Medical Advice

[captainamerica]

I have been in quite a bit of pain for nearly 3 months now...finally got an MRI and I have, "Moderate Bilateral Foraminal Stenosis from Osteophytes."   Located at C5-6.

In Lehman's terms, early stages of arthritis, bone spurs growing and pushing on nerves.  Has anyone had this condition or something similar?  Conservative treatment hasn't helped and I have read and heard that surgery is only a temporary fix.  I would appreciate any help anyone can provide. 


Hixson

[tgarber]

Ryan,

You're gonna think I'm kidding, but I get Honey Bee Sting Therapy for all inflammatory issues with my body.  Rotator Cuff, joints, tendonitis, arthritis... all respond really well to the bee venom.  Yeah, it hurts for a bit... but the benefits are worth it.

If you aren't allergic to bees, I would highly recommend finding someone in your area that does it. If you don't have anyone near you... make a vacation to Myrtle Beach. The girl who does this for me does it as a ministry. It wouldn't cost you anything for the treatment.

I actually had two stings tonight in my right hand for carpal tunnel.

You just might think it's a miracle.

Tom Garber

[SCUDMAN]

Ryan, I have the exact same condition & have had it for a few years now so it is more advanced than yours. No good news I am afraid, I have had nerve injections twice, once it worked for about 4 months & the other time not at all. Surgery is an option if the pain gets too much to manage with pain medication, but arthritis does grow back. Laser surgery is minimally invasive & seems the best choice. Some days, all I have to do is move the wrong way & I end up on my knees in intense pain & it may take a week or more for the inflamation to settle down. My last trip to Worlds I finished 9th in my age group & needed to get thru 1 more set to reach the quarters & I could barely tee up my 6 balls & swinging was agony. Flying from Philly to Vegas & driving to Mesquite did me in. I really feel for you as I know exactly the pain that you are in, it really is debilitating at times. I am on pain medication when needed (strong stuff) & without it I can't even get thru a small bucket of balls at one time. Have you found any position where the pain stops?, for me it is when I am sitting down, the pain stops instantly & standing up again I look like the Hunchback of Notre Dame! Good luck with this, keep us posted. Steve D.

[woodtown]

Get a portable cervical traction device and find out by x-ray if you have forward head posture. Email me with your ph # if you want as I have professional and personal success with treatment of this.

Steve Woods

[firethorn]

My uncle has a similar condition, I would look into upper cervical chiropractic, it's not like your normal chiropractor. There is no back cracking or wierd electroshock machines. It specifically targets the alignment of the upper spinal vertebrae. Not sure if it's the right choice for you but I believe it would be worth looking into.

[A-ROB]

Spinal decompression can alleviate some pain.
The more stress you put on your body, the more pain and discomfort you will feel
I have it in my back, neck, shoulders, ankles and feet. Bone spurs and arthritis.
It sucks. But I have learned to self heal.
YOGA has a tremendous Impact on various ailments. Stretching and minimizing the stress I put on my body is my main priority these days. I'm putting off surgery until it's completely necessary.

[bradfromearth]

Voltaren Gel may help. It is a new NSAID in a cream form that is specifically for treating arthritis. Prescription only but that should not be an issue.

I can highly reccomend a TENS unit. Although it is not supposed to be placed directly on the spinal column you may be able to get close and experiment.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcutaneous_electrical_nerve_stimulation

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis.
Brad

[woodtown]

Ryan,
I should have clarified with you my credentials. I'm a chiropractor and part of the specialization in my office is treatment of disc disease and stenosis. A-Rob is right cervical decompression is excellent and is an integral component for tx of conditions like yours. I am sympathetic with you and my patients as I'm a fellow sufferer. In 2007 I was qualified for World's and almost had to cancel and would have if not for proper treatment of my condition.

Now in deference to Firethorn "normal chiropractors" who know how to Properly treat these conditions can help patients improve but, like all degenerative spinal conditions, take some time to make demonstrable changes. Upper cervical work is good but is not a panacea.

