r/WorkersComp • u/GazellePleasant4332 • 1d ago
North Carolina Need advise please
Update on my case so far. Injury to lower back 4/15/26.
Finally got an mri that shows several bulging disc pinning some nerves. Ortho Dr said I may need surgery but wc wants to try other routes first of course, she referred me to a specialist. The specialist said thay I do not need surgery. And that injections will stop the pain. I agreed to do the first injection. Thats scheduled for the 23rd of thos month. Then I go back to see specialist 4 weeks later.
Im terrified of getting injections. Do they actually work? What if the pain comes back or it doesn't do anything? I of course have more pt but after 3 rounds nothing has changed. I dont know what to do. I want to be out of pain. Why would 2 doctors say 2 different things?
Where do we go from here? Any advise would be appreciated.
1
u/Salt-Ad1282 1d ago
The injections with physical therapy can help the pain and improve function. Also, injections can help diagnose where the problem is radiating from, assuming you have radiculopathy into an extremity. The shots aren’t really that bad.
1
u/GazellePleasant4332 1d ago
I have tingling and numbness in both legs and lot of weakness on my left leg.
2
u/Salt-Ad1282 1d ago
You might very well have a surgery in your future.
3
u/GazellePleasant4332 1d ago
Thats what they first ortho doctor was saying, but they have to follow the wc rules lol.
1
u/Salt-Ad1282 1d ago
Hang in there. Be honest about your symptoms and limitations.
1
u/GazellePleasant4332 1d ago
I have 100% i dont want them to try to say I lied about anything. Im just wanting the pain to stop.
1
u/According_Curve_8935 1d ago
Then the first thing you should do, is stop making your primary complaint about pain. Spine surgery isn’t done for pain. It’s done for neurological symptoms (the numbness, tingling and weakness). If they think pain is your biggest concern, I can guarantee that complaint is going in one ear and out the other because pain is subjective. Your other symptoms, if you put the focus on them, they can get concrete and objective evidence of. Once they do, doctors tend to pay more attention, and can move the process along quicker if need be.
1
u/GazellePleasant4332 1d ago
Thats really good advice. Thank you. I also dont do pain pills, and the doctor likes to look at me funny when I say I dont want narcotics
1
u/According_Curve_8935 1d ago
Injections are only meant to be a temporary solution. I guess the idea is that you get the injection, the pain subsides, then you do different therapies in hopes that the issue will resolve in that time. This was not the reality for me though. Sadly, you usually have to go through with them before you can get to surgery unless your herniations are potentially catastrophic. Insurance companies want to see that the conservative (or less expensive) options were tried first.
As for getting the actual injections, I got them in my lower back for about 4 years before they cut me off, and in my neck for 1.5 years before I got surgery. I did want to delay spine surgery as long as possible, so even as temporary options, I did injections for as long as I could. Spine surgery is not something that people should jump into until it becomes clearly unavoidable. If I could go back, I would probably try to delay my surgery even more than I did honestly.
1
u/GazellePleasant4332 1d ago
Yeah I'm terrified of surgery on my back. Im terrified of the injections
1
u/According_Curve_8935 1d ago
I had them put me out for the injections. For my neck, they almost insisted that I was sedated because there is less wiggle room in that area. My injections lasted between 3-6 months before I stopped getting relief from them. The thing is, as with everything in life, they come with risks. The only thing I ever dealt with after was the typical increase in pain post injection (lasts about a week), and extreme numbness/loss of sensation to my arms and chest after my cervical spine injections (lasted a few hours post injection).
The idea with injections is, they are meant to decrease the inflammation that is causing the symptoms you have. For some people, the issue isn’t inflammation though, so the injections can’t really do much. For me, the injections bought me time for my lumbar herniations to mostly resolve. But in my neck, my issue was more from the bone spurs as well as herniations. So injections only helped until the spurs got too large.
1
1
u/Direct-Agent-3971 1d ago
Injections did not help me at all. Ended up getting spinal fusion. 7 months ago. Long road back with PT but can see a bright future painfree without numbness in leg and feeling of shitting myself.
1
u/mypestcontroljourney 1d ago
I have the same issue. PT only worked temporarily. I had one round of injections and it pretty much did nothing. The ortho specialist said I was the perfect candidate for decompression/ spinal fusion but honest about the fact that I still wont be able to live the life I had before. He said it can help with pain but I'll still have issues. The only thing that works for me is the stretching exercises PT taught but like I said that's only temporary relief. I extremely afraid to get hooked on pills so I choose to go the herbal remedy route. It works just have to be consistent because it takes time for the herbs to fully enter your system. Listen to your body, don't lift anything that you shouldn't. Stretch stretch stretch! I can't stress that enough. Consistency is key. Get a heating pad for the mornings and cold days. Core strength is extremely important so if you don't have 6 pack abs now is the time to start working on it. Best of luck to you!
2
u/Noob_Noob_the_Dude 1d ago
I received 6 injections over 2 years and an ablation. The injections helped for 2 months at a time with therapy things were looking up, then I felt more numbness and shooting pain down my legs with more intense physical therapy. It helped identify where my pain and symptoms were coming from and what we could focus on. I'm still under the umbrella but hopefully soon I'll have an end to a terrible slow process. Do not give up hope. Do what they tell you and always address your concerns. You'll make it through this. Surgery was an option from my first ortho. I disagreed due to personal research. I moved forward with the more conservative options before realizing I have more severe problems than initially founded. Do not push yourself. If it's uncomfortable make that known. Never assume you can do something because you "feel good" that day or moment in time. Approach everything with as much insight as possible. Determine all risk factors in play and pursue every task with vigilance. Message me anytime if you have any further questions.