A tip for those with back pain......

[weseeeee]

Thanks for the info. I need something like that every now and then.....I'm probably just getting old

[Baz]

Originally Posted by intakexhaust

Is the Walmart product a recent release product?

I think the Lidoderm patch patent expired so now there's others coming on the market. One is Lidocaine (5%) on a patch from Watson.

Don't know - I was just browsing in the section where pain relief is kept and saw them and figured for a buck why not - I was very pleased with the adhesion factor as well as the no messy aspect of them.

I gotta get back into Yoga....hate it when I get off my game....

[gsxrken]

Although more than 95% of folks with back pain do not need surgery, there is the few that can benefit. But you should give it six weeks or so before you even think about the S word.

I hurt my back lifting and a month later finally got an MRI and it showed a bulging disc pressing on the nerve. No one with a drill was going to go near my back! For literally six months I tried PT, swimming, injections, acupuncture and those electric stim pads to no avail. I was losing reflexes and movement in the left foot. Another MRI showed the disc has torn open and the innards were flattening the sciatic nerve in the foramen channel. No Ab crunches, which were impossible anyway from pain, were going to get that genie back in the bottle. A microdiscectomy removed the leaked out gel and relieved the nerve pressure immediately.

I stay in shape half out of fear of that white-hot nerve pain ever reoccuring.

[stuartj]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

Surfing prevents back pain. It really does. It's the lying on your chest with your back arched and REALLY working your arms and shoulders.

True. Can give some lovely calcium lumps on the point so of your lower ribs too....

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Most of my back problems can be cured by having a small Japanese woman walk on my back.

[Don Ro]

Originally Posted by BE911SC

Five years ago I bought an inversion table. Haven't had any back pain since. I went with the Teeter Hang-Ups $350-ish model and love it. My wife uses it too and loves it.

Same here...bought mine (not Teeter) at Big 5 on sale for $99+ tax.
Fiance uses it too...helps her greatly.
.
Yes to ab work.

[sammyg2]

Re-re-post, but might be relevant:

This is something I posted years ago:

That got me through many years of back pain without missing a day's work.
I got to a point where I could ignore almost all pain at will, I got to where I enjoyed some pain just so I could prove I controlled it as strange as that sounds.

I have a scar from L5 to S1 and suffered from back problems for many years. It was no big deal to go get cortizone injections directly into the back every other month or so.
But I haven't had ANY back problems in the past 5 years.
What did I do? I learned how to sleep right.

Take a really good look at your sleep posture.
There's a good chance based on your description that you end up on your side but your shoulders and hips are not parrallel.
I'm also betting that your hips tilt over more than your shoulders, which puts a slight twist in your spine. A twist that the muscles must contract a little to control and contain.
That means the muscles do not get a chance to relax, so they get fatigued, and weak.
If that isn't the case then please disregard.

But if that is indeed the case you need to train yourself NOT to sleep in that position. That is important.
Problem is, that happens when you're sleeping so it's hard to correct that bad habit.
Pillows help, especially one between the knees.
I've found that a firm mattress is not necessarily a good mattress, in that if it's too firm it encourages bad sleep posture.
It'll take time but when I finally trained myself to eliminate bad sleep posture which took the strain off of the muscles in my lower back and allowed them to rest, my back problems went away completely.

[Cajundaddy]

Originally Posted by mreid

Spend 5 minutes a day doing ab exercises. Strong abdominal muscles prevents most back pain. So, a two step process. Prevent it with exercise, fight it with the patch.

I think for 95% of us, prevention is the best cure. Daily crunches to strengthen the abs, improved overall fitness, and specific stretching exercises to reduce or treat sciatic nerve pain. This has served me well since my 30s when back issues first became noticeable.

For the other 5%, sometimes you simply need temporary pain relief meds, sometimes you really do need a chiropractor, sometimes you really do need medical treatment including surgery.

If you are over 55 and never have any back pain... you are dead.

[pavulon]

from just this morning:

Pain In The Back? Exercise May Help You Learn Not To Feel It : Shots - Health News : NPR

[gatotom]

sneaking up on 32 yrs doing this Chiropractic stuff, all I can say is use it or lose it.

Also the best read article from the AMA at Chiro school was entitled " low back pain, get more sex".

It's that simple, enuf said.

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by gatotom

from the AMA at Chiro school was entitled " low back pain, get more sex".

It's that simple, enuf said.

Good advice as long as it doesn't result in wrist pain.









.

[RWebb]

It hurts just reading this thread...

[Hawkeye's-911T]

Hey Thanks sammy - something new for me to try.
Cheers
JB

[RennSport911rsa]

Originally Posted by gsxrken

Although more than 95% of folks with back pain do not need surgery, there is the few that can benefit. But you should give it six weeks or so before you even think about the S word.

