Back Issues

[FuzzyWuzHe]

So today I had an appointment for my lower back pain. apparently I have damaged discs in the L1, L2, L4, and L5. I don't understand all I know about this. I guess the spacing in the lower back is shot except for L3 which is normal. L5 has what they call a vacuum, all I know about that is that means it's not had proper spacing for a long time. I'm guessing like 50 years when my dad accidentally dropped and AC on me ... LOL.

I've been given some stuff to think about. !) therapy that might loosen it up, 2) injections, no idea what kind, 3) surgery. Pretty sure I'm not gonna choose surgery, been there, done that a couple dozen times ... it's getting old. I know nothing about injections. And, I've done therapy more than I care for.

So, any advice would be appreciated. I told the doc I need to think about it for a couple weeks. I have my next appointment 9/18, so that's my dead line.

To be honest, I've never really felt like the pain was bad enough to do anything about. It's only reared it's ugly head when I've abused my body, like working on the trike, fixing stuff around the house, etc. Then it is sore for a couple days.

The only good news to come from the appointment ... the Doc never said, "It's age appropriate" ... LOL ...

[cScjhb]

I think try the least invasive thing first and go from there. I know what you mean about PT. Perhaps a therapist can give you some home exercises that would help. I'm supposed to do home PT regularly. Sometimes it is inconvenient and sometimes I just get lazy. But if I don't do my exercises for a while, I do pay for it. My mind thinks I am a lot younger than my body tells me. Good luck..... Jim

[Jack Klarich]

Physical therapy is a plus. It works on the core to help protect against further damage. I can only speak to my experiences here. Years ago I herniated and later crushed L5 and 6 to the point they popped too far out and were destroyed. I had injections @ the Mayo clinic but they did not work as a result of too much nerve root damage. Today my left leg is shorter and I walk with a limp. Good Luck and get a second opinion, do not let them cut you, once they do they will doom you forever

[ol' school]

Sent you a PM Alan...

[FuzzyWuzHe]

Y'all kind of have the advice I was thinking. Least invasive first.

Made an appointment for 9/18 to start chiropractic ... then we'll see ... glad I took Medicare when I did ...

[Rmitchell55]

Fuzzy

I had back surgery 13 years ago and If I had to do it over again I would not do it. I had L4-L5 pinned and fused. Now L3-L4 and L5-S1 are bad. The doctor's will not do anything physical for the back pain. I was on slow release morphine pills and hydrocodone, but they were not doing anything so I quit taking them. I have had 6 or 7 sets of injections into those joints and also have had RF injections to deaden the nerves and so far nothing has been effective long term. The only thing that has done anything for the pain was losing weight. I went on a doctor supervised liquid diet last November (800 Calories) per day and have lost about 50 pounds and my pain level has decreased almost enough to be tolerable.

[Jack Klarich]

Y'all kind of have the advice I was thinking. Least invasive first.

Made an appointment for 9/18 to start chiropractic ... then we'll see ... glad I took Medicare when I did ...

Not to say anything bad about back crackers but use caution. I thought about them also but after a conversation with my doctors @ The Mayo they warned me that back crackers can unintentionally do more damage than good. I encourage you to get a second opinion. Do you trust the VA? I would give them a shot. If I knew what I know now about my back injuries ( this goes back to 1992 on the job) I would have asked to be re trained and not subject my body to the harshness of heavy mechanics work

My disability Dr @ The Mayo clinic asked me how I would feel if i could not ride a motorcycle any more. I said ya might as well kill me now. When he was done laughing he said think of it this way, it is like putting marbles in a bucket and shaking them up. I did not listen but he did support my disability retirement and in my paper work he allowed for me riding a motorcycle. The S S board did not bat an eye. I guess I got lucky, tho I would have preferred to stay working.

[FuzzyWuzHe]

The Chiropractor that I made an appointment with is the same one my Dad used, after his back surgery. Dad used to tell me that the Chiropractor couldn't ever rid him of the pain ... but ... it did help to lessen it and more importantly his movement was helped.

I've never been to a Chiropractor before, but, many of my friends have and they all say this guy is the best in the area. I will go into this with the same skepticism that I do with any other doctor.

We will see what happens. I was kind of impressed that the Chiropractor sent a request to the VA for the X-rays to be electronically sent to him. He'll be looking and actually deciding if there is anything he can do for me.

The same thing is supposed to be happening at the VA with the therapy guys.

[WindyOne]

Not knowing the level of pain you have I would do PT first and stay away from the bone cracker. What works for one person does not necessarily work for another. I have had 2 back operations , sorry I had the 2nd one, and would not have another.

The injections are usually a steroid type material. For me they have worked for several months to just getting out of the hospital.

I take a handful of meds every day. What helps me now are 5% Lidocaine patches. You might ask your doctor about those..

Once the material is gone from between the discs the nerve gets inflamed. after that it is all catch up to get relief.

I wish you luck no matter which way you go. Just don't wait too long.

[Philip R]

Best of luck, Alan, on whatever path you take.

[Phu Cat]

After a heavy, wet snowfall I hurt my back shoveling snow. When my back started getting tired I kept working as it was cold and I wanted to get inside. That's when the sharp pain started. Being in my early 20's (and young and dumb) the first thing I wanted to do was climb in a hot bath. That's the worst thing to do with a muscle injury. Long story short, over about 30 years I learned a little about chiropractors. Like anything else, they come in a wide range of abilities. MDs don't care for chiropractors as the bone crackers take away a fair amount of their income. Some chiropractors are really good, most are OK, and some should have their licenses revoked. Good luck whatever route you go.

