Shooting Pains In My Leg

[tangoll]

There is a clinic on 15th floor of Mahatun Plaza at BTS Ploenchit station, who does what is called subluxation decompression. He is like a chiropractor but doesn't do the back spine cracking/twisting. He advertises regularly in classifieds of Bangkok Post. He is not cheap but he basically solved my lower back pain problem which was in the 4th disc of the spine. His clinic is open style with exercise mat, large exercise ball, beds for electric pad, and the decompression machines which slowly pulls your spine apart to relieve pressure from compressed spine discs.

It worked for me and I've had lower back pain for years; been to see orthopedic surgeon at BNH, therapists, and chiropractors. He directs you to various hospitals for x-rays and MRI scans if he thinks it will help in the diagnosis.

Guy is from US, name Vernon, clinic phone number is 02-2545857 in Bangkok. Whenever I went for treatment, there were always several other patients there getting treatment as well, which I think is a reassuring sign. Most of the patients are farang, and come from all over Thailand, with one patient who flies in from Phuket 2 - 3 times a month, stays in Bangkok 2 nights for 3 treatments. He told me that he could hardly walk before finding this clinic and now he's walking without pain.

[fishhooks]

tangoll:

Great advice and just what I was looking for. The sort of thing that makes T.V. really worthwhile.

Thank you.

[Sheryl]

Fishook: the pins and needles part suggests possible nerve root compression. It is possible that the physio inadevertently exacerbated your problem in such a way as to increase or create compression on a nerve root. Did you have an MRI first? Actually should have an MRI before undergoing either physio or chiro and good practioioners of either school will insist on it...both in order to develop a treatment plan with best chance or helping and also to avoid making matters worse.

The treatment mentioned by tangoll is basically like physio/spinal traction but fine tuned to target exactly the disks which have the problem (assuming that it is a disk problem to begin with). For that they need an MRI. They can refer you to a place to get one or you can go to a hospital for it, advantage of the latter is that you can also consult an ortopedic specialist and ask his opinion as to whether or not physio and traction are likely to help.

It is worth asking because the Mahutan Plaza place is not at all inexpensive and multiple treatments over at least a few weeks are needed, so you don't want to invest all that only to find it didnt help. From my one contact with them my impression was that their regimen was like an improved version of the physical therapy/traction often prescribed for people with disk herniation and would probably be helpful for some patients but I felt that they were too quick to say that anyone could be helped. The particular friend I brought there would not have been a suitable candidate because the disk had degenerated, not herniated; it was literally bone on bone and nothing there to slide back between the vertebra...yet they were quick to assure that the program would help and barely glanced at the MRI. The treatment works in part by gently stretching the affected vertebra apart so that the herniated disk can fall back into place, which of course only makes sense if (1) the disk has herniated in the first place and (2) the disk itself is relatively intact. In younger people it usually is but as people age the disk material can degenerate to the point where sometimes it's essentially gone, in which case traction/physio etc is of very limited benefit...

As many others have said, best to get a clear idea of what you are delaing with first, and that is easy enough to do in Bkk.

[ThaiPauly]

Good thread anyway.

Pauly I really think you ought to try those stretching exercises I told you about, unless the massage therapist is stretching you that way.

The thing is to reduce the lordosis of the low back.

That is if you don't have a herniated disc or something.

OK glad you are feeling better.

It's astounding ...the advice you can get on TV, I am glad that you are getting something from the thread.

I am in BK right now...praying that things improve as I am finding it impossible to walk more than 100 metres right now.

I could not walk from Ekami staion to my Son's condo...its only a klik...but I had to get a bike down his Soi.

Things are grim.....nothing I can do now till I get back from the UK (going tomorrow for three weeks....oh jeez..I have booked hotels in the Cotswolds and London....I am just hoping (I don't pray) that things will dramatically improve while I am there....I always feel well in the UK.....never feel well in LOS.....no time to see any doctors back home, but I am going to have an extended stay in BK when I return and intend to get to the bottom of this , if the symptoms are still prelivant, at Bumrungrad...its a short taxi, or car journey from where I am writing this.

The strange thing is that I drove down from CM yesterday and it did not bother me at all, I thought that the specialist massages were working...seems that releif is only temporary...unfortunatley.

I won't have any internet connection for a week now as my folks are to old for computers...so "Happy Christmas" to you all...and I will check for any further advice when I get to my middle son's house on the 27th.

TP

PS I have been doing the stretching excerises you advised...but.....obviously no avail..but I am keeping at it

Edited December 19, 2008 by ThaiPauly

[FBN]

Please let someone (or yourself) just check your foot pulses (behind the inside ankle bone and on the top of the foot, mid-foot just outside the line of the main (big toe) matatarsal.

A vascular problem must be excluded.

[fishhooks]

Sheryl:

Thanks for the kind advice. I'm in Korat now, had to move around a fair bit in the last few days.

The problem with P&N seems to have mainly gone away, as has the pain however still partially apparent in both cases.

I actually phoned the Physio guy in Australia who said should be nothing major and to give a few days to settle.

I guess I'll have to trust his advice, otherwise a lot of costly investigation will need to happen.

I'm well covered for Travel Insurance, but I'm sure they won't play ball with something that was more than likely done in Australia prior to departure.

