Buldging disc

[bertee2007]

Is it true when you have a buldging disc that it will eventually rupture. I had one to rupture and had to have a fusion and 2 years later I have 2 more on top of that, that has buldged. What causes this or did I just have a bad surgeon, I dont want to have to go through that surgery again. Please any information would be appreciated.

 

[Justoneofus]

Hi Gilbert. No bulging discs is not a given to one rupturing. I have a bulging disc since age 18, still around and up when I had my discogram done in 2006, it wasn't ruptured when put under pressure. Im now 46. It was still in tact. So no that is not a true tale you were told. It does happen to some bulging discs of course, but it's not a given.

It is extremely unlikely that your surgeon would be responsible for other discs going in your back. Unfortunately, some of us just do not have healthy spines and once some of us start having problems.. we continue to do so. And it is often true that once surgery is done to alter the natural spine, it can later cause us futher problems with any discs above and below the surgery site, particularly those that are fused (because it stops movement at that level). The rest of the spine up and below that must work doubly hard to compensate.

More likely the cause will not be truly identified and is likely partly genetics and also that your back is no longer normal and has had prior trauma and physiological changes to it before, putting addtional stress on the remainder of your spine, making it more vulnerable to injury and trauma, even just with everyday living.

What has been offered in treatment for you right now?

 

[Baybreeze]

Ditto what Just wrote. Discs are not necessarily doomed to rupture. Many times bulges will go away and herniations can be reabsorbed. I've had both nerve pain that didnt go away until I had a nerve block or epidural..and i've had times where it did resolve itself over 2 to 3 weeks. Another thing that can cause problems after surgery is scar tissue. If theres any around or near a disc, even it just bulges a bit, it can push the scar tissue into nerves and cause pain. That has happened to me as well. Before my surgery, my surgeon told me there was about an 80% success rate, though down the line I might need fusion. He also make clear that no surgery would cure my arthritis or DDD and the laminectomies would make things less stable in my spine. This can cause more stress on surrounding joints/tissues, which in turn can accelerate some of the degeneration. Something like that has nothing to do with the surgeon, it's just something that can happen. My surgey was a success in that I was able to walk upright again and be able to walk some distance. My claudication was gone. But 6 months after surgery, I had 2 herniations and 2 bulges. Plus I had alot of scar tissue which was contributing to some of my pain. Now it seems every couple weeks I get another episode of something causing nerve pain. A few times it came on slowly, other times it was sudden. I also did my own research on all this so that I could understand it all better. I realize that I have to deal with it as it comes. I have been doing everything my docs have said, including strengthening my core (i'll have been doing my pt exercised for 2 yrs come April). I've been doing all I can and realize theres nothing more I can do to prevent any of it.