Hi everyone-
I just wanted to see if anyone out there has had a doctor who has suggested getting lumbar epidural injections in the lower lumbar section of the spine instead of getting a fusion to the L5 or to the sacrum. I am scheduled for spinal fusion surgery in June to correct my scoliosis. My curves are currently 55 (thoracic) and 58 (lumbar) degrees. My doctor, who is one of the top scoliosis doctors, recommends fusion from T4-L3. At my first appointment with him last week, I told him how I have been having SEVERE foot pain for the past 3 years where other doctors have told me it is coming from my back. The past 3 months the nerve pain has now moved into my leg. It is mostly from my behind my knee, goes down my calf, into my ankle and through the side of my foot and into my pinky toe. I did alot of research on the location of pain and motor deficits in association with nerve root involvements, and at the disc level L5-S1, the location of pain is at the lateral aspect of the foot which goes into the pinky toe, which is exactly the pain that I have. Every morning I have to walk around my room for like a 1/2 hour with my toes curled in order to have the tingling, burning and stabbing sensation to go away for awhile. My MRI shows that I have "Moderate disc degeneration with shallow eccentric disc herniation to left at L5-S1, also with far lateral disc buldging at the L5-S1." It also shows "moderate disc degeneration with loss of disc signal and disc height and shallow eccentric disc herniation to left at L4-L5." This scoliosis doctor told me he doesn't believe the foot pain is related to my back, and that he recommends just fusing to my L3 since I am only 31 years old and also for other mobility reasons. He recommended treating my leg and foot pain with lumbar epidural injections before and after the surgery. I am alittle disappointed because I thought by having the scoliosis surgery, the nerve pain down my leg and into my foot would go away, and now that isn't going to be touched. I have read where other people on this forum have their fusions done to the sacrum which alleviates leg pain. My question is, Do lumbar epidural injections work for foot and leg pain? Can I get them every year for the rest of my life? The pain in my foot sometimes is so unbearable that I have to limp around at times. He also mentioned when I am older, like in my 50's, I may need another surgery to address the further degeneration in my L4, L5, S1 discs. I'm was thinking that he would have recommend doing my fusion all the way down to the sacrum because of my pain and the bulging and herniated discs, but he doesn't see any evidence to do this, even though he sees the results on the MRI report and hears about my pain. He suggested I also get a EMG and NCV test. I already did those 3 months ago, and they came out normal.
I was also wondering if after the surgery the nerve pain will diminish simply because of my curves being reduced by 60%. The doctor already did my bending x-rays and he said he would be able to reduce both of my curves to 20-25 degrees. I'm wondering if by having the curves reduced by 60% this would align the spine more, putting less pressure on the bulging and herniated discs at L4, L5, and S1, and then the nerve pain could possibly diminish or disappear. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?
Any thoughts would be appreciated as I have been worrying about this for the past week! I really thought surgery would take the nerve pain away in my foot and leg. I emailed the dr. about all of this after my appointment but he replied that lumbar epidural injections were my best bet. Maybe he is right (after all, he is one of the top surgeons and is highly spoken of) and I should just try to get one and see if it works. I never had one before. I was also wondering how long they last.
Thanks!
I just wanted to see if anyone out there has had a doctor who has suggested getting lumbar epidural injections in the lower lumbar section of the spine instead of getting a fusion to the L5 or to the sacrum. I am scheduled for spinal fusion surgery in June to correct my scoliosis. My curves are currently 55 (thoracic) and 58 (lumbar) degrees. My doctor, who is one of the top scoliosis doctors, recommends fusion from T4-L3. At my first appointment with him last week, I told him how I have been having SEVERE foot pain for the past 3 years where other doctors have told me it is coming from my back. The past 3 months the nerve pain has now moved into my leg. It is mostly from my behind my knee, goes down my calf, into my ankle and through the side of my foot and into my pinky toe. I did alot of research on the location of pain and motor deficits in association with nerve root involvements, and at the disc level L5-S1, the location of pain is at the lateral aspect of the foot which goes into the pinky toe, which is exactly the pain that I have. Every morning I have to walk around my room for like a 1/2 hour with my toes curled in order to have the tingling, burning and stabbing sensation to go away for awhile. My MRI shows that I have "Moderate disc degeneration with shallow eccentric disc herniation to left at L5-S1, also with far lateral disc buldging at the L5-S1." It also shows "moderate disc degeneration with loss of disc signal and disc height and shallow eccentric disc herniation to left at L4-L5." This scoliosis doctor told me he doesn't believe the foot pain is related to my back, and that he recommends just fusing to my L3 since I am only 31 years old and also for other mobility reasons. He recommended treating my leg and foot pain with lumbar epidural injections before and after the surgery. I am alittle disappointed because I thought by having the scoliosis surgery, the nerve pain down my leg and into my foot would go away, and now that isn't going to be touched. I have read where other people on this forum have their fusions done to the sacrum which alleviates leg pain. My question is, Do lumbar epidural injections work for foot and leg pain? Can I get them every year for the rest of my life? The pain in my foot sometimes is so unbearable that I have to limp around at times. He also mentioned when I am older, like in my 50's, I may need another surgery to address the further degeneration in my L4, L5, S1 discs. I'm was thinking that he would have recommend doing my fusion all the way down to the sacrum because of my pain and the bulging and herniated discs, but he doesn't see any evidence to do this, even though he sees the results on the MRI report and hears about my pain. He suggested I also get a EMG and NCV test. I already did those 3 months ago, and they came out normal.
I was also wondering if after the surgery the nerve pain will diminish simply because of my curves being reduced by 60%. The doctor already did my bending x-rays and he said he would be able to reduce both of my curves to 20-25 degrees. I'm wondering if by having the curves reduced by 60% this would align the spine more, putting less pressure on the bulging and herniated discs at L4, L5, and S1, and then the nerve pain could possibly diminish or disappear. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?
Any thoughts would be appreciated as I have been worrying about this for the past week! I really thought surgery would take the nerve pain away in my foot and leg. I emailed the dr. about all of this after my appointment but he replied that lumbar epidural injections were my best bet. Maybe he is right (after all, he is one of the top surgeons and is highly spoken of) and I should just try to get one and see if it works. I never had one before. I was also wondering how long they last.
Thanks!
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