2011 update and images

The beginning of 2011 was ridiculous. My back had stiffened up so much I could hardly move it. If I played any sport - like trying to kick a footy - I could hardly move the next day. But worst of all was the leg pain. Unbearable. It was like my legs where on fire, on the inside, but they were cold, and numb if that makes any sense. Nothing could take the pain away - not physio, massage, chiro, stretching, or core workouts. The only thing I found was acupuncture, but the gains were short lived.

 Again in the side profile you can see the disc sticking out and putting pressure on the spinal canal and nerve roots. The disc itself continues to degenerate.

This is where the bigger difference can be seen.

From the top, you can see that there is no space left for the nerves to come out the side. They are constantly under stress - hence the leg pain that doesn't go away.

Its great to see it next to a good disc (the second image is from L4 I think). The disc looks in better condition (black outside, with a gel centre). There's no pressure on the spinal canal and there's room for the nerves out the side.

At this stage, my doctor (who is an amazing sports doc by the way) and physio team started talking about surgery. We tried once more with some CT guided cortisone injection into the facet joints and onto the nerve roots. But this only aggravated it more.

So neurosurgeon it was.