Am I surgery bound

Am I surgery bound

Q:

Age: 25 Sex: F Concern: Chronic pain

I have experienced low back pain for several years and have been told I have bulging discs, DDD, & annular tears in the lumbar region. With conservative treatment such as facet blocks with denervation I have had some relief but still experience tingling in my feet and pain in my lower back and legs. About 6 months ago I started experiencing mid back pain which I thought was muscle tightness. A recent MRI revealed I have a herniated disc at T8-9 abutting the spinal cord and bone spurs at numerous locations irritating the nerve roots. Pain management doctors have put me on lyrica, celebrex, zanaflex & percocet with minimal relief. I had 1 epidural injection with no relief and my symptoms are getting worse. Im scheduled for another injection on 11/7 and the doctor said if it does not work I need surgery. My question is, is surgery the only other option and could the bone spurs and herniated disc now be causing me to have pain in my right arm and pain in my armpit that is exacerbated with breathing coughing, sneezing etc? Could the problems in the thoracic also be causing my leg pain & foot tingling? I would appreciate any answers/options that you can give me.

-- terri523

A:

The thoracic disc could give you symptoms in the legs but not in the arms unless it is a high disc herniation at T1 or T2.
Unless you have intractable pain or myelolpathy, surgery is not a must and should be viewed as an option. There is no guarantee that surgery would work; worsening pain after surgery is very possible.

-- Sherman Nam Tran, M. D.

to ask Dr. Tran.