Back pain, back issues

Chris
Try all the above recommendations. I have and some help and some will not. I’m 52 years old and 4 ruptured disks /5 surgeries (2were fusions) in the last 20 yrs plus a Spinal stimulator to help reduce the nerve pain in my back and legs. 20 total surgeries! I love my chiropractor but I was the only patient he could not fix. BAD genetics!
Please Please don’t ignore the medical profession as an option. Some times they are the the last option. I have had basically everything except nerve burning done to me. Finally after 3 months of a massive flair up of something I ended up on 3 new meds from a neurologist. Helped way better than anything else. My point is don’t settle with pain - keep seeking answers though they are hard to find some times. Drs can help you differentiate between soft tissue injuries or structural problems. Very important to know your issues and how to treat. It took me 20 years of suffering and coping until the right combination of things came along. No I’m not as good as I used to be but I’m still “the little engine that kinda can”
Dave

PS an X-ray will NOT show a bulged or ruptured disk. Get the real answer and get the MRI.
You are right xray is useless for 90% of back pain....however...insurance and doctors like to play games...thats a whole nother can of worms....
 
Who knew that some many of you guys have back issues as well. Thanks for all the kind words and advice. I'm going to put that advice into practice. Looking forward to using the inversion table and see if that will help things. As for me considering on Tuesday night I couldn't get myself out of bed, I'm doing very well. Actually managed to work almost 8 hours today and this afternoon I started to feel a lot better. A real answer to prayers. Thank you again everyone for the advice and concern. Great bunch of guys here on this forum.:)
 
Who knew that some many of you guys have back issues as well. Thanks for all the kind words and advice. I'm going to put that advice into practice. Looking forward to using the inversion table and see if that will help things. As for me considering on Tuesday night I couldn't get myself out of bed, I'm doing very well. Actually managed to work almost 8 hours today and this afternoon I started to feel a lot better. A real answer to prayers. Thank you again everyone for the advice and concern. Great bunch of guys here on this forum.:)
Thing to remember...its a practice...much like painting a car...once u think about...life itself is a practice lol
 
I fought my back all my life and have always been in pretty good shape.
Bent over to pick up a newspaper and crawled up the driveway, played catch with kids, and crawled to the house, just some of the times I spent a week on the couch recovering.
Finally searched out a top-notch doctor and 13,000 dollars in every test you can think of and his answer was a $15,000 blood transfusion.
I was going to do it and going to work a sign went up for a new chiropractor for $20 with no appointment.
He said your sciatic nerve at the lower back needs alignment.
Each time after it took one workover
And the next day like new.
Then wife got her table a year later.
I used it 10 mins a day for about a month and one more time about 5 years later for three days and not once since.

Kinda sad the table sets in the basement collecting dust but i think the wife would agree, no amount of money could buy it.
 
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Damn, sorry about the big pic! I actually bought one of these, it's kind of crude but it actually works pretty well, has a parts house scissor jack underneath. Use it off and on the past couple years. Search traction table on ebay. $165 shipped
 
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first time i got on my inversion table i thought " damn she's gonna find me hanging here dead like a side of beef " . did not set it right . took for ever to get back up .
once set it was as easy as just moving my arms . but damn i popped and cracked every time i went over . after a while i did the complete vertical hang . felt like a new man . i'm 6'6 250 so i settle like slicksand . if i use it at least once a week i am good .
 
