Sciatic Nerve
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@mark said in Sciatic Nerve:
PT feels I need to have an ultrasound at the very least or better still, an MRI in the area where the pain originates as well as the opposite side of my back where she thinks I might have small growths that "I should not be alarmed about". Yeah, OK. She thinks they are most likely "fatty tissue."
Ultrasound will probably be remarkably unhelpful and non-diagnostic.
Get in the tube.
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@George-K said in Sciatic Nerve:
@mark said in Sciatic Nerve:
PT feels I need to have an ultrasound at the very least or better still, an MRI in the area where the pain originates as well as the opposite side of my back where she thinks I might have small growths that "I should not be alarmed about". Yeah, OK. She thinks they are most likely "fatty tissue."
Ultrasound will probably be remarkably unhelpful and non-diagnostic.
Get in the tube.
Amen.
It amazes me what all they can see with a good MRI.
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Funny you should mention....
I'm seeing a neurosurgeon on Friday. My left anterior thigh goes numb if I stand/sit in one position too long.
Knowing the surgeon, he'll order an MRI and (hopefully) refer me to PT. I doubt I have a herniated or bulging disc. Probably some foramenal stenosis.
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@89th I am like 100% better. PT helped the most. Chiro was good too but the stretches and exercises from PT were what got me straightened out.
My pelvis was misaligned to the point that if it had gone even a few millimeters more out of alignment I would not have been able to walk at all. About 2-3 weeks of PT had me right as rain. I continue to work on it so I don't go out of alignment again.
I needed to learn proper posture when sitting at my desk, playing my guitars/piano, ergonomic placement of my keyboard and mouse, etc. I never gave these things a first thought let alone a second thought. I can even type faster and more accurately now that I have put them into practice.
MRI showed narrowing of passages in some disks and other paths that nerves run through due to arthritis and of course, me getting older than dirt. It also raped my bank account of $2k which was my portion of the $7k bill they sent my insurance company. All for 20 minutes inside a noisy tube and about 10 minutes of an analysts time. So $14k per hour. There were many people in the waiting room just waiting to get raped in the same manner. IOW, the MRI did nothing at all to help my doctor and PT solve the problem. The PT people were awesome. By the time I was scheduled to get into the tube, I was already feeling 90% better.
Because my pelvis was so far out of alignment, it was pinching my sciatic nerve. Once I got it moving back into proper alignment, the pain subsided and I am now back to my "normal" self.
I am sitting at my desk in a proper manner now, and I also adjusted how I sit when playing my guitars. All in the hope that I never have to go through that again.
Yeah, posture is important. Who knew? lol
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@mark said in Sciatic Nerve:
@89th I am like 100% better. PT helped the most. Chiro was good too but the stretches and exercises from PT were what got me straightened out.
My pelvis was misaligned to the point that if it had gone even a few millimeters more out of alignment I would not have been able to walk at all. About 2-3 weeks of PT had me right as rain. I continue to work on it so I don't go out of alignment again.
I needed to learn proper posture when sitting at my desk, playing my guitars/piano, ergonomic placement of my keyboard and mouse, etc. I never gave these things a first thought let alone a second thought. I can even type faster and more accurately now that I have put them into practice.
MRI showed narrowing of passages in some disks and other paths that nerves run through due to arthritis and of course, me getting older than dirt. It also raped my bank account of $2k which was my portion of the $7k bill they sent my insurance company. All for 20 minutes inside a noisy tube and about 10 minutes of an analysts time. So $14k per hour. There were many people in the waiting room just waiting to get raped in the same manner. IOW, the MRI did nothing at all to help my doctor and PT solve the problem. The PT people were awesome. By the time I was scheduled to get into the tube, I was already feeling 90% better.
Because my pelvis was so far out of alignment, it was pinching my sciatic nerve. Once I got it moving back into proper alignment, the pain subsided and I am now back to my "normal" self.
I am sitting at my desk in a proper manner now, and I also adjusted how I sit when playing my guitars. All in the hope that I never have to go through that again.
Yeah, posture is important. Who knew? lol
A high end MRI machine can cost $3M. That MRI tech (in your neck of the woods) is making $75K or maybe even more. And that tech is not the only one.
Life of lab equipment is usually 5 years, but xray equipment lasts longer, Figure 10 years for a good MRI.
Y'all can do the math from there.
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That’s a great update, Mark.
Not so much for George. But, it’s going around. MFR is going in for a shot into her hip Friday. If that doesn’t help we’re likely looking at a new hip. I would have thought I’d be a more likely candidate with all the exercise I’ve done over the years, but who knows.
