I know not a medical site, but I have found there are plenty of people here with experiences and knowledge that maybe helpful. The oldest has a herniated disk at L5 and it is impinging on the nerve. He has lost feeling in his foot and is in pretty strong pain. He was given Vicodin, but worried about taking it too much and it really isn't helping with the pain. At the moment he is waiting to schedule a steroid epidural to hopefully get enough relief to be able to move around and do some work on healing. His doctor is not a fan of physical therapy at this point and is hoping surgery is the last option. He would like it to resolve on its own. Anyone with thoughts on stretches that have worked for you or someone you know in a similar situation; I'd appreciate the input. It sucks seeing him in this much pain, and the whole mental aspect of pain, being out of work, and wondering if you will be able to go back to your job. Peace and thanks
He is a nurse, but the injury occurred away from work. It looks like in the video he does some of what I found, which is the McKenzie Method. I am trying to get him to ask his doctor what he thinks about the method, as he isn't going to listen to me, and justifiably so as I am not knowledgeable. I am working on getting him to look at these options and talk to his doctor. Thank you
Lumbar traction in bed for 23+ hours a day for as long as it takes. It should immediately relieve much of the pain. A friend had severe crush and hernea damage to five discs and it worked though was medieval torture. Hopefully one disc will reseat quickly though.
Its mostly the discomfort on all the other areas of the body from lying flat and still. My friend found an alternating pressure matdress of the type where the air cells are arranged like bars, not bubble cells good.
A few videos touching on the subject. A fair amount of overlap, but with progression: Just saw the videos today and thought I'd post them since they generally support the content the the Captain's video link.
I found those guys the day I posted and have been going through them and asking my son about trying them, but also checking with his doc to see that he is good with it. He has tried body weight hangs with his feet on the ground, and the first time he said it seemed to help. He is in considerable pain, so he is going real slow. I also have to spend a considerable amount of time coming up with ways to phrase my suggestions. He tends to not want to be told what to do by Mom or I and it can get annoying in a situation like this where he needs help. Thank you all for the ideas and suggestions. It really sucks seeing him hurting this bad.