Pittsburg, CA
A 29-year-old male asked:
herniated l5/s1 w/sciatica & left si joint pain for 2 mos. drs want discectomy. how likely would pt and time make nerve and joint pain go away?
1 doctor answer • 2 doctors weighed in
Dr. Olav Jaren answered
Neurology 19 years experience
Depends on the case: Sometimes PT and other conservative therapy is enough to fix S1 radiculopathy. It's common for this to be recommended. If your MRI film shows obvious impingement, it may be therapy will not help though. When walking is affected, the reflexes are absent (ankle reflex here) and there is a lot of pain, if the MRI shows herniating disc material it is probably better to have the procedure.
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Last updated Feb 23, 2017
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