Spinal Disc Degeneration(Low back pain). How it happened, How things turned worse and How I recovered from it finally.

Disclaimer: Information provided by the author are from his own personal experiences. In case you find any information useful, you should first consult your doctor. The author doesn’t take any responsibility for any loses or doesn’t even guarantee a recovery from the information provided here. But hopes that this information is very useful.

Comments are invited on this article. In case, the changes are more, updated version will be posted with acknowledgments to the person who suggest changes.

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There was a small pain in my hip and leg on the right side. I went to the doctor. He slowly prepared me for the surgery which fetches more money. If someone had told me what precautions should be taken things would have been far better. I finally went to my hometown where I got proper treatment. I never found right information on internet about what should be done from my side. I got this information very late at my hometown. Condition did improve and now I’m able to walk fast and like a normal person. Here, I will describe how spinal disc degeneration happened and how things were made worse by the doctor and how I was able to recover from that bad condition. I also describe what a person should and should not do. I have not felt any kind of pain(very minor pain) during the last two and a half months at the time of writing. I was in such a position where surgery had to be done within a week. I hope that reading this would be very beneficial to all of you. I wish no one suffers from such kind of pain ever. 
About Myself

Age: 22 years
Sex: Male
Weight: 55 Kg ( Yes, I’m thin.)
Height: 175 cm
Nationality: Indian
Occupation: Student

How it happened ?

I could trace two reasons for this. First is excessive sitting for few days. I had a lot of work. Second is lack of nutritious food. Otherwise it is difficult to find such problems at this age. It can also happen due to wrong sitting postures for a long time.

Due to excessive content I have decided to break this up into two parts.

Part I: Pain, Diagnosis and Selfish doctor.

The pain started at the end of October in 2006. There was pain in my hip and leg on the right side. I never knew what it was it. I decided to go to an orthopedic surgeon after 15 days of continuous pain. He told me to get two X rays, one of ‘Lumbosacral Spine Lateral View‘ and of ‘Pelvis AP view‘. X-ray report mentioned that there is a ‘Transitional vertebral at lumbosacral junction‘ and ‘Spina bifida at S1‘. MRI is usually recommended for spinal disc degeneration, so did the doctor. MRI Report of ‘Lumbosacral spine‘ mentioned that ‘there is a partial degeneration of L4-L5 disc, mild posterocentral disc protrusion causing mild anterior thecal sac compression‘. People having low back pain have disc degeneration either in L4-L5 disc or in L5-S1 disc. It is necessary to get the MRI to know the extent of disc degeneration and to rule out some other cases.

After MRI

1. Doctor prescribed two medicines two times a day for 5 days. No physical exercises were suggested at this time.

2. He taught some 6-8 exercises and told me to do it everyday two times. Two of these physical activities I actually found that they increased the pain. I told to the doctor about it, he told that I have to do if I want to recover. He gave some other medicine to be taken, once a day. Again I do not remember the name. After this I did not visit him for two months. I did all the physical exercises as told by him. (One of the exercise which he suggested was to raise my both legs together to 90 degrees while laying on the bed. I was able to do but after two months the pain increased to such a level that was not even able to raise my leg by even 5 degrees. This physical exercise put a lot of pressure on the back, in my opinion do not do this or whatever the doctor says.)

I had to attend a conference and workshop in December (for 10 days), there was one more conference(+tutorials and workshops) in January (8 days). I had to present a paper in another conference in January(6 days). I couldn’t find any time to visit to a doctor. In February, I was back to my college. There was a significant increase in the pain. I went to the same doctor again. This time I found (very late) that he was on a money making mission from my pain. I wish he should die for the sake of humanity. Such doctors should not exist at all (sorry for having such kind of views). He conducted many random tests. When I went to the other doctor later at my hometown, told that these tests were not required. I will describe in detail what all he did

1. Tests

a. Rheumatoid Profile – 1

• Rheumatoid Factor Assay
• Blood for R P R antibodies
• Anti streptolysin ‘O’ Titre
• C-Reactive Protein

b. Random Blood Sugar, Corresponding Uring Sugar
c. Serum Uricacid
d. Haemogram
e. Blood For L E cell
f. T3, T4, TSH
g. Complete Urine Examination
Every thing was found normal in all these tests.

