L5-S1 Disc Herniation Treatment Without Surgery – Tierrasanta, CA

For someone living in Tierrasanta with an L5-S1 disc herniation, the problem may have started as an annoying lower-back ache and gradually turned into something much more disruptive. The buttock starts hurting. Sitting becomes uncomfortable. A leg begins tingling or going numb. Driving across town suddenly feels much longer than it used to.

In more severe cases, sciatica can travel all the way through the leg into the calf or foot.

Dr. Cassidy James Boelk, DC has spent more than 22 years evaluating and treating patients with herniated discs, bulging discs, sciatica, degenerative disc disease, and other difficult spinal conditions. His office, The Spinal Decompression & Chiropractic Center of San Diego, is located at 5095 Murphy Canyon Road in Kearny Mesa, just minutes from Tierrasanta.

A question Dr. Boelk hears frequently is:

“My MRI says I have an L5-S1 disc herniation. Can I treat this without surgery?”

For many patients, the answer may be yes. But the MRI diagnosis alone is not enough to determine that.

Dr. Boelk wants to see what the disc actually looks like, where it is positioned, whether a nerve is involved, and—most importantly—whether those findings match what the patient is feeling.

Paul's Disc Herniation Was Interfering With Everyday Life

Paul C. came to Dr. Boelk because back pain from a disc herniation had reached the point where he had lost mobility and was having difficulty doing something as basic as putting on his shoes.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Paul C.

“I have been seeing Dr. Boelk since November for my back pain due to disc herniation. I lost mobility and had difficulty even putting shoes on. The pain was interfering with my everyday lifestyle. After reviewing the X-ray results, we agreed upon a treatment plan. Agreeing to this treatment plan was the best choice I've made for my back pain. The spinal decompression has relieved all the pain I felt in my lower back. I can walk, run and exercise without any pain and I'm able to get back in the gym and continue my daily routines. The office staff are very friendly and caring as well. I highly recommend Dr. Boelk's office to anyone seeking exceptional care.”

— Paul C.

Every patient's response is different, but Paul's story gets at something important. Disc problems are not just about what an MRI looks like. They matter because of what they prevent someone from doing.

Start With a No-Charge, No-Obligation Consultation

Patients from Tierrasanta dealing with an L5-S1 disc problem can schedule a No-Charge, No-Obligation Consultation with Dr. Cassidy James Boelk, DC.

Patients who already have an MRI should bring the actual images whenever possible, along with the report. Dr. Boelk personally reviews available imaging and compares it with the patient's symptoms.

During the consultation, he will want to understand:

• Where the pain begins and where it travels

• Whether it goes into the buttock, thigh, calf, ankle, or foot

• Whether there is numbness, tingling, or burning

• Whether a leg or foot feels weaker

• How sitting affects the symptoms

• What happens while driving

• Whether walking or standing feels better or worse

• Whether pain is waking the patient at night

• How the problem started

• What treatments have already been tried

• Whether there has been previous spinal surgery

• Whether symptoms are improving or becoming progressively worse

Patients who do not have an MRI can still schedule a consultation. If Dr. Boelk believes additional examination or imaging is appropriate, he can discuss that with the patient.

There is no obligation to begin treatment, and not everyone who comes in is accepted for Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression.

Call 619-298-0800 to schedule a No-Charge, No-Obligation Consultation.

The Spinal Decompression & Chiropractic Center of San Diego
5095 Murphy Canyon Road, Suite 300
San Diego, CA 92123
Phone: 619-298-0800
www.SanDiegoBackCare.com
Live 24/7 Answering Service • Hablamos Español

Why Does L5-S1 Get Injured So Often?

L5-S1 is the lowest disc in the lumbar spine. It sits between the fifth lumbar vertebra and the sacrum, right where the mobile lumbar spine meets the pelvis.

That area handles a tremendous amount of stress over a lifetime.

Sitting, lifting, bending, twisting, sports, repetitive work, previous injuries, and normal age-related changes can all affect the disc. Sometimes there is one obvious event that sets everything off. Other patients cannot identify a specific injury at all.

As the outer fibers of a disc weaken or tear, disc material can begin moving outward. Depending on its appearance, an MRI may describe the problem as a disc bulge, protrusion, herniation, or extrusion.

But the size of the disc problem is only part of the equation.

