Dear Dr. Borigini, I am 31 years old and have had two Discectomies in the last two years. I have always had back pain all my life but two years ago I had pain down my leg and needed surgery on my L3-L4 and after the surgery the pain in my leg went away but my back is still very achy. Then a year ago the pain in my leg came back and I had another Discectomy on L4-L5 and the pain in my leg went away again but never in my back. My back is always very tight and painful. I stretch 2-3 times a day but always in pain, always tight. I used to play sports my whole life and for the past 4 or 5 years I havent been able to do anything. I am only 31 and need my life back. How do I get rid of this nagging back pain?
Q: two Discectomies and still back pain, what gives?????
Answers (1)
3/31/09 6:03pm
Lumbar discectomies are not meant to "cure" back pain. A discectomy, removing a portion of the disc, is meant to relieve pressure off the nerve. Leg pain, numbness and weakness can improve with pressure relief, not back pain. A discectomy is a type of decompression surgery because it relieves pressure, decompresses the lumbar nerve root. A "pinched" lumbar nerve leads to leg pain, not back pain.
So, getting back to the "axial" back pain. Only two types of treatments are known to "cure" back pain: rehabilitation or fusion (possible disc arthroplasty). You can read about the What's and How's on our spine site.
http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/back-pain-and-sciatica.html?ic=4025
Stay tuned to that page for more articles about back pain.
Dr. Christina Lasich, MD
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