Q: My husband was diagnosed with the same problem that you discussed in a previous column – back problems due to degenerative disc disease. He had suffered for years with pain every day. He was then injured in a logging accident that fractured his skull. Following this he suffered nerve problems and couldn’t drive a standard truck any more. When he tried to get help from Workers’ Compensation, he was refused because it said all his problems were due to the previous disease. The compensation staff recommended a back operation. We declined as the doctor said he might end up in a wheelchair.
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In desperation we turned to herbal remedies. To cut a long story short, he is now cured after three years. He had another
X-ray and the degenerative disc disease had disappeared. The specialist said this was impossible. What do you think about this?
A: Actually, I have heard similar tales on many occasions. First of all, let me try to explain how Workers’ Compensation works.
It apportions a percentage figure to each part of the body that is injured. For example, an ankle injury might be 10 percent.
Then the staff looks at the length of time that it takes to recover from the injury. Should there be a complete recovery, the Workers’ Compensation will only pay for the time off work.
If the person is left with a residual and permanent disability, then it will pay money based on the percentage figure. It does not pay for any pre-existing medical conditions, and that would include degenerative disc disease. If it paid for this it would go broke in no time, because about half the population over the age of 40 has it to some degree.
In your husband’s case, he must have made a full recovery from the fractured skull without suffering lasting brain damage. You do not mention whether he was unconscious as a result of the accident. He may have received some degree of brain injury if he was unconscious for any significant length of time.
The bad nerves that you write about also causes a problem for the compensation board. It often has said that it would pay for psychiatric illnesses caused on the job, but has not yet done so. Part of the problem is that we have all had some job related stress from time to time, and depression and anxiety disorders occur in one in four people.
To complicate matters, Workers’ Compensation makes individual deals with different companies when they sign up. Some companies will pay for physiotherapy or retraining through these deals, but it is not universally applied.
Getting back to the degenerative disc disease, miracles are always possible, but I am guessing that the disc or discs may have eventually shrivelled up enough with time that they were no longer pressing on any spinal nerve roots causing pain.
Regarding the X-ray, it may have been described as “within normal limits” or something like “no significant disc disease present” as so many people have this condition with no symptoms at all. I doubt if herbs could replace a damaged disc. The only other possibility is that the original diagnosis was incorrect, and your husband suffered from some other condition. He could have had a rheumatoid or inflammatory disease, which has got better over time, and may even have responded to the herbal treatments. There are many other types of arthritic conditions that could cause lower back pain.
I agree with you that back surgery is scary, although I have never met anyone who ended up in a wheelchair permanently. Some people use one for a few weeks after the surgery. Only about two percent of patients really need back surgery, and the success rate is only about 50-50 for a complete cure. This is due to the amount of scarring that can occur.
Clare Rowson is a medical doctor with a practice near Belleville, Ont. Her columns are intended for general information only. Individuals are encouraged to also seek the advice of their own doctor regarding medical questions and treatments.
