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Lumbar Disc Treatment
updated: Oct 01, 2012, 8:17 PM

Just diagnosed with a bulging lumbar disc. Does anyone have any recommendations for a doctor in town that may help and/or treatments that may have helped?

Places People Are Talking About:

Dr. Amy Wickma	Dr. Glenn Larsen	Dr. Hullander
Dr. Hutchinson	Dr. Kallman	Dr. Mozingo
Dr. Shephard

What People Are Saying:

COMMENT 326775P	2012-10-01 08:24 PM
I tried cortisone injections and found them to be useless and absurdly expensive. Of course every case has its unique considerations and you need to make decisions guided by a good practitioner. I also tried chiropractic, acupuncture and decompression therapy. I'm pretty set on avoiding surgery but so far haven't really found anything that fixes the problem. Exercise and stretching seem to be the best course from my personal experience. While I still have symptoms, my best days are generally preceded by core strengthening activities and occasional advil/aleve. Good luck, I'm eager to hear what other herniated lumbar disk sufferers have found effective.
COMMENT 326777	2012-10-01 08:32 PM
Dr. Amy Wickman @ Alta Orthopedics. Outstanding.
COMMENT 326780	2012-10-01 08:41 PM
Nope... Best thing is to stay active and strengthen your back... Every thing else is either a placebo or outright fraud.
COMMENT 326781	2012-10-01 08:41 PM
You should be aware that a bulging herniated disk may or may not be the cause of your pain. A lot of people have them and have no pain. It is a convenient post upon which a doctor can hang his or her hat. I was diagnosed with such by one of three doctors who saw my MRI. The other doctors had other diagnoses. Core strengthening was the advice from all three doctors. It worked. A book, Mind Over Back Pain, by John Sarno, M.D., was helpful in my understanding of why pain does not have to come from some defect in the spine.
COMMENT 326784	2012-10-01 08:48 PM
Thanks for all the great feedback! What are some good low-intensity core strengthening exercises that won't aggravate the situation further? Right now I can't bend over or sit at all, and can be standing for only a short period of time..
COMMENT 326796P	2012-10-01 10:10 PM
For my back problems I did chiropractic, physical therapy, massage and yoga. But it wasn't until I did something called 'Foundation Training' developed by someone in Carpinteria that I was able to overcome the pain. You can Google it - they do classes and there is a book. It works - I'm now back out playing tennis.
COMMENT 326799P	2012-10-01 10:31 PM
About 10 years ago my husband had a herniated disk, and was in terrible pain. He tried lots of different things, but the only thing that made a different was surgery. Gave him instant relief from the pain. It's crucial that you follow up with all the right rest and exercises or it won't heal well. Dr. Kahman did the surgery, and all went well. Since then he's had some back pain, and had fantastic results with physical therapy with Andrea Stouffer at Human Performance Center.
COMMENT 326810	2012-10-02 06:14 AM
Hi, I am the one with the three different diagnoses based on one MRI. I relied upon a physical therapist to give me guidance on how to go forward with the strengthening and it was indispensable, keeping me from aggravating things along the way and supporting me in my emotional ups and downs. Then, when the PT said it was okay, I started doing pilates on a reformer in private lessons until I was strong enough to go do it with everyone else. I became very strong, able to exercise and sit long periods of time, lift things normally and pain free.
COMMENT 326812	2012-10-02 06:38 AM
Please go back to your doctor and have them refer a suitable doctor who specializes in back issues. What you will get here is totally subjective referrals that may or may not have anything to do with your specific problem. You're safer with an actual referral. Hope you're better soon.
COMMENT 326813	2012-10-02 06:44 AM
Dr. Hullander,Santa Barbara sugery center Spinal implant sends electricity to brain to block pain signal's,I was useless basically on pain meds for pain and able to do very little since implant I can now do 7 mile elliptical workouts twice aday have losrt 60 lbs, active as hell he gave me my life back as other's just kept wanting to do sugery,Was considering disc replacement as had to many gone but all sugerons said to many damaged to fusse and ,disc replacement is still experimental, from an insurance company'ss point of view so not likely to be covered. Hullander did my implant but his partner Ralph Mazingo is one cool doctor.....Highly reccomend looking into that if your pain is extreme , choices or that morophine pump or a life of pain killers
COMMENT 326817	2012-10-02 06:59 AM
back doctor diagnosis important. when i had a bulging disc, chiropractor 3 x a week, ice, advil, stretches, PT! took 6 months to heal. get help. david dallmeyer excellent PT Alta orthopedics excellent resources too fisher lawson chiropractors good luck
COMMENT 326819	2012-10-02 07:20 AM
I suggest trying PT first; I went to Hayashida and they helped me strenthen my core which saved me from a spinal fusion - suggested by an overly aggressive back surgeon.
COMMENT 326822	2012-10-02 07:26 AM
I was diagnosed with an L5S1 disc during a winter working in Colorado. A cortisone epidural helped, but only for about a month. What worked for me was graston technique and core strengthening with a PT as well as Pilates (first on the machines now I do the exercises on my own).
