I am here for my husband who has undergone a lot of treatment with little to no relief. He is a very active 35yro who this spring began to help me loss weight by walking on a treadmill and eating better. He began to notice pain in his lower back and have it wrap around into his ribs. He saw our primary care doctor who told him to get an MRI, but before that they sent him to a Chiro, he only went once as they took an Xray went to align his spine and his back lock up, and he couldn't sit up SO then his PCD sent him to 8weeks of PT and he had no relief at all. Finally he went for an MRI and it showed T8-9 tiny extradural abnormality either bone or disc resulting in minimal recess without any neural compromise. No idea what that means, but that's what they found. So they sent him to a chronic pain management group, and they did do facet injections in three vertabrea and that gave little relief, then they did the epidural with no relief at all. Now the PCD says that there is no need for a bone scan, and that he is not a candidate to see any neurosurgeon. He is in a lot of pain everyday, he can no longer do the things that he loves most. He has gone from a very active man to someone who can barely do anything. I need to know where to go next to see if we can get an answer. The only other piece of information I have is that they did say he had more than normal amount of arthritis in that area for someone of his age.

Please help!

Hi bethkira, Welcome.

I was told by my surgeon that I'm not a candidate for surgery because of the severe osteoarthritis in my spine. I don't know if that's what eliminated your husband or not, but may be worth a question to his doctor.

The dura is the outermost layer of 3 membranes surrounding the brain & spinal cord. 'Extradural' means that the abnormality is outside that layer. The recess is a cleft or depression. 'Without any neural compromise' means no nerves are being compromised, so that should be encouraging.

Has your husband seen an orthopedist or physiatrist?

Doc

Perhaps you can request the MRI written report - often it is handy to have on hand in case you want to see another DR.

Some of the wording and impressions written might be helpful.
Some reports are nicely detailed , but some are lacking in details...
Drs often don't take the time to explain everything clearly.

He has not seen an orthopedist, but he has seen the other one you mentioned and they recommended the facet injections, and epidural both with no relief. He also went through just pain meds as well, and really just wants to find out what caused this issue. I should mention that he has lost over 95 pounds, and is just so lost as to which direction to go. He has no idea what kind of arthritis he has he is going in for a blood test next week. But he PCD never even suggested that could be the cause for all this trouble.

He may need to see another neurologist and have a CAT scan or at least take the MRI report for the Dr to read and give his opinion. I am of the school of thought after 12+ years of back pain..the more information you have the better decisions you can make about your care. Good luck!

I too have lost the ability to do the things I used to do including being able to work. I've had MRI's, Denervation therapy, epidurals, nerve blocks and the pain is no better with minimal relief. I'm not a candidate for surgery and have had physio with no luck. It seems unless there is nerve damage as identified by travelling pain down my legs I'm not elidgeble for back surgery. It almost seems like they want people to suffer needlessly. The important thing for your husband is to be kind and gentle with himself and never overdue any physical lifting that can aggrevate the pain. For me listening to music helps to distract me from the pain. I am also taking some very strong narcotic pain medication that does offer some relief. Maybe it would be good for your husband to visit the forum himself so he knows he's not alone. Be patient with him and his moods because I'm sure he's not himself but it's not his fault.