2. Some more tests.

This time the tests were serious as they involved passing electricity through the nerves in leg.

a. Nerve Conduction Studies (NCS):

I never understood the report but I will describe all the keywords in the report.

1. Compund Muscle Active Potential (Recorded from both lower limbs (CPN and PTN)),
2. F-Waves (recorded from both PTN and CPN)[Report mentioned ‘Whereas right CPN shows normal distal latencies and with impersistence),
3. Sensory Nerve Active Potentials.

3. During the third meeting he says that he is not a neurologist and can not make out anything from the report, So I need to consult to a neurologist to know whether a surgery is required or not. This neurologist was in the same hospital. I paid extra money for the consultation. He told that NCS was not conducted in the right manner, so I need to go through it again. Following are the keywords which were in the report

• a. H-Reflexes (Recorded from both lower limbs (PTN))

The report concluded that NCV study is with in normal limits. Means no surgery was required. Both doctors were talking over phone after this report. The neurosergon was adamant on surgery but the other doctor insisted not now. This neurosurgeon recommended some medicines for one month.

4. After having these medicines everything was ok for first 2-3 days. But the medicines were still horrible, pulse rate was around 130-140 after having them. After 3 days, I felt a tremendous pain in my right leg and hips. I was not able to sleep, sit or stand. Standing was the most convenient position for me. I called up one of my friends who took me to hospital. Again the same doctor was consulted. This time he told me stop having the medicines prescribed by the neurologist and get one more test conducted. He changed the medicine to some pain killer, one more medicine to avoid any kind of stomach gas and some sleeping pills. He never told me that he prescribed sleeping pills to me. Why the hell do I need sleeping pills at this age?

He asked me to get done with one more test, HLA-B27. He says if this test comes out to be negative then I need to go through surgery. This test takes two days.

5. After two days I came back and got the test report. The test read negative and there was interpretation of the test which mentioned some 6-7 possible diseases. I showed the report to the doctor and he says that surgery is the only option now, decide within a week. In the meanwhile I called up my father and said sorry to him for not informing things for long and asked him to come to my place. Due to excessive pain I was mentally prepared for the surgery.

After coming here my Father suggested I should come to home and get treated there. There were two advantages, I’ll get a reliable treatment and my parents can easily take care of me.

I was excessively worried about HLA B27 thing after reading about it on web. Before leaving for home I decided to talk to the bio-chemist who conducted the test. He got a bit nervous the way I asked him and told me that I should be very happy that the report is negative. Negative means that the test has been found to be negative. I am absolutely fine. There is no such thing called HLA-B27 in me. That bloody MF doctor. If you are that doctor reading this then I say <FUCK YOU!!> to you and your family. You should not go to hell either.

Part II: Sweet Home and the treatment which finally relieved me from pain.

At home I was able to consult three doctors simultaneously as things are cheaper. Each one of them knew that I was consulting with other two. I consulted to an orthopedist, a physiotherapist who was recommended by the orthopedist and an homeopathic doctor. The orthopedic doctor also referred to a person who is an expert in massaging nerves for such kind of problems. The orthopedic doctor also happened to study with my father during school time, so he did not take any fees.

At this time I was able to raise only my right leg up by 5 degrees and left leg up by around 60 degrees when I lay down on the bed with mouth facing up.

To know how much change has happened over a period of four months, the orthopedic doctor suggested to get two X rays of my lumbar spine, the same which the previous doctor asked for. This time there was no MRI. He told me to continue with two medicines which the previous doctor recommended during the last time. They were (two times a day for 15-20 days)

1. Ultracet (Tramadol Hydrochloride and Paracetamol Tablets), This was probably to reduce pain.
2. SOZ D20 (Esomeprazole 20mg, Domperedone 30 mg) -> This was probably to reduce stomach gas and should be taken before having food.

