Had Hit On L5 Vertebrae. Does The Spinal Cord Decompression Help But Only Temporarily? Concerned

Posted on Wed, 25 Jul 2012

Question: Hello, I am a 49 yr old healthy woman, 5 feet 6 inches, 145 pounds. 20 years ago I fell off a horse and landed on my coccyx. I have been seeing a chiropractor off and on for the last 10 yrs. I was just told by him today that the disc below L5 vertebrae has dramatically thinned down and the vertebrae has calcified on one side which explains the recurring pain lately (I saw the X-rays myself) I have been exercising 2 to 5 times / week for the let 5-6 years (no jumping, mostly pilates and lately, yoga) and he wants me to stop for at least week saying I am disrupting the treatment doing on me. I have to admit, the pain is just not going away this time even though I've seen him 3 times in the last week. He is against removing the disc & explains it incurs others problems down the road and is a very delicate surgery. He wants me to consider a spinal cord decompression treatment ( no surgery - About 20 sessions over a few months) My questions: Should I stop exercising and stretching for a while? Does the spinal cord decompression help but only temporarily? And most importantly is there any way to rejuvenate a disc to give it back its thickness and elasticity ( like some kind of ''botox'' or filler for the disc!!)? Are there excercises I can do to help this situation? I don't want to be in pain for the rest of my life!!!

THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!!!

Answered by Dr. Rangadhar Satapathy (13 hours later)

Hello,

Thank you for contacting me.

Your disc disorder at sacral portion put pressure on your spinal cord and that causes the pain. Therefore, it is not advisable to practice any sort of back exercise without the proper guidance of your physiotherapist. Because any wrong exercise may put more pressure over the spinal portion and might aggravate the condition.

Spinal decompression or traction therapy is the better suggestion to reduce spinal compression and pain both. However, it should be done at any physiotherapy center under the supervision of a qualified physiotherapist.

He will advise you the number of sitting per week looking your physical condition and intensity of pain. Both the traction or spinal decompression therapy and back exercise suggested by your physiotherapist can be helpful to rejuvenate the disc and relieve the pain too.

Please do write back for follow up queries that you may have.

Thank you.

Note: For further queries, consult a joint and bone specialist, an Orthopaedic surgeon. Book a Call now.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Shanthi.E