Lets talk low back pain/issues

[Looking4new]

I was asked just yesterday if I would share the weight of a 400 lb box with three guys in their late teens. (I am 70) I told them that my Doctor told me to never lift anything heavier than my pecker. They got their own 4th.

 

[Dadnatron]

I was asked just yesterday if I would share the weight of a 400 lb box with three guys in their late teens. (I am 70) I told them that my Doctor told me to never lift anything heavier than my pecker. They got their own 4th.

Both hands... I suspect.

 

[General Lee]

Well This afternoon I had a consultation with a physical therapist. Its hard to make time for PT when I was already in the gym 4-5 days week as is. Even have a decent gym set up in my home. I guess it wouldn't hurt to learn some specific techniques to hopefully improve things and "hold off' surgery for as long as possible. This has really stressed me out these past few weeks and my job is can be demanding at moments notice so that also plays a role with the "what ifs" . I appreciate everyone's input. I had herniated disc(s) (confirmed) since about a year and a half ago but didn't really mess with me to bad. Most of 2016 was fairly decent as far as back pain goes. I also didn't take the time to educate myself on what exactly they are and the repercussions if I don't take the proper steps to deal with them. I'm paying for it now.

Dadnatron - Are you a physical therapist?

 

[skylarkguy]

I endorse Yoga. A couple times a week. Try different instructors until you find one you click with. You can also find online sources but the advantage with working in person with someone is they can critique your form.

 

[TXCYCLE]

General Lee-I feel your pain, literally. Been having back issues for around 25 years. I just turned 60.
Not every fix is for every situation obviously but I agree with Dadnatron, I went to a surgeon about five years ago, discussed options and he sent me to a pain management Dr. I get the facet injections & the epidurals he was telling you about in his post. Works for me about a year then they wear off. It's a day surgery thing, in and out in a couple hours. Definitely worth looking into.
Good luck!

 

[Dadnatron]

Dadnatron - Are you a physical therapist?

I'm a Neurointerventional Radiologist and Pain Management MD

Brain and Spine

You... are what I do.

 

[General Lee]

General Lee-I feel your pain, literally. Been having back issues for around 25 years. I just turned 60.
Not every fix is for every situation obviously but I agree with Dadnatron, I went to a surgeon about five years ago, discussed options and he sent me to a pain management Dr. I get the facet injections & the epidurals he was telling you about in his post. Works for me about a year then they wear off. It's a day surgery thing, in and out in a couple hours. Definitely worth looking into.
Good luck!

My ortho prescribed an epidural. Still mulling it over. In my circle they don't get good reviews. Short term relief at best. But I guess that has to do with each individual person. A year relief you describe would be worth it for me.

 

[General Lee]

I'm a Neurointerventional Radiologist and Pain Management MD

Brain and Spine

You... are what I do.

I tip my hat to you sir. I appreciate your advice. I do have facet arthopathy (sp) and I believe the epidural I was offered was for that situation.

 

[TXCYCLE]

General Lee, you got lucky, you have an expert here to in Dadnatron to bounce questions off of. The past year my Dr. has changed the formula a little-going from 100% cortisone (I believe) to adding something called amniofix. That spelling is probably wrong but that has been the magic bullet-it actually helps the tissue regenerate. Ask about that when you consult with the doc.
Nope, the shots don't work for everyone, nothing does. I heard pros and cons before my procedures too. I just don't see that you have anything to lose except a deductible and a co-payment if you have hopefully have good insurance.
And Dadnatron, God Bless you for your work!

 

[devodad]

Use a copper fit back brace. Helps with my fractured back and ruptured disk. Thin wrap-around velcro strap. Works for me. Coupled with heating pad and therma care. Give it a try

 

[WVH1977]

I know your PAIN. I had two herniated discs in my lower back. I can not remember exact discs. It started when I got out of the military. I was 27. I dealt with that pain for 7 LONG AS **** years. I did everything from yoga, those shots in your back, steroid pills, NSAIDS, sitting on a bouncy ball at work, pain killers, chiropractor (spent lots of money on that one), to finally getting out of my truck on the way to work because I could not drive for more than 10 minutes at a time. My left leg was numb and it felt like I had a midget attached to my leg stabbing me in the behind every fifteen seconds. I was willing to let someone cut one of my fingers off if the back pain would disappear. It got to the point I could not stand, walk, sit or lay down without pain. Ended up going to the emergency room one night because I just could not take anymore. Like people that have already posted, surgery was not an option for me. The hospital ended up sending me to a surgeon the next day. They did an MRI and he consulted with me. He told me he could fix it with surgery. I argued with him. He said " so you want to go down the pain management path again?". **** no, I did not want to do that for the fifth time with no good results. What I liked about him was he did not BS with me. I folded, gave it up to GOD and went with the surgery. All he did was go in there and trimmed the gel (or whatever that stuff is between your discs) that were protruding and hitting my nerves, cleaned it up and let my discs heel back up. Luckily the discs still had enough fluid that they did not need to be fused or whatever you call that type of back surgery. Had I let it get worse the surgery he performed might not have worked.