A smaller herniation sitting directly against a sensitive nerve can be extremely painful. A larger-looking disc abnormality may produce surprisingly few symptoms in another patient.

That is one reason Dr. Boelk wants the MRI findings and the patient's symptoms to make sense together.

L5-S1 Pain Doesn't Always Stay in the Lower Back

Some patients with an L5-S1 problem have significant lower-back pain and stiffness. Others barely mention their back.

Their complaint is the leg.

Common symptoms can include:

• Lower-back pain or tightness

• Pain on one side of the lower back

• Buttock or glute pain

• Sciatica traveling down one leg

• Burning or shooting pain

• Numbness and tingling

• Calf discomfort or cramping

• Symptoms extending toward the ankle or foot

• Changes in sensation in the foot

• Weakness in the leg or foot

The location and type of symptoms can give Dr. Boelk important information about whether a spinal nerve may be involved.

It is also important not to assume every leg symptom comes from the spine. That is another reason a proper evaluation matters.

“I Can Walk, but I Can't Sit”

Dr. Boelk hears versions of this regularly from disc patients.

They may be able to walk around the neighborhood reasonably well, but 20 minutes sitting at a desk starts the sciatica. A drive that used to be nothing becomes something they dread.

Prolonged sitting can aggravate certain lumbar disc problems, particularly when the lower back remains in a flexed or rounded position.

Driving can be even more irritating because the patient is sitting while also being exposed to vibration from the road.

How the driver's seat is positioned can matter. If someone sits very low with the knees significantly higher than the hips, the lower back may remain rounded for an extended period.

That does not mean there is one perfect sitting position for every L5-S1 patient. It does mean that if a particular position repeatedly aggravates the symptoms, it should not be ignored.

Changing position, supporting the lower back, and breaking up longer sitting periods can be useful for some patients.

Be Careful With Aggressive Hamstring Stretching

Another common complaint is, “My hamstring is unbelievably tight.”

Patients naturally start stretching it.

Sometimes that is appropriate. Other times what feels like a tight hamstring is partly coming from an irritated sciatic nerve.

If someone aggressively stretches the leg and suddenly feels the pain shoot farther down toward the calf or foot, or the tingling becomes more intense afterward, repeatedly forcing that stretch may be aggravating the nerve.

Dr. Boelk generally wants to know what movements make symptoms move farther down the leg and what movements cause them to settle.

Pain traveling farther down the leg is not something to simply push through because a stretch is supposed to be good for the back.

Does an L5-S1 Herniation Have to Be Surgically Removed?

No.

Many disc herniations can improve without surgery. The body also has biological mechanisms that can change disc material over time, particularly with certain herniations and extrusions.

That does not mean every herniation disappears, and it certainly does not mean every patient should wait indefinitely while neurological function gets worse.

The patient's progress matters.

Someone whose pain and neurological symptoms are steadily improving may be in a very different situation from someone developing increasing weakness or loss of function.

Conservative options can include activity modification, medication, physical therapy and rehabilitation, injections, and—for selected patients—Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression.

Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression With the DRX9000

The Spinal Decompression & Chiropractic Center of San Diego exclusively uses the DRX9000 for lumbar Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression.

The treatment uses controlled decompression and relaxation cycles directed toward the lumbar spine.

Dr. Boelk does not simply put every L5-S1 patient on the same setting. Treatment can be individualized based on:

• Disc level

• MRI findings

• Location of the patient's symptoms

• Body size

• Patient positioning

• Treatment angle

• Starting force

• Treatment cycles

• Patient tolerance

• Response to previous sessions

The office has four lumbar DRX9000 systems as well as three cervical DRX9000C systems.

The equipment is important, but Dr. Boelk believes the evaluation, patient selection, protocol, progression, and rehabilitation are equally important.

A sophisticated decompression table cannot determine whether someone should be treated. That decision belongs to the doctor.

Treatment Should Eventually Lead Back to Function

When someone is in severe pain, the first priority is understandably getting the symptoms under control.

But what does the patient want to do once the pain settles?

Maybe it is walking around Tierrasanta without worrying about the leg. Maybe it is sitting through a workday, driving without sciatica, getting back into the gym, picking up the kids, playing golf, surfing, hiking, or sleeping through the night.

