Epidural Cortisone injection in back..advice?

[mikeheavypecs]

hey guys,
I have to make a decision on having a epidural cortisone injection around my L4-L5 disc or not. I am getting tremendous muscle spasms in my back and inflammation around the disc area. My orthopedic surgeon thinks it will help and allow me to keep going in bodybuilding.

Has anyone else had experience with this?

Thanks bros!
Mike

 

[bigdaddyhd]

i herniated two disc in my neck, back in 03 doing shrugs.
wierd i know, injury didnt go with mechanism.
i ended up getting three of those epidural shots in my
neck before i had surgery a year and half later.
they worked for a while but the time between
each shot got less as i got more shots. take the
valium if they offer, it'll help relax you. it doesnt hurt
any to get the shot. i ended up opping for the surgery.
no problems since. the backs a little trickier though.
best wishes with it though.

bigdaddyhd

 

[Squater]

I actually had 7 of them in 1996-97....They actually wanted to fuse my L4-5 and I refused it ......I'm glad I went the route i went...

I did the eltrode's.heat and ice....chiropractor too....I thionk the chiropractor was the better of the choices

I still squat respectable weight for my age....

 

[mikeheavypecs]

I actually had 7 of them in 1996-97....They actually wanted to fuse my L4-5 and I refused it ......I'm glad I went the route i went...

I did the eltrode's.heat and ice....chiropractor too....I thionk the chiropractor was the better of the choices

I still squat respectable weight for my age....

thanks guys. yeh, they said someday my L4-L5 would have to be fused and no more lifting???? I don't even want to think about that! Thanks for the suggestions and comments!

Mike

 

[gordo14]

In my opinion its just a band aid.

I had one about 3 weeks agao. Pain got better for about 7 days. It is completely back now though. Its just covering up the pain and having an anti inflamatory impact on the swollen disc. Basically onece you have it you always will. I will post a PM i got from a very smart fella regarding my situation.

 

[gordo14]

Many thanks to Deon over on IM for answering all my questions.

Originally Posted by gordo14
Deon,

Thank you again for your time, and wisdom. I have a question. What is the usual recovery time for a bulged disc? I've been seeing in threads guys taking off upwards of 1 year from training. Is that how long i should be down?

Basically the only treatment the MD has approved are the epidural injections. I got one and was pain free for about 7 days. Now he wants me to do another??

I guess what i'm wondering is...will a bulging disc ever go away? Will it always be bulging? If so what happens if i say screw it and just work through the pain?

I was cleared to lift weights, i was told not to lift anything while bent over. I asked for clarification, by that did he mean something like squats, or something like rows and he acted dumbfounded. And told me no squatting, better yet no lifting. I hate when doctors treat you like your stupid. I don't know. I am at a loss. Any suggestions for me. Can i still lift as long as i don't put a huge amount of strain on my lower spine? I know your not a MD, but you said you have dealt with people with the same type of injury.

Originally posted by Deon:
Hey Gordo. Even though some people do not consider Chiropractors Doctors, let me assure you we are. we get more classroom time and even more clinic experience before we earn a license than MD's do. Everything a general practice MD is responsible for, we are too. We look at spines and discs( (for that matter the body) completely differently than the MD's do. And here's the best part....We can actually fix your problem without drugs or surgery.


Let me explain to you exactly what your MD didn't tell you. Now understand it's not his fault, he is used to dealing with patients that aren't as informed about the body as you are, so don't get too mad at the poor guy. ;p

1. The fact that the Disc bulged in the first placed is a result from a previous injury sustained some time ago. It was a time bomb ticking It was only a matter of time.

2. Yes once a disc is bulged it will degenerate and cause severe nerve damage. That could take as short as a few months or it could even take several years depending on your activity. It will NEVER go away unless surgically removed or Fixed by a Chiropractic adjustment. Period.

3. The epidural is just numbing your body's ability to feel the pain. It is doing nothing to fix the disc. It's like sweeping dirt under the rug in a room. It looks clean but the room is still dirty, you just can't see it.

4. The pain and muscle spasm is due to the inflammation generated by the swollen disc distressing the nerves. Over time if you left this alone the disc would go through a cycle of swelling and then calming down. You will have your good months and bad months. All the while the disc is slowly degenerating and dying.

My recommendation is, ice your low back every night. Never heat. 20 minutes per hour every hour until you go to sleep. Stretch your spine by pushing your upper body away from your lower body in a push up position (if you can) and hold the stretch.

I would experiment with different exercises. If you feel tight or any type of spasm, stop. I would stay away from squats, and deads for sure. Any type of bent over row or t-bar row can stress your low back too. You may even hurt it during any type of seated movement including curls and presses.

