Epidural injection for prolapsed disc in humans

Birker2020

Birker2020

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Anyone any experience with this method of pain relief please? Exactly how effective is it and how long did the effectiveness last for?

Have a large prolapsed disc at L5/S1 and after trying pain killers and anti inflammatories for 2 years I have had enough. I am having the epidural and my doctor has referred me.

Has anyone had this and how long is it before you can drive, work, ride muck out and jump.

Many thanks x
 
My Mum has rheumatoid arthritis and has an epidural injection every three months. She would not be able to walk without it. For her it is very effective and she feels the benefit within a couple of days. For her it lasts just about the three months but that is probably not the case for everyone - by that I mean it could possibly last longer - Mum's condition is very severe - I don't know. She has been having these injections for at least two years and they are not painful to administer. I would definitely say go for it and good luck that it is as effective for you as it is for Mum.
 
applecart14 said:
Anyone any experience with this method of pain relief please? Exactly how effective is it and how long did the effectiveness last for?

Have a large prolapsed disc at L5/S1 and after trying pain killers and anti inflammatories for 2 years I have had enough. I am having the epidural and my doctor has referred me.

Has anyone had this and how long is it before you can drive, work, ride muck out and jump.
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I'd suffered a large prolapsed disc at L4 for near enough on 20 years - to the point where I NEARLY gave up riding! I had some chiro - which helped my hips - and he suggested I go to an Orthopod for 'serious' treatment of the prolapsed disc after I'd had a VERY hefty fall which crocked my back even further (I landed from a great height on top of a 4' p&r fence!)

I was absolutely pain free for about 3-4 weeks - and had intensive physio during this period - also learnt some simple exercises to continue with. The epidural doesn't 'cure' the prolapse - it reduces it enough that physio and exercises can get it back in place.

Eight years on I have nothing bar the odd tweak (which reminds me I have been neglecting the exercises!)

I was riding/mucking out etc the next day - probably NOT recommended but who else was going to do it for me??
 
I have had this - i assume you having a steroid injected in - you sort of grip your knees lying down and they inject into spine - cant feel it as they give you local but you feel a big sort of push into back.
Had to lie down for 2 hrs after. then had to do not alot of anything for 2 weeks. it didnt work though - I had a herniated disc L4/L5 - had surgery to remove disc as the injection didnt work and although i had to have 3 months off - touch wood i havent had any issues since.
 
Yes I had this a couple of years ago. It was a course of three injections once every six weeks (i think).

Mine was done privately and performed under a general aneasthetic (sic) as a day case each time. However, someone I know told me when they had there's done on the NHS, there was no GA, apparently.

In my case, the procedure was performed in the operating theatre where I laid on my front and an x-ray machine was placed over my spine so they could find the area around the disc that needs treating.

The first injection, I had on a thursday I went back to work the day after, started at 8, but had to leave by 1 - I was really sore, including lots of pain from where the needle went in (like bruising). It was manageable but very very sore (but I have a pretty high pain threshold and just tend to "get on with it". Also, I commute for an hour by train and then sit all day so that wouldn't have helped. I went home and then had the weekend to rest.

Two years on, I still suffer from a prolapse disc and its slips severely about once every six months - almost like clockwork (obviously the injections wouldn't cure this anyway anyway). I still ache like hell every morning, and am constantly sore in my lumbar and lower and SI areas - BUT I do recall for about 6 months after the procedure I woke up pain free.

Basically, its a short term fix for pain relief - and personally I always think that if something is going to help, short or medium term then go for it (which is why I did).
Just be aware (as I am sure you are) that it won't cure your prolapse (nothing will unless it gets severe enough that your surgeon thinks youre a candidate for surgery - which, I understand is quite rare, but then I am only 31 and so my surgeon is trying to avoid this); but it is a form of pain management for the permanent pain including muscular, that you no doubt suffer from.

Oh, and as a foot note - I would avoid jumping for a while to avoid any jarring. For me, I drove the next day, work: as I said before, mucking out - wasn't doing that then, but was doing housework, renovation work, gym probably a couple of days later. But, I do tend to push myself too far - which is why I think I am in this state anyway! The longer you can rest for (but exercising) the better really.

Good luck. Hope this helps.
 