I hurt my back lifting and a month later finally got an MRI and it showed a bulging disc pressing on the nerve. No one with a drill was going to go near my back! For literally six months I tried PT, swimming, injections, acupuncture and those electric stim pads to no avail. I was losing reflexes and movement in the left foot. Another MRI showed the disc has torn open and the innards were flattening the sciatic nerve in the foramen channel. No Ab crunches, which were impossible anyway from pain, were going to get that genie back in the bottle. A microdiscectomy removed the leaked out gel and relieved the nerve pressure immediately.

I stay in shape half out of fear of that white-hot nerve pain ever reoccuring.

Would you mind sharing a bit of detail as to what was involved in the procedure you had done? done at a hospital or medical office? were you able to go home that day? drove yourself, or had someone take you home? what was recovery time like? Did you have a laminectomy done first, or did they go right to this procedure?


Reason I ask is I too am finding myself in a similar boat to you. I'm not yet 40, and have been dealing with this pain concentrated in my left leg for the past 11 months. I'm someone who didn't even keep Tylenol in my house, I just didn't get sick, didn't have any aches or pains a few days rest wouldn't take care of, so all this is very new to me. No specific incident set it off. I've had 3 serious car accidents in my life, 2 in the last 12 years, 1 about 4 months before this pain started. I work out, eat correctly, get enough sleep, drink alot of water (and not much else). At first the pain was on and off, felt similar to a strained hamstring. Easy enough, I've had those in my life (playing sports, etc). Took a few weeks off cardio, concentrated on push ups, curls...skipped the leg lifts and the running. By April, the pain got more frequent. Started taking ibuprofen, and it worked well enough. It would hurt more when I sat at a desk, less when I layed on my stomach. Laying on my back aggrivated it. By June, it got so bad that one night I couldn't even get myself out of bed to go to the kitchen for a drink....I literally was stuck in place. The slightest side to side movement put me in such agony...I literally had to crawl forward out of the bed and lay on the floor before I could get myself up. From then on, I started seeing a chiro. Pain got a bit better, posture got better, but it was short lived. At a certain point the chiro said there was nothing more he could do and suggested accupuncture. While I'm paranoid of needles I decided it was better than dealing with the pain. At this time I was also taking specific vitamins said to aid in inflamation and incorporating various herbs and spices into my diet that were also thought to help. Did 6 accupuncture sessions, and while there was relief, it only last a couple days at a time. By this point my ibuprofen intake was much higher, which in and of itself is completely unhealthy, regardless of the amount of liquids you consume. I couldn't take the dog for walks, I hadn't touched a weight in 4 months (since summer). Started using a TENS unit on the advice of a PT in December, it does nothing. As of this month I decided it was time to see an actual dr. Had my first appointment last week and he told me to go off the ibuprofen and changed around the vitamin regiment and put me on a single muscle relaxer at night that is doing nothing. Pain has never been worse. I couldn't run a simple errand for 30 minutes...tried it Thursday and yesterday with the same results..I was nearly in tears, almost drove to the emergency room. Made it home, layed on my stomach and within a few minutes, the pain increased, to the point of a very hot burning feel, and then poof...something "moved" (nerve, muscle knot, I don't know) and it instantly felt better. But I get up and try moving around especially outside where it's cold, it flares up within minutes. Sitting in the car used to be ok, now is virutally unbearable. New dr appointment with a new primary this week, but I want to be as educated as I can especially from people who may have gone through something similar. Waiting on the approval for the MRI, xrays didn't show much unfortunately (had that done during the summer after being with the chiro about 1.5 months)

Thanks in advance and apologies for the post length

[RWebb]

you need to have high-resolution MRIs evaluated by a specialist before doing anything - the imaging center will likely say "lotsa Teslas - get your Teslas here!" or some such, but rely on your MD

paragraphs would help with the post, but I am not clear on whether the doctor is your PCP or a back specialist, such as a surgeon - if the former ask for a referral to a specialist

in general there are many reasons for back pain, and two are a disc that has slipped or just muscular "sprains" or "strains" etc. - some causes are much more serious than others, and the complaint of pain in the leg may be a clue

Background: - the human back is not a "well-designed" structure and natural selection does not necessarily function to make organisms happy campers

the back is also a very complex structure and modern life exacerbates problems in the "design" -- hence pain is very common

sitting in a chair working on a computer or on the couch watching a boring AFC smackdown are not good for your back - if you indulge in such behaviors, it is best to get up and move around every 20 minutes or so

lots of evidence supports frequent walking

typical workout regimes are not the best help for your back and power lifts are maybe the worst

you have different types of muscles in your body, and the way to strengthen the ones for your back are long, slow exercises - tai chi is good (unless it is the hand waving BS in Celebrex commercials), and so are some types of yoga

I saw pilates mentioned above, and it seems like a good idea but I don't know anything about it.

Beyond specific exercises, the best ways to avoid back pain are to avoid obesity, and especially to avoid middle-age and old age.