Been dealing with bad disks for a few decades like others here. I am up to 3 either ruptured or bulging depending on their mood. I have laid on the living room floor for 3 days as that's where I landed when the tens machine jolted my nerve. Had it go out sneezing, coughing, kayaking etc. I am very careful at work and rarely irritate it there. I use heat and cold we are all different in what works. I stretch daily using the Mckenzie method, he wrote some great books that i have found useful. "Treat your own back" is what I use for reference. Leaning forward is my demise. I have been to several doctors & physical therapists. I now take gabapentin (prescription nerve block) daily to ease the nerve pain, it took 15 years to find a dr that would listen and it has made a nice difference in my life as it is I wake up every day wondering will I go down today and for how long. When I get a warning shot of pain I have come to realize I must not work that day if I do I will end up down for several. Go to your family dr! Likely you will have to start with an xray & physical therapy then if it persists get an MRI as said before that's what is needed to truly diagnose. I have been in the tube 3 times now to keep an eye on progression. I wasn't a fan of pain management or injection. I find bed rest on a hard bed (I have select comfort so I turn it up) works just as well as the injection. I keep a few canes handy and when I can move again I simply walk. I will do laps more and more with breaks in-between in bed. If it's a nasty one It will take a week- 10 days before I can walk straight. I usually bend about 2" to the left when it really goes. Hang in there!
 
definitely get it out of your back pocket if you set much . that was the first thing Doc told me years ago. wallets play hell with your sciatica nerve .
 
You can put what I know about painting cars in a thimble but when it comes to back pain that I know way too much about. From bucking hay when I was 14 to 35 years as a Structural Steel Ironworker my back is pretty much a train wreck (pinched nerves, scatia, degenertive disc, ruptured disc you name it). Lots of good advice on here but here is what I know in a nut shell.

1. Inversion tables work for some and not others, I have one in the shed didn't work for me.
2. One Dr says heat another says ice no two can agree. I personally like heat
3. Chiropractor-mine is awesome I crawl in and walk out known this guy for 25 years
4. Shine is correct do not sit on your wallet or phone that is huge
5. As crazy as it sounds to try to do, avoid twisting or rather pivoting as much as possible
6. Pain Management-Get a good Pain Management Dr-Facet injections are my friend
7. I believe someone mentioned MRI-you need to know whats going on in there, this is a must x-rays don't cut it
8. Take good care of it-I didn't and wish I had
9. Someone mentioned stretching-Most construction companies do stretch and flex every morning statistically it cuts down on back injuries.
10. Surgery is a last option I have been fighting it for 3 years, I do not know very many guys that had surgery and it really helped. Some swear by it but the majority of guys I know all regret it.
11. Almost forgot I have found hot tubs help relax your back
12. My personal favorite-the best $12 I ever spent was on a tens machine. That think really rocks, wire yourself up for 20-30 minutes and the relief is instant. When you get done rub on some bio-freeze and you will be good to go.
 
Just an idea but also look at your bed situation. Consider that u spend 1/4 to 1/3 of the 24 hour day laying down. I had the same bed for probably 15yrs. And every morning woke up. Back sore. I bought a better quality bed. With an adjustable base and it helps. Its not a cure. But it does help. A good quality mattress is going to cost you 3000 dollars and up. Small fortune but u do spend a good portion of your life using it.
 
Gonna throw this out there, try some yoga, just for back pain. You can find videos online. Yeah, I know, it ain’t cool, blah blah. But it worked for me. Inversion tables are great too. Everyone is different, and it’s very prevalent, given all the posts. Most of us don’t stretch enough, and we bend too much.
 
On the subject of back pain I am curious if you guys have noticed any other issues that coincide with back pain. For the past few years when I've made my back angry I've noticed that I get some fairly serious stomach pain almost like it's all knotted up not a sick or burning feeling. Obviously I need to talk with my Doc about this, but wasn't sure if other folks who have back pain also experience this especially since our core muscles play a large part in all this.
 
AI, it's actually pretty stable. I haven't had any issues like that, but it would be a trip to tip over on it. :oops:
Oh wait! The pic is misleading. It lays down flat on the floor for use, like a table. You hook your ankles on one end and your head in the other, crank the wheel and stretch yourself out. Like on the old horror movies! The standing up position is for storage.

Here... https://www.ebay.com/itm/353465120835?hash=item524c29b843:g:kywAAOSwI4ZbYB6o
 
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