PC

[paws]

After a heavy, wet snowfall I hurt my back shoveling snow. When my back started getting tired I kept working as it was cold and I wanted to get inside. That's when the sharp pain started. Being in my early 20's (and young and dumb) the first thing I wanted to do was climb in a hot bath. That's the worst thing to do with a muscle injury. Long story short, over about 30 years I learned a little about chiropractors. Like anything else, they come in a wide range of abilities. MDs don't care for chiropractors as the bone crackers take away a fair amount of their income. Some chiropractors are really good, most are OK, and some should have their licenses revoked. Good luck whatever route you go.PC

Had a chiropractor crack my neck back in the 80’s... immediately had new pain in a different spot on the spine which I am still dealing with after all these years. I am too afraid to go back to another one. I have discovered since that a deep muscle massage is the best for me...relieves lots of tension and then the joints pop by themselves to relieve pressures.

However I know people that love their chiropractor sessions, do them regularly, and obviously benefit from them.

My sister even takes her horse to a chiro who is also an equine chiro specialist. I didn’t believe that at first but saw a lump on the horse’s back disappear after the chiro worked on him...horse obviously was moving around much better afterwards

[FuzzyWuzHe]

My sister even takes her horse to a chiro who is also an equine chiro specialist. I didn’t believe that at first but saw a lump on the horse’s back disappear after the chiro worked on him...horse obviously was moving around much better afterwards

Can you get me the guys name and number ...

[Sunman]

Injured my back when I was 30. Saw numerous surgeons over a period of 30 years. Went to a bone cracker and the first couple of visits were fine, back felt better. After a few more visits the pain got worse instead of better so I quit the bone cracker and would not try one again. Finally because of the pain and right before going on medicare at 65 I saw another highly recommended surgeon. After exam and MRI review he said he would not operate on my back and that I should never let anyone operate. Said "live with it". Not what I wanted to hear. I asked him about seeing a bone cracker and he said try it and see. Still "living with it" and one of these days it will probably force me to quit riding. Everyone is different; try the bone cracker but if I try anything else I will go for PT first.

Good luck Alan. Hope it gets better for you. Back trouble is miserable.

Sunman

[graygoat]

I have used chiros for many years with favorable results for me. Back in the day, none took x-rays. The one I go to now (for the last 25 years) took x-rays before he would even work on me. Still takes them every few years. I get a treatment about every 5 or 6 weeks just to stay "tuned up". It has worked for me. It is good that your's is requesting the x-rays. Best of luck to you!

[FuzzyWuzHe]

I wasn't gonna start with the Chiro until mid September, but, I decided to try it sooner, so, I called and they got me in Yesterday.

I was pleasantly surprised. Basically what this guy has in store is more like massage therapy. He's got a machine that basically feels like a hand massager on steroids. He explained that there is not much he can do for the compressed discs, but, he can relax the muscles and that should allow some easing of the tension in that area. He did my whole back and even some on the neck area. Felt really good, a little too hard for a nap , but, it felt really good and I could feel the back loosen up. Like he explained, it's not a "fix", but, will provide some relief by allowing the vertebrate to align straighter when the muscle relax. after the massage, he positioned the bed with my head lower than my feet and told me to relax for a bit. Usually don't like the head lower than the feet, but, I was able to relax.

So, he did his thing and the pain is diminished some. My cost after medicare was only $8, so maybe I'll keep going for awhile.

[paws]

EXCELLENT!! That works for me...just as I stated earlier... deep massage to relieve the muscle tension then the joints pop into place to relieve pressure on them. Glad he was able to help you.

[Lee H. Mann]

After a heavy, wet snowfall I hurt my back shoveling snow. When my back started getting tired I kept working as it was cold and I wanted to get inside. That's when the sharp pain started. Being in my early 20's (and young and dumb) the first thing I wanted to do was climb in a hot bath. That's the worst thing to do with a muscle injury. Long story short, over about 30 years I learned a little about chiropractors. Like anything else, they come in a wide range of abilities. MDs don't care for chiropractors as the bone crackers take away a fair amount of their income. Some chiropractors are really good, most are OK, and some should have their licenses revoked. Good luck whatever route you go.

PC

Chiropractors sound like Trike Owner/Riders.

[hogcowboy]

I wish my back issues could be helped by some message therapy. My back is so screwed up that the neurosurgeon I see said he won't touch it until I hit the ground. I might not be able to walk again either way. My chances have improved though. 20 years again I had a 80% chance I would walk again. Today I have a 50% chance. Micro surgery and other things have improved that much.

They are trying something called dry needling to get the muscles to relax. Basically it's acupuncture but western medicine has to call it something else in order to accept something that has been proven to work for 3,000 years. I can feel the muscle give up. That alone helps some but what causes it hasn't changed and won't until I get a bunch of rods and fusion. Not something I'm looking forward to but some day I'll get a sharp pain that will put me on the ground and then the doctor will have at it with hopes I'll still have some mobility after.

Sure glad it's working for you with the message therapy. Scoliosis that is a double S curve and now twisting just plain sucks. Then add discs that are bulging and stenosis.

[Sunman]

As I said in post 14 I have had lower back issues since I was 30. One of the things I found that helps me a lot is to use a heating pad. I lay on it for about 20 minutes 2 or 3 times a day. The heat relaxes the muscles which seems to really help relieve the pain. I even take the heating pad when I go on road trips and use it after riding. You might give it a try Alan and see if it helps.

Sunman