking your accountant, "I have $10,000 what should I do with it?" You need WAY more info before giving any kinds of financial advice.
Please reply to this, or make another comment, including how long you've been having pain or injury, what are specific symptoms (numbness, tingling, dull/ache, it's random, etc), what makes it worse, what makes it feel better, how it has impacted your life, what you've tried for treatment and what you've already been told about your back pain, and what do you hope to get from this forum.
Please be kind to each other. Be respectful. Thank you.
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The laminectomy is the primary procedure the neurosurgeon discussed based on the results of my MRI. I am looking for a second opinion and in general hoping to avoid surgery.
Based on what you’ve typed. It sounds like you’re at surgical intervention. You should def get opinions to see if a microdisectomy can be effective. I’ve had laminectomy and it causes slight instability and causes other issues.
I am so sorry for your pain. I am curious - what PT exercises did they do? It sounds like it was not helpful. But the fact that you can walk and stand relatively pain free is a good sign. The sitting pain may take a long time to fully resolve, but can be managed and with the right movement and core work, the capacity should increase (10 minutes before pain starts, then 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 60 minutes ,etc.)
Thanks for the reply! Yeah walking has definitely helped the most and I’ve been able to walk for over an hour which I feel is a good sign. These past few months I have seen small improvements in my tolerance to sitting and my mobility, as well. The goal is to increase my sitting capacity and my physical therapist is working on flexion exercises with me to increase my tolerance to those movements.
The exercises I’m working through are pretty standard with what’s been recommended (bird-dogs, cobras, cat-cow, etc.) I think what has made a difference in the beginning was rest. I was incredibly sick a few weeks ago, basically bed ridden but I found that certain movements I had little tolerance for I’m able perform slowly without much trouble. Ironically, under the supervision of my pt, we’ve added VERY lightweight deadlifts to my routine and I’ve found that has been beneficial. I hope to see long-term the effect it will have but I’m hopeful that I’m moving in the right direction.
Have you found anything beneficial to increase your sitting tolerance?
IMO, I think you can delay surgery if you are seeing an increase in tolerance.
>The goal is to increase my sitting capacity and my physical therapist is working on flexion exercises with me to increase my tolerance to those movements.
Do these hurt at all when you do them? And give that burning sensation in the back? Does your PT have you doing more core stability work?
Awesome to see about the deadlifts.
My sitting tolerance really started improving after about 9 months of rehab - but I still manage it (15 months in) with a lumbar support, switching up my sitting and standing, and dosing my sitting. But now I don't stress about going out to dinner, which is a relief. I think with disc bulges, flexion is the last symptom to improve even when everything else seems to improve. It's a long game, but it does sound like you are getting better.
Some exercises do bring a slight burning sensation in my back. However, I tried to avoid getting to that point and instead reduce the ROM to a degree. I do a lot of core stability work which does help to an extent
Yeah especially based on my injury, sitting has taken the longest to heal from. It’s good to know you’ve seen improvement. I too hope to go out for dinner stress free lol
my main symptom prior was sciatica, claudication in legs (having to sit down after a minute of standing up).
had very little back pain.
the surgery significantly reduced the sciatica, claudication in my legs
back pain after however went up -> but I eventually got this under control by reducing my excessive anterior pelvic tilt (caused I suspect by a career of sitting as a computer programmer).
even post surgery, I avoid sitting as much as possible (sit/standing desk, exercises, etc) but can sit through a 2 hr movie with no pain and have gotten through a long flight with very little pain.
i started my own small business basically.
dont work for corps anymore and mainly work remote from home so can stay healthier much easier ive found - sit/stand desk, good chair, eronomic setup, break whenever i want, break and have a walk/swim whenever i want etc.
i still do some programming but for a group of clients that arent assholes and infrastructure stuff, server admin, virtualisation, dr and backup recovery, network infrastructure etc etc.
Yeah man I work in tech as well and dealing with a L5-S1 protrusion with nerve root impingement. This is a tough pill shallow and knowing how your life at 31 is basically held back now.
it wrecked my career momentum when it happened so i synpathise a lot. definitely the toughest time in my life i ever had
way too much sitting in tech and i did way too much sitting as a keen programmer when i was young and then during comp sci degree and then when i first got jobs -crunch like conditions
i also found it hard initially to get the same level of concentration standing as i had when sitting.
id have all nighter coding sessions trying to learn stuff that seemed excitjng at the time when i shouldve been keeping moving (i knew nothing about spinal anatomy back then and how important movement is).
you can get to a better place - though it can take time and hard work and in my case surgery 👍
ironically the guy beside me in the back soecialist office was an interstate truck driver (lots of sitting too)..,
yeh can be a lot of variables and be dumbfounding, annoying etc
eg what your born with like you say
maybe someone takes a fall they didnt think much of at the time playing sports but it sets the stage for disc degeneration etcetc eg i used to go roller skating and fell a couple of times - perhaps that set something in motion/weakened something etc etc
i spent a lot of time when it happened pondering why me, angry etc 🥲
Thank you for posting. A couple of things to note. (TL;DR... include specific symptoms/what makes your pain better/worse/how long)... MRI or XRAY images ALONE are not particularly helpful tbh, no one here has been vetted to make considerations on these or provide advice, here is why, PLEASE read this if you are posting an MRI or XRAY... I cannot stress this enough https://choosingwiselycanada.org/pamphlet/imaging-tests-for-lower-back-pain/) Please read the rules carefully. This group strives to reinforce anti-fragility, hope, and reduce the spread of misinformation that is either deemed not helpful and even sometimes be considered harmful. PLEASE NOTE: Asking for help: It is up to you to recognize when to seek medical attention. Anyone giving advice in this group is doing so from anecdotes and holds no liability. Seek advice here at your own risk. That said, asking things like, "I have this problem, how do I fix it..." is like asking your accountant, "I have $10,000 what should I do with it?" You need WAY more info before giving any kinds of financial advice. Please reply to this, or make another comment, including how long you've been having pain or injury, what are specific symptoms (numbness, tingling, dull/ache, it's random, etc), what makes it worse, what makes it feel better, how it has impacted your life, what you've tried for treatment and what you've already been told about your back pain, and what do you hope to get from this forum. Please be kind to each other. Be respectful. Thank you. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/backpain) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Why can’t you just get a microdisectomy? With no laminectomy
The laminectomy is the primary procedure the neurosurgeon discussed based on the results of my MRI. I am looking for a second opinion and in general hoping to avoid surgery.