[Old Croc]

I've suffered from Lumbar Stenosis which is a narrowing of the bony (spinal) canal that protects the spinal cord and the nerves, in the lower back. Symptoms include pain in the buttocks and legs and loss of feeling in the legs. The pain occurs most often when walking or standing and is relieved by resting, sitting or bending forward.

Diagnosis included MRI's and a Mileogram (sp) which involved an injection of dye into my spinal canal then xrays.

The condition improved after hip replacement surgery which evened up my leg lengths.

[ThaiPauly]

I returned to BK from the UK a couple of weks ago.

I had to cancel shopping trips , although we did stay at a hotel in the Cotswolds for my Wife's birthday, but could not leve the hotel for more than 15 minutes to play in the snow before I had to sit down.

On my return to Bangkok I made an appointment to see a Doctor at Bumrungrad recommended to me by a very good moderator here, who had heard from othere members that he was one of the best in town

He recommended an MRI which I had to wait 5 days to have.

Once the MRI was done he told me he could see nothing wrong, no trapped nerves, just some scar tissue from my last operation 3 years ago.

So he reffered me to the hospitals Pain Specialist. She told me that she could block the nerve that was giving me so many problems by having a steroid injection which would be done under theatre conditions.

The next day I had the procedure which was suppossed to last an hour, but lasted nearly two as she could not locate the nerve. It was a very painful procedure which had to be done under local anasthetic, so I could feel the pain.

After she finished she said "Fingers Crossed" that this works. "I've done all I can"

Well it didn't

I have spoken to the Doctor twice on the phone since the operation. She is seeking guidance from her peers in the States. She says "Give it time" but the first Doctor I saw said that the results would be instentaneous.

I have an appointment to go back in two weeks...so my saga continues, and I am certainly not happy about it.

I have joined a local gym in an effort to at least excercise some of my muscles, as this has been going on for nearly a year I have put on 5 kg as a result of being unabe to excercise.

[Sheryl]

TP,

As previously mentioned the likely dofferential diagnosis was between nerve root compression from a problem in the lumbar spine and vascular insufficiency. The second is a known complication of diabetes.

As you have had an MRI which showed no pathology the first would seem to be ruled out.

I suggest you consult a vascular specialist to establish whether or not there is any circulatory impairment.

[Sheryl]

P.S. As you seem to prefer Bumrungrad and also all your records are there, here are some vascular surgeons there who seem well qualified. (I have not heard any personal feedback on them). You will need at a minimum a doppler ultrasound (noninvasive test) to ascertain if there is any restriction to arterial blood flow. Be sure they know you are diabetic.

Name: Dr. Thamrongroj Temudom

Speciality: Surgery, General Surgery,Vascular Surgery

Language: Spoken: English,Thai

Qualifications: Medical School:

- M.D. Phramongkutklao Hospital, Mahidol University, Thailand, 1988

Board Certifications:

- Diploma of Thai Board of Surgery, 1992

- Canada Board of Surgery, 1997

- Vascular Surgery, Canada, 1998

Residency :

- General Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA, 1992- 1997

Fellowships:

- Vascular Surgery, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, USA, 1998

Day Time Location

Thu 17:00 - 20:00 NS 16D (Surgical)

Sun 13:00 - 16:00 NS 16D (Surgical)

Name: Dr. Mawin Vongsaisuwon

Speciality: Surgery, Breast Surgery, General Surgery,Vascular Surgery

Language: Spoken: English,Teo Chew,Thai

Qualifications: Medical School:

- M.D., Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, 1993

Board Certifications:

- Diploma of The Thai Board of Surgery, 1997

Academic Appointment : Lecturer/Consultant, Chulalongkorn University

Fellowships:

- FRCST, FICS, 2002

Special Clinical Trainings:

- Vascular Surgery

Special Clinical Interests:

- Breast & Vascular Surgery

Day Time Location

Thu 17:00 - 20:00 NS 16C (Surgical/Breast)

Fri 17:00 - 20:00 NS 16C (Surgical/Breast)

Sun 09:30 - 11:30 NS 16C (Surgical/Breast

Name: Dr. Piyanut Pootracool

Speciality: Surgery, General Surgery,Vascular Surgery

Language: Spoken: English,Thai

Qualifications: Medical School:

- M.D. Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Thailand,1996

Board Certifications:

- Diploma of the Thai Board of Surgery, 2002

Fellowships:

- Vascular Surgery, Transplant Surgery, Ramathibodi Hospital,

Mahidol University, Thailand, 2003

- Clinical Fellow in Vascular nad Transplantation, Westmead

Hospital, University of Sydney, Australia, 2006

Special Clinical Interests:

- Vascular Surgery

- Transplantation Surgery

- Varicose Vein

- Kidney Transplantation

- Aneurysm

Day Time Location

Thu 17:00 - 20:00 NS 16D (Surgical)

Sun 17:00 - 20:00 NS 16D (Surgical)

[wasabi]

I have a very similar problem probably related to sciatic nerve. My left leg tingles and feels numb at times. It starts at the left hip and goes down to my foot. I'm ok walking but I can't stand long periods of time. I find stretching elevating it and prednisolone off and on helps some but never completely fixes the problem. I don't like taking the prednisolone because it weakens your immune system but its the only anti inflammatory that has any effect. I've had the problem 8 months now. I'm going back to the USA in about 4 or 5 more months and am hoping I can hold out til then. I did go to a doctor here but they only gave me ibuprofen which didn't help at all.

Edited January 26, 2009 by wasabi