This all started about a month ago. I had a horrible pain in my thigh. It’s a throbbing pain that radiates from where my leg and butt meet and again about 5-6 inches above my thigh, on the backside. It is deep within the thigh, nearer to the bone. I wake up in the morning with it throbbing and sore and as the day progresses, it feels better and no pain at all unless I push on those spots. Motrin does nothing, tylenol and aspirin tend to help the best. About 2 weeks ago, I stated getting numbness and tingling all down the back of my leg from the bottom of my butt to my heel. I went in and saw one of the nurses under my doctor. She thought I had a strain in my lower back (which is not hurting at all) and it is putting pressure on my nerve (most likely the sciatic).They took a bunch of xrays on my lumbar region and they didn’t show anything abnormal. I was put on a 7 day steroid and muscle relaxers. On day 4 of my steroid pack, my heel went numb, not the skin, but the tissue underneath (it’s been numb ever since). The muscle relaxers did nothing for me, they barely even made me sleepy. Every time I stand up and even sometimes when laying down if I flex my leg, I get shooting tingling and numbness all the way down my leg from butt to heel. I called the nurse back, now she thinks I have a slipped disc and is ordering an MRI.

Now, my questions is, what is with this pain in my thigh? It’s not getting any better, it was my first symptom and this nurse doesn’t seem to think anything of it. By the time I saw her it was 3 pm and my thigh wasn’t hurting at all. However, every morning I wake up and it’s killing me. Some nights it wakes me up the pain is so bad. I am thinking the problem started with my thigh, so its more likely that this is the cause of my sciatic tingling. I plan on going back in, this time seeing my doctor and not the nurse for a second opinion. Not that I have anything against nursepractitionerss, infact, I prefer them to an OB. I just think there is something wrong with my thigh and want another opinion.

Can a slipped disc cause this much pain in your thigh? I have no back pain whatsoever, so I’m not sure I agree with her. I would compare the pain to a strained muscle, but it’s been over a month, I have been taking it easy (I’m a stay at home mom) and the pain is not getting any better, so I’m thinking its not a strained muscle. Feel free to ask anymore questions, I’ve tried to be as informative as I can. Thanks!

I was diagnosed six weeks ago with a pinched nerve in my neck on the left side. I have tingling down my left arm quite frequently. My doctor gave me muscle relaxers and suggested neck exercises, along with heat and massage. Nothing has helped. It is very irriating, not to mention painful. Could I have been misdiagnosed? If not is there anything else that I could do?

Long story short I have a herniated disc at C 5-6 and am in a lot of pain. I have had several trials of anti-inflammatories, muscle relaxers, OTC pain relievers and now percocet but am still in a lot of pain. I have recently started physical therapy and have seen a regular orthopedist, a neurologist and a spinal specialist. I had one epidural cortisone shot and they tried a second but they couldn’t get the placement of the needle right because the space was too small and as per the doctor I "moved". I had no relief from the first shot which is why they attempted the second one. There is some nerve impingement which is primarily affecting my right arm/hand/shoulder. As my luck would have it I am right handed. The spinal specialist I saw on Friday suggested that surgery may be a very good option if the PT does not work. I of course am scared but at this point I want to do absolutely anything. I mentioned this to my mother who has now "consulted" with other family members who all say I should not do this, that this would be horribly painful and open me up to many other problems. That the rehab would be absolutely worse than how I feel now. I cannot even make a real decision about this until I switch to an insurance company that would cover the spinal speciatlist I saw on Friday. This insurance will not take effect until January 2009. He is one of the leading MD’s for spinal surgery in NYC and I felt like he gave me some hope that there is an option. I also feel confident in his abilities and that he was not sellilng me some line to open me up. At this point I am having a terrible time coping with the pain and I am feeling very hopeless and depressed. I have been in constant pain for nearly 3 months and I feel like I am losing my mind. Every aspect of my life has been affected and it is only getting worse. How can I deal with this? Do I have other options besides PT and possibly surgery? How long should I try PT before making a decision like this? Would surgery make me worse? At this point I don’t know what to do and I feel like I am at the end of my proverbial rope.

Last Thursday my dog was paralyzed from the waist down. took him to the vet and they said that he would need back surgery for K and I said that wasn’t going to happen so there is another treatment we opted for an that was to feed him steriods and muscle relaxers…..so far, he is walking but I was hoping someone might have an answer as to why he was immobilized. One day he is fine and overnight he’s not.

I was wondering if anyone has found anything that works well for them to help with moderate to severe back pain? In my case, one of my upper vertibrae is pinching a disk and over the counter pain meds aren’t enough to assist in alleviating the pain. What have you found that works for you in similar circumstances…muscle relaxers or something like Vicodin?? Please let me know what has worked for you! Thanks and have a great day.

I was in a car accident 2 months ago. I did not brace myself for the accident; I didn’t see it coming. I am in a tremendous amount of pain in both my arms, neck, shoulders, and hands. The pain is stabbing, sometimes pins/needles, and it hurts to hold/grip on object even as light as a glass of water or a magazine. On occasion I get lower back pain. I have never had any injuries prior to this accident and I am only 22 years old. I have been seeing a Chiropractor, massage therapist, doing physical therapy and seeing my MD. I had an MRI done which shows a bulging disc in C-5/C-6 area. Nothing seems to be making the pain go away; not even muscle relaxers. My MD says its just muscle strain, but my Chiropractor says its from the bulging disc. Personally, I don’t see how it could be muscle strain because I did not brace myself for the accident. Both doctor’s have seen the MRI report. I am going to see an Orthopedic Surgeon,but not for a couple of months. Is there any way to tell whether it is disc pain or muscle injury?

Husband has a severe pinched nerve – can’t even move. Chiro says its the worst she’s seen in many years. He works at a place like UPS/Fedex and she says it was probably caused from repetitive movement and carrying and loading large boxes, etc to deliver. It’s costing us a fortune in xrays and chiro visits. Is it even worth the bother to try and get money from workmans comp?
ETA: if it isnt better within the week he will be going for an MRI – i’d rather fix the problem then go to a medical doctor and have them put him on vicadin and muscle relaxers to mask the problem and temporarily "fix" it – i believe both medical doctors and chiropractors can be quacks – you just have to do your research to find a good one of either. I also think there’s a time to see a chiropractor and a time to see an MD and other times both. The xrays that were taken clearly show his vertebrae together where it should have an opening for the nerve. An MD isnt going to fix this without surgery – a chiropractor will.
Should also add that I had chronic ear infections when I was little – dr repeatedly prescribed medications and nothing worked. My mom decided to try a chiropractor and I havent had an ear infection since. Same thing with a friend of the family with her little boy with his tonsils – constantly had strep throat and tonsilitis and was told he needed them out – went to our chiro and he’s fine – no meds needed – no streap or tonsilitis since. Trust me – we’ve done the research and seen it first hand.
This wasnt something that happened all the sudden – it just progressed over the weekend (when he wasnt at work) He was in so much pain Monday morning he couldnt get to work and went straight to the chiro – he called his work today to ask for a claim form, but it wasnt like it happened at work and he could ask that day.

Has anyone had success with hydrotherapy for disc problems? I have run the gamet of physical therapy, pain medication, antiInflammatories, muscle relaxers, and a facet injection. I was looking for feedback on hydrotherapy and how/if it helped.

I have sciatica problems. All my doctor is doing for it right now is muscle relaxers and we’re going to start some physical therapy soon.
I have new pain in the top part of my thighs. I’m used to my butt and legs hurting, but not this part of my thighs. Can that be a result from the sciatica?
It’s worse in one leg than the other.

I’m 31 and have suffered from lower back pain for 5 years. I always thought it was a muscle, but 6 weeks ago muscle relaxers and pain killers did not help. I had an MRI done and showed a herniated disc in L4-L5. My pain is mainly in my lower back some numbness down my left leg. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.