Lower Back Pain....any suggestions

[K-80-123]

Wow. A subject I know more about than most of the threads. I have been a practicing chiropractor for 25 years and I serve the American Chiropractic Association and the American Medical Association on advisory and research committees. Great that you go checked out by your primary care doc, but in most cases the meds are not going to resolve an underlying condition that you may have.

The acute pain you describe, that is exacerbated by movement, sounds most consistant with a mechanical/articular (joint) involvement. For acute onset of low back pain manipulation and direct physical medicine procedures has the greatest efficacy. There are good and bad folks in all diciplines and if your problem is not getting any better pm me your location and I will do my best to find you someone good to evaluate your problem.

After obtaining relief from the physical injury therapeutic exercise is most helpful in preventing recurrance.

The bad news is that you are experiencing some pretty bad pain. The good news is that will usually improve and resolve in the vast majority of cases. Effective treatment will usually help this resolve in a much shorter time frame and lessen the odds of recurrance.

I will PM you my contact information. If you have any questions or concerns I would be happy to help you in any manner I can.

Best regards Walt,

Craig

Craig, thank you..

 

[drcraig]

Craig, thank you..

ps: I want this to be an easier problem for you to get past than the smoking ordeal

 

[Black1]

This is a great thread! ....And what a coincidence, as tweaked my back last night as well.... It happened while on a ladder (waxing the top of the truck). The ladder suddenly "adjusted" it's foot position, and I jerked up real fast - as it startled me. That's all it took... I heard the "pop" and off to bed I hobbled.... Been horizontal, mostly, ever since. :dontknow:

 

[Ram From Hell]

ps: I want this to be an easier problem for you to get past than the smoking ordeal

Wow, didn't know Walt smoked. OH! You meant his old "H" truck. My bad.

Good luck with your back, Walt. Plenty of good advice on here already (okay, so maybe Stinker's will speed you along to AA...). I had two back surgeries by the age of 30 (near fatal car wreck), so I get things like you are suffering with from time to time. Much less often with exercise, I tell ya.

I get told ice rather than heat soon after the occurances, and after physical therapy and chiropractic treatments. Heat is helpful before stretching, but the cooling reduces edema (swelling) around the area of injury.

The meds will certainly help the muscles to "re-boot". Sounds like you have the usual complement of goods there. I usually lean on the cyclobenzaprene and oxy/aceta, but can't take the cox2 anti-inflammatory drugs for more than a day or so (too harsh on my stomach).

Just be a biker and "Easy Does It" for a few days.

Good luck.

 

[TheSickness]

Fly to my house and I will give ya one of my patented bear hugs and we can smoke a couple bowls

 

[NBT]

If you really want to get better go to a Physical Therapist. It amazes me that so many people think of Chiropractors before Physical Therapists. I have been to both and a Physical Therapist will do wonders compared to a Chiropractor. IMO, many Chiropractors are quacks. I race Motocross so I am injured a lot and Physical Therapy has always done the trick. It isn't an overnight fix. It will take some time. Most important - you will need to do the excercises they prescribe on your own every day. Good luck. Back pain sucks!

First of all this is some of the best advice...IMHO.

Chris it is obvious you have benefited from PT..... I have as well.

Walt
Reserve your Chiropractor or PT until a diagnosis is obtained... then choose your appropriate course of treatment. The last thing you need to do is me hypermobile through a facet joint...when there is a risk of herniation.... Could leave you rolling around in a wheelchair.

Walt...for the first 48 choose anti-inflamatory therapy...Ice and rest. Md appointment is important, as well as a good picture of what's going on "in there".
From the symptoms you describe...it does not sound like you are having associated neurological symptoms usually apparent with impingement...which is great. It is indicating a muscle pull more over than a disc issue... however before you choose a treatment...you must have an idea what your trying to fix...

SO...

Rest ... Ice for 20 min... 4 X a day...for the first 24 to 48 hours...then move to moist heat....(all in conjunction with the sugggested anti-inflamatory and pain management per your PMD).... get an MRI of the affected area...(even if it is unremarkable it gives you a great reference for a baseline later on). Radiologist official interpretation... FU with Neuro MD (if needed), and treatment... Could be PT, Surgery,( Doesn't sound like it), Streoid injection, Chiropractor...ect.

Make sure the picture is crystal clear before treating something...we have the tools to make sure....make sure you are taking advantage of them.

 

[Django]

Good morning to you all.......... I heard all the racket about this and got up to see what's happening.

There's a curious aspect of this that no one has yet touched on.... That is the location of the pain.... I have yet to read whether this is an injury with spinal involvement, a sacroilliac (joint of sacrum and illium) sprain or what.... (sorry if I missed it) I'm sure Walt has been informed of this (hopefully) by now. But there was no question by anyone as to whether this pain comes from his spinal area or above his beltline on one side or the other...

Spinal injuries are potentially much more threatening than a simple sprain. it's an area of the body that can potentially cause paralysis if the wrong therapy is applied....

Having said all that..... And now that you've been to the doctor, Walt.... What's the specific area of the body that is injured....?

I had chronic back problems when I was an Arrowhead water man... Delivering 175-200 5 gal. bottles every day, stairs and all the rest really took it's toll despite a good body mechanic.... Any way, this experience was a lesson in back injuries.....

Dr Craig's "knee to the chest" PT was a great one..... My favorite for sacroilliac sprains is called a "press up" ... You lay on your stomach on the floor. Keep your hip bones on the floor and "press up" ... it's (basically) like a push up. But keeping your hip bones on the floor flexes your body backwards at the hips/waist....

Press ups are a very good way to turn a 6 week sacroilliac sprain into a 2 or 3 week affair instead..... Press ups saved my back many times..... They should be done even when your back is feeling fine as a daily way to keep this area of your back in shape....

But primarily, I'd always ask your doctor or physical therapist if ANY PT regimen is right for you before attempting it..... You could wind up fkn things up even worse than they are to begin with....

Good luck and God bless...

Tim

 

[Hamrhead]

I feel for ya Walt...

if the pain radiates down one leg....skip the Chiro as you may have jacked up your Sciatic nerve.....


Good luck big guy...

^ Been here, and I have the scar to prove it. Of course, with the pain I was in, I'd do the operation again in a minute!:rock: That was about 12 years ago or so.

These days I'm pain free. In fact, I can't remember the last time I even pulled a muscle in my back. I attribute it to the fact that I do try to stay strong. I don't go crazy with the weights like when I was in my 20's, but I still push some around.

I also have a Roman Chair that I do sit-ups and back extensions on. I do sit-ups on it every morning before work - at about 3am. I save the back extensions for the evening a couple of times a week.


Hope you feel better soon Walt!

 

[K-80-123]

Thanks for all the great advice....I guess we all have been down with back troubles from time to time......That is why I love this place....

 

[flchub]

Uhhhh then you have to have a few drinks with that and you will be floating around the room. Your back pain as well as any mental pain throughout your life will be gone as well.

hehe just dont plan on doing anything the next day

 

[bigike]

GOTO WALGREENS AND GET STOP PAIN SPRAY this is very good for your back, as you can spary it on, and man it goes DEEP. Use this with motrin and you'll be on your feet in no time!

STOP-PAIN SPRAY

 

[JRSVIPR]

Try Viagra, That will take care of the ol back.


j.R.

 

[Cowboy-Up]

can we all say GO TO THE DOCTOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Walt, lower back pain is very serious , to know what is really wrong they have to see what is going on down there, like with a mri scan. i had the same thing hit me in oct found out i had 2 disloveing disc in my back , and after 63,000 dollars later i feel great thanks to GOD and my doctor. please go see a real doctor.