Ruptured and Bulging Disks
 

This is for my husband. He was in an accident 2 yrs ago and now has multiple ruptured and bulging disks. He has been on the Dura-patch and Tallwin ever since for pain.
We need to find a doctor for him and are looking in the areas of Denver, CO; Salt Lake City, UT; and Dallas, TX. We would prefer a doctor that recommends surgery as a last resort and promotes physical therapy. Can anyone out there recommend an excellent doctor that specializes with ruptured discs?
Thank you for your help!

Sorry, I can't offer much. I don't know doctors in those cities.

With many levels there's not a lot of options unless you've got gross instability that requires surgery. I've never known anyone who made substantial improvements by therapy but it's necessary to get some combination of motion and exercise into the joints to keep from losing capability through atrophy. They say over the long term, usually meaning 10 years or more, the pain reduces.

I hope others here can lend more help.

Response from Rutman
 

Lucyy,

Well on the East Coast I would highly recommend a Dr. Jeffrey Beane. I had a ruptured disc at the L4/L5 and also a bulging disc at the L5-S1. If it had just been the bulging disc he would not have recommend surgery. But I had a lumbar microdecompression surgery for the L4/L5 that lasted 2 1/2 hrs of surgery and when in there I had some bone spurs that had calcimized that were also impinging the nerve root that leads to the sciatic nerve. Before surgery I had excrutiating pain shooting down my right leg, hitting the back of calf and then hitting all the way to top of right foot. It's GONE now. Amazing--just slight slight tingling on foot, but that's normal as it can take up to a 1-2 years for the nerve to heal. I feel like a new man and just highly recommend this doctor and he's an Orthopedic, BUT a SPINE SPECIALIST!!! Big difference! He's with Greensboro Orthopedics 1-336-545-5000. I had surgery on 1-4-07 stayed out 2 weeks, worked 1/2 days for the following week and then went back full time last week. People are amazed I got back to work quickly. If you're willing to come to East Coast he's a good one and is up to date on surgeries as this is one of the latest surgeries. Go to www.spine-health.com andlook to lower right for animations of the lumbar microdecompression surgery and it could be something you're husband needs--who knows. Take care! Rutman

Then Neurologist or Orthopedic?
 

So which type of doc is better to go to if have ruptured and bulging discs? Or is either good as long as that doc is a spine specialist?
Thank you for all of your help!

You have it right... you want a spine specialists. An orthopedic surgeon who spends his time on knees, hands and ankles is not what you want. You also don't want a neurosurgeon that spends 80% of his time on brain surgery.... You want someone who's all spine, all the time. (In addition to that, you want someone good... they are not all created equal. I don't know a good way to tell the good ones from the bad ones. They all have many happy patients as well as many unhappy ones. Meeting a few of either does not tell the story.)

Mark