Rehabilitation and Exercise for Sciatica

A physician answers patient questions about rehabilitation of the back when suffering from sciatica and leg pain.

Question: Is it Possible to Rehabilitate From Degenerative Disc Disease and Sciatica?

I have chronic low back and sciatica leg pain that goes down to my left foot. An MRI showed degenerative disc disease L3 thru S1, a diffuse bulge at L4-5 that is worse to the left. I am due to have an epidural block for the sciatica and facet injections. I am also in physical therapy.

Do you think it is possible to rehabilitate my back to the level of being able to lift in excess of 50 lbs?

Doctor’s Response: Rehabilitation is Possible; Microdecompression is a Possibility

In all likelihood, it is possible to get back to your formal level of functioning. A lot of the findings that are on your MRI scan were most likely present before you were having much back pain, as these findings are not diagnostic of any specific pathology.

The more important question is whether or not the disc bulge is causing sciatica by pinching your nerve root. If this is the case, then the epidural may help calm down the inflammation, after which it would be good to start a physical therapy program.

If the injection does not help, then you may want to see a spine surgeon to see if you would be a candidate for a microdecompression. Assuming that physical therapy helps relieve your back pain, you should be able to lift 50 lbs, as the MRI findings that you mention do not show that there is anything structurally wrong with your back.

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• Article written By:
• Peter F. Ullrich, Jr., MD

February 20, 2009

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