So on Monday, beginning of week 4, the first doctor I decided to see about my back pain was a spinal decompression chiropractor. However, this type of "experimental" therapy isn't covered by my health insurance (or most for that matter) so $3,000 was pretty steep without shopping around. However, he did send me out to have an MRI done, and with that I got a full report of what was going on in my back: 2 bulging discs, 2 degenerative discs, a grade 1 retrolisthesis, and some bone-on-bone joint grinding. Uh-oh.
While I was still considering spinal decompression, he recommended I also undergo regular chiropractic treatment at the adjacent office in his complex. Doctor visit #2. This chiropractor had a specialty in sports medicine, so I was hoping he would understand my desire to return to running ASAP. However, after he reviewed my MRI, he said, "This is your new reality. You may need to consider another sport with low or no impact." I decided to have an adjustment done, which felt better, then some kind of electrical stimulation, which ended up re-crippling me temporarily. Thanks to my absurdly high unmet insurance deductible, this visit cost me $105, and to continue 43 more visits, the upfront cost would have been $1800 WITH insurance helping somewhat.
At this point I wanted to pay it all and fix my back now and forever. However, common sense prevailed through gentle encouragement by my wife and others, so doctor #3 was my own primary care provider, an MD. He put me at ease somewhat by telling me that my back was NOT in need of surgery or anything extreme, but he did think it was moderately degenerated, and believed running may not be in my best interest. But he definitely wanted me to see a specialist, so he referred me to Spine Team Texas.
Doctor #4 was very calm and relaxed, took time to hear my story up to this point, then began to put me and my wife at ease. She confirmed the bulging discs, but they weren't really all that bad- give them some rest. She confirmed the degenerative discs, but this is pretty normal after 30-35 years. Same for loss of cartilage between bones, especially for active adults. And a grade 1 retrolisthesis? Who DOESN'T have that? "But grade 3 means surgery, right?" I asked. She replied, "You know how many grade 3s I've seen in my career? None. Car accident trauma MIGHT cause a grade 3."
She prescribed physical therapy for core and back strengthening, something I had wanted to do in my training this year anyway, so I'm anxious to start. So for my big question: Can I run again, and can I still train for the Dallas marathon in December? "Yes, but you MAY cause further injury. Maybe make this one your last full marathon."
I think I can agree with that...for now anyway.
If you like my blog so far and want to show your support of my goal to raise money for my church's mission to India, please share my blog and/or donate any amount you feel led to give. I hope to raise a minimum of $524 (see first post on why this amount) and more with enough eyes and hearts!
*If you're a member of Cornerstone Baptist Church (of Fort Worth), please disregard my requests for donations- if you're donating, it should go directly to our church... but please feel free to share my blog!
No comments:
Post a Comment