[RennSport911rsa]

Originally Posted by RWebb

you need to have high-resolution MRIs evaluated by a specialist before doing anything - the imaging center will likely say "lotsa Teslas - get your Teslas here!" or some such, but rely on your MD

paragraphs would help with the post, but I am not clear on whether the doctor is your PCP or a back specialist, such as a surgeon - if the former ask for a referral to a specialist

in general there are many reasons for back pain, and two are a disc that has slipped or just muscular "sprains" or "strains" etc. - some causes are much more serious than others, and the complaint of pain in the leg may be a clue

Background: - the human back is not a "well-designed" structure and natural selection does not necessarily function to make organisms happy campers

the back is also a very complex structure and modern life exacerbates problems in the "design" -- hence pain is very common

sitting in a chair working on a computer or on the couch watching a boring AFC smackdown are not good for your back - if you indulge in such behaviors, it is best to get up and move around every 20 minutes or so

lots of evidence supports frequent walking

typical workout regimes are not the best help for your back and power lifts are maybe the worst

you have different types of muscles in your body, and the way to strengthen the ones for your back are long, slow exercises - tai chi is good (unless it is the hand waving BS in Celebrex commercials), and so are some types of yoga

I saw pilates mentioned above, and it seems like a good idea but I don't know anything about it.

Beyond specific exercises, the best ways to avoid back pain are to avoid obesity, and especially to avoid middle-age and old age.

Yep, waiting on the ok for the MRI still.

Aside from the chiro/accupuncture/pt, as of last week, I began seeing a Pain Mgmt Dr. He ordered me off the NSAID's, increased various vitamins I was already taking, and prescribed a muscle relaxer (Zanaflex). Pain was significantly worse thereafter, to the point where I literally could not walk. At least with the ibuprofen it was mangeable. So as of a few days ago, since I could not get that office on the phone due to their wacky hours, I decided to go off the muscle relaxer, and back to the ibuprofen....much better within 24 hours.

I've always had insurance, but simply never got sick, never got hurt, really had no reason for one. Now that I am getting a bit older, and a new insurance company for this year, I decided I need a PCP. I have a first appointment for tomorrow morning with one.

Though I have not touched weights in about 7 months now, when I did, I never got into any sort of powerlifting. I kept it to the bench, curls, cable rows, and the rest were focused around body weight stuff (push ups, pull ups, crunches)

You're absolutely right about moving around, problem is when it hurts, movement is all but impossible. Laying on my stomach, whether on the bed or floor, almost immediately takes that pain away....without any need for any medication. I can sleep all through the night, without taking any meds before bed, without an issue.

Will report back here with what the PCP has to say tomorrow. Thanks for the reply. I realize that while I've tried to deal with this through alternate channels for the past several moths, I am very much at step 1 of a process at this point.

Any insight on the procedure you had done, please share

[vmax]

Originally Posted by RennSport911rsa

Yep, waiting on the ok for the MRI still.

Aside from the chiro/accupuncture/pt, as of last week, I began seeing a Pain Mgmt Dr. He ordered me off the NSAID's, increased various vitamins I was already taking, and prescribed a muscle relaxer (Zanaflex). Pain was significantly worse thereafter, to the point where I literally could not walk. At least with the ibuprofen it was mangeable. So as of a few days ago, since I could not get that office on the phone due to their wacky hours, I decided to go off the muscle relaxer, and back to the ibuprofen....much better within 24 hours.

I've always had insurance, but simply never got sick, never got hurt, really had no reason for one. Now that I am getting a bit older, and a new insurance company for this year, I decided I need a PCP. I have a first appointment for tomorrow morning with one.

Though I have not touched weights in about 7 months now, when I did, I never got into any sort of powerlifting. I kept it to the bench, curls, cable rows, and the rest were focused around body weight stuff (push ups, pull ups, crunches)

You're absolutely right about moving around, problem is when it hurts, movement is all but impossible. Laying on my stomach, whether on the bed or floor, almost immediately takes that pain away....without any need for any medication. I can sleep all through the night, without taking any meds before bed, without an issue.

Will report back here with what the PCP has to say tomorrow. Thanks for the reply. I realize that while I've tried to deal with this through alternate channels for the past several moths, I am very much at step 1 of a process at this point.

Any insight on the procedure you had done, please share

I have had many of the same symptoms that you are having.

Been dealing with back pain on and off for years.

I recently got one of these and it has worked wonders.


Amazon.com: Teeter Hang Ups EP-960 Inversion Table with Healthy Back DVD: Sports & Outdoors

I try and use it 3 times a day.

Has really helped, and my back mostly feels "normal" again.

[RennSport911rsa]

thanks Doug, been looking into those as well

MRI set for this week, so hopefully something jumps off the chart and a solution can be worked out

[Don Ro]

$400 for a Teeter? You kidding me?
Big 5 has them for $100 all day long...and excellent quality.
I've had one for a year and use it frequently.

[BE911SC]

I bought the Teeter because it's well built and made here in America. Cost, where back pain is concerned, was not on my mind at all. The cheap versions may well be just fine. I will say that it has been a great investment. Inversion coupled with normal exercise is the way to go.