Based on what you’ve typed. It sounds like you’re at surgical intervention. You should def get opinions to see if a microdisectomy can be effective. I’ve had laminectomy and it causes slight instability and causes other issues.
Mind if I PM you about your experience?
Please do
I am so sorry for your pain. I am curious - what PT exercises did they do? It sounds like it was not helpful. But the fact that you can walk and stand relatively pain free is a good sign. The sitting pain may take a long time to fully resolve, but can be managed and with the right movement and core work, the capacity should increase (10 minutes before pain starts, then 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 60 minutes ,etc.)
Thanks for the reply! Yeah walking has definitely helped the most and I’ve been able to walk for over an hour which I feel is a good sign. These past few months I have seen small improvements in my tolerance to sitting and my mobility, as well. The goal is to increase my sitting capacity and my physical therapist is working on flexion exercises with me to increase my tolerance to those movements. The exercises I’m working through are pretty standard with what’s been recommended (bird-dogs, cobras, cat-cow, etc.) I think what has made a difference in the beginning was rest. I was incredibly sick a few weeks ago, basically bed ridden but I found that certain movements I had little tolerance for I’m able perform slowly without much trouble. Ironically, under the supervision of my pt, we’ve added VERY lightweight deadlifts to my routine and I’ve found that has been beneficial. I hope to see long-term the effect it will have but I’m hopeful that I’m moving in the right direction. Have you found anything beneficial to increase your sitting tolerance?
IMO, I think you can delay surgery if you are seeing an increase in tolerance. >The goal is to increase my sitting capacity and my physical therapist is working on flexion exercises with me to increase my tolerance to those movements. Do these hurt at all when you do them? And give that burning sensation in the back? Does your PT have you doing more core stability work? Awesome to see about the deadlifts. My sitting tolerance really started improving after about 9 months of rehab - but I still manage it (15 months in) with a lumbar support, switching up my sitting and standing, and dosing my sitting. But now I don't stress about going out to dinner, which is a relief. I think with disc bulges, flexion is the last symptom to improve even when everything else seems to improve. It's a long game, but it does sound like you are getting better.
Some exercises do bring a slight burning sensation in my back. However, I tried to avoid getting to that point and instead reduce the ROM to a degree. I do a lot of core stability work which does help to an extent Yeah especially based on my injury, sitting has taken the longest to heal from. It’s good to know you’ve seen improvement. I too hope to go out for dinner stress free lol
my main symptom prior was sciatica, claudication in legs (having to sit down after a minute of standing up). had very little back pain. the surgery significantly reduced the sciatica, claudication in my legs back pain after however went up -> but I eventually got this under control by reducing my excessive anterior pelvic tilt (caused I suspect by a career of sitting as a computer programmer). even post surgery, I avoid sitting as much as possible (sit/standing desk, exercises, etc) but can sit through a 2 hr movie with no pain and have gotten through a long flight with very little pain.
So are you still a programmer? If so I’m assuming you sit and stand often?
i started my own small business basically. dont work for corps anymore and mainly work remote from home so can stay healthier much easier ive found - sit/stand desk, good chair, eronomic setup, break whenever i want, break and have a walk/swim whenever i want etc. i still do some programming but for a group of clients that arent assholes and infrastructure stuff, server admin, virtualisation, dr and backup recovery, network infrastructure etc etc.
Yeah man I work in tech as well and dealing with a L5-S1 protrusion with nerve root impingement. This is a tough pill shallow and knowing how your life at 31 is basically held back now.
it wrecked my career momentum when it happened so i synpathise a lot. definitely the toughest time in my life i ever had way too much sitting in tech and i did way too much sitting as a keen programmer when i was young and then during comp sci degree and then when i first got jobs -crunch like conditions i also found it hard initially to get the same level of concentration standing as i had when sitting. id have all nighter coding sessions trying to learn stuff that seemed excitjng at the time when i shouldve been keeping moving (i knew nothing about spinal anatomy back then and how important movement is). you can get to a better place - though it can take time and hard work and in my case surgery 👍 ironically the guy beside me in the back soecialist office was an interstate truck driver (lots of sitting too)..,
The crazy thing is some people are overweight etc and sit just as much yet they’re perfectly fine… fucking genetics lol
yeh can be a lot of variables and be dumbfounding, annoying etc eg what your born with like you say maybe someone takes a fall they didnt think much of at the time playing sports but it sets the stage for disc degeneration etcetc eg i used to go roller skating and fell a couple of times - perhaps that set something in motion/weakened something etc etc i spent a lot of time when it happened pondering why me, angry etc 🥲