Quote:
Originally Posted by mash
The indication for surgery is nerve compression with either alteration in bowel/bladder function (surgery needs to be done urgently), or nerve compression with leg pain and motor signs (muscle weakness) that doesn't respond to non-surgical treatment. Surgery will not reliably lessen your back pain but it may help your leg symptoms. If you look at patients 3-4 years post surgery they look about the same as those that haven't had surgery, the pay off is the first couple of years post surgery.
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I had 2 such surgeries last year. For a number of years, I had experienced some numbness/tingling in my legs and thought nothing of it as I attributed it to being overweight. I had small children and they'd step on my back to help pop it at times and if they stepped on it, it would send a sharp pain down my legs.
In Sept. 2009, I was going through a lot of stress and had a lot of tension/pain in my neck and upper back-it was to the point that I couldn't move. I went in for an MRI and they never found the source of that issue, but revealed the source of my numbness/tingling in my legs. The canal (aka vertebral foramen) my spine passes through is quite narrow compared to most people and I had bone spurs (between T10-T12) protruding into my spine and was effectively causing the numbness/tingling issue.
The first surgery was quite successful-for 2-3 months anyway. After that time, the numbness returned to my left leg from my knee down. I then had another follow up last December in which the neurosurgeon opened up some more room around my spine. It didn't seem to stop the feeling I went in for, but I at least have a little more room.
The #1 thing recommended to me by my surgeon is taking off weight to relieve the additional pressure off my spine. That's one of the best cures for a bad back.