After Surgery: The first couple of nights after the drugs wore off I was in some crazy pain. I thought I messed up getting the surgery. However, after two weeks my teeth were not clamping down like a vise and all those muscles back there were relaxed. I was no longer pissed off at everything and everyone I knew. I did what the surgeon told me and started walking everyday until I was walking three miles a day. The pain disappeared. Co-workers said they were glad I was not such a grouch all the time anymore. It literally changed my life. I no longer had three blankets folded with ice packs on my back in the lazyboy. And I stopped walking like I had just taken a dump in my pants. My sugar levels went down and blood pressure back to normal. I am just truly grateful GOD put a talented, no BS surgeon in front of me to help me over that hump. I have been pain free for 7 years and do all activities I want to.

Hopefully my little back pain story can inspire some on here that there is life after surgery.

 

[MossRoad]

The sad part is I'll be 40 this fall. To young to have these issues. I'm active and workout regularly (until recently due to this injury) and have lost 40 pounds. I will admit my workouts had been about building muscle the past 2 years and have neglected precise core exercises and specific low back exercises. The numbness in the feet is what is troublesome the most to me. Really worries me.

When my left leg kept going numb, it finally came down to them figuring out I had a nerve pinched from wearing a belt. I stopped wearing belts (except for weddings and funerals) and the numbness went away after a few weeks. Of course, my pants fall down all the time now, but that just gets a good laugh.

As for the ongoing pain in my lower back, again, they say that's a nerve that's getting pinched by some bone in a vertebrae. For that, the latest thing they are recommending (they, being a DR that never looked at my X-Rays, touched me once and said he has a resolution), is an ablation of the nerve. That is, they electrically burn the nerve so it doesn't sense pain anymore. It doesn't resolve what's causing the pain, but you don't feel it, so who cares, right?

To test you out, they first numb the nerve with an anesthetic, and see if the pain goes away. That wears off after a day. Then you go back in three days and they numb you again. The reason they do this twice is they said people have a tendency to get a shot and are convinced it helps, even when it doesn't. So they do it two separate times to make sure they're poking the right nerve.

Once they're convinced they got the right nerve and blocking it works for you, they then do the ablation. However, after reading up on it, and the DR didn't mention this, it wears off within a year. And its only effective in a certain percentage of cases, and it wasn't a high number for me.

So I decided to live with the discomfort until (as a neurologist told me many years ago) "You'll know when you can't handle it anymore."

As I mentioned, mine is a large discomfort, not debilitating pain. I can manage it with exercise and 600mg of ibuprofen twice a day when its bugging me.

Good luck to you. :thumbsup:

 

[hawkeye08]

I had the L4-L5 fusion and laminectomy Nov 2014 after fighting back pain, leg pain and balance problems for several years. I fell more than I wanted to, couldn't walk very far and was taking too much for pain. I had a number of MRIs, injections, nerve tests, etc and finally had the surgery. I waited too long with pinched nerves and although the pain is gone, have not recovered completely as far as use of my left leg. I am finally turning the corner and losing weight again and trying to walk more.

 

[aczlan]

Yesterday I had a three hour session with the chain saw - thinning one of my stands of small (less than 6", on the butt) pine trees. It meant I was bent over all the time, running the chain saw and cutting the trees off at ground level. From years of experience, I know that if I do not "prepare" for this adventure - I will probably spend at the next two day with some form of back pain.

So, before I start anything and when I'm out on the property where only the wildlife can see me - I go thru about 15 minuets of stretching exercises. It warms me up and unless I do something really stupid, I can stop at around three hours and feel nothing but tired. I've found if I push on beyond three hours - I will suffer back pain equivalent to not doing warm up at all. Its one of the "benefits" of getting old.

Of all the tasks I do here on the property - using the chainsaw to thin my pine stands is probably the most likely chore to cause me back pain. Later this summer I will be chipping these pines - by that time I will have thinned at least half a dozen stands - and that I can do most all the day with no resulting back pain.

