By TITO S. TALAO
With Rain or Shine’s conference now over, Elasto Painters head coach Yeng Guiao is facing a decision he has put off for some time — whether to undergo lower back surgery.
At this point, there is little room for delay, although Guiao remains hopeful that the procedure will not be an only option.
“Trying to avoid an operation,” Guiao said on Viber on Thursday. “Sinusubukan ko alternative treatments.”
If his condition improves, Guiao said he will cancel the operation, which his doctor told him would take about two hours.
“But kung hindi, no choice ako. I will know in 3-4 weeks,” said the 67-year-old mentor, who owns seven PBA championships.
Earlier in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup, Guiao revealed to Tempo/MB Sports that he was scheduled to undergo surgery to relieve chronic lower back pain caused by a pinched nerve.
“Between the L4 and L5 nang vertebrae ko, naiipit yung nerve, masakit sa sciatic,” Guiao said. “Kailangang ibuka nang konti.”
Guiao initially shied away from the prospect of surgery, opting instead for traditional medicine and physical therapy. But those alternatives have become less effective as the pain and discomfort worsened over time.
“Di ko na matiis e,” he said.
Still, Guiao remains optimistic.
“Currently I’m undergoing traction and decompression therapy,” he said. “Might need spine injections later.”
Traction and decompression therapies are “non-surgical treatments designed to stretch the spine and relieve pressure on compressed joints and nerves by increasing the space between vertebrae.”
Spinal injections, meanwhile, “deliver anti-inflammatory medication or numbing agents directly to the nerves, discs, or joints of the spine to help manage pain and inflammation.”
A pinched nerve between the L4 and L5 vertebrae — often caused by a herniated disc, spinal stenosis, or bone spurs — “can lead to sciatica, which may result in sharp pain, numbness, tingling, or weakness radiating from the lower back down the leg.”
The sciatic nerve, also according to the internet, “is the largest and longest nerve in the human body, extending from the lower back through the hips and buttocks and down each leg. It is responsible for sensation and movement in the legs and feet.
Sciatica occurs when the nerve becomes compressed or irritated, often causing sharp, radiating pain down one leg.”
