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They say that exercise is the key to health. I have had a bad back for about a year now and when I move in odd positions or get out of a car or a soft chair I have spasms. I think it is the nerve next to the musule that causes the shooting pain.
My pain doctor suggests I get a physical therapist and said within a year if I follow his advice to the letter then I will be healed of my back pain.
Anyone here with back pain that were cured due to going to a physical therapist and following his advice to the letter? Tell us more!
I've had a bad back for decades and it's common malady in my family and one my height 6'6" (1.98 M). I advise you get the book "Treat your own back" and follow the recommendations. I also advocate yoga which you will do many of the poses mentioned in the book.
I've had a bad back for decades and it's a common malady in my family and one my height 6'6" (1.98 M). I advise you get the book "Treat your own back" and follow the recommendations. I also advocate yoga which you will do many of the poses mentioned in the book.
With all due respect, if you have had a bad back for years, then the information in the book does not seem to be working.
With all due respect, if you have had a bad back for years, then the information in the book does not seem to be working.
That's an incorrect assumption....my back hurt for decades in which I tried numerous ways to help my back which didn't work, I recently read the book referenced and follow the advice in the book and now it's doing much better.
First, get your back accurately diagnosed, and find out what's causing the pain. Common lower back issues include problems at the L4-5 disc and sacroiliac joint displacement, both of which can impinge on the sciatic nerve and cause pain not only at the site but also all the way down the outside or back of the leg, as the sciatic nerve is the longest in the body. But it could be something else.
So make an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon or a neurologist, get an MRI done, then see what the specialist advises. PT can often be helpful. Chiropractic adjustments can be very helpful for S-I joint issues.
Meanwhile, avoid soft chairs, see if adjusting the car seat and perhaps adding a firm cushion or back support makes a difference, wear flat shoes with foam inserts, hold your stomach in, use heat and cold, try smelly rub-on counterirritant creams or liquids, try at ATC TENS unit, take ibuprofen, make sure your mattress is supportive, and try walking or biking for exercise.
None of these "home remedies" will make your back worse and they may help control pain and increase function - but until you know exactly what's going on, avoid more invasive procedures.
They say that exercise is the key to health. I have had a bad back for about a year now and when I move in odd positions or get out of a car or a soft chair I have spasms. I think it is the nerve next to the musule that causes the shooting pain.
My pain doctor suggests I get a physical therapist and said within a year if I follow his advice to the letter then I will be healed of my back pain.
Anyone here with back pain that were cured due to going to a physical therapist and following his advice to the letter? Tell us more!
Definitely maybe.
As others have said it depends on your situation. I have spondylolisthesis. I was diagnosed in '05. Not bad enough to require surgery. The Drs, PTs, medicos all tell me I will always have it.
In my case exercise has helped. But.. push too hard, it hurts. Skip the exercises the PTs gave me for a couple of weeks, it hurts. The middle ground is to do the right amount of stretching and other exercises daily. Most of the time I don't even think about it. Until it hurts again.
Sometimes surgery is necessary and helps people but try absolutely everything before going under the knife. As I stated in a previous post I work with chronic pain and I see many peple after surgery who feel the same or even worse.
This was actually one of the main reasons why I postponed my surgery for as long as I did. I had seen two different neurologists and 2 different orthopedists. Three of the four would not give me a good enough prognosis for me to consider the surgery worthwhile. The first orthopedist I saw, who ordered the MRI, wanted to do a fusion. After researching it myself, I decided not to, and proceeded over the years with PT and epidurals.
HOWEVER, the only option anyone ever discussed with me was fusion. This past November something changed and my PT exercises not only didn’t help, I couldn’t even do some of them, not once. I was also yelping out loud if I made the slightest “wrong” move. Anyway, since I had so many things wrong, and nothing else had worked, I decided to go to a spine center instead of a general orthopedist type person (Mercy Hospital Spine Center in Baltimore).
This time, the doctor there told me he was going to update my MRI but first he ordered a series of X-rays with me in a number of different positions of my spine, arched, curled, side, etc. No one had done that before. He looked at those and said that my spinal alignment was good and my spine was stable and that I DIDNT NEED A FUSION!
He said I had a very badly pinched spinal chord at L3-L4 and a severely pinched spinal chord at L4-L5. Shortly thereafter, I had spinal decompression surgery, a microlaminectomy of L4 and L5 with partial discectomy and removal of some bone growth. My surgery was at 0800 and by 1330 that afternoon, I was back home. I’m now 9 days into recovery and doing quite well, no regrets.
The difference for me was that I finally went to a spine specialist, not just a general orthopedist. He did what it took to most concisely diagnoses my specific problem and then went with a solution of the minimal amount necessary to give me maximum relief. So, getting it right from the get go could probably have saved me literally decades of pain and lost activity. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I can become more active again soon.
The short answer, based on my personal experiences, is YES!
When I injured my back a few years ago I went to my regular doctor for advice, and he said this: "Chiropractors work so that you have to keep going back to them. Physical therapists work so that you don't ever have to go back to them." He then referred me to a PT.
It took working with the PT for a solid 4 months before I was back to normal, but now I do a set of stretching exercises she put together for me every single day, and I've mostly been pain free. When I did slack off with the exercises I had pain again, so now I'm religious about doing them every single day.
I'm more aware about how I stand and sit and walk now, and I also visit a massage therapist (which the Physical Therapist recommended) once a week.
The most important thing, though, is not to be a dumbo and start taking opiods for the pain.
I've had a bad back for decades - was in heavy construction and rigging and a regular beast of burden.
Some stretching and exercises definitely help...a little.
Coffee helps (gets blood flowing).
Light opiates help more than just about anything. Well....truthfully, I could get 2 massages per week for a total cost of $600 or so a month...or, alternatively, spend $15 on my Tylenol #3 (codeine).
I'm sure I could spend a year doing 45 minutes a day of certain moves - and use heating pads and other things....but, wow, that sure seems a waste of time!
(note - I sail, walk, play tennis, climb ladders and do a LOT of other things for exercise...and am 64 yo)....
The short answer, based on my personal experiences, is YES!
When I injured my back a few years ago I....
The most important thing, though, is not to be a dumbo and start taking opiods for the pain.
The REAL dumbo is those who take NSAIDS constantly and therefore destroy their vital organs...
I listen to my doctor. Far better to take light opioids or other CNS relaxers and a tiny dose of NSAIDS than to take larger doses of NSAIDS.
Of course, some people can't tolerate opioids - in that case, they might be able to find other muscle relaxants - but they should carefully check the labels to see if they are destroying their insides for a bit of pain relief.
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