My Back!!!!

Rolf until you ralph?

It depends on the problem....I have had problems for many years after picking up heavy object without bending knees......There is a stretching routine that a Dr. taught me that has worked, the only thing that did work....and of course learning to never pick anything up without keeping back straight and knees bent....I'll try to find it for you ....can't find it....these are some though....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNN3K2qj-L0

...also do deep knee bends keeping back perfectly straight, as many as you can manage....hold on to something to keep balance...

...stand up straight, clinch buttocks and thrust hips forward holding for 10 sec...several reps....

take drugs to numb pain optional...

What'd you do, pull a muscle while patting yourself on the back for your patent?

http://cr4.globalspec.com/thread/84425/I-Got-My-Patent

I can feel your pain Kramarat. I suffered from major back pain most of my adult life. I finally had surgery in 2006 when my bulging disk became a ruptured disk and the spinal stenosis made almost impossible to move. It took 2 neurosurgeons 6 hours to remove the disk between L3 and L4, fuse those 2 vertebrae together, clean up all the stenosis and grind the facets down that were rubbing. I have been relatively pain free since my recovery, 2 minor back aches since then, both muscle pain, no joint pain.

The thought of back surgery is a scary one, I put it off for years. Due to the success of it, I regret having put it off.

I think this is what I need....

I fell about 40', years ago. I walked out of the hospital, but broke my tail bone in 3 places, and compacted 2 vertebrae.

That happened in about "85". I think those two vertebrae may have fused themselves, since the disk was obliterated in the fall. I've been taking supplements for years, for joint pain, etc., and I think those two vertebrae may have loosened up.

I've also heard that they have a way of replacing the disk itself, which sounds awesome, if it works...

I've gone the chiropractor route too, and think that some are better than others, and relief was always temporary. This is in the bone itself, so I think I'll skip that option this time around. They did help me for years though.

I also heard about disk replacement, but when I had my surgery, it was not yet approved in the U.S. The fusing of L3 to L4 has left me with no noticeable loss of movement. The only difference I feel is the lack of pain. I also know that not everyone that has this surgery, has the success that I did, and that it may not last forever. But almost 7 years and no pain makes it worth it in my book.

Good luck in whatever you try.

Thanks.

I'll be making a doctor's appointment this week. Along with reseaching and weighing my options. I'd like to think that I have another 15 years of wood splitting in me. I don't want to lose the free heat.

I had pretty good luck (okay, very good luck) with a chiropractor.

I was skeptical, but thought I would give it a try. Without surgery he was able to get me walking upright and pain free in a few months.

I've been going to a Chiropractor since I was 15 due to an old track injury....I tried pole vaulting, on a dare from my buddies, and screwed up the landing by half on and half off the crash pad. Now I'm 54 and pretty much no problems, as long as I watch doing stupid things. Worked for me.

But if you have fused discs that's another ball of wax entirely!! I'd get at least 3 Doctor's opinions before going under the knife! OUCH!!!!

Doing okay here Kram, though a bit tired today from a lack of sleep last night. You? Thinking of moving down your way in the future, say westerly of Charlotte NC nearer to the mountains......the economy sux in New York. So does the new NY SAFE ACT gun grab.

Long live and prosper! Also, Don't Tread on Me!!!!!!!

I can't say I blame you. I love NC. Nothing bad to say about the state or the people. It's beautiful here. Just promise to leave the NY nonsense up there.

They are coming up with some really great back proceedures, I just hope I qualify for one of the less invasive ones.

Hey Mark, I promise not to drag any of the NY bullch$t down to NC with me, including the Gun Grabbing attitudes and other LibTard mentalities, etc etc etc.! LOL

We've be looking online only at the Morganton area of Burke Co., though not in the city itself (no way no how, I'm a country guy by heart and upbringing!!!!). Other than that, I don't know much about the area.

Do you know much about the Morganton area? I know it's a hike from the Rayleigh area. It'd ideal for us because it's roughly a 45 minute commute into Charlotte if I find a job down in that city or nearby. It's seems like a nice area in or near the mountain foothills....give me deer hunting or give me death! I'm not worried about the quality of the schools (other than taxes of course!) since all my kids are grown and have flown the nest....

I hope for your sake that you find a non-invasive procedure!!!! Have you checked out any of the Doctors at Duke University Medical Center yet? They appear to be pretty much cutting edge (no pun intended) in nearly everything imaginable!

