back injury

[jbr24]

I doubt anyone really cares to hear about this, but I'm pissed and need to rant about it (good thing there's a section for ranting). About 3 years ago I hurt my lower back on a rope swing that swung you into the river... I missed to river and landed on my ass. For the next year or so my back was constantly hurting with a dull pain; I've been to doctors, chiros, massage places, even got an MRI and they all thought they fixed it or didn't find anything wrong. It hasn't been hurting as much recently but still occasionally does especially after lifting (helped the gf move a few months back-that didn't feel too good). But today after working out I was walking my dog and took a step off a curb I didn't notice and now I'm dying. It hurts just sitting here, laying down doesn't help, and I can't stand up straight when I walk. It pisses me off because it hasn't hurt this bad since I hurt it years ago and it's all because I stepped off a damn curb I didn't see
Anyways, thanks for listening and let me know if anyone knows any stretches or anything that help the lower back. Its only on one side but if it doesn't get better soon I may have to go back to the doc

 

[kyletxria1911a1]

Baby i know how ya feel i hurt mine about 7 yrs ago i hate to break this
To you but once ya do it it dont heal. (sorry) some days i cant walk 75 feet
With out stopping

 

[matefrio]

Go to a therapist and learn how to keep your back healthy then do your stretching exersizes every day, even when it doesn't hurt. The only way I know how to keep off my back.

 

[fuelfather]

Been there. I hurt mine back in 1997. I have times when I spend my days off on the couch on my bac with my knees bent.
https://totalmotionrelease.com/

 

[Acera]

I know a rock star of a surgeon here in Houston. He did all three of my back surgeries two years ago, and is fantastic. Let me know if you need his name.

 

[M. Sage]

Save the surgery for when you NEED it. Once you get it, your back starts deteriorating faster. I had great experience with chriopractic, but you have to find the right chiropractor.

Make sure your shoes fit and aren't worn out...

But getting through the next week or two is going to be the sucky part. Laying down on the floor is about all you have going for you... If you can get back up again when you get tired of that, you aren't hurt that badly.

 

[shortround]

Ruptured two discs on the lower back on a bad landing when my T-10C parachute began to oscillate and slammed me into the ground.

Was not a good candidate for surgery because of the way the disc material was compressed around the nerves.

The Sciatica was almost unbearable.

Started off with bed rest, but that was a no-go because I still had to go to work.

Tried Naprosyn, then Ibuprofen. Neither helped, and narcotics were not an alternative if I wanted to keep my security clearance and job.

Finally, a Doctor of Osteopathy put me through a routine of physical therapy and nutritional supplements (shark oil and Glucosamine).

Had to stop the consumption of all alcoholic beverages and anything with caffeine.

Could only drink water or unsweetened tea.

Exercises included stretching on the floor, with a pillow wedged under the small of the back and slowly bringing the knees up to the chest, standing up against a wall and pressing against it with the palms facing the wall, and learning the "Golfer's" stretch by bending slightly forward, bending one knee, and pushing the other leg straight back to pick up a golf ball.

As for sleeping, the doc told me to lie on my side in a fetal position.

It was good therapy.

Problem with busted discs, is that they will every now and then lay you low.

Stay well hydrated with H20, especially in warmer days.

Be well.

 

[jbr24]

thanks for all the tips.. lying flat on my back on the floor is the only thing thats been helping, and i took some naproxen. i think that some physical therapy would help because i think its in the muscle (its only off to one side not on the spine but deep in the muscle.. i think thats why the chiro's never got to it) ill see how im doing in the next few days and may try the chiro again though or find somewhere that could set me up with a good physical therapy routine - or http://www.learnspinalmanipulation.com/

 

[Acera]

Since it seems muscular instead of structural, you might buy one of those portable tens machines to use at home. Ask your chiropractor, he could probalby hook you up with one, or let you know where to get a good one for a decent price.

 

[M. Sage]

I miss getting hooked up to TENS and a heat pad. On a massage table. That was heaven...

Ruptured two discs on the lower back on a bad landing when my T-10C parachute began to oscillate and slammed me into the ground.

Was not a good candidate for surgery because of the way the disc material was compressed around the nerves.

The Sciatica was almost unbearable.

Started off with bed rest, but that was a no-go because I still had to go to work.

Tried Naprosyn, then Ibuprofen. Neither helped, and narcotics were not an alternative if I wanted to keep my security clearance and job.

Finally, a Doctor of Osteopathy put me through a routine of physical therapy and nutritional supplements (shark oil and Glucosamine).

Had to stop the consumption of all alcoholic beverages and anything with caffeine.

Could only drink water or unsweetened tea.

Exercises included stretching on the floor, with a pillow wedged under the small of the back and slowly bringing the knees up to the chest, standing up against a wall and pressing against it with the palms facing the wall, and learning the "Golfer's" stretch by bending slightly forward, bending one knee, and pushing the other leg straight back to pick up a golf ball.

As for sleeping, the doc told me to lie on my side in a fetal position.

It was good therapy.

Problem with busted discs, is that they will every now and then lay you low.

Stay well hydrated with H20, especially in warmer days.

Be well.

I agree with 90% of this, but if I was to put a pillow under the small of my back, my sciatic would go nuts immediately. To this day, I have to deflate every lumbar support I come across in customers' cars or the pain is intense. Screwed up discs (mine is L5/S1) aren't entirely predictable, I guess...

I actually had a physical therapist make me worse off by pushing on my lower back...

Point being - be careful what you push on.

