Diagnosed with t11-t12 disc herniation

Hello,

On March 2, 2006 I injured my right knee while working in deep snow on a mountain top. I was working on a repeater carrying some test equipment when I twisted my knee. Later that night I had to go to another mountain top where my truck got stuck in deep snow and almost went off of a cliff. While I tried to get my truck unstuck from the snow. During this process I slipped and fell and I wrenched my back as well. Talk about having a bad night.

Anyway, my knee was hurting for over a week so I went to the doctor and after some physical therapy my knee didn't get any better. I had the first surgery on Jun 2, 2006. I was supposed to be able to go back to work after a few weeks recovery. I continued to have pain in my knee after the surgery and they did another MRI on my knee and decided to do another surgery on my knee. I had that surgery on November 16, 2006. To this day I still have a lot of pain in my right knee.

I was sent to a pain specialist after the second failed surgery and he suggested that I have an MRI of my back done. After a very long wait time I was finally approved for the MRI of my Lumbar Spine. The Lumbar Spine was normal but they managed to get a partial view of t11-t12 and they suspected that it was abnormal. I was sent for an MRI of my Thoracic Spine and that revealed that I had a herniated disc at t11-t12.

Last week I was sent to UCSF Spine Center for a consultation on my back and the doctor there said that I have a large herniation and that the type of injury that I have is very uncommon. The current recommendation is that I have a cortisone shot in my back to see if some of my ongoing symptoms are caused from my back injury. After this they are looking at doing surgery on my back and fusing the vertebrae. This has me a little scared but I am sure that the doctors know what they are doing and if I have the sugery things should be alright.

My wife wants me to see a chiropractor for this and see if they can help this herniation and see if I can avoid surgery.

I was wondering if anyone out there has any advice and experience with these types of injuries. I am not sure what to do and I am very confused.

Thank you in advance.

I also suffer from thorasic pain. You are very lucky to find a doctor that shows any interest in thorasic surgery. Every doctor I went to would not touch it. I have tried chiropractic for my thorasic problems with very temporary results. It never really helped with the pain but it did help with the stiffness. I was injured in 98 and I have found that as the years go on I am  becomeing very ridgid and stiff. The last time I went to the chiro, about 2 years ago, he really hurt me and I took about 2 months to get back to where I am now. Arthritic changes have made it very tender and painful.

Good luck on your decision for back surgery and keep us posted.

Hi Wrangler, so sorry to hear of your plight. It is very uncommon for disc herniations in the thoracic area and even more uncommon to find a surgeon who will operate in that area. You do know the fusion will limit your mobility. Lets hope the cortisone gives you some relief. I would stay away from the chiropractor, thats the last thing you need is someone going to pop your back. If it were just a muscular problem I would say go for it, but not with those herniations. The odds of him making your herniations better are slim to none. Good luck. Susie

Hello & welcome to the chronic pain forum. Please note that you have posted on a very old thread & the original poster is no longer active here at Healing Well.

We do ask all new members to make a separate intro post so that all members will see it & be able to say hello & welcome aboard. By posting on this old thread not many people will see your post.

I will lock this thread so no one else will post here. We like to keep the older threads off of the main page. Thanks.