Highlights From the
Marc Darrow, M.D.,J.D. Radio Show
Herniated Discs
Caller: I have slight herniation between the L3 and L4 vertebrae from playing sports. What is the suggestion for stabilizing the area short of surgery?

Dr. Darrow: What we do is stabilize the vertebrae and the ligaments around them so if there is a herniated disc, it doesn't cause any havoc by rubbing against the nerves that come out the spine and go down the leg.

There are several ways we stabilize the area, one is with MedX back exercise equipment. MedX machines exercise your back by taking your lower body or pelvis out of the picture so when you exercise (which is just a forward extension and a backwards extension), it strengthens the muscle right around the vertebrae, those little paraspinal muscles that are weak in everyone.

The muscles around the L3-L4 area do not have very good strength, with this MedX equipment, we can strengthen up every area of the back. It has a computer hooked up that shows us exactly where your muscles are weak. Another thing we do is use chiropractic for alignment of the back and we use Prolotherapy, which is an injection in the area where the ligaments attach, we actually thicken up those ligaments by 50% and strengthen them by 200-400%.

Disc Problems
CALLER: I have baseball injury and I play golf at least once a week, and once maybe twice a year I will aggravate this old back injury, a bulging disc. Anything that you can recommend? Read more

Disc and Sciatica Problems
Caller: I am having a lot of problems with my L-5 disc. Every now and then and for no reason I get a tremendous pain back there and my back freezes up and I can't do anything or straighten up and I'm bent over in half. This goes on for several days. Read more

Complicated Disc Problems
CALLER: What you have been discussing really directly effects my life. I am in my 30's, and for at least the last three to 4 years I have had significant back pain and recently it has gotten worse and to make that more complicated recently I have had a couple of car accidents that have inflamed my lower back pain. I have been told that I have a herniation, I guess a bulge in my lower back and my concern is I want to have surgery, what I do want to do is have some semblance of a normal life and I love to play golf which is hard to do with lower back pain. Read more