Duke is awesome!!! They saved my nephew's life, and fixed up my brother in law after he ran himself over with a diesel tanker truck...he didn't set the parking brake, truck started rolling without him in it, he ran to catch it, slipped because it was dark and raining, and the rear dual tires ran over his legs. Nephew had a brain tumor when he was a baby...fine now. I'll have to see what the insurance covers.

I haven't been to a part of the state that I don't like. In your line of work, I think that the Charlotte area would be your best bet. I don't know much about the area, but you don't have to get too far away from the cities to be in the boondocks.

I rented for a year when I first moved here, which worked out well. It gave me time to get a read on everything, before I made the move into purchasing. I've heard that Charlotte is really nice; I just don't like cities, so never went to see it.

Wow! This looks awesome.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_NaaTAi7Tg

Something that works here as a self-first-aid remedy in the case of back muscle spasm:

1. Select a small hand-towel.
2. Roll it up like a sausage.
3. Fold it in half.
4. Place it on the floor.
5. Lay on top of the folded sausage with the loading point at the centre of the muscle spasm/pain/whatever.
6. Wait 15 minutes.
7. Get up and put the towel away rejoicing.

Most of the posts have talked about either surgery or a chiropractor. I didn't see much mention of physical therapy, but it has worked well for me for 2 different herniated disks. First one was (mis-)diagnosed by a chiropractor, whose "adjustments" made it worse. Got to a point where I almost couldn't walk. When my Dr. finally took a CAT scan & figured out what's going on, he sent me to a good PT. They used stretches and exercises to reduce pressure on the bulged disk so it could retreat back into place and stop pinching my nerves.

The second time was more like yours - the hot knife in the back. Different therapist that time, but just as good. Used traction (half-hour in a stretching device, with hot packon the disk area) plus more stretches & exercises to relieve pain and displacement. It took some weeks, followed by months of regular, daily core-strengthening exercises to build the muscles in my lower back & abdomen. Having a strong core helps protect the back. Been pain (and disk-trouble) free for over 10 years now, and I bike/swim/run regularly. Have to watch the lifting, but at my age I try to leave that to the young guys anyhow.

Have your doc check you out, and see if PT will work for you. It's probably the least "aggressive," but given a little time could produce the best results.

Good news.

Went to the primary care doctor this morning. He took some x rays, and said that I am nowhere near being a candidate for surgery.

It was already feeling a lot better, but he prescribed me some steroids to take for a short period, and an appointment with a PT to get some exercises recommended.

He told me I should be good to go.

The damned pain gets so intense, it's easy to start imagining nightmare scenarios. About as much fun as kidney stones, which I also got one time. Ouch!!!!!

At this point, chiropractors are out. I had one guy that could get me fixed up, but it never lasted, and he is no longer practicing.

I'm not getting much in the way of muscle spasms...more like a pinched nerve.

It's better now, but I'm still going to go to an orthopedist and get it checked out. The less invasive the better, but I do want it fixed, and not get locked into repeated doctors visits.

Naturally, I have to go to my primary doctor before I can see a back doctor, which is just stupid. They won't give me a referral without seeing him first.

When it went, I had been rolling big wood rounds, (200-300 lbs), onto a burn pile the day before, which may not have been a good idea.

It's time to get it checked out; I was lucky I lived through the fall back in 85, and it crunched my entire spine pretty good. I'm thinking it has something to do with the compacted vertebrae.

I'll let you guys know what the prognosis is, and if there are any cool new procedures out there.

Thanks for the input.

Krat, Dude...you have Lyme Disease. I've had it twice and my red dog Buck had the same thing you have. He was dragging his back legs around like an Indian travois. He goes a mile with me on my bike now.

The spirochetes have gotten into your spinal fluid where they are safe from your immune system.

Cured us both that way. We got it in Robbinsville, NC. Deer ticks are full of it and other bacteria too.

Buy a bag of USA apples, your favorite kind, and eat an apple or two a day including chewing up the seeds until the bag is gone. Seeds contain trace amounts of amygdalin which kills bacteria because, unlike every cell in the human body, they do not contain the enzyme that breaks down the -CN in the amygdalin to harmless thiocyanate.

I appreciate the concern, and Lyme disease is a very real possibility around here, but fortunately, it's not Lyme. Just a tweaked back. The steroid prescription appears to be working, and the pain is just about completely gone. I think I just need to incorporate some back specific exercises into my morning routine.