Multiple diffused discs in spine. 3 in neck, 2 mid back and 4 lumbar

I haven’t decided what I’m going to do yet. I have a physical job and I’m currently on light duty. I’m only 30 years old and I’m getting married later this year. I was trying to avoid surgery, if at all possible. My chiropractor started doing decompression work with me this week, by putting me on a decompression table. I have an appointment with my doctor next week, so I’ll see what he recommends.

I had neck fusion from C3-7 last May, plus L4-5 laminectomy. The surgeon found 2 synovial cysts on my lumbar vertebrae. Starting last September, I started having pain...
Last September, besides having rheumatoid arthritis, I was diagnosed with possible fibro, but the doctor decided it was myofascial pain syndrome. So with my ailments, I don't know what is going on! My pain in my neck has been figured out but I don't know what they can or will do about that.... My big issue is my back. Ugh! In January, I went back to have an epidural in the L4-5 (left side) plus aspiration of another cyst. Apparently, synovial cysts can grow back. The pain in the direct lumbar on the left side isn't so bad but the right side has really gotten fired up. Plus, I have weird pain in my left leg - from my hip to my knee, calf, and toes. It can be so bad my husband has to help me out of bed. I have an aching pain all day behind my knee which is worse in the morning and beginning again late evening. I don't know where to turn. I am being turned over to the pain clinic. Couldn't get an appointment until the end of March. Another wait and see.
I can understand your frustration about just wanting an explanation for the pain.

Sorry, just one more question for you. Was it always pain that you felt in your legs, or did it sometimes feel like aching instead. Kind of a weird feeling. And was it symmetrical? I find that most of time where I feel it in one leg, I feel it in the same spot in my other leg.

Hmmm. Let me think on your questions. Yes - the leg pain was more general ache than sharp pain much of the time. Weird is a good description. I recall struggling to find a body position that was comfortable. Fortunately, this pain was not 24 x 7.

Symmetrical? Sort of. But sometimes it was just one leg. But I have an imperfect memory of that aspect of the pain. Sorry I am not of more help on that question.

Alex - a diagnosis of ALS is serious business. Before you fixate on that possibility - you might benefit from the opinion of a specialist rather than a generalist (family doctor) or a chiropractor. Do you have a connection to a neurologist? That specialty is most involved with ALS and related neurological issues.

It sounds like you had something very similar to what I’m going through. I find if I arch my back I get a lot of pain in my lower back, but the leg pain tends to go away for the most part. No one has said ALS to me, that was just my own fears from googling my own symptoms. I’m hoping my family doctor refers me to a neurologist.

Great attitude on your part. Keep digging and asking until you're satisfied. I always go to the doctors with a pretty long list of written questions in hand. Otherwise I might miss something...

I think arching your back pinches the vertebrae together even tighter which likely exacerbates your pain. Remember Henry Youngman? "Doc, it hurts when I do this."....Doc, "Don't do that."

You might consider asking your family doc to refer you to a neurologist. I always consider the family doc as the quarterback who usually hands off the ball or throws a pass. Only rarely does the QB keep the ball himself. Ask for the referral.

I can't address your complete results but I do see that you have bilateral neural foraminal stenosis at L4-L5 and L5-S1 as well as bilateral facet arthropathy and Ligamentum flavum thickening at both levels.

Bilateral neural foraminal stenosis refers to the narrowing of the small opening between the vertebra in your lower spine which nerve roots pass through. If your nerve gets compressed in the gap, this will be painful. Depending on how severe your symptoms are, you could have physical therapy, pain meds and/or corticosteroid injections to begin your treatment.

At this point, I would also suggest swim therapy. I have done a lot of walking and other exercises in our local pool to help alleviate back pain and strengthen my lumbar spine. This has been very helpful for me. Look for a pool that maintains a temperature of 83-90 degrees which will help soothe the pain in your joints and muscles. I found a local hotel that rented time in their pool for exercising.

Bilateral Facet arthropathy is also present. This is called facet joint osteoarthritis. Most of us will develop this with age, but it is not always painful. Over time this can lead to bone spurs which can narrow the spaces in your spine, causing spinal stenosis and nerve pain.

Ligamentum flavum is a ligament between the lamina of adjacent vertebrae. When this ligament thickens, it can also cause spinal canal stenosis involving both the spinal cord and spinal nerves. If this is severe enough, you will have pain, numbness, weakness, tingling, etc.

I can't diagnose your pain issues, but you do need to talk to a doctor about your results. My guess is the issues in your lower spine are severe enough, they are causing some compression of your nerves at least. It may not be constant compression, but you will need some treatment to help with the pain. At this point, I would focus on the reported issues in your cervical and lumbar spine.

I started treatment with my family doctor. When I wasn't getting any pain relief, I saw a physiatrist at Mayo Clinic and also had a consult with a neurosurgeon. For my foraminal stenosis, we started with a laminotomy at L4, and laminectomy at L5 after many weeks (2 years) of physical therapy, pain medications and steroid injections in the joints in my lumbar spine. I had a second decompression surgery about 5 years later and then 10 years after that in 2020 I had a 2 level fusion involving L4-L5-S1. I agree with upstatephil that spine conditions do not magically repair themselves. This is a lifelong journey.

Also, my sister-in-law died of ALS. Her nerve pain was not limited to her legs. She was having issues with her arms, shoulders, face and tongue also. Pain is common in ALS and she did have pain and twitching without any specific pattern. A neurologist would be able to tell you whether or not you have ALS if you still suspect this after addressing your spine.

@alex199407 I think it is a somewhat normal fear to think about ALS when you don't know what is wrong. I had those thoughts too at the beginning when I had symptoms worse on one side. The key here is what you said about body position changing the symptoms and pain that you feel. That pretty much does link it to the spine because the spinal cord has to be able to move a bit inside the spinal canal as you bend and twist. That will pull on any area that might be compressed. A person with ALS can't change the symptoms by changing their body position, and a diagnosis of a structural spine problem is very common. My first symptom of cervical spinal cord compression was if I turned my head, I got a pain in my ankle. I could turn that on and off by turning my head of looking forward again.

Here's the other secret you should know. Your brain is wired to respond to fear of the unknown as a survival mechanism. So you can thank your brain for alerting you, so you took the responsibility and went to your doctor. Check that off your list until you get further more specific information. Now is the time you can ask yourself why you have this fear, and how did it get triggered? If you can explore that and really understand how you are coming to a conclusion without having the information you need to make that judgement, then you will start deprogramming that fear. This is life changing when you can do this and truly amazing when you can understand yourself and redefine how you will respond to something. That was my great lesson in my journey through spine surgery. It helps to write all this stuff down, and then you can stop thinking about it and get it off of your plate. When fear is allowed to run wild, it affects your health and your heart.

Here is a discussion dedicated to confronting fear.

Jennifer

Alex it seems you may have ignored your prior symptoms over the years which is not uncommon for the American male. You’re pain in your upper back and arms are from your spinal nerves in neck. The attached should help you associate your pain to nerve. As other readers have said surgery is your final step and exhaust all avenues to avoid this though. Exercise, movement, yoga, etc. are all positive applications to help you get better. Remember your injuries did not occur overnight so don’t expect your pain to disappear overnight either.
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