He also recommended me to take service of a physiotherapist for Short wave diathermy (SWD) and Interferential Therapy(IFT) for 20 days.

As told by him, it accelerates the reconstruction of the disc and helps in the flow of the fluid (blood?) through the nerves which are getting compressed by the disc.

No physical exercises were suggested during this time.

Physiotherapist gave me some very important precautions which no other doctor told to me. I’ll describe with images where ever possible.

1. Never bend forward.
2. Don’t lift any weight.
3. Don’t stand or sit for long.
4. Don’t walk on uneven surfaces.
5. Don’t drive any vehicle.
6. In short, do not do anything which increases pressure on the disk.

Sleeping Bed

This is from my person experience. Avoid using any pillow. In the worst case use a very thin pillow. Bed should be thin (2cm at the max), flat and a bit hard but you should not sleep on bare floor or very-very hard surface, otherwise you will feel pain. Also be sure that the cold doesn’t transit from the surface through bed to your bones. It could be fatal. Bed surface should be such that it doesn’t press your nerves hardly (sleeping on carpets etc. should be avoided because they press the nerves hardly in the body).

Sleeping Posture

It should be either of these two, preferably the second one and there should not be any pillow (unless you really feel the need of it). When things would improve you can sleep in the first posture as well. Any posture apart from these two are not optimal.

How to get up from bed ?

Again this is very important. In the figure above, do not directly get up from the second posture, it puts a weight on the back. Go to first posture and then get up. Same precaution should be taken when you lay down on the bed.

Similarly, you should avoid sleeping on chairs. Avoid journey through buses or anything where you have to sleep on a semi-sleeper.

Short wave diathermy (SWD) and Interferential Therapy(IFT) proved to be very useful. I was treated with SWD and IFT for fifteen minutes each, everyday for 20 days. To some people Traction is also prescribed but it was not prescribed to me.

Lumbar Support Belt

I was prescribed a support belt. It is useful when the chances of getting jerks are more. While sitting or while eating food you should put off the belt. Make sure belt fits properly. Also it should be just below the belly button.

Warm water

Boil some one litre of water and put in a plastic bag (you can get specialized bags for these purposes from the medical shop). Put some oil on the back (In india it is Zerk oil, an ayurvedic oil), lay down on the bed with face downwards, and put the water bag on the back. To avoid burning of skin, some small cloth can be used as a resistant. It should not be done more than once a day. Take rest for 20 minutes after this.

Sitting Postures

Refer to this page http://www.officeorganix.com/Chairsit.htm or search on Google.

Homeopathic Treatment

As the homeopathic doctor is our family doctor, my father took me to him. He was very confident that things will improve from homeopathic medicines. He also suffered from this problem and was able to recover only from medicines and physical exercises. He also mentioned that treatment to such problems with medicines is available only in homeopathy. The recovery is slow but it is final. He wrote one regular medicine and the other one he prepares himself.

1. Bakson’s Mother Tincture (Bellis Per. Q)
Dosage: 10 drops (morning, afternoon and night) each time in 50 ml of water. Do not have anything before and after having this medicine.

2. I do not know the name of other medicine as he is the one who prepares, with homeopathic drops on sweet matter. This changes every month. In addition to this he provided with one dose of very powerful medicine which has to be taken once a month.

Check out this page, (http://naturecure.com/) (as I was googling to get some references, purchase at your own risk. It would be great if you talk to some homepathic doctor before purchasing from this website. It could also be the case that a similar medicine is available with the doctor itself). Few excerpts from this page(just to make sure that they don’t change it):

“For more than 24 years Dr. Shahmardaan was literally a prisoner of back pain. No conventional or alternative treatment available in North America relieved the back pain. “Surgery was the only option offered to Dr. Shahmardaan to relieve the back pain resulting from three slipped discs.”
Instead of surgery, Dr. Sunny Bakshi, a world renowned homeopathic Physician offered the Homeopathic Remedy Bakson’s Rheum Aid Plus. Dr. Shahmardaan took Bakson’s Rheum Aid Plus and has been completely free from back pain ever since. Bakson’s Rheum Aid Plus has been developed and manufactured by Bakson’s Drugs and Pharmaceuticals.”