COMMENT 326824P	2012-10-02 07:29 AM
First, go see Dr. Timothy Shultz, he is a Doctor of Osteopathy...have him align your spine. when my disc was bulging--it took pain away immediately. If your disc ruptures--go see Dr. Tom Jones, he is a neurosurgeon, and he will perform microsurgery. Good luck
COMMENT 326828	2012-10-02 07:45 AM
I was diagnosed one year ago. it went from a mild pain in my back to intense pain down my leg (femoral) to DEFCON 4 in a period of weeks. Nothing worked. I tried it all: physical therapy, epidural, pain killers, jacuzzi and every massager device on the market. It just got worse and worse. One night I was screaming in pain. I waited another night and it was even worse. I was sweating with pain and putting a pillow over my face so my kids wouldn't get scared by my screaming. My wife drove me to the ER. They tried muscle relaxers: zero effect. then they pulled out the dilaudid (aka morphine) and I felt great but, of course, that wasn't a long term solution. my doctor, Scott Connor, did a disc-ectomy at 2 pm the next day. I was instantly better. I went home at about 8 pm. Now I'm training for the SB Century.
COMMENT 326831	2012-10-02 07:50 AM
Chiropractic with the added therapy called decompression is where I am going to start. Dr. Boone in Goleta and Dr. Inman downtown sounded the most knowledgeable. I will probably go with one of them. They both said they were open to concurrent therapies. Call them, they'll both talk to you, they did me. Good luck.
COMMENT 326832	2012-10-02 08:06 AM
I did not improve with Dave Dallmeyer and I worked with him for a long time. He did a lot of massage. My relief came with going to other physical therapists. They found I had a problem with an SI joint being out of alignment. Their help stopped me from having to do something desperate like getting painful prolotherapy shots into my SI.
COMMENT 326833	2012-10-02 08:06 AM
Strongly recommend also Sarno's Mind over Back Pain book -- it is a must read before choosing any treatment modality and spending any money without understanding what the science of back treatment alternatives have been showing. The is premise muscle tension/spasm drives a lot of what is called back pain, particularly lower back pain which is spasm of the piraformis muscles in the rear end -- makes one wonder about the ready slang expression PIA or pain in the b*tt. And there in might very well be the mind/body back pain connection, because Sarno's books shows without a doubt many people have spinal xray deviations but don't have any symptoms at all --- something else is going on. Who is the PIA in your life or are you being a PIA in someone else's life? Worth looking at before handing money over to someone who may or may not have better answers.
COMMENT 326849	2012-10-02 09:09 AM
A few years ago, I started doing the simple exercises in the "The Y's way to a Healthy Back". Takes only 20 minutes a day and I noticed improved strength after a few weeks and now I only do them once/week. You can find it used on Amazon for a few dollars. Best investment I ever made. It tells of people on the verge of surgery who were able to avoid it by doing the exercises.
COMMENT 326854	2012-10-02 09:21 AM
You might talk to Motion Unlimited at the corner of de la Vina and Sola Streets. They teach the Egoscue Method of gentle back exercises and postural alignment. I saw them a couple of years ago (for general posture exercises, not a disc problem) and found it a great resource.
COMMENT 326860	2012-10-02 09:39 AM
Dr Scott Conner
COMMENT 326862P	2012-10-02 09:46 AM
I chipped a disc several years ago. Could barely crawl or eat, couldn't get to my prescribed P.T. for two weeks, had to be driven to the emergency room twice for unbearable pain. Surgery was recommended. Instead I started P.T. 4 times a week (Active Physical Therapy). I also went, nearly every day, to the warm pool at Vista Del Monte, doing "core" (mid-body support muscles) strengthening, and flexibility exercises, with the water taking the weight off my spinal column. In 9 months I was pain-free, and I have my "library" of exercises to go back to whenever I get sloppy and bend too much, or pick up too much weight. It took a lot of work, but especially because surgery doesn't even always fix the pain, it was well worth it.
COMMENT 326864	2012-10-02 09:47 AM
Dr Hutchinson. Absolutely. He's smart, quick and let's you make up your own mind. I went with the shot which worked immediately in alleviating the sciatic pain but should have gone for surgery to completely control the issue. I listened to my ex-boss on that one.
COMMENT 326878	2012-10-02 10:15 AM
Dr. Hullander and Dr. Mozingo
COMMENT 326881	2012-10-02 10:21 AM
Dr. Hutchinson did my surgery with wonderful results.
COMMENT 326885	2012-10-02 10:24 AM
Pay a visit to Dr. Glenn Larsen. He will give you a full consultation plus one treatment for $20. If you check out the testimonials on his web page you'll discover he's the best. (805) 618-2970 487 N. Turnpike Road
MTNDRIVER	2012-10-02 10:40 AM