Big +1 on the water, though. I quit drinking caffeine all together and it increased my water consumption a lot. Looking back, it seems to have really helped (plus I don't get all the sugar from soda).

thanks for all the tips.. lying flat on my back on the floor is the only thing thats been helping, and i took some naproxen. i think that some physical therapy would help because i think its in the muscle (its only off to one side not on the spine but deep in the muscle.. i think thats why the chiro's never got to it) ill see how im doing in the next few days and may try the chiro again though or find somewhere that could set me up with a good physical therapy routine

I usually exceed the dosage on naproxyn. Before the back injury, I had some others that docs had given me 550 mg (3x daily) to help with muscle inflammation (180 lbs body weight). How you use that info is up to you... Also, 800 mg motrin can do wonders.

A good chiropractor will help you out with physical therapy and exercise. If yours doesn't, I'd be suspicious of him.

 

[Acesn8's]

I use a tens unit when I have flare ups it really helps.As others have said surgery would be the last option .

 

[Texas42]

Some chiropractors will, some will hurt your problem. (from personal experience)

NSAIDS are great drugs, but be careful. They are NOT benign medicines.

The best thing I can tell you is to stay as active as possible. It will not help you to avoid doing activities because of the pain.

 

[hkusp1]

Sounds muscular or neurological. Be careful with NSAIDs they have a funny habit of destroying your liver if taken for extended periods of time. If a doc ever tells you you have fibromyalgia seek another opinion, fibromyalgia is basically a code word for they can't figure out what's wrong with you.

 

[jbr24]

I use a tens unit when I have flare ups it really helps.As others have said surgery would be the last option .

i got the tens at the chiro a year or so back, it felt awesome while it was going but afterwards i didnt feel much better.. i would like to look into buying some to keep at home, anyone know where i could get a tens machine or know anything about them? or should i contact the chiro and ask them?

 

[Skip]

I feel for ya man, I am right in the middle of multiple MRI's and Neuro surgeons, and Pain management doctors. I am on a couple of pain meds including Hydrocodone 10mg (so no liver damage). I'm hoping surgery isn't in my future so I'll hope the same for you. Good luck...

 

[recordingwhiz]

I have Spondiolosis and my lower 2 discs are almost not there, and sciatica, I feel your pain (literaly) im on a well regulated regimen of hydrocodone which I have to limit myself daily as I have experianced withdrawl from pain meds after getting out of hospital from 2 knee surgeries, and let me tell you, that is the one and only time I had to tell my girlfriend to lock the guns up so I could not off myself.... horrible.
I now live with my legs permanently numb/ tingly with hypersensitive nerves.
I wish you the best, this is not a good thing to have whatsoever. be carefull with the pain meds, its a slippery slope.

Good luck

 

[austinbirdnut]

jeremy,

sorry you are hurting brother...Im not soliciting you at all, but Im in Austin and Im a chiro, RN and acupuncturist....almost a Family Nurse Practioner. I practice ALL sides of the spectrum so you realize Im not just a crazy back popper :-). M. Sage is right, a good chiro should understand therapy as well as manipulation approaches. Feel free to contact me if you have questions. I dont care of you see another chiro, as long as you get results. I know a great PT if you want the referral but I'll agree with one poster above, you need to be on a REGULAR regimen of stretching and some reasonable frquency of strengthening. There is no such thing as "my backs been fine since...."...once you injure it as bad as you did originally, you're never out of the woods completely and you will best serve yourself to engage in regular counter-active exercise to make sure it doesnt beat you back to the punch so to speak. PM me if you want my contact info. In the mean time, lying on your back or side with a pillow under your knees or between them, respectively, is your best bet....and by all means, get some flippin Ice packs on your back!!! You need to shut down that inflammatory response ASAP!! (ice pack on for 15mins, off for 45-60mins, lather, rinse, repeat as necessary)...peace.

 

[drummingchevy]

Another person with shit for a back here.

I have 2 degenerating discs in the middle of my back and I "threw" my back out right between them last Sunday.

I did some research on my own (and saw my chiropractor twice) and I discovered that my back is of "average" strength, but it is still weak in comparison to the front side of my body (I work out several times a week). So now I'm working on strengthening my back overall in order to balance out the muscles. In particular, my spinal erector muscles (the ones that run the length of the back on both sides of the spine). Two days ago I was able to start doing "Superman" exercises (here: Superman Exercise Demonstration) and I was dumbfounded at how sore my spinal erectors and lower abs were afterwards. Since then, I've noticed that I naturally stand up straighter and my lower abs are now also doing quite a bit of work to support my posture. Another thing you might want to try is lying calf stretches, as these have helped to relieve my chronic lower back pain immensely (here: supine lying hamstring stretch.AVI - YouTube ). These are not cure exercises, but they are aimed at relieving pain and slowing down long-term damage.

 

[cuate]

Injured my back unloading a heavy tool box from a truck bed, tried a Chiropractor or two, didn't work, made it worse. Had to try to work every day with four kids to raise, one Doctor prescribed a back brace which didn't help, went to numerous Physicians to try to get pain medication and they all without fail deemed me just another doper looking for a fix....Always a severe pain down sciatic nerve in left leg from hiney to toes....Ate asperin until they made me very sick...Finally went to the right Doctor who sent me for a "cat scan" which showed a herniated disc and scheduled me for surgery. When I woke up in the recovery room the terrible pain I suffered for several years was gone ! That was almost thirty years ago and I have no back trouble and can lift without any problems but I lift using the knees, not my back !

 

[austinbirdnut]

drumming chevy is right as well...hamstrings are Vital to back health...they need to be stretched often to relieve the downward pull on your pelvis that causes your lower back muscles to counteractively contract in reverse (upward) to fight off the hanstring pull. They are overlooked very frequently.
Cuate is a good example of surgery that was necessary...he tried conservative care and it failed him. Not ever case needs surgery but not every case will respond conservatively....however, its always best to avoid the knife until you need it for sure!