Results of MRI In - Arthritic Changes In Spine

[Christine]

I managed to get my doctor to call me so I didn't have to wait until next week for my results.

The good news is that I have no evidence of herniated disks but I have arthritic changes in the L1 and L2 area. Hmmmm.

So, he wanted me to come in to discuss a "plan" with me about how to deal with this. That's good news because everytime I try to exercise (brisk walking and toning exercises), my back "flares" up. I thought exercise could help. Also wondering if a chiropractor would do any good at this point? I went for about 6 months last year and did get some improvement but no resolution. Guess I know why now.

So, do anyone know about this? I guess, since it is just in one little spot, that I could have had some trauma that would precipitate this? Or does it just happen?

 

[Saphire]

Hi Christine. Arthritis is common in most people, the older you get the more likely you will have it. Sometimes it is precipitated by an injury. The best treatments are to stengthen the joints and muscles around the affected area, keep weight down, stay active and walking, take supplemental calcium to stengthen the bones, and an anti-inflammatory pain reliever to help with flare-ups. If walking and toning exercise make your pain worse, perhaps you should visit a physical therapist who can give you customized, gentle exercise to stengthen the vulnerable area. Maybe this is the 'plan' your physician wants to speak to you about. (I would absolutely not visit a chiropractor, you will end up with a lifetime sentence.) With proper attention to this, you should be able to get along just fine, but it does take some work and commitment on your part. Best wishes.

 

[froglady]

PLEASE do not ignore it! Whatever needs to be done, do it now! I'm not going to go into details, but if my father had done what DH recommended when he told him to do it 20 years ago, he might still be alive today.

Arthritic changes in your spine might not affect you today, but they WILL affect your health in 20 years.

 

[JimB.]

Christine -

Your back is MY back. I have the same condition you have PLUS a facet nerve pinch on the right & a couple other maladies.

My Pain can be narrowed down mostly to the nerve pinch. Anti-inflammatories is good (worked for me). I used a prescription NSAID called Arthrotec. VERY nice. No side effects.

My issue with that though is that I do not want to be taking NSAIDS forever. Possibility of turning one's liver into mush.

I work out a lot. Not to much "high impact" cardio unless I am playing football with my son.

I think a chiropractor is a waste of your $$$. At least it was in my case. If youo pain is arthritic in nature, no amount of popping, cracking or twisting your back is going to change that.

If it were not for the pain, my back would not really bother me (well, duh!). To attack this, I have had 2 episodes of epidural/trigger point steroid injections. It is a deep injection of LOTS of steroids right in the area of the inflammation. Done in an OR under a flouroscope, so as to accurately place the needle(s). The procedure is painless, and gives me 2-3 months of totally painfree bliss.

I have also tried a procedure called a "radio frequency abalation". It's where electrodes are inserted in your back, and then radio waves are zapped into your back in an attempt to blast the offending nerve endings into non-existence. My doctor said this could be the "silver bullet" for my back, but unfortunately was totally unsuccessful. But we are going to try it again in about 6 months.

TMI, I am sure. My point is that you should, regardless of your direction, be aggressive in dealing with your pain. If not, it will stop "flaring up" & be with you 24/7.


Trust me, that sucks. Control your pain or it will control you.

Good Luck!!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Glad it was nothing more serious than that, Christine. You could ask your doctor about glucosamine too.

 

[LuvN~Travel]

A chiropractor is good if your bones are even a bit out of alignment. However, the arthritis is not going to be helped by just visiting a chiropractor. It is the joint that is affected. Medicine, therapy, and some exercise, according to your doctor is what will help there.
I've been dealing with the herniated disk/pinched nerve thing, and yes my chirpractor was able to get the adjoing bones realigned (which can help the therapy in the long run by having things in place), but the physical therapy, muscle relaxers, and pain pills are what help then. Like the physical therapists pointed out, you can realign the bones all day long, but the muscles around them need to be strengthened to help keep those bones properly aligned.
Kim

 

[Christine]

Thank you for all your replies. I can't wait to see what the doctor recommends on Tuesday. I am VERY sensitive to most meds, so I'm sure I will "resist" that route. When I do feel the need to take something, I find that Ibuprofen really does the trick.

When this first "flared" about a year and a half ago, the pain was quite bad. After going to the chiro and doing lots of stretching, I've got it down to a a "dull, background noise."

I probably won't go back to the chiro now that I know it is arthritis-related; however, I was just wondering if anyone continued to get relief using them. My chiro used to be a physical therapist (thats what he went to college for and practiced it until he was in his early 30s) so a lot of the stuff he did for me was PT-based.

Anyway, thank you for sharing your experiences.

Froglady--how did this condition lead to your father's early demise?