1. Depending on which study you read, about 1/3rd of people aged 20-30 have multiple bulging discs.....and are asymptomatic. >85% of people over age 80 have multiple bulging asymptomatic discs. So, the presence of bulging discs does not necessarily mean a lot......but it could.
Here are several things that you can do to help determine if the discs themselves are an issue.
a) While you can get some mild information from xrays, you can't tell if a disc is bulging from xrays.....though some medical personnel make assumptions. You need advanced imaging MRI/CT, etc.
b) If you have had an MRI/CT, look at the report. The report usually will say things like "L1-2. Mild central canal stenosis. Mild lateral foraminal stenosis. Mild left and right disc protrusions. Numerous osteophytes throughout." First off, 95% of what is on the report likely doesn't correspond to your condition. Second, osteophytes are bone spurs. You will have hundreds of them throughout your whole body. They are easy to blame for all kinds of conditions in the body, but are rarely ever an issue. Degenerative changes and stenosis (ie narrowing) isn't normally an issue, but can be.
c) Does anything jump out at you on the report? For example, if "L1-2 is mild, L2-3 is mild, L3-4 is mild, and L4-5 is severe, L5-S1 is mild"......then it would be wise to pay attention to the L4-5 area. But if all are mild and nothing really stands out, then it's logical to think that the pain "could" be coming from some other pain generator.
d) What is the location? If your pain is in the L4 area and shoots down the buttock, anterior knee, and arch of the foot.......then it doesn't matter what the MRI report shows at L1. It could show a big disc herniation at L1, but if you don't have pain shooting to your groin then that disc herniation likely isn't involved at all.
2. Drugs - NSAID's or anti-inflammatory medications tell you what they do.....they reduce inflammation. If you take them and they help you, then at some level you have some inflammation. Muscle relaxers help with some types of muscular type pain.....if you take them and they don't help you (other than just help you sleep) then your problem isn't likely to be muscular in origin. Steroids are a shot gun and generally try to help in a lot of ways.....which is why they're so popular.
3. Physical Therapy - This is easily your best option. PT is >90% effective at resolving most types of lumbar issues with time. I would try to find more of a spine specialist if you can, but most good PT's will be able to handle this. On a personal note, Mckenzie therapists are often worth their weight in gold.
Use this page to find an officially accredited clinic in your area that utilizes the McKenzie Method of Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy
mckenzieinstitute.org
