New. Hi everyone!

[LAngel511]

My last MRI and diagnosis was last week. So I am newly diagnosed. I guess what I was trying to say was I have had this same pain that finally had me diagnosed about once or twice a year for ten years now. Yes the chiropractor was the one who finally ordered a MRI.

I do have great insurance so that's good. I appreciate any suggestions anyone can give. We are assuming my original injury is from ten year ago when I was 20 and got hit ithe face (gymnastics coach) and broke my nose. About 6 months later is when my neck issues started. I guess I'm just confused why this time they have my entirely gone away (me waking up with very stuff neck)

I do have a cervical pillow. Is there a specific kind I should look into? I Ice and use heat every night and do my neck movements my doc gave me.

Do these bulges and tears heal on their own? I confused on how thy would heal since I have gone ten years with pain that lasts a week or so once a year

[Maria]

I suppose tears can heal and bulges can be reasorbed (sp) though that I can't say if that has happened to me since I've not had a cervical MRI for a while and with my current complaints I don't think anyone would rush to order one for me.

My lumbar area had some fusing of the facets I was told at L5S1 which has given me much more relief yet that has been a long haul process since I had the L5S1 injury since I was 28 and in my mid 50's this area seems to have given some relief. L4 is still problematic for me and I have a tear at L3 so not sure what is attributed to that anymore or what pain I'd be attributing to that anymore. My pain is fairly adequately controlled with a low dose of opioid medication every a.m. and a shot of Toradol every so often for bigger flares.

I do have osteoarthritis thru out my body and degenerative disc disease thru out my spine so I am achy and more fragile it seems though again I'm nearly 60 years old.

My best advice again would be to consult with a specialist in this area (cervical spine) who could far better answer some of your questions especially based on the fact that you recently had an MRI. Now is a good time to see someone since your films are up to date.

Re pillows and such I believe that is a very individual thing as to which one works best. I have gone thru a number of various types. What will really aggravate my neck quickly is to hold a phone between my ear and my shoulder (scrunching it in that position to hold it) while I'm trying to multitask. I am asking for a pretty quick flareup or migraine that way!

Hopefully some others that have had cervical surgery and have cervical injuries and a bit more expertise will answer your most recent part of your post. As always wishing you the best with this endeavor as you are young and hopefully relatively healthy. Maria

[theBadCormorant]

Originally Posted by LAngel511

Do these bulges and tears heal on their own? I confused on how thy would heal since I have gone ten years with pain that lasts a week or so once a year

In 2008 I ruptured the L4-L5 disc, the wording on the MRI results went something like "the disc is contacting and displacing the L4 nerve root" The pain I had was astonishing couldn't even get to my feet for a month, another 5 months before mostly pain free, and another 18 months to be back to normal (2 years in total) . A further three years with what I would describe as a fairly healthy trouble free back, then I managed to rupture another disc LS-L5. On the MRI for this they also commented on the condition of L4-L5 where they described it as contacting but not displacing the nerve as markedly as in 2008.

So after 5 years and what I had considered a complete recovery, the disc is very much in the same condition as it was when I was in total agony; All very disappointing, I had guessed it had returned to normal - I wonder if the nerve just gets used to the contact ?

[Maria]

I kind of wonder if our bodies begin to get used to whatever the situation is that used to be highly irritating and now might be only mildly aggravating or perhaps just slightly noticeable after a period of time and I do mean a pretty good amount of time.

I sincerely doubt if I were to have an updated MRI I'd look "so much improved" and in fact I pretty much think I'd look way more degenerative but perhaps after all these years my body just has learned to accommodate the changes.

Last I was told by my OSS I hadn't entirely autofused at L5S1 however I had autofused it appeared at my facets. Now whatever all that means to me is really nothing unless it translates in terms of pain decreasing which it has so I think my body just wore itself into itself and thus far I've been fortunate.

I never ever take for granted that this might change from one day to the next. Just thankful for what I do feel (or not feel) currently! My films might reflect a whole other story re changes with time. Maria

[Ringo]

I can only recall little discussion on it but when the disk ruptures there is a chemical released that is extremely irritating to the soft tissue in the area and will really inflame the nerve root. The chemical I believe had "somthing Necrotic factor" I can't remember. Over time, the area can settle down but it seems to take a long long time. If a disk ruptures, the nucleus material is very sticky and like to attach itself to the nerve root. It can put pressure on the nerve root and sort of scar it down or impinge it. The nucleus material can sort of dry up over time, that is what I heard. So, over time that may cause a reduction in pain. Any healing of a disk laceration would probably be with scar tissue. Scar tissue does not have the flexablity that normal disk material has and is subseptable to re-injury. I don't know where I learned that. I just talked to a lot of people through the years. Weird thing about the back is that you can have radiological studies of two people that have very similar studies and one will be in pain and the other will be walking around having fun. Go figure. Surgeons are aware of this and frequently seem talk about it. I think the spine is sort of a one way ticket with injury. It may stop bothering you but that does not mean you have the same back as before you injured it. The body compensates and relearns, you adapt to new pain threshold, hard to tell what happens. My friend was a surgeon. He attributed some of the pain relief from surgery simply from destroying all the nerve tissue in the area when decorticating the bone. The whole thing is interesting but I am very tired of being on the surgical end of the stick. I hope you get better. Terry

Originally Posted by theBadCormorant

In 2008 I ruptured the L4-L5 disc, the wording on the MRI results went something like "the disc is contacting and displacing the L4 nerve root" The pain I had was astonishing couldn't even get to my feet for a month, another 5 months before mostly pain free, and another 18 months to be back to normal (2 years in total) . A further three years with what I would describe as a fairly healthy trouble free back, then I managed to rupture another disc LS-L5. On the MRI for this they also commented on the condition of L4-L5 where they described it as contacting but not displacing the nerve as markedly as in 2008.

So after 5 years and what I had considered a complete recovery, the disc is very much in the same condition as it was when I was in total agony; All very disappointing, I had guessed it had returned to normal - I wonder if the nerve just gets used to the contact ?