1. < Spine Health

Is my Spinal Stenosis causing my leg pain?

Posted by denman55 @denman55, May 25, 2023

I am experiencing very bad leg pain in both legs from the hip all the way down the entire leg, making walking very difficult and painful. I don't know if this is being caused by my Lumbar Spinal Stenosis or whether I have a vascular issue going on in my legs. At this point I really don't know what type of physician to see about this.

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shar1120 | @shar1120 | May 29, 2023
In reply to @sdanderson007 "My husband had the MILD procedure 3 weeks ago, and his pain is much worse. He..." + (show)
@sdanderson007

My husband had the MILD procedure 3 weeks ago, and his pain is much worse. He now has pain in the groin that makes it difficult to walk and to sleep. He sometimes is using a cane. Prior to the MILD he had little to no pain in groin area. The doctor said the procedure went very well. He never told us there would be a long recovery or that the pain might get worse before it got better after the procedure. Now he has scheduled an MRI for the hip. The new pain began within 48 hours after surgery. Any ideas on how to handle this? Would be interested in hearing from others who had the MILD procedure.

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What does MILD stand for?

REPLY
2 replies
denman55 | @denman55 | May 30, 2023
In reply to @shar1120 "What does MILD stand for?" + (show)
@shar1120

What does MILD stand for?

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MILD = Minimally Invasive Lumbar Decompression.

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sdanderson007 | @sdanderson007 | May 30, 2023
In reply to @shar1120 "What does MILD stand for?" + (show)
@shar1120

What does MILD stand for?

Jump to this post

MILD is Minimally Invasive Lumbar Decompression -- an out-patient surgery.
Read about it on the internet but try to locate sites that are not actually
ads for the procedure. It sounds like an easy alternative to more serious
surgery. However, if it doesn't go well, you can end up with worse pain
and less mobility. It's been over 3 weeks, and my husband has trouble
walking, can't drive (the dr. and dall the literature sounds like you can
drive within a couple of days; normal activity in a couple of days, etc.)
Getting an MRI to see if that can help them discover what actually happened
to cause the groin pain which appeared almost immediately after surgery.

REPLY
1 reply
shar1120 | @shar1120 | May 30, 2023
In reply to @sdanderson007 "MILD is Minimally Invasive Lumbar Decompression -- an out-patient surgery. Read about it on the internet..." + (show)
@sdanderson007

MILD is Minimally Invasive Lumbar Decompression -- an out-patient surgery.
Read about it on the internet but try to locate sites that are not actually
ads for the procedure. It sounds like an easy alternative to more serious
surgery. However, if it doesn't go well, you can end up with worse pain
and less mobility. It's been over 3 weeks, and my husband has trouble
walking, can't drive (the dr. and dall the literature sounds like you can
drive within a couple of days; normal activity in a couple of days, etc.)
Getting an MRI to see if that can help them discover what actually happened
to cause the groin pain which appeared almost immediately after surgery.

Jump to this post

Thank you very much. I know the advertised procedure and will stay away from it. I have groin pain now on both sides as it is….

REPLY
martyk | @martyk | Jun 5, 2023
In reply to @jenniferhunter "@chefdecemberskye I find your comment about bone pain and allergies interesting. I am a spine patient,..." + (show)
@jenniferhunter

@chefdecemberskye I find your comment about bone pain and allergies interesting. I am a spine patient, but my fusion was done without hardware with only a bone spacer. I have had bone pain from titanium plates on my ankle after an ankle fracture and had chronic hives that developed 6 months after that surgery that made huge patches anywhere on my body. I've had a lot of allergies and food allergies and those changed after I had the titanium plates removed and my body was then metal free. I can now eat foods that previously bothered me. I have been gluten free for over 20 years. I should also add that I had dental work with metals removed and replaced with safer composites, and my old crowns were redone with Ceramic only ones and it all helped. I have less asthma problems with breathing because I have less phlegm in my lungs.

There is a practice in Texas that treats patients for metal and implant material sensitivity in Texas, and I think treating all the allergies a patient has is part of the regiment. This is the link:
https://www.ehcd.com/

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Jennifer, when you say that you had fusion without hardware. Are you referring to the Minuteman procedure? A couple of pain management doctors mentioned that procedure to me.

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1 reply
Mentor
Jennifer, Volunteer Mentor | @jenniferhunter | Jun 5, 2023
In reply to @martyk "Jennifer, when you say that you had fusion without hardware. Are you referring to the Minuteman..." + (show)
@martyk

Jennifer, when you say that you had fusion without hardware. Are you referring to the Minuteman procedure? A couple of pain management doctors mentioned that procedure to me.

