Survey says.....
L3/L4 Herniated Disc (Herniated = Rupture...Rupture of L5/S1 is what I had surgery for back in 2005)
L5/S1 Bulging (which is normal in "aging" people and bone spurs and "arthritic changes" which is also kinda expected based on previous surgery in 2005)
Layman's terms.... think of the discs between your vertebra as jelly donuts. They are soft and squishy and have a "hard shell" around them. When they bulge, they just look bigger than the others and kinda like hamburgers..big and puffy with a bun. When they are herniated or ruptured (terms can be interchanged) that means the hard protective surface as been cracked and the jelly is kinda oozing out. (That oozing out part is what I had shaved off..called a discectomy..of my L5/S1 back in 2005).
These can be caused by many things, but this time I can not pin point one specific incident. When this happened in 2005, I had some severe lower back pain that I saw a chiropractor for. But then the back pain gave way to sciatica. We tried for MONTHS to fix the issue with chiro care, drug therapy, inversion tables, massage..everything. But after 6 months, we finally ordered and MRI only to find out it was ruptured and I was told by my chiro and my massage teacher that it likely will need surgery to repair. I finally went to a back surgeon that was recommended (cause that kind of thing is damn scary!) The back surgeon said, if you have been dealing with the pain for 6 months, it is not going to go away on its own. It will need surgery. *sigh*
So here I am. January 1st my back started hurting. I was layed up for a few weeks. When I though it was safe, I went back out again only to have it go out even worse on MLK weekend (specifically January 19th). On January 23rd, reached for something and I FELT something "pop" in my back and I KNEW something was not right. Back to the doctor..and tests were scheduled.
So what now???
Well, the good news is, this herniated disc has NOT caused a real case of sciatica. So based on what I know from history with this and my own reading up on this, it is possible we have caught this early enough that maybe I can do physical therapy to strengthen the muscles of my back to support the issue. There is no fixing the disc themselves..rather it is a matter of preventing pain at this point. If I can make my back stronger, then hopefully the herniated disc will not cause the sciatica which prompted the surgery last time. But I gotta be smart about it!
So the next step, see my surgeon and verify my course of action. He is not one to jump to surgery and would rather someone avoid it if they can. I trust him with my life (obviously..he has already done one back surgery and my knee surgery and Tracy's knee surgery). I know he will steer me in the right direction.
It's funny how quickly life changes. Just 2 months ago, I was running 20 miles for fun and now I can't even walk around the block without pain. However, I am happy to say the pain has been considerably less intense and I have not had any pain meds today and I have done some running around. But my back is kinda done for the day. *laugh* I'll take it! Oh ya..and I got to be out in the sun, which Boise has not seen in 20 days!
Here's to a new adventure in healing....funny... in the last year, I think I may have spent more time recovering from injuries than I have actual sporting events! I was well enough just long enough to ride 400 miles, go on vacation, and run my first ultra. LOL. I guess this is what happens when you lead such a fun life!
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