I don't know for sure bud, i haven't seen an x-ray or MRI so i cannot give you definitive answers. I would be very careful while training. If you ever feel weird or hear a pop, stop immediately go home and ice your spine down. I would definitely not do any type of training as long as you are under the influence of the epidural injections. You could do severe damage to your disc.

Play it safe man. It's just not worth it to keep training and really damage yourself.

I hope this helps if you have any more questions please feel free to let me know.


Deon

 

[Android]

listen to your surgeon or get another opinion. The epi will give you pain releif. How long is the question. After a series of injections and another MRI, your doctor will offer surgical intervention.(Micro diskectomy) some people have micro diskectomys and are fine...forever. sometimes the disk continues to spit fragments after the original surgery and require another micro. It is out patient surgery/23hrs stay. After 2 micro disks, usually doctors offer fusion. Artifical disks are available, as well as premarket studies for nuclius replacement trials. Here are some links. http://back.com/
**broken link removed**
yes, I'm in the business

 

[Frank N. Steroid]

I have degeneration of the L4/5 discs and also degeneration of the facet joint.I had four cortisone injections in my facet joint,and they basically did jack shit for the pain,so i didn't find them any good at all,but you never know,you might be different.

Won't do you any harm to have them,and you never know,might do you some good,so i'd say go ahead and give them a shot.

 

[Dad]

hey guys,
I have to make a decision on having a epidural cortisone injection around my L4-L5 disc or not. I am getting tremendous muscle spasms in my back and inflammation around the disc area. My orthopedic surgeon thinks it will help and allow me to keep going in bodybuilding.

Has anyone else had experience with this?

Thanks bros!
Mike

Mike, I had this done several times. It works best on acute situation rather than chronic, but that's not to say it's not worth trying because that's the only way to know for sure.

If yuo've had imaging (MRI, etc) that showed soft tissue nerve impingment, like a bulging disc, it may help a lot, especially, again, in an acute situation.

They'll roll you up in a fetal postion on your side (knees bent and tucked up close to yuor chest) and advance the needle into the epidural space. You shuold get a bit of local or topical anesthetic, so it's not a real painful procedure - you'll mostly feel some pressure. THey'll have you hang out for an hour or so afterwards to see that yuo're ok, then yuo can go. Have someone drive yuo just to play it safe.

Best of luck!

 

[mikeheavypecs]

Mike, I had this done several times. It works best on acute situation rather than chronic, but that's not to say it's not worth trying because that's the only way to know for sure.

If yuo've had imaging (MRI, etc) that showed soft tissue nerve impingment, like a bulging disc, it may help a lot, especially, again, in an acute situation.

They'll roll you up in a fetal postion on your side (knees bent and tucked up close to yuor chest) and advance the needle into the epidural space. You shuold get a bit of local or topical anesthetic, so it's not a real painful procedure - you'll mostly feel some pressure. THey'll have you hang out for an hour or so afterwards to see that yuo're ok, then yuo can go. Have someone drive yuo just to play it safe.

Best of luck!

Thanks Bros, for your input. I guess I'll go ahead and try it so that I can continue to bodybuild for my April contests...

Mike

 

[juggernaught]

WOW What timing!

I have literaly just came back to work from scheduling an epidural injection for my L-5 S-1 bulged disc. I will be having mine on Dec 17th.
Dad how long did you have take off from the gym after this procedure?

 

[tflexxin]

I had a ruptured disc, L5 S1. had two rounds of shots. 1st round, pain went away for a few weeks. Second shot, only a few days. bottom line is, you are only masking an injury. I ended up on the surgeons table. Successful though.

 

[juggernaught]

I had a ruptured disc, L5 S1. had two rounds of shots. 1st round, pain went away for a few weeks. Second shot, only a few days. bottom line is, you are only masking an injury. I ended up on the surgeons table. Successful though.

How long where you out of the gym? What did they do to repair?

 

[tflexxin]

I began lifting again very light after about 2-3 weeks, keeping it easy and just pumping. Took quite a while to train legs with anything that put pressure on my spine.
They basically cut the ruptured section out of the disc and let it re-grow. Takes 6 months to fully regenerate in a normal person. I healed much quicker though.
I stayed away from the gym until i had no pain to any day to day activities. even if you have to take 6 months off, what's 6 months in a lifespan? Nothing. But a lifetime of back pain? Forget it!

 

[juggernaught]

Had my epidural done yesterday morning. Very quick and easy procedure as dad stated.Doc told me it would take 3 days or so to fully see how much relief I will get.It def feels better this morning.One of my major symptoms is when I am on my feet more then 10-15 minutes I start getting severe low back hip pain and start limping.Today I was out on the floor at work getting my crew set up and after about 30 minutes I started to get a dull ache in low back much less severe then normal.