Looking for relief of Pinched nerve in L4: PT worked me too hard
I’m a 73 yr old woman. After a brain tumor was removed, I was sent to a rehab for 10 days.
The day before I was to leave the rehab, the PT worked me very hard.
Early evening I had bad pain in my left groin and leg. I thought I had a blood clot. The nurse sent in two doctors to access the pain. They said it was a pulled muscle. I have constant nerve pain in my groin and thigh since that day at rehab. At times it feels like a knife is cutting into my thigh. My leg feels very heavy and feels like a very tight rope is wrapped around it. When I sit or lie down it feels like I’m sitting on a pile of rocks. If I sit for more than 10 mins., I get stabbing pain in my groin and thigh and have to stand and march in place.
It’s been 8 months since rehab and it’s gotten worse, especially at night.
My orthopedist prescribed several muscle relaxers and it did nothing.
I’ve tried gabapentin which made the pain worse. Lyrica did nothing. and 2 muscle relaxers did not work. The only thing that gives me some relief is Extra Strength Excedrin.
I’ve had MRIs of my cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine and it showed I have a pinched nerve in my L4.
My leg feels like I’m crippled.
I can barely get out of bed in the middle of the night to use the bathroom.
I’m so tired of living with chronic pain, I think I might try acupuncture.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
Surgery is not an option, because many people that have had surgery on their spine are in more pain.
And I will not have more PT to make it worse.
Would appreciate any suggestions.
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My cousin had severe degeneration of the lower spine. She was able to see a neurosurgeon. After a 2 year waitlist, she was able to get 'facet rhizotomy' and it worked. She said it was the first time in 10 years she was pain free. Perhaps that may be appropriate for you? Something to ask about. Hope this helps.
@bazzinga1234 I'm sorry you're going through this. Sometimes it is hard to know what to do. You do have to decide which opinions matter to you from your specialists. It's true that surgery can make you worse, but surgery can also help a lot, and there often are different procedures to solve a problem and one may be more of a benefit to your condition than another. It's always a benefit vs risk decision. My cousin who is an 80 year old man had lumbar spinal stenosis and he was helped a lot by a laminectomy. That essentially is like raising the roof on your home and building an upstairs space. They don't remove a disc, but the spinal cord has more room to exist in. The stenosis that happens in the foramen where the nerve roots exit the spinal cord can also be operated on without disturbing the spinal cord or any discs. They can open up the space and enlarge it to give room for the nerves to pass through there.
It helps to get several opinions from spine specialists who are either neurosurgeons or orthopedic spine surgeons. They will know what their success rates are for patients in your age group and with other pre-existing conditions. It will come down to your decision of if you want to do spine surgery or not if you have an offer. I had to make this decision, and the surgeon doesn't guarantee to reduce pain. They can't promise that because they don't know if nerve damage has occurred that causes pain. They do promise to try to improve function like opening space around nerves that are compressed. My cousin had no pain after 2 weeks after the laminectomy, and he was up and around with normal activities except for golf because of the twisting involved.
You can always see a spine specialist, and that will not obligate you to have surgery, but you will have information. If you are pressured for surgery, see another specialist. I personally don't trust a surgeon who is pressuring me. A surgeon can express concern if it is an urgent situation and that is different and they can explain the reason why. I did walk away from a surgeon who was high pressure but wouldn't take the time to answer my questions. Get as many different opinions from surgeons as you need to make a decision if you want to consider surgery.
Jennifer, thank you for your advice. I'll research the laminectomy.
On Sunday, July 9, 2023 at 04:48:14 PM EDT, Mayo Clinic Connect wrote:
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Massage gun, dry needling by a physical therapist,Zen Renu hemp cream w Tumeric and arnica located on Amazon Hope this helps. Good luck!