back pain advice needed.

[michelevit]

I installed some sprinklers about two months ago and did
a fair amount of digging and trenching. I have since
developed some pretty good back pain. I thought that time
would make the pain subside. the pain is mostly in my lower back.

I am still in a far amount of pain and I have undergone a basic
physical but the doctor just gave me some basic 'take two
aspirin' and call me in the morning.

some coworkers and friends have suggested some alternatives
like chircractors and also accupuncture.

any advice is greatly appreciated. I have a hard time riding
in my car or on a scooter for long periods of time. This last week I have now
noticed a tingling/numbing of my hands and fingers. it is getting
worse to get out of bed because of the pain.

would anyone recommend a chiropractor? not one in particular,
but chirpractic care in general?

the pain is beginning to make me really irritiable and snappy with others. it is also
begninning to interfere with just general thought.
most of the time spent thinking and daydreaming about projects
is now spent thinking about backpain. i seem to be losing interest in projects
like woodworking because of the pain.

thanks for any advice- it is greatly appreciated.

[Tamarack]

I would suggest you go to a chiropractor. Sometimes we get the spine misaligned and it causes mild to severe pain. A simple back adjustment can frequently fix it. Please talk to your friends, particularly elderly ones, to find a good one (there are many not so good ones out there). I have no business relationship with any, nothing to gain by it, just wanted to let you know that I have received a lot of good help from a good chiropractor over the years.

Paul in Idaho (for 7 more weeks!)

[bigstick509]

Pain Management

I've had good results with my chiropractor, that being said I have also had to result to a back specialist for a steroid pack once. My pain is a result of a compressed L-5 disc. I'd have X-Rays bone by either DR. and go from there.

[paynea]

I feel your pain, metaphorically speaking. Being a pretty tall guy, I've always had a pretty significant level of back pain (some call it 'tall man's disease') due to the pure physics of weight distibuted over a curved spine. Coupling that with a too-small car for years, low-quality office seating, and an 'extra' curve in my spine (minor scoliosis) I was pretty much a recipe for back pain disaster. I would occasionally (e.g. 2 x / year) get muscle spasms right around my spine so severe I could not walk (barely even breathe). All docs could offer was ice, heat, bed rest, painkillers, and muscle relaxants. An episode would have me out of commission for up to a week while things slowly healed.

The straw breaking my own back was a slip on some stairs (also height related--our house has insufficient clearance for my head, so I was off balance and landed on the nose of a stairway tread with my lower spine). I had similar tingline and burning pain radiating out from the spot and even down my legs. I saw a chiropractor at a home expo doing scans with some equipment and offering a discount, and gave it a shot.

It has truly been night and day for me. My chiropractor ascribes to a style called 'upper cervical care,' which evidently does not feature the same sort of "twist and crack" approach that made me leery of the discipline. After my first adjustment, a persistent low level headache disspeared, essentially instantaneously. It reminded me of the sensation of getting my first pair of eyeglasses ... a dramatic clarity where I didn't even recognize the fact that I was muddled. It's improved my sleep pretty significantly too. I have to travel by air very frequently, typically in cattle class, which does a tall guy no favors (to say nothing of tiny rental cars and hotel beds), and he can "fix me right up."

He's given me stretches and exercises to help my own body heal itself more effectively. My wife now is in a program of chiropractic care as well, which helped her quite a bit through the back pains of pregnancy.

But most significantly for me, the acute muscle spasms that would knock me out for a week or more are fixed in less than a minute now (not counting my travel time to his office). It turns out the spasms are so intense they actually pop the head of the rib out of its little sockety joint (medical term) on the side of the vertebrae. He can put his fist in a certain spot on my back, lean me back on it, give my chest an impulse force, and immediately all the pain is gone save for residual soreness from the stretched muscles and soft tissue. That, for me, has been the killer app for this care.

I also find I don't see my primary care physcian nearly as frequently as I used to.

So, in short, I'm a big fan, it's really changed my life and health for the better, and I couldn't recommend it more highly. Best of luck to you,

Adam

[Kitten]

I've had lower back pain for many years. My best suggestion would be to have x-rays done before seeking help without them ... no telling what the problem might be. If it's a disk problem (herneated or torn) physical therapy and/or pain management could do wonders for it! I've been through about everything short of surgery ... they've all helped some ... nothing I've found takes the pain away permanently. The longest I've gone pain-free after a procedure was over a year.

Good luck with it. Back pain can be really awful.

Huggers, Ginger

[bigsteel15]

I pretty much agree with all above and inparticular can sympathize with Adam.
I'm 6-5 and have had back pain since 11 yrs old...it just knocked the wind out of me one day while carrying a case of canned goods to my dads car.
It was on and off for years, mostly depending what kind of physical activities I was into and what shape I was in at the time (mostly not great).
Since 15 yrs ago when I got squished between 2 cars while working its been fairly bad at times. I've tweaked everything from my neck down to my lower back with extremes from discomfort to hospitalization because I couldn't stand up (shot of cortozone, have a nice day). I finally found a good chiro here that I go to about twice a month (health care here pays for 16 visits/year).
He also has a massage therapist who is great. I actually find that just as helpful.
I've also learned what my limitations are and can tell if it's gonna go.
If something doesn't feel right, I stop and try a different approach.
Mostly mine is my own fault for not doing the exercises he gives me and not staying in any kind of shape (round doesn't count?).

[scmhogg]

I agree with Ginger. Get proper x-rays and maybe even an MRI.

Some years ago I had a ruptured cervical [in the neck] disk. Initially, I was prescribed meds and physical therapy. The meds, Celebrex, really helped. The PT made things worse. The pain became unbearable. One day it would be my neck, the next my shoulder, the next my wrist. . .

