Back Pain Forum - arthritis in my back and bulging disks at l4, l5, and s1

Conditions and Diseases > Back Pain Forum > arthritis in my back and bulging disks at l4, l5, and s1

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Q: arthritis in my back and bulging disks at l4, l5, and s1

asked by: grits375 on May 16th, 2006

New User

I had an mri last week for the chronic back pain i've had for about a year now. Well I spoke with the pa tonight and he said that the mri showed that I have arthritis in my back and bulging disks at l4, l5, and s1 (l5 and s1 being the most severe).

Do any of you know what this means and what I should do for relief besides taking ibuprofen everyday. I'm wondering if pilates might help. Also, I forgot to ask him, is this considered degenerative disk disease? My dad and his sister has this.

A little background from me, i'm a 31 year old female with a 2.5 year old child. I gained 80 pounds on top of being 15 pounds overweight. I have since dropped 67 pounds and have 28 left to get back to my goal weight.

Thanks for any advice on this.

Replies(1)

disabledcoastie

replied on May 16th, 2006

Experienced User

Grits,

i'm not being nasty or insensitive as I suffer from severe back pain as well. The first thing that will make you feel better is loosing the weight, I know everytime I get above 220 because my back can't take the weight. And just to let everyone know i'm male, 6' 2" so 220 isn't an outrageous weight for me. The second thing you need to know is if the bulging disc is causing stenosis or compression on the nerve roots as this will cause pain as well as radiculopathy. Most exercise is beneficial, but I am unaware of how pilates work, if the exercise puts any stress on your back then don't do it until you are cleared by a doctor. A useful site that you may want to check out is Spineuniverse good luck.

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