I was at Advanced Spinal Rehabilitation over the summer of 2010 because I had two bulging dics at L4 and L5 of my spine, confirmed by an MRI from North Valley Advanced Imaging in Chico CA.
I was in excruciating pain, and could not walk without stopping every 10 feet and taking a break. My left foot was numb, and the muscles in my back had become uneven. One side was weak from the sciatica, and the other excessively strong as it tried to make up for my weak side. I was on Vicodin and anti-inflammatory drugs. And was a year away from getting my degree. I was terrified I wouldn't be able to finish.
I chose not to do the surgery route because, I quote "We used to take out too much, and then we took out too little, now we think we have it just right" (not at all comforting).
I drove down to Yuba City 3x a week to visit Advanced Spinal Rehabilitation. After a week of physical therapy, combined with decompression therapy, and electroshock therapy, I could walk again. It wasn't magic. It was a lot of hard work on my part, and on the part of my physical therapy team. They helped me walk again, but it was up to me to keep exercising and working at my back to fix it.
I changed my diet (I found out I have Celiac Disease), I got through College, and I started to exercise more, I changed my office chair + I use a standing desk a good portion of the day, I changed my shoes too.
I am still dealing with muscle weakness on my left side, but I have been getting progressively better over the past 4 years. I have not experienced the slight sciatica that haunted me for the past few years in 6 months now (I started taking Belly Dance classes, which helped so much!) and look forward to continuing to improve.
If you are running out of options, as I was, I wouldn't turn away from a possibility. It doesn't work for everyone, but it sure helped me get well enough that I could get my degree and I don't regret it. read more
