Back Pain treatment or tricks

[Teddy (punchie)]

Hi all first, God Bless !!

After hurting my back at work 2-9-2016, Muscle stain in thoracic area. Sliding a row of heavy lab tables to sweep dirt under them. I work as a custodian High school, 13 classrooms, 5 other rooms areas (offices and work areas, faculty room) plus 350' long by 13' wide hall. Some 25 white/chalk boards, some 400 desks/table and all the wiping of the counters and window seals. Some nights are rough. Right around 18,500 -19,000 square ft. every evening.

I had two months of payment of level 5-8 pain now is slowing down to 2-3 and few hours of around 5-6, maybe twice a week it gets in the 8's then Ice Time. So As I continue to heal, and after reading the posts on knee replacement and back surgeries, thought maybe there are a few of us the can share what helps or works for us.


Here What I found out or what helps.

Ice, Yes; only thing that takes the pain way.

Heat, sometimes does feel good.

Massage, sometimes feels good, but doesn't last.

Psychical Therapy, just not so good, stretching helps some. Maybe okay for somethings but back I have never found it to help so much. I do stretch on my own almost daily.

Chiropractor, sometimes I think it is, I has worked very well before. Or maybe I Just had to wait too long before Works Comp would send me to the chiropractor. Back was out for about 5 weeks, I would tell them that I need it reset a they would just send me to PT. I know stretching can help but Physical Strength was okay. I had full range of movement after two weeks of PT and still in pain. Plus damage in thoracic area not lower back where they placed all of the STEM and most of the massage. Just not a fan of most PT.

Acupuncture, just started little over a week ago. Seems to be helping. I notice a different feeling for sure.

Pain pills over the counter, just help you sleep. Maybe take the edge off. naproxen sodium and ibuprofen

Herbal stress pills :

Ignatia, or ignatia amara, is one type of homeopathic remedy sometimes used to treat anxiety.

Like it better then Lorazepam the doctors gave me at have a pill a day only took 3 halves as they just didn't set well. Asks for this after the two months of back pain and lost of appetite and huge amount of stomach gas. The family doctor also had the stomach and belly area checked for Gallbladder, Liver, Stomach, and Intestines, all tests came back great but said I was full of it, Some constipation and what to take for this. Boy did they get a fun time at work we always knew you were full of Sh** , I had just taking a manure management class as well, we have beef cattle on the farm. Boy they all laughed which is a good thing. I was full of it and know how to manage it , LOL

Claiming teas mixes and Ginger tea, help stomach troubles I was having.

All so take a stress and relax herbal pill to help sleep.


Started deep stomach breathing also to help with stress of pain. In through nose, making your belly do all the movement and out through the mouth and controlling and slow.

Absorbine Liniment Gel for muscle pain. Seem to work very well. Still healing and taking a number of things to help heal, so not sure but it doesn't make it worse. Opinion online is this works very well.

Voltaren gel not sure it is doing much, it is a pain gel to help with taking meds that effect your stomach, naproxen sodium rub if you will you up take the Meds through the skin.

Also I back on my vetimens E, D, Cal, Mag, Fishoil, and joint supplments.

Any question ask, please post your opinions.

God Bless hope you all find ways to help.

Teddy

[KAF]

http://www.spine-health.com/conditions/spine-anatomy/thoracic-spine-anatomy-and-upper-back-pain

Tingling down arms or weakness is a bad thing. Sharp stabbing pains when you take a breath or sneeze or cough, not good. See a Dr.

[DCP]

Whiskey after 3 you wont care.

I was just told today in physical therapy medical marijuana works.

[popper]

Let me know if you find something other than Advil - which I can't take. Ice relieves any swelling from muscle pulls.

[Teddy (punchie)]

Let me know if you find something other than Advil - which I can't take. Ice relieves any swelling from muscle pulls.

Hi Popper



Absorbine Liniment Gel (12 oz) (http://www.amazon.com/Absorbine-Liniment-Gel-12-oz/dp/B002EBOHN4/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8)

I would try this just a little in one spot at first save time and use gloves. Don't get it near your buddy's Use at your own risk.

Same trusted Absorbine liniment in a super-convenient gel. Relieves the pain and swelling of joints and muscles due to minor injuries, over exertion, and arthritis. Stimulates blood flow to the area applied. Eases fatigued muscles, joints, and tendons. 12 oