I have had both knees replaced, right hip replaced, left foot reconstructed, left reverse shoulder replaced, back surgery where a cage was put in, among other surgeries. I had a MRI done last week and found my back has four disk blown and my neck has two disks blown. The surgeon said they could fuse my back but there is only a 10% chance it will help. The disk in my neck is causing headaches. They are going to do injections in it soon. My right foot is deformed and have been told I need reconstruction surgery on it also. I know the feet can affect the back and the back affects the legs. At this point I am not sure which way to turn. Although I have a high pain tolerance I know I am facing some serious pain. I do not want to live the rest of my life in a drug induced stupor from pain meds. In fact I will NOT exsist like that. Please give me some input.
Hello, Sorry to hear about the list of injuries you faced. Coming to the point, you mentioned that MRI is suggestive of Lumbar and cervical disc degenerative changes. Let's discuss this first and then the rest. What my experience taught me over a period of 12 years with cases related to injuries like you and others I will give my suggestion. First foremost, buy a soft neck collar and start using it. This will stabilize the bones of the cervical region and also will act as s support to the muscular system to allow less compression over the nerve. The disc injuries are most times self-healing, once the inflammation subsides you should not feel much pain. When using neck collar I will advise you to use on/off hot water fermentation so that the muscled which have undergone spasm will relax, and the pain will come down slowly. Along with this. You have lumbar disc degenerative changes, so why don't you first take hot water fermentation so that the muscles of the lumbar region gets relaxed and make you at least stable. Post this use 3-4 pillows and try McKenzie maneuver in passive way. The details of McKenzie you can find over the net. This will help centralize the pain and once the pain is centralized you can use hot water bag to again soothe the nerve roots. Once nerve root is relaxed the pain travelling in its course will reduce automatically. Post which after 5-7 days of doing this you can focus on exercises, but please continue the above advice as well. Exercise should focus on core stability, lower limb strengthening, upper limb strengthening and neck muscle strengthening. Slowly you will develop strength also and the inflammation on the nerve root will be reduced leading to the end result of improved lifestyle. If your pain symptoms are too high then a nerve block may be administered to the nerve root which may block the pain sensation for a couple of months. But if the muscles remain week still, it will again come back so doing the above-mentioned exercise will be of help to avoid recurrence of pain symptoms. Coming to the surgical management, there is possibility of removal of the torn disc element and also fusing the spine, but this may not make you get rid of the pain over all for long. The pain will be present throughout the life and need exercise for the same. This option I do not recommend unless and until the motor functions are compromised. Also, very important is the diet, what you eat is to be focused. Having food which can digest faster without leading to any gastritis should be kept in mind. As with gastritis there may be leading to two symptoms, one compression over the nerve in the lower spine and headache. Having a good diet plan will be good. Please do not ignore the hip and knee muscles as you have the replacement done in the past and the muscles are weak this may aggravate the spine curvature to deviate and lead to other symptoms. Coming to your ankle, I cannot comment much as the history is too brief to guide over anything. I am sorry for it. Please contact a local physical therapist who can show interest in you and give the maximum output. I have tried my best to put forth the best possible treatment plan which should help you. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further. Jay In Chat Doctor. 