And yes, spinal surgery should be avoided at all costs as failure rates with possible worsening of your condition exceeds 50% and cortisone injections are extremely limited in affording good effect either short or long term. 

[fullcord]

My best friend was diagnosed with severe stenosis in the same 5-6 area as yourself and was in constant misery starting about 4 1/2 years ago.  At one stage it affected his nerves so badly it went down into his left calf to where it felt like somebody shot him with a bullet and his foot became somewhat unstable and flopped when he was walking.

He went through all of the shots you can possibly get, pain killers, physical therapy, stretching and nothing had a lasting affect.  The shots helped the most but you can't keep taking them forever.

A little over a year ago he threw in the towel and was 2 weeks away from going under the knife for a laminectomy and spinal fusion since all Orthepedic back specialists gave the same diagnosis and surgery recommendations.  For a last minute confirmation he went to a Neurologist who said to give drugs one last chance before doing the heavy duty surgery.  He was all for that so the doctor put him on something called NEURONTIN.  The generic is GABAPENTIN.  There are different strengths to it but he takes 300 mg. 2 times a day.  
Athough Cymbalta and Lyrica are normally used to treat depression, they've found those two drugs also very helpful in reducing neuropathy and pain.  He opted for the NEURONTIN.

This is NOT a cure, however it's given him great relief and he was able to play golf 3-5 times a week since he started taking it.  Right before surgery he said on a scale from 1-10 with 10 being the highest he was a 10.  Now he's  mostly about a 2 or 3 and sometimes a 1.  He may still have to go in for surgery one day because the drugs seem to lose some of their affect after a while and the dosage has to be increased.

As far as exercise goes, the best one is riding a bicycle...either stationery or a regular one.  There's something regarding how the curvature of the back is best when on the bike for the stenosis.  FORGET going to the gym and doing heavy lifting and musclehead stuff!  THAT is OUT!

Go to a Neurologist or Orthapedic Surgeon and discuss these drugs with them.  They might not feel you're far enough gone to prescribe them, but no harm in trying.  You have a long road to hoe.

Edit:  Here are some exercises that "might" help which are specifically for lumbar stenosis.  Don't let this old lady fool you into thinking, "I'm a lot younger and stronger than this old battle axe...I can do a LOT more."  Bullsh*t!  Not that you can't, but you'll soon learn the more of the WRONG stuff you do in the gym, the worse the symptoms and pain get along with mobility.  And just about EVERY strength building or muscle building exercise with weights or progressive resitance equipment is WRONG.

http://www.resistancechair.eu/pdfs/protocol-lumbar-stenosis-07-01.pdf

Also ride a bicycle about 30 minutes a day and there's no need to set speed and heart rate records.

[firethorn]

To "WoodTown" I apologize if that came off Rude, I meant no harm when saying normal Chiropractors. My wife had a bad experience with chiropractor who was not properly treating her. I have grown up with an upper cervical chiropractor and thought I would lend my suggestion. Again I apologize and meant no disrespect.

[woodtown]

Firethorn,
It's all good. I understand fully. Problem is anytime that any treatment is performed, physical medicine, surgery, or pharmacotherapy, there can be side effects with some being quite grave (*every 17 minutes someone dies due to adverse effects prescribed medications.)

Blessings,
Steve Woods

[BenWitter]

Ryan,

In my experience, wakeboarding cures everything.

Ben

[captainamerica]

Thank you everyone for your responses.  Looking forward to speaking with Mr. Woods in the near future.  Everything I have seen has told me that I will have to learn to manage the pain and that there really is nothing I can do to remedy the problem.  It sucks, but I'll figure it out!  Again, thank you for the responses!  Ben, I don't know why I didn't think of wakeboarding before!  Will have to give that a shot!  Hope all is well with you and your family and I wish you Happy Holidays!