If you go to a surgeon, surgery will be recommended, for sure. But as several have said, a bulging disk does not have to be treated, many outcomes are possible, many people have pain for a while and then it subsides. Try other treatment modalities first, don't go straight to an orthopedist. Many years ago for this condition I first went to chiropractors, then had spinal traction treatments on a special table (Dr. Bob Klein, no longer practicing I think), then did Rolfing. None of it really gave long-lasting relief. Lots of yoga. Actually glad I didn't seem to be a candidate for surgery. But over the years, regular stretching and strengthening (yoga especially), attention to posture, and being careful about lifting correctly have made it pretty tolerable, often unnoticeable. We come from a long line of animals that walk on all fours, and standing up creates a lot of load in the lumbar area.
OLDLAWOMAN	2012-10-02 11:05 AM
I'd recommend Dr. Shephard who is in practice with Dr. Gallivan. Both are excellent, and have treated my son who severely broke both of his legs, years apart. Both are kind, and so skilled. Dr. Shepard has that extra spark of understated magic in his demeanor.
COMMENT 326943	2012-10-02 12:35 PM
Dr. Kallman surgically repaired what my neurologist called the worst disc he'd seen in 30 years. I was walking that day after the surgery and have been fine ever since. The doctor also successfully operated on my husband's disc and on our neighbor's daughter's scoliosis. I can't praise him enough! Connie
COMMENT 326946	2012-10-02 12:43 PM
Timely, I just re-injured my L4/L5 bulging disc :( I was diagnosed by Dr. Curatalo after getting an MRI @Pueblo. PT was prescribed. Have had a few relapses since the original incident. Lessons I've taken away: - Keep doing those core exercises. Take a digicam with you to PT and shoot a short video for reference. - Foam rollers, bands, and other PT aids can be purchased online. - Others may fully recover and never have a problem again, but my back is now compromised so I need to be mindful when lifting, etc. - Keep a logbook of every back injury and recovery period. This will help with any relapses and help your doctor with diagnosis. - If you're an office worker, learn good posture and get a chair that will help you maintain that position. - Check to see if your saggy mattress needs replacing. - Surgery is last resort. A friend used Dr. Ronald Rich in LA. Contact me if you wish, happy to share experiences.
COMMENT 326947	2012-10-02 12:46 PM
Dr. Richard Chung, Neurosurgeon. He removed 2 ruptured discs from my lower back in 2007 and I have had no problems since. . . Call Dr. Chung he's the best!
COMMENT 327023	2012-10-02 03:37 PM
How fat are you? How much yoga type stretching do you do? How active are you? Most back problems are self-caused and the solution is totally under your control. The people who opt for surgery are generally misguided and sold a bill of goods by the greedy medical industry.. Gentle, sustained poses, "Let It Go" type of yoga, lots of walking, and overall weight training I find is what keeps my back in good shape. The YMCA has some great yoga classes with teachers who don't push you beyond your comfort zone. It is all under your control.
COMMENT 327039	2012-10-02 04:03 PM
Only one thing will work long term and not cause additional problems. Go see Richard McLaughlin and the Iyengar Yoga Center of Santa Barbara on De la Vina. Unlike most yoga "teachers", Iyengar teachers are trained for years and years before they can even think about teaching. Richard will know exactly what to do and if you are patient, and willing to learn and practice, you will learn to remove and then prevent pain. You can use your knowledge to keep your spine, and thus your entire body, pain free. If it doesn't work I promise I will eat a yoga mat!
COMMENT 327053	2012-10-02 04:32 PM
Dr. Curatalo's patient here again ... the advice for yoga, exercise, stretching, etc. are reasonable. My PT noticed my right hamstring was very tight and asked if my disc bulged to the right. Bingo. However, sometimes stuff just happens. I was active mountain biking and playing volleyball when my disc first bulged. I'm 5-11" and have never weighed more than 165 lbs. Having an office job doesn't help however. Rob Sparrow was my PT @Hayashida. He's no longer there but I would try to find him, excellent PT and well informed.
DRBUD	2012-10-02 05:17 PM
Dr David Inman solved my problem with bulging lumbar discs (plural) when no other person or therapy in town could do so. I tried them all. He is one of the few chiropractors in town with a computerized, heated stretch table. Very gentle, no pain. Office is in Victoria Court. I guarantee you will be glad you went!
COMMENT 327159	2012-10-02 08:34 PM
Here's a tip for the OP if you're feeling pain when you try to get out of bed. One of my PT's recommended "the log" maneuver. Tuck your knees together so that your body forms a "log", then use your elbows to get your body rolling to the edge, then off the bed. You may have to do this for a few days until the sharp pain from your bulging disc subsides.
COMMENT 327200	2012-10-03 07:48 AM
Dr. Tom Jones in Santa Barbara!
COMMENT 327400	2012-10-03 02:23 PM
Here's another tip for those who may have chronic lower back problems. Depending on your height, you may find that a "chair height" toilet will be more comfortable for your back. The small difference in height can make a huge difference in comfort.You can buy these at Home Depot and have your plumber replace your old standard height toilet. I recently looked at some homes for sale in a community outside of SB with much newer homes. The chair height toilets are very popular now.