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@Mik said in Sciatic Nerve:
MFR is going in for a shot into her hip Friday. If that doesn’t help we’re likely looking at a new hip.
Mrs. George has had her hip injected multiple times - about every 4-5 months for a couple of years. The ortho guy said that, as long as the injections keep working, keep injecting. It's when they last a shorter time that you should consider a THR.
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@Mik said in Sciatic Nerve:
That’s a great update, Mark.
Not so much for George. But, it’s going around. MFR is going in for a shot into her hip Friday. If that doesn’t help we’re likely looking at a new hip. I would have thought I’d be a more likely candidate with all the exercise I’ve done over the years, but who knows.
Wife gets popped at L4 on the 23rd.
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@mark said in Sciatic Nerve:
My sister (2 years older) just had a hip replacement yesterday. In and out the same day.
Amazing, no?
Many surgeons are using the anterior approach to THR. It's less traumatic, less risk of post-op dislocation, and basically no rehab, other than just getting up and walking.
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@Jolly said in Sciatic Nerve:
@mark said in Sciatic Nerve:
@89th I am like 100% better. PT helped the most. Chiro was good too but the stretches and exercises from PT were what got me straightened out.
My pelvis was misaligned to the point that if it had gone even a few millimeters more out of alignment I would not have been able to walk at all. About 2-3 weeks of PT had me right as rain. I continue to work on it so I don't go out of alignment again.
I needed to learn proper posture when sitting at my desk, playing my guitars/piano, ergonomic placement of my keyboard and mouse, etc. I never gave these things a first thought let alone a second thought. I can even type faster and more accurately now that I have put them into practice.
MRI showed narrowing of passages in some disks and other paths that nerves run through due to arthritis and of course, me getting older than dirt. It also raped my bank account of $2k which was my portion of the $7k bill they sent my insurance company. All for 20 minutes inside a noisy tube and about 10 minutes of an analysts time. So $14k per hour. There were many people in the waiting room just waiting to get raped in the same manner. IOW, the MRI did nothing at all to help my doctor and PT solve the problem. The PT people were awesome. By the time I was scheduled to get into the tube, I was already feeling 90% better.
Because my pelvis was so far out of alignment, it was pinching my sciatic nerve. Once I got it moving back into proper alignment, the pain subsided and I am now back to my "normal" self.
I am sitting at my desk in a proper manner now, and I also adjusted how I sit when playing my guitars. All in the hope that I never have to go through that again.
Yeah, posture is important. Who knew? lol
A high end MRI machine can cost $3M. That MRI tech (in your neck of the woods) is making $75K or maybe even more. And that tech is not the only one.
Life of lab equipment is usually 5 years, but xray equipment lasts longer, Figure 10 years for a good MRI.
Y'all can do the math from there.
OK. $14k * 8 * 5 * 52 = $29,120,000.00 per year.
I'll be kind and cut it in half.
Who is getting financially fucked here?
We are.
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@mark said in Sciatic Nerve:
OK. $14k * 8 * 5 * 52 = $29,120,000.00 per year.
I'll be kind and cut it in half.We're lucky that the radiologist, computers, admitting and clerical staff, housekeeper, security guard, transportation, elevator maintenance, parking maintenance, electricity, plumbing, furniture in the waiting room are all free.
Yeah, it's a ripoff.
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@George-K said in Sciatic Nerve:
@mark said in Sciatic Nerve:
OK. $14k * 8 * 5 * 52 = $29,120,000.00 per year.
I'll be kind and cut it in half.We're lucky that the radiologist, computers, admitting and clerical staff, housekeeper, security guard, transportation, elevator maintenance, parking maintenance, electricity, plumbing, furniture in the waiting room are all free.
Yeah, it's a ripoff.
Yes it is.
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Medicare will probably pay about $3200.
That's the number to work from...
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Contractors built that building for free too. The nurses don't get paid, and all the IV fluids given in the MRI scanner fell off a truck, only to be recycled - along with all the IV equipment. If you got a CD of your scan, you can be grateful that Verbatim donated them to the hospital.
ETA: As did the programmers who gave freely of their time and skills to write the software that interprets the MRI.
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@George-K said in Sciatic Nerve:
@mark said in Sciatic Nerve:
My sister (2 years older) just had a hip replacement yesterday. In and out the same day.
Amazing, no?
Many surgeons are using the anterior approach to THR. It's less traumatic, less risk of post-op dislocation, and basically no rehab, other than just getting up and walking.
Never thought I'd see it. IIRC, I used to set up 4-6 units for a hip.