re: Disc Herniation Vent

quote:

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In about 6 weeks of concentrated daily effort with a good PT, I am getting back so much. I'm working out again, I can sit down to eat and work, I'm riding my bike for 45 minutes at a time, and on the brink of being able to run again. All of the aforementioned issues are gone. I still have some hip tightness and range of motion issues that we are working through, but what a difference. It's incredible what a good PT that doesn't just stick you on Stim and let a tech babysit you can do.

TL:DR - Back sucks, found a good Physical Therapist and it doesn't suck as much now.

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You're lucky. With mine (L3/L4 - bad herniation) no amount of PT, time or shots improved it. In fact, it kept getting worse. I ended up having the microdiscectomy and it changed my life.

I was VERY anti-surgery until I learned more about it. It's pretty routine, it's not a fusion and they don't really go near your spinal cord. It's really just a soft-tissue surgery that is surprisingly mundane. You can go on Youtube and see the procedure (I did this the night before mine).

It's always good to avoid surgery when you can, but if your "doesn't suck as much now" is a 4 out of 10 pain instead of 8 out of 10, yes, that's a great improvement, but it's still no way to live, IMO.