As the condition allows, rehabilitation can become increasingly important.

Strength needs to return. Movement needs to improve. The patient needs to gradually tolerate normal loads again instead of spending the rest of life afraid to bend over.

Dr. Boelk understands that process personally. He suffered an L5 compression fracture at age 16 and later dealt with additional disc injuries and sciatica. Over the years, he has spent thousands of hours working with rehabilitation, exercise, spinal mechanics, and returning to an active lifestyle.

Why Patients Seek Out Dr. Cassidy James Boelk, DC

Dr. Boelk's practice has focused heavily on herniated discs, bulging discs, sciatica, degenerative disc conditions, and Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression for more than two decades.

His experience and credentials include:

• Doctor of Chiropractic

• Certified Spinal Decompression Doctor

• Certified Pain-Free Performance Specialist

• More than 22 years of clinical experience

• More than 100,000 spinal decompression treatments performed

• Founder of the Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression Training Academy

• Trains other doctors in spinal decompression protocols and techniques

• Founding Member of the American Spinal Decompression Society

• Member of the International Disc Education Association

• California X-Ray Radiation Supervisor & Operator

• Seven DRX9000 spinal decompression systems

• Exclusively uses DRX9000 technology for Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression

Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression is one of the primary focuses of the Kearny Mesa practice rather than an occasional service added to a general chiropractic office.

Not Every L5-S1 Herniation Is a Decompression Case

Dr. Boelk does not accept every patient for treatment.

An L5-S1 herniation may look like the type of problem commonly treated with decompression, but other findings can completely change the recommendation.

Potential reasons decompression may be inappropriate or need to be delayed include:

• An unstable spondylolisthesis

• An unhealed spinal fracture

• Significant osteoporosis

• Abdominal aortic aneurysm

• Pregnancy for lumbar treatment

• Certain malignancies

• Certain surgical hardware at the treatment level

• Progressive neurological weakness

• Cauda equina syndrome

• Other conditions that could make treatment unsafe

Previous spinal surgery also requires a closer look. Some postsurgical patients may still have conservative options, while certain types of hardware or instability can make decompression inappropriate.

Sometimes the right recommendation is more imaging. Sometimes it is pain management or another specialist. Sometimes a surgical opinion is necessary.

A consultation is useful even when the answer ends up being, “This isn't something Dr. Boelk should treat.”

When an L5-S1 Herniation Becomes Urgent

Severe pain does not automatically mean an emergency. Certain neurological changes, however, need prompt medical attention.

Patients should seek urgent medical evaluation for symptoms including:

• New bowel or bladder dysfunction

• Difficulty beginning urination

• New numbness around the groin or saddle area

• Rapidly progressing leg weakness

• Sudden loss of control of a leg or foot

• Other significant and rapidly worsening neurological symptoms

These are not symptoms to wait on while trying stretches, exercises, chiropractic treatment, or spinal decompression.

So, Can an L5-S1 Disc Herniation Be Treated Without Surgery?

In many cases, yes.

But the answer should come after looking at the patient, not simply after reading the diagnosis.

Dr. Boelk considers the MRI when available, where the symptoms travel, neurological findings, spinal stability, previous treatment, previous injuries or surgery, and whether the patient's condition is improving or deteriorating.

Some patients may need nothing more aggressive than time and appropriate rehabilitation. Others may benefit from medication or injections. Selected patients may be candidates for Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression.

And there are situations where a surgical consultation is the appropriate next step.

The important part is knowing the difference.

Schedule a No-Charge, No-Obligation Consultation Near Tierrasanta

Patients from Tierrasanta dealing with an L5-S1 disc herniation, bulging disc, disc protrusion, extrusion, sciatica, or another lower lumbar disc condition can schedule a No-Charge, No-Obligation Consultation with Dr. Cassidy James Boelk, DC.

Bring existing MRI images, X-rays, and reports if available. Patients without imaging can still schedule.

The Spinal Decompression & Chiropractic Center of San Diego
5095 Murphy Canyon Road, Suite 300
San Diego, CA 92123

Phone: 619-298-0800
www.SanDiegoBackCare.com

Live 24/7 Answering Service • Hablamos Español

Call 619-298-0800 to schedule a No-Charge, No-Obligation Consultation with Dr. Cassidy James Boelk, DC.