Severe foot/leg pain and sensitvity following 2 level lumbar fusion.
Posted by
Chris S.
I used to be a healthy and very active 39 year old male. Not overweight, don't smoke, watch my diet, excercise frequently, etc.
I had a large herniation at L4/L5 and subsequent procedure to remove this about 19 months ago. After this herniation, I continued to experience disabling back and sciatic related pain. One specific symptom was severe foot pain with tingling, numbness and extreme sensitivity. This was by far the worst symptom and would prevent me from doing anything that required me to be on my feet.
All moderate pain relief methods, via a pain specialist, attempted over a 12 month period failed to provide relief. Subsequently, a discogram was performed and showed my disc at L4/L5 and L5/S1 were severely deteriated and the pain was associated to these issues.
I underwent a postlateral fusion of L4/L5 and L5/S1 about 12 weeks ago. I immediately started walking and following all directions from my Neurosurgeon. I'm now in physical therapy with a Doctor who is well educated on many principals that Dr. Stuart McGill teaches.
My issue is this: I continue to have the above mentioned chronic leg/foot pain and sensitivity even though the fusion is going great, no broken hardware, and all the spacing, etc has been restored. This pain is typically initiated by any physical activity to include the simple task of standing.
I have talked to my Neurosurgeon's Physician's Assistant about this, but he's not overly concerned. If anything, he's talking of putting me on Lyrica, which I've tried before surgery with no relief.
I'm looking for recommendations as to how I should proceed, what questions I should ask or possible exams I should pursue. I just feel that there is something nerve related going on and the fusion didn't correct this. I will be going back the Neurosurgeon, but want to get my eggs lined up before our meeting.
Posted by Chris S.
I used to be a healthy and very active 39 year old male. Not overweight, don't smoke, watch my diet, excercise frequently, etc.
I had a large herniation at L4/L5 and subsequent procedure to remove this about 19 months ago. After this herniation, I continued to experience disabling back and sciatic related pain. One specific symptom was severe foot pain with tingling, numbness and extreme sensitivity. This was by far the worst symptom and would prevent me from doing anything that required me to be on my feet.
All moderate pain relief methods, via a pain specialist, attempted over a 12 month period failed to provide relief. Subsequently, a discogram was performed and showed my disc at L4/L5 and L5/S1 were severely deteriated and the pain was associated to these issues.
I underwent a postlateral fusion of L4/L5 and L5/S1 about 12 weeks ago. I immediately started walking and following all directions from my Neurosurgeon. I'm now in physical therapy with a Doctor who is well educated on many principals that Dr. Stuart McGill teaches.
My issue is this: I continue to have the above mentioned chronic leg/foot pain and sensitivity even though the fusion is going great, no broken hardware, and all the spacing, etc has been restored. This pain is typically initiated by any physical activity to include the simple task of standing.
I have talked to my Neurosurgeon's Physician's Assistant about this, but he's not overly concerned. If anything, he's talking of putting me on Lyrica, which I've tried before surgery with no relief.
I'm looking for recommendations as to how I should proceed, what questions I should ask or possible exams I should pursue. I just feel that there is something nerve related going on and the fusion didn't correct this. I will be going back the Neurosurgeon, but want to get my eggs lined up before our meeting.