Might I suggest a cutting blade on a big weed eater? Less bending over that way.

Aaron Z

 

[MossRoad]

Might I suggest a cutting blade on a big weed eater? Less bending over that way.

Aaron Z

Geeze when I first read that I envisioned spinal surgery! :laughing:

 

[beowulf]

Yesterday I had a three hour session with the chain saw - thinning one of my stands of small (less than 6", on the butt) pine trees. It meant I was bent over all the time, running the chain saw and cutting the trees off at ground level. From years of experience, I know that if I do not "prepare" for this adventure - I will probably spend at the next two day with some form of back pain.

Totally agree. One of the things that will almost always cause back issues is any bending forward with some weight in my hands - like a chainsaw. It is almost a 100% chance that such will result in back pain. I have tried to lean back more and rest more to avoid the problem but you cannot always manage that.

 

[General Lee]

Since I'm early on in this game, the last 30 days being the worst no surgeon will cut on me (and I don't want that right now) until I exhaust other avenues. Like PT, injections etc. I HAVE to be more disciplined from here on out on how I lift things and do certain things. I'm just to active and my job can be demanding at times. And my job definitely does not help the situation at all.

 

[Looking4new]

Since I'm early on in this game, the last 30 days being the worst no surgeon will cut on me (and I don't want that right now) until I exhaust other avenues. Like PT, injections etc. I HAVE to be more disciplined from here on out on how I lift things and do certain things. I'm just to active and my job can be demanding at times. And my job definitely does not help the situation at all.

IF you must lift, do it with your knees and legs! NOT your back. 'Put your back into it', is a figure of speech.

 

[WVH1977]

General Lee,

I truly understand where you are at and why you want to exhaust all avenues. When it first started I could go six months without much pain. Thought I had it licked. Then it would get worse next time it flared up. I went for periods of time where it would get better. No pain for a month and then BAM!!! I sneezed and was right back where I started. Then the cycle would repeat. Chiropractor, back doctor, PT, shots in the back, and so on. I would start feeling a little better. Then guess what; repeat cycle again. People at work would tell me "hey your walking funny, are you alright?". My response "I AM FINE I DONT WALK FUNNY!". Family would bug the crap out of me. "Have you tried this or that". Looking back on it now its kind of funny. They sincerely were worried about me.

Another symptom I had was called "Hard Headiness". I ran all the time in the military but after I messed my back up running made it worse. But guess what, I would heal up and start running again. I went to a chiropractor. First month with him and I felt like new. I had to go 3 times a week for the first month, then 2 weeks and so on. Insurance only covered 20 visits. Then I payed out of pocket until that year was up. Guess what, after a couple of years the chiropractor was not helping, actually I think he started making it worse. But again, I kept going and every time he would start me on the 3 times a week thing again. 20 visits up and I am paying out of the pocket again. I finally wised up and got way from him. But here we go again, I went to a different chiropractor. She really did a number on me.

I could go on and on with every avenue I took and exhausted to get better. My life revolved around getting shots in the back. Getting the NSAIDS, taking 800 mg Ibuprofen 3 to 4 times a day. Putting ice on my back. Going back to the orthopedic doctor. I know it sounds crazy but once you really start feeling that pain 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 a year, you will start doing everything you can to get better. Heck I even went to one of them acupuncture places where they stick needles in you and lite you on fire. LOL.

I worried about my job also. I exhausted all my sick time and vacation time. My boss finally told me to go see a surgeon. Heck no, no way anyone was going to cut on me. Once I finally saw a surgeon like I explained in my previous post he told me that the discs that were herniated could eventually cause me to have problems with my manhood. That got my attention. I hope that you can beat this thing and get better and heal up. But if it gets real bad you might have to resort to surgery. And trust me I know. It was the hardest thing I ever decided to do. I just exhausted all my options except that one. Like I said in my prior post, 7 years of pain and agony to finally give in. I don't wish that on anyone.

If you ever have any questions or need support contact me on here. I will even talk to you on the phone if you need advice on this matter.

 

[oosik]

WoW...... If I do my crazy warm up exercises and limit things like felling/limbing with my chain saw to around three hours/day - I'm OK. I've had back pain so bad that I motor around the house down on all fours. That was when I listened to my head and not my body and would use the chain saw for 6 to 8 hours at a stretch. It just isn't worth being so totally disabled for two or three days or more.

The only advice I have to give - listen to your body and what its telling you and forget about all the macho things you did when you were young. Things do not get easier as you get older and healing/recuperation takes a lot longer when you are older.