Medical Endeavors w/ my Herniated and Degenerative Lumbar Disc

It appears some of Mr. Boeree's competitors are checking out this blog closely. I've gotten some very unprofessional comments these past few days on behalf of 'anonymous' posters that say my surgery was a failure. Nice job guys!

I talked to Mr. Boeree a few days ago. He called me from his home right after dinner. As always, extremely polite and generous with his busy schedule. I told him what was going on. I also asked him about my disc. He said the disc is in perfect condition and is still placed the way it should be. He said it might be my facets giving me issues. I immediately thought, oh no, degenerative facets. He said no, it's just that they might be pissed off with the new movements stemming from the disc and that this might be upsetting the muscles which tighten after they sense issues. He recommended facet joint injections at the L4/5 level. Here's his follow-up email: Just to recap with regards to the possible injections with your radiologist.  These would be image guided facet joint injections at L4/5.  I would normally use a combination of local anaesthetic and Depo steroid but I will of course leave the final decision about this with your radiologist.  I think it would be help...

Fellow reader recommended Retlouping . It works wonders people! Except I did it with my legs UP against the wall instead of on the floor. It hurts like hell when you're doing it.. but it increases flexibility instantly. Good way to 'nerve floss'! EDIT: I was laying on my bed with my legs up against the wall. EDIT 2: I went to the gym today and tried it with the legs on the floor. Works equally as well!

Alright. I think I found the solution to my tightness problems. I started seeing Dr. James Piccolino here in Miami, he's a chiro that specializes in soft tissue. We started doing a lot of stretching, and something called 'nerve flossing' which mobilizes the nerves. I asked Mr. Boeree about it and he found the term very interesting, although he calls it 'nerve mobilization'. Other than that, I used my Tru-Wave TENS electronic stimulator which seemed to calm my spasms down a bit. I also took a small dose anti-inflammatory. BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, the restaurant is running smoothly and I have people doing all the jobs like they should. Things are going fine today. Back is feeling relaxed. I'll be seeing Dr. Piccolino a few more times, he does wonders with stretches. I also have a phone consultation with Boeree soon. I'll keep you posted on that!

I got some x-rays done and I sent them over the Boeree. He says the disc is fine and the problem could stem from something else. I have a phone consultation set up in a week or two (can't remember the exact date) to see how my progress with the therapist is going. As far as my progress, I finally got that muscle on my left lower back to shut the hell up. It seems this muscle was tightening my left side of my lower back and would compress the disc on the left side as seen on the xrays below. This is the disc doing its job, it's acting like a normal disc.. but it's obviously stressful for my spine so I definitely had to relax it. Here's what Boeree said: As you say, you are leaning off to the left slightly at L4/5.  This is a postural tilt and probably reflects the body adjusting to relieve stress on a focal area of pain.  This can be muscles or ligaments around a motion segment, which may be more comfortable if less stretched (for example if they are on the left sid...