Jump to this post

@martyk Thanks for asking. I am not familiar with a Minuteman procedure. I had just a donor bone disk spacer placed just like they do for all cervical anterior fusions except there were no plates attached to the front of the spine. Plates give the surgeon some peace of mind, but are not always necessary. This meant I had to be on my best behavior and stay in a neck brace 24/7 until fused which took 3 months. It was totally worth it. This is how they did fusions before they had plates. It is pretty tight and secure because the surgeon grinds the bone surfaces to match, so they are rough and hold together. They have to spread apart the space to put in the bone disc spacer, so that clamps back together because of the spinal muscles when the retractors are removed. My surgeon's notes said he tugged on it in the operating room and it was secure, so he was pleased. Most patients don't know this is an option and most surgeons don't mention it. I did find case of it in medical literature and I asked, and my surgeon agreed to do it.

REPLY
1 reply
martyk | @martyk | Jun 5, 2023
In reply to @jenniferhunter "@martyk Thanks for asking. I am not familiar with a Minuteman procedure. I had just a..." + (show)
@jenniferhunter

@martyk Thanks for asking. I am not familiar with a Minuteman procedure. I had just a donor bone disk spacer placed just like they do for all cervical anterior fusions except there were no plates attached to the front of the spine. Plates give the surgeon some peace of mind, but are not always necessary. This meant I had to be on my best behavior and stay in a neck brace 24/7 until fused which took 3 months. It was totally worth it. This is how they did fusions before they had plates. It is pretty tight and secure because the surgeon grinds the bone surfaces to match, so they are rough and hold together. They have to spread apart the space to put in the bone disc spacer, so that clamps back together because of the spinal muscles when the retractors are removed. My surgeon's notes said he tugged on it in the operating room and it was secure, so he was pleased. Most patients don't know this is an option and most surgeons don't mention it. I did find case of it in medical literature and I asked, and my surgeon agreed to do it.

Jump to this post

Thank you. I'm glad your surgery was successful. My problem is in the toes of my right foot and the lumbar region of the lower back.

REPLY
1 reply
Mentor
Jennifer, Volunteer Mentor | @jenniferhunter | Jun 6, 2023
In reply to @martyk "Thank you. I'm glad your surgery was successful. My problem is in the toes of my..." + (show)
@martyk

Thank you. I'm glad your surgery was successful. My problem is in the toes of my right foot and the lumbar region of the lower back.

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@martyk Do you have any stenosis in your neck or spinal cord compression in the cervical area? That can be the source of sciatic type pain, I did have some sciatic pain that was generated from my cervical spine. I did have a bulging lumbar disc, but it was not pressing on anything. My first symptom of cervical cord compression was a pain in my ankle when I turned my head and then it stopped when I looked forward again. That was because of a bone spur pressing on the cord and that progressed further over a couple years to more symptoms leading to my surgery. This was confusing to several surgeons who didn't understand the connection.

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bazzinga1234 | @bazzinga1234 | Jun 27, 2023
In reply to @sdanderson007 "My husband had the MILD procedure 3 weeks ago, and his pain is much worse. He..." + (show)
@sdanderson007

My husband had the MILD procedure 3 weeks ago, and his pain is much worse. He now has pain in the groin that makes it difficult to walk and to sleep. He sometimes is using a cane. Prior to the MILD he had little to no pain in groin area. The doctor said the procedure went very well. He never told us there would be a long recovery or that the pain might get worse before it got better after the procedure. Now he has scheduled an MRI for the hip. The new pain began within 48 hours after surgery. Any ideas on how to handle this? Would be interested in hearing from others who had the MILD procedure.

Jump to this post

What is MILD procedure?

REPLY
Mentor
Phil, Volunteer Mentor | @upstatephil | Jun 28, 2023

See my earlier posts which make a universal point: Everyone's back issues are a bit different and a single answer probably is insufficient. Yet - I would share that it was the presence of worsening both-leg pain that lead me to a neuro-surgeon in the first place. Detailed MRI's and X-rays clearly showed serious degeneration all along the spine with some sort of surgery being the only possible next step required to keep me out of a wheel chair (I was 70 at the time). But it could be different for you? NOTE: Someone in this thread mentioned groin pain as well? In my first meeting with the neurosurgeon he made it clear that leg pain that became groin pain was a serious signal that should NOT be ignored. "Doing nothing" might be the worst option...

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