Neck injuries

TrippleT · Oct 30, 2006

I have a torn rotator cuff now. I went to the Dr. several times. In August, he sent me to get an MRI, after medications and shots all failed. Then I was sent to an surgeon where I got the MRI. He says it will never heal on its own.
????? from some of the replies on here. I know that I can't lie on that side at nights because of the pain. I hope to get it fixed soon. It will probably be during the holidays. Have also talked to a recent graduate physical therapist she seems to concur. My pain radiates down as far as the elbow. The range of motion is greatly diminished as well. I wish you good luck in your quest for to be pain free.

ozzie tractor · Oct 31, 2006

i hurt my neck a few years ago, i was working on a golf course and one of my jobs was to blow any material off the fairways, this was done using a 3PL mounted side discharge blower. this ment i was looking backwards and down for quiet a long time. after every use my neck was so sore i could not turn my head. in the end it was so bad i ended up sitting side saddle with my feet over the mud guard.

shure took the strain off my neck, even if the boss freaked out the first time he saw it. now i use a swivel seat in my own tractors, that little bit seems to make all the difference.
in my opinion it seems that any repeated movement is going to give you some sort of problem, we are human after all not machines. look after your body and see specialists when you need to, in hindsight i wish i had done it more (yes i have "mechanic's back" as well from being stupid in my younger years).

daTeacha · Oct 31, 2006

Okay Greg, this ones for you but everyone might want to listen to your reply.

I know I have spinal stenosis (narrowing of the hole the spinal cord passes through for the rest of you) as well as a couple of compressed or slightly leaky intervertebral discs. I also have some Osteoarthritis in my back. I had one of those tests of nerve conductivity done where they sent a small current through various parts of my legs and back. When they hit a spot above the right hip, it really got my attention and all the muscles spasmed. That's also where I felt a distinct pop several years ago while stretching, and it's what hurts right now after bouncing along on the mower for a couple hours last night.

A lot of my problems come from doing too many two or three man jobs myself when I worked construction for several years, some from just being stupid while in college and shortly thereafter. I take Glucosamine for the creakiness and also allopurinol for gout. Do you think a chiro could help my back?

I had a good DO several years ago, but he died of facial skin/bone cancer that left him looking pretty scary for the last few years. I then visited another DO who did treatments, but he retired. The next DO didn't do treatments. My current doctor is a very good MD general practitioner. I've never seen an actual Chiropractor. Aside from asking around, are there any other ways to tell a good one? I'm very tempted to go see the guy who takes care of our high scoool athletes, but he's kind of gimping around himself which makes me wonder about the whole idea.

N80 · Oct 31, 2006

I've got nothing against straight chiropractic, but if you have documented spinal stenosis then I would get a blessing from your MD or an orthopedist or a neurosurgeon before getting manipulations to your back. The degree of stenosis is important. I'm assuming you've had an MRI? If the stenosis is such that it is already producing symptoms in your leg (radiculopathy), that would indicate that there is little or no room for anything else to go wrong. And while it might be unlikely for manipulation of the back to result in acute spinal cord damage, I would not risk it until your MD or a specialist says the risk is sufficiently low.

daTeacha · Oct 31, 2006

Yeah, I get the tinglies quite a bit, but moving around helps it. I find splitting wood with an 8 lb maul and then stacking it up to 8 feet high seems to make me feel better, while sitting here grading papers all day on test is literally a pain -- in the back, leg, feet, and hands.

The stenosis was revealed by an MRI about 7 or 8 years ago. I haven't had one recently to see how it's progressed.

N80 · Oct 31, 2006

If it is getting worse I would consider an MRI before getting any manipulation. At the very least, tell the chiro or DO that you have spinal stenosis.

daTeacha · Oct 31, 2006

Oh yeah, that is definitely a given. The MD has impressed me quite a bit. I went to him with intermittent dizzy spells a while ago. He listened to what I said, told me it was vertigo induced by a small deposit moving around in my ear, laid me down on his table, rolled my head this way and held it that way then had me sit up, and it was gone! Coolest thing a doc ever did for me!

N80 · Oct 31, 2006

Yep. Its called the Epley maneuver and when it works its like a miracle. When it doesn't work you either get nothing...or puke on the doctors shoes.

Soundguy · Nov 1, 2006

I'd be interested to hear what that 'maneuver' acomplishes.

As a child I had chronic inner ear problems.. eustacion tube problems ( spelling? ).. always had an ear infection.... I'm lucky I can hear i guess ( I actually have pretty acute hearing... go figure.. ).

Soundguy