Back to Orthopedic doctor

After 20 days of physiotherapy, he told me to stop and start doing certain physical exercises (Yoga). I’ll describe all that with videos of Swami Ramdev. The doctor also prescribed one medicine Gabamin (Gabapentin 300 mg, Methylcobalamin 500 mcg) which has to be taken one time a day just before sleeping.

Yoga

Before you start with Yoga, keep these points in mind.

1. This has to be done only in the morning or evening.
2. Empty stomach is a requirement.
3. Do not do practice any postures of yoga if you feel uncomfortable.
4. Breathing pattern is very important in yoga. As a thumb rule it should synchronize with body movements.

1. Bhastrika Pranayama

How to do

• Sit in a posture as shown in the video. If you can not sit then perform it while standing.
• Relax
• Breathe in deeply into lungs (not stomach)
• Breathe out
• Do it for 2-5 minutes. (2 minutes)

For more details go here: http://knowyoga.org/tiki-index.php?page=Bhastrika%20Pranayam

2. Kapalbati Pranayama

It is a bit different from Bhastrika Pranayama as we breathe out only in this case.

How to do

• Sit in a posture as shown in the video. If you can not sit then perform it while standing.
• Relax
• Breathe out with a small jerk in the stomach.
• Do it for 2-5 minutes.(2 minutes)

For more detail go here: http://knowyoga.org/tiki-index.php?page=Kapal%20Bhati%20Pranayam

3. Anlom Vilom

How to do

• Sit in a posture as shown in the video. If you can not sit then perform it while standing.
• Relax
• Hold your right nasal with thumb
• Breathe in from left.
• Open right nasal and close left nasal with middle and ring finger
• Breathe out from right nasal.
• Breathe in from right nasal.
• Close right nasal
• Open left and breathe out.
• Do it for 2 minutes.

For more details go here: http://knowyoga.org/tiki-index.php?page=Anulom%20Vilom%20Pranayam

4. In case if you have time then do it, there is no harm doing this. It will reduce the risk of Cervical Spondylosis.

Main Yoga for Lumbar Spine Disc Degeneration (1-3 are the preparatory steps before doing any kind of aasana, 1-3 can be avoided if you can not do them. Make sure that you are not suffering from any kind of breathing problem before doing 1-3)

5. Vajra Aasana

How to do

• Sit in a posture as shown in the video. If you can not sit then do not perform it.
• Relax for 2-3 minutes.

6. Markata Aasana

How to do

• Lay down on the ground facing upwards.
• Relax
• Bring your heels close to your buttocks.
• Extend your hands perpendicular to your body on both the sides.
• Breathe in
• Turn your face towards left side and look at your hands and simultaneously move your knees towards the right side.
• Breathe out
• Slowly move your head and knees to the center.
• Breathe in
• Now, Turn your face towards right side and look at your hands and simultaneously move your knees towards right side.
• Breathe out
• Do it for 2 minutes.

Note: If possible synchronize breathing pattern with movement of knees and head.

7. Kandhara Aasana

How to do

• Lay down on the ground with face upwards.
• Relax
• Bring your ankles towards the buttocks.
• Breathe in and simultaneously raise your pelvis up.
• wait for 5-6 seconds
• breathe out and simultaneously and slowly put your pelvis down.
• Do it for 2 minutes.

8. Bhujanga Aasana

How to do

• Lay down on the ground with face downwards.
• Relax
• Bring your hands towards your chest.
• Breathe in and simultaneously raise your head upwards with eyes looking approximately at the ceiling.
  (Note: pressure should be on hands not on the back)
• Make sure at least your belly button is touching the floor.
• Breathe out and slowly come back to the original position.
• Do it for 2 minutes.