I am certainly not a doctor, but my experience tells me that numbness in the fingers and hands stems from the neck area not the lower back.

My advice, find the best hospital based spine center in your area. I went to the Cedars Sinai Spine Institute in Beverly Hills, CA. They used Chiropractic, therapy and surgery. They had the newest diagnostic equipment. They felt my prescribed PT was potentially dangerous, particularly without the MRI that showed the ruptured disk was making a dent in my spinal cord.

I had the disk removed and a titanium plate installed, that is now overgrown with my own bone scrapings. The pain was gone when I came out of the surgery. Nasty sore throat though. The numbness went away at the predicted inch a month.

I was back playing tennis in 6 weeks. It's been five years now and I haven't even had a glitch since.

I was so impressed by the caliber of physicians a Cedars, I now drive 80 miles round trip, in LA traffic, for all my medical needs even my GP.

I wish you the best of luck.

Steve

[bigsteel15]

I should also note that up here, most chiropractors won't work on you until they have an X-ray. Some even have their own equipment.

[mdutch]

Just make sure you're comfortable with your chiropractor. If they seem to have an inordinate amount of Workman's Comp business and big "INJURY REFERRAL" signs on their windows, you might want to re-consider.

X-Rays are useful to an orthopedic physician, but are only an income-stream to a chiroproactor. I wouldn't worry too much about seeing an ortho right away, unless your regular doctor thinks you might have a disk problem. And as far as your description, it sounds to my untrained eye like you've got some chronic inflammation in your muscles -- because every time I hear of someone with a disk problem, they're usually lying down 24/7 until it's fixed.

Two things you CAN do right away to help your back. Start training yourself to sleep flat on your back with one pillow. Lie down like you stand up. Straight, with your arms comfortably at your sides. It may be wierd at first if you're a side or stomach sleeper, but believe me, it goes a long way toward helping your muscles relax.

Thing "two" is how to take Ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil). Most people take it like something for a headache. You hurt, you take a dose. Ibuprofin is an anti-inflammatory that works over time. You need to take it regularly for at least 48 hours. Here's a link to the MOTRIN site for dosage info. If that doesn't fix your back, then you definitely need additional medical care from an MD or a Chiropractor.

If your bed is giving you back pain, you need to consider springing for a better bed. A good top-of-the-line pillow-top mattress is "good enough". You want a firm mattress with a good pillow-top. Those memory-foam and air-powered $4000 beds are mostly snake-oil (I just got rid of one). And memfoam beds are REALLY HOT in the summertime!

Hope you feel better soon!

[WayneJ]

I suffered with low back pain for years. After x-rays and an M.R.I. they found a bad hip l/s. Had the hip replaceed and no more pain. Now I got to do the same with my right knee. Tried motrin but did'nt help . Aleve works best for me Get some pioctures done first and then you can deal with it. It also helps to have a doctor that you can trust. Also as a side, thats how I quit smoking, six days in the hospital. I know your pain, I wish you the best.
Wayne

[parnelli]

And if you're still hesitant on seeing a Chiropractor, seeing a DO can be a good cross between one and a MD

[Mrs. Wallnut]

I would suggest having the x-rays taken and then see what the doctor says. Then maybe try a chiropracter and maybe a good massage therapist after that.

My dad has Fibromyalsia and was in great pain for a couple of years. He went to every doctor that was suggested and finally someone told him about acupuncture. He finally tried it because he was up to trying anything to get rid of the pain. There were days that he could barely get out of a chair or walk at all. After a couple of trips to the acupuncture man here in town he has been almost pain free to this day. With just a little bit of pain when he over does it, or is trying to lift too much.

I would go with the doctors first and work your way through things...but it sounds like there is something wrong because you shouldn't have numbness.

[JBCrooks]

I've suffered from lower back pain for years. I've been to several doctors and spent uncounted hundreds of dollars on all the tests and drugs. The most they could ever do was dope me up so that the pain was numbed. I was always skeptical of chiros until about 3 years ago. I tell you it was like magic. I walk in there, the guy beats on me for about 20 min, and all my pain goes away. No drugs, no expensive tests, no silliness. They have taken my recovery time when my back goes out from a week to a day. I can't recommend them enough...IF you find a real one.

[michelevit]

thanks for the advice

thanks for the advice.
i went ahead and made an appointment to
see a recommended chiropractor. i hope that
does the trick. i'd really like to be out of this pain
sometime soon.

thanks again.

[gsmittle]

Tender subject....

Wow, so much good advice already....Sounds like maybe you have a muscle spasm. I had one two weeks ago (after going too hard in my first karate class in two years) that laid me out for three days. Excruciating, stabbing pain in the lower back.

Like many of us here, I've had chronic back pain for years. Turns out mine was spondolysthesis (L4 slid off of L5) and the only thing that worked for me was extensive spinal surgery. I had mine done by a neurosurgeon, not an ortho.

Since my surgery a year ago, I've been relatively pain-free (except for the occasional spasm).

I'm no doctor, but I asked my neuro, and hand and arm numbness is nerves in the neck or carpal tunnel syndrome.

At any rate, see whatever medical practitioner you're comfortable with (personally, I'm uncomfortable with chiro), definitely get the X-ray and possibly an MRI.

In my case, my neuro wouldn't cut until I had tried PT, epidurals, and had an MRI. Even then he was careful to explain that the surgery would require extensive recovery time, and possibly wouldn't completely cure the pain.

Anyway, I feel your pain, brother!

BTW, I'm 5'9".

g.