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Suggest Alternative Treatment For Disc Compression In Spinal Cord
Question: L4-L5 disc is almost gone.The nerve pushes against spine cord èxscrusiating pain.spent Apr 2015-May 2015.in a wheelchair.Only thing any doctor is give shot of Morphine and Oxcycotine also take Prednisone to help with swelling. I have been living with this pain since I was injured in Afghanistan in 2005.The VA says there is nothing they can do.? Is there a procedure that can be performed to eliminate the nerve?Any suggestions would help.Thank you XXXX (retired)
Brief Answer:
Read below
Detailed Answer:
I read your question carefully and I am sorry about the pain you seem to be in, I can only try to imagine how intense it must be.
There is no procedure to remove the nerve, the nerve is an essential structure for your lower limb, providing supply to the muscles of that limb. It would be like saying to amputate a limb when you are in pain. Anyway it is not the nerve which pushes against the spinal cord as you seem to think, the nerve exits from the spinal cord, and its the nerve compression from the displaced disc or bony structures which leads to the pain and disability. If the site of the compression is L4 - L5 there isn't even any spinal cord there as it ends superior to that level at L1 level. At L4-L5 there is only the nerve bundle descending.
Now regarding what procedures may be used there may be several ones, like removing disc fragments or bony spurs compressing the nerves, removing part of the vertebra to decompress. If the disc is too much damaged it can be removed and the vertebral bodies be joined by a bony fragment or a disc prosthesis. So as you can see there are many types of interventions and for the neurosurgeon to choose the correct one for you is not so straightforward, it depends on the MRI imaging and the information it provides on the damage type and location.
Another type of intervention for the chronic pain may be spinal cord stimulation, which involves a procedure to insert a device which sends electrical impulses to the spinal cord thus preventing painful stimuli from being conveyed from the cord to the brain. It doesn't remove the cause of the pain, but tries to block its perception, provides benefit (at least 50% pain reduction) in about 50-70% of patients.
I remain at your disposal for other questions.
Read below
Detailed Answer:
I read your question carefully and I am sorry about the pain you seem to be in, I can only try to imagine how intense it must be.
There is no procedure to remove the nerve, the nerve is an essential structure for your lower limb, providing supply to the muscles of that limb. It would be like saying to amputate a limb when you are in pain. Anyway it is not the nerve which pushes against the spinal cord as you seem to think, the nerve exits from the spinal cord, and its the nerve compression from the displaced disc or bony structures which leads to the pain and disability. If the site of the compression is L4 - L5 there isn't even any spinal cord there as it ends superior to that level at L1 level. At L4-L5 there is only the nerve bundle descending.
Now regarding what procedures may be used there may be several ones, like removing disc fragments or bony spurs compressing the nerves, removing part of the vertebra to decompress. If the disc is too much damaged it can be removed and the vertebral bodies be joined by a bony fragment or a disc prosthesis. So as you can see there are many types of interventions and for the neurosurgeon to choose the correct one for you is not so straightforward, it depends on the MRI imaging and the information it provides on the damage type and location.
Another type of intervention for the chronic pain may be spinal cord stimulation, which involves a procedure to insert a device which sends electrical impulses to the spinal cord thus preventing painful stimuli from being conveyed from the cord to the brain. It doesn't remove the cause of the pain, but tries to block its perception, provides benefit (at least 50% pain reduction) in about 50-70% of patients.
I remain at your disposal for other questions.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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