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The epidural they gave me only lasted a month, and I had a headache so bad, I had to stay in hospital for a week afterwards. The epidural only numbs the pain, you may well need an op to reduce the size of the disc, and thereby permanently relive the pressure on the sciatic nerve.

In the end, I had an op called a micro-discetomy (sp ?) on my L4 and S1. As soon as I came round, I wanted to dance round the room the relief was so great, nurses were not impressed. Now when I have problems (which I still do, but no-where near as bad) I have cortisone jabs into my bad bits, and they last for six months or more.

And a big part of my therapy is riding Shy - the side to side movement at walk really does work.
 
shysmum said:
And a big part of my therapy is riding Shy - the side to side movement at walk really does work.
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I tend to agree with this. My physio (now ex physio) moaned like a b*tch to me about riding and how it was affecting my back - she failed to understand that I have had severe back pain for a lot longer than from when I began to start riding again! And that actually, it feels better now that I have been riding constantly in the last year, than it did during the ten years prior that I stopped riding. I wonder if it's either the actual riding or the endorphines? Who knows.
 
convinced it's the riding :)

When my back's sore, I am much better after having just walked on Shy than if I'd just sat down. Trot and canter put far too much strain on it so are a no-no. Just until things are right again. I rode an RDA horse the other day, and we trotted on the roads - extremely bad idea.

My physio told me she can tell I'm a rider, because of the very powerful pelvic muscles we have - I didn't know quite where to look when she said that :o:p but I took it as a compliment for my riding ;)
 
thank you all for your comments and stories. I was offered the operation to remove the bits of disc as I have a sequestered disc so bits are floating around touching the nerve ends I presume. The operation was 60/40 sucess rate and in the 40% failure was included no difference or worsened back pain as a result. Also within this 40% failure rate it was noted that 1 in 500 YES 500 people end up paralysed. And so I declined the operation and the injections as it was sometime after the initial prolapse when I saw the consultant and my quality of life was better. However I've been jumping quite a bit over the last six-8 months and my back is a whole lot worse hence the need for the injections. If they don't work then i will have no choice but to go for the operation. I don't consider my quality of life is worth risking 1 in 500 at the moment regarding the operation but will have to 'take that chance' if the injections aren't for me. Its so difficult. I continue to jump with anti imflammatories and pain killers but do suffer as a result. But as that's the main reason for me having my horse and its such a big part of my life (and his canter hurts my back too) then I really don't see i have a choice.

Thanks once again :)
 
Hi there

I had three epidural injections last year for a prolapsed disc (l5/s1, I think). Procedure not particularly pleasant, but not that bad either - pretty much as you'd expect. I was a bit sore for the rest of that day, but basically carried on as normal.

I had a very severe prolapse which was pressing on the nerve running down my right leg - struggled to walk properly, some days couldn't ride and couldn't sleep on my right hand side (very annoying!).

Each jab worked really well for a couple of weeks, then started to fade - by the third jab, I had about 5 weeks where I was significantly improved but deterioated again rapidly. Effectively the steriod just eases the area, it doesn't actually resolve the prolapse.

Apparently a less severe prolapse will often resolve itself (hence the reason they jab you - gives your body a bit of a break from the pain so it can heal itself). I suspect that if the prolapse is severe (as mine was) you've probably got no option but to go for surgery.

I had the op last November (30th) and was completely terrified. However, the op was really easy, the recovery absolutely incredible and I think I've taken less than half a pack of painkillers (ibuprofen only!) since the day they operated. I was itching to be back in the saddle at about week 3, and was driving by then too (you can drive once you can sit without pain for 20 minutes). My consultant signed me off as ok to ride again at the start of January, provided I took it steady (at week 5) which was significantly better than the 12 weeks they'd warned me about! I completed for the first time at week 8 (dressage only) and haven't looked back.

I appreciate that I was completely lucky with my recovery and worked really hard to be back up and running as soon as possible, but I think the relief of no longer being in constant pain, combined with being very determined and fairly fit and active makes a massive difference. I'm back eventing again, and other than the odd twinge, I really wouldn't know I'd ever had anything wrong :-)

The chap I sit opposite at work at it done just over a year ago and he's back playing squash, competitive cycling etc too - there are risks involved which shouldn't be down played, but the results are incredible if it works - you get your life back.

Good luck and keep us posted
 
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