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L3-L4 Herniation and Numbness

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MikeMess
MikeMess

Hi. Four years ago I had a microdiscectomy for a herniation at L4-L5 and have residual numbness along the shin area up to the knee. Four weeks ago I herniated (sideways) the disk at L3-L4 and now the numbness is up over the knee and along the inside of the knee partway up the left leg. I immediately hit it with a massive dose of Prednisone, but no help there. I had injections a week ago, they initially helped with the pain, now not so much. I can deal with the nasty nasty pain to a certain extent, but I'm am wondering about two things. First, any chance the numbness goes away? Having it up over the knee seems to have weakened the leg, I'm in a wheelchair for now. Second, I go backpacking in remote areas and this second herniation happened without warning and would strand me. Am I better off getting periodic injections and hoping it gets better on its own, or should I have surgery now for a more permanent solution to reduce future risk?

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