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Back issues - Spondylolisthesis

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Hi! I am new here and this is my first post! I need some advice...I can't seem to get any help because I am self pay, and no one seems to want to bother with me...I have seen 3 different doctors and they all basically blew me off. I didn't get any real answers as to what I can do to help the situation, or even manage pain... I had an MRI 5 years ago and that dr. told me to "try not to fall", and the last doctor I saw told me to work my abs, and get health insurance and left. So I have decided to post this on some forums to see if anyone has any advice for me. I am just wondering if there is anything I can do (other than surgery) to keep this from getting worse, or to slow it down, or to stop the tingling in my arms and legs, and the sciatica. No one will even really tell me what these results mean, I had to google it and I still don't understand half of it so if you can clarify any of this for me that would be awesome. Thanks for reading! Here are my MRI results from 5 years ago. I should also tell you that I am only 28 years old and I very active, I love to run, hike, etc. and I would love to keep doing those things if I can!

Findings: In conjunction with lower lumbar spondylosis, there is an exaggerated lordosis due to grade 1 spondylolisthesis of l5 with respect to s1 secondary to concurrent bilateral l5 spondylolysis, detailed below. No lumbar compression deformity or destructive intraosseous process.

T11-12 through L3-4 Normal Discs. Patent central canal and neural foramina. Moderate facet arthrosis at L1-2, L2-3, and L3-4.

L4-5: The disc is desiccated, narrowed, and aggravated by a small central bulge with inferiorly deflected midline extrusion. In conjunction with facet arthrosis, there is mild central canal stenosis and slight biforaminal narrowing.

L5-S1: The disc is desiccated, partially collapsed, and aggravated by patchy Modic type 2 reactive end plate changes and intradiscal gas, not to mention grade 1 anterolisthesis of L5 on S1, allowing uncovering of the posterior disc margin and formation of bilateral foraminal protrusions. In conjuction with marked bilateral L5-S1 facet arthrosis and pars interarticularis defects, there is a severe "up-down" biforaminal encroachment and paradoxical widening of the central spinal canal.
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replied September 22nd, 2010
Extremely eHealthy
hi burningstar...
are you able to do the activities you enjoy doing? i dont know how much the pain and discomfort is affecting your everyday life. has the problem got worse in the last five years. you had arthritis in your spine joints plus a disc problem and some narrowing of the neurelforamin in addition to the grade one spondylolisthesis. if you have gotten significantly worse in five years it would be good to get another opinion from spine specialist....
did you have a bad fall in the past that touched off these problems?
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replied September 23rd, 2010
Hi! I am able to do the same things most of the time, I just don't want to make my back any worse by running etc. 5 years ago I started getting numbness in my leg, and occasionally my leg will just give out for some reason, and about 9 months ago my arms started tingling also...usually just when I sit..my sciatica has gotten much worse, if I sit for more than an hour (15 minutes in my truck) it hurts so bad, and goes away after a couple hours, usually...sometimes it lasts for days...
The last guy I saw said that my back has been broken and that's what's causing all these problems, he said short of surgery there's nothing I can do...but there must be something that can help at least in the short term? I am thinking of getting an inversion table...
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replied September 23rd, 2010
Extremely eHealthy
its a pain in the butt sometimes but you seem to be handling it ok. i would try swimming to strengthen and loosen the muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints.
one thing i dont understand is the tingling in arms. you may have some trouble with you spine in the neck area
when you have trouble all over your spine about the only thing you can do is take meds. are you on a good non steroidal anti iinflamatory drug.
oh....can you get insurance?
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