Major happenings
OK, so here goes:
This past saturday, I went to an orthopedist to have my back and hips looked at. For anyone that may have missed it, not heard, or otherwise not know, I've had pain in my back, hips, and legs for going on 18 months now. In the last 6 months, the pain has gotten to the point where I cannot do any one activity for any length of time (usually about one hour or so). It also affects my walking, standing, and even sitting...I have shooting pain in my legs almost constantly now, and in my back and hips almost as much.
The orthopedist diagnosed me as essentially having a misalinged vertebra at L5-S1 (lower back - extreme lower part of the spine...take a look here) roughly 50% backward. That misalignment is more than likely pinching the nerves running to my legs, hips, and knees, which is causing the pain. The doctor gave non-narcotic painkillers to "take the edge off" the pain, but they're not really helping so much.
My 2 options given to me by the doctor were physical therapy 3 times a week (for 10 weeks because after that insurance won't cover it) or consulting a spinal surgeon in his practice (last resort option). I got advice from my English 101 professor that a chiropractor might be able to fix the problem - although his experience was with his rotator cuff (shoulder joint) and he obviously doesn't know if a chropractor would be able to affect the same magic on me.
Unfortunately, to do physical therapy, I need to withdraw from school for the rest of this semester. I don't see myself as having much of a choice...I have to get rid of this pain one way or another. School will wait - it waited this long for me, another semester won't make much of a difference in the long run. Worst case scenario, I need surgery anyway and I miss a whole lot more time, but not significantly more time than if the doctor recommended surgery outright.
I have an MRI scheduled for saturday afternoon. The doctor wants to see if there is any major systemic damage to my lower back. After that, we'll determine what actually has to be done.
This past saturday, I went to an orthopedist to have my back and hips looked at. For anyone that may have missed it, not heard, or otherwise not know, I've had pain in my back, hips, and legs for going on 18 months now. In the last 6 months, the pain has gotten to the point where I cannot do any one activity for any length of time (usually about one hour or so). It also affects my walking, standing, and even sitting...I have shooting pain in my legs almost constantly now, and in my back and hips almost as much.
The orthopedist diagnosed me as essentially having a misalinged vertebra at L5-S1 (lower back - extreme lower part of the spine...take a look here) roughly 50% backward. That misalignment is more than likely pinching the nerves running to my legs, hips, and knees, which is causing the pain. The doctor gave non-narcotic painkillers to "take the edge off" the pain, but they're not really helping so much.
My 2 options given to me by the doctor were physical therapy 3 times a week (for 10 weeks because after that insurance won't cover it) or consulting a spinal surgeon in his practice (last resort option). I got advice from my English 101 professor that a chiropractor might be able to fix the problem - although his experience was with his rotator cuff (shoulder joint) and he obviously doesn't know if a chropractor would be able to affect the same magic on me.
Unfortunately, to do physical therapy, I need to withdraw from school for the rest of this semester. I don't see myself as having much of a choice...I have to get rid of this pain one way or another. School will wait - it waited this long for me, another semester won't make much of a difference in the long run. Worst case scenario, I need surgery anyway and I miss a whole lot more time, but not significantly more time than if the doctor recommended surgery outright.
I have an MRI scheduled for saturday afternoon. The doctor wants to see if there is any major systemic damage to my lower back. After that, we'll determine what actually has to be done.