Was doing better after an epidural and THEN......

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SKZ

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Hi everyone,
I am so frustrated. Aren't we all? I went from getting a 2 level neck fusion to now lower back and SI Joint problems. I have been going to PT since April and I cannot progress. She has been doing deep tissue hanRAB on stuff, which temporarily helps. But I have not been able to get out of pain enough to do specific SI Joint and lower back exercises. I have bulging disks at L3-4, L4-5. and L5-S1. I also have arthritis (I am 52/F). Apparently I have stenosis at those 3 levels too. (found this all out from an MRI about 6 weeks ago). I got 2 sets of facet injections at L5-S1 and the right SI JOint. They minimally helped. Last week I got an epidural and that seemed to really be helping. THEN 5 days after the epidural, since I was finally feeling better, my PT started me doing some exercises to strengthen things. (you know the drill). The next day I was ALL flared up again like I never even had the epidural . My hip and back hurts and walking is back to being problematic. #1) I am wondering if my hip hurts because I actually have a HIP problem or 2) its from the SI Joint, or #3) its referred pain from the bulging disks. How can they know I dont even have a hip problem if my MRI was only for the lower back I ask? Do you guys have hip pain from the lower back stuff or from SI JOint problems?????? Now I dont want to do any of the exercises now. Is it sometimes just plain better to not do those exercises and the heck with it? I already do aquacise 5 times a week in the pool, but this isnt core strengthening like the goal of these exercises is. Please, any feeback would be great. THANKS
 
It is difficult to figure out if your hip pain is referred from your back or might be something like bursitis in your hip. With L4-5 nerve compression, hip pain is often one of the locations for pain. My MIL had several injections into the hip area because the doc assumed she had bursitis, but it turned out to be a L4-5 problem.

Also SI joint problems can produce the same symptoms as other back issues. When you had the MRI, did you get some sort of diagnosis? I gather that is when you were sent to PT....

I have found from personal experience that there is just a world of differences between different therapists. I went to two different clinics prior to my surgery. Afterward I found a clinic that specializes in back and spine disorders and it has made such a huge difference!! Even though many of the exercises are the standard ones, I have learned muscle isolation. I now realize in the first two clinics, it appeared that I was doing the exercises correctly, but in fact, I was not using the muscles that I needed to strengthen. It would be like bending one finger versus waving my whole arm.

Part of the point of the injections is to get the patient sufficiently pain-free that she can begin PT. The problem is that no amount of strengthening is going to make up for the stenosis which is no doubt causing your pain. You can learn to use your muscles differently so that you take pressure off a particular nerve, but it is only a temporary solution.

I think I'd be tempted to just stick with the water exercises and forget about PT for awhile to see if you can get over the flare-up. I found that rest after an esi was what worked best for me. (But like you, as soon as I started feeling better, I would try to resume normal activity and would end up right back where I started...in pain.)
 
skz,it IS very frustrating,iam so sorry you have to go through this iam with you on the exercising iam scared to death of it,but got to tell you your water exercise is probably the best you can get,and you can work on your core muscles in the pool,iam starting to think stenosis is worse than i thought i wish the drs. would just come out and explain to us what all these things mean.when they told me ostoporosis i thought that was the worse of my problems but after reading everybodys posts iam starting to think the stenosis is worse,sorry to rant but keep up the water exercise that has the least impact on your body,I hope everybody feels better. marywoo
 
Hi SKZ,
I have hip problems and they nhaven't said exactly what it is yet but a couple of weeks ago I had steroid shots into the ligaments for lower back trouble as the pain clinic lady said hip pain can come from you walking so bad and the posture being all out of allignment.Who knows she then said I can have facet joint injections because that coul be causing the arthritic pain aswell. I am afraid they just take a guess in the dark sometimes. When you said refered pain this could be true and could wel be other areas playing it up. Have you had a recent xray or MRI to see if anything else is maybe causing it. I agree with you it is so frustrating and you don't seem to be getting any relief. Exercise just has me in pain for days after I know we have to do gentle movements so our bones don't hurt, but when doing it you know you are going to be in agony after , it makes you think twice.
We can all sympathise with you and thats where this board is fantastic.

I hope you find relief real soon . Take it steady in the meantime.

Tracy:)
 
I had an MRI of the lurabar, but no images of the hip. I am wondering if it isnt bursitis. I heard bursitis can make walking hard, too.
 
SKZ..
I am just checking up on you...regarding the SI joint problem. Yes, it can act like other back problems...and I had those problems...but...I had the SI joint surgery on 6/26...and I am sooooo happy.... My knee and little toe have stopped hurting...and my back is helped by pain meRAB right now...think it is better...whatever...I am feeling pretty happy!!
My Dr. is in Florida...Dr. Arnold Graham Smith...Jacksonville...wonderful man...and keeps me pretty much pain free from surgery pain... If you aren't getting relief from other methoRAB...try looking at the SI joint seriously.
Good luck to you...

Sage
 
SKZ,

My back problems (severe DDD, stenosis, SI Joint and facet arthritis) were causing pains that mimicked hip bursitis. We were able to eliminate hips as the specific problem because it kept changing hips - one day I'd have severe pain in my left hip, the next day I'd have severe pain in my right and my left would be fine. Bursitis doesn't act that way.

1 1/2 weeks post L4-S1 fusion and although I have pain it's not in my hips. :D
 
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