9. Shalabha Aasana

How to do

• Lay down on the ground with face downwards.
• Relax
• Put your hands under the legs and your face should be looking front.
• Breathe in.
• Now raise one leg by up to 45 degrees (Note: Do not bend the leg at knees)
• Breathe out and simultaneously bring the leg to the floor.
• Now do the same with second leg.
• Do it for 2 minutes.

10. Makara Aasana

How to do

• Lay down on the ground with face downwards.
• Relax
• Raise your head and support it with your hands on the cheeks.
• Now raise your leg with a bent at the knees, alternatively, with synchronized breathing patterns.
• Do it for 2 minutes.
• If you can not do any asana then this is the best asana that you can try.

11. Now take rest

How

• Lay down on the ground with face upwards.
• Close your eyes
• Relax your mind and your whole body.
• Continue for upto 2 minutes.
• This is compulsory unless you can not do it.

Massage of Nerves near Ankle

There is one such center in my town where a person does this. Orthopedic doctor recommended me to go there for one week. I happened to meet many people at this place. They told that they have recovered significantly from serious pains. Not everyone can afford costly treatment in India. It was indeed helpful.

It is a bit painful for only one minute.

How to do

• If you can get someone else to do it for you, it is great.
• This has to be done in both the legs in the same quantity.
• First stretch toes of the right leg one by one.
• Now put the tip of the thumb on the nerve near ankle. (How to find the nerve? Press, with thumb you will find some kind of beats)
• Note: This has to be done only at the inner side of both the legs not on outer side.
• Move the tip of the thumb hardly(left-right) (as much as you can bear) on the nerve for 10 seconds only.
• Do the same for left leg.

Position of the Nerve

Some Additional Recommendations:

1. If the pain does not decrease within a given time frame. Leave everything and stay home at least for one month. With surgery there are wide range of problems. Recovery after surgery takes 3-4 weeks and recovery from rest also takes the same amount of time. Staying at home does not mean that you lay down on the bed completely. Regular walking is very important.
2. Inform about this to your family at the earliest. Also tell it to your friends. Many people suffer from this kind of problem once in their life. Friends and family members will surely give an expert opinion.
3. Before you take a decision (a big one e.g. about surgery etc.) with a doctor do cross check with another doctor. In these cases surgery can be done in two ways, if the patient wants it or the doctor recommends it.
4. This is a curable disease. I am almost cured.
5. Nutritious food is the main requirement. As I stay away from home, doctor prescribed one medicine having vitamins and essential mineral once in every 3-4 days. It was IMMUNACE plus. Nutrition is required for the regeneration of disc.
6. Take good care of your stomach. Health of stomach is directly responsible for the health of your back. Avoid anything which can increase the gas in stomach.
7. Do not sit for long even after few months of improvement. Change your sitting habits. Do make sure that the surface on which you sit does not press nerves of legs.
8. Do not stick to bed forever. Walking in the morning is good. In fact, the more(up to a limit) you walk, better are the chances of recovery.
9. Stop jumping.
10. Don’t do anything which can increase pain.
11. Avoid rice and food made up of rice products. Be careful in having food.
12. Avoid long journey because you would have to sit for long.
13. Take care so that you do not suffer with common cold or any kind of fever.
14. Tight cloths and belts should be avoided.

15. Doctor should be consulted before you implement any of the things which I have mentioned above.

After 30 days of treatment at home I was able to raise my right leg (only) from 5 degrees to 60 degree while lying straight on the bed. I came back to my college. Carefully, I was able to involve myself in regular routine. After 30 more days I was able to raise my right leg to 90 degrees. Now I’m able to walk comfortably and normally.

Hoping for a good recovery for all of you :-*.

Again a word of caution, I’m not a doctor. You should ask doctor what should you do, even for the physical exercises. Make sure that you get a reliable doctor. Do cross check with another doctor if you find any problem with the doctor. Surgery is recommended in extreme cases. But it should be avoided.

To do:

• Improve the quality of the article in terms of language.
• Put some useful references.
• Link to the blogs who share similar experiences.

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