Barefoot Treadmill..Doctor's Orders!

#21
You're more than half way there, TJ! :barefoot:

Longboard - can you explain the surgical process a little? What exactly are they going to do when they cut you open?

The orthopedist (with a lower case "o") I went to said he predicts surgery will be my only real solution - and I intend to prove him wrong. I only went to this one in particular because my GP arranged for a quick appointment and all I really wanted from him was referrals for MRI and Physio (capital "P"), which I got. But he's the kind of doctor who you can get appointments with on short notice... If things haven't improved in a couple months, I'll be going to the kind of Orthopedist who actually cares about what's best for patients...
 
#22
They slit your throat, push your trachea and esophagus out of the way, pull out the remnants of degenerated discs, grind away the excess bone growth, widen out the central foramen, and then install a special plastic device containing bone growth media either from a bone bank or from your own pelvis using two screws to the vertabrea on top and two into the one below.
A year later the bone growth has fused the vertabrea and the nerves are no longer being squeezed to death.
They bolt a halo device to your skull to keep things stable during healing.
So it's either that or a continued loss of function, increase in numbness, increase in pain, and a risk of sudden paralysis from the neck down.
The problem is it's not just a one time procedure, other levels will eventually have to be done as well!
I want to know the odds though, and what a best case scenario could be if I skip the fix.
 
#23
Willie, you have to seek a 2nd opinion-ASAP. Did the neck traction was ever mention to you as a starting point?
I have being doing that traction for years now for my neck issues not as much now as at the beginning and it does make a difference-huge difference.
Board, that sounds extreme, GOOD LUCK!
How will we know if you don't make it? ;)
 
#24
<body><p>dama ill get more than one second opinion in time, no rush yet and my therapists are positive that we'll get it under control... writing from my phone which isnt working too well. thanks for the descriptiob mab!
 
#25
#26
Barefoot Dama said:
Willie, you have to seek a 2nd opinion-ASAP. Did the neck traction was ever mention to you as a starting point?
How will we know if you don't make it? ;)
Click to expand...
I started looking into them and bumped into an all too familiar scenario: An overwhelming selection in the US and virtually nothing in Germany. This is the kind of thing that no sensible German would ever buy from Amazon.de, lol. I'm going to go to the orthopedic supply store in town tomorrow and talk to them. And I have two appointments on Thursday with different therapists, and will bring the subject up with them.

Thanks for the tip, Girl! Which one would you recommend? :)
 
#28
Do not use a cheap one that straps under your chin, you'll destroy your TMJ by making it load-bearing.
I tried one before seeing a doc, and realized right away that it was a ridiculous device putting pressure on teeth and TMJ.
The physical medicine specialist that did my EMG prescribed PT mostly for the professional traction. It felt good 3X/week, but when the neurosurgeon viewed the MRI he wanted it stopped ASAP since it could do irreversable damage to my spinal cord.
That's the catch.....listening to your body does'nt always work. many people with lower back pain find tremendous relief with certain stretching/yoga techniques that are actually making things worse!
 
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#29
Longboard said:
Do not use a cheap one that straps under your chin, you'll destroy your TMJ by making it load-bearing....
Click to expand...

Oh boy... got me confused here, now. I read about these things for a long time last night and am thinking that I wouldn't use one without some good solid advice from a good solid doctor first. I can appreciate that they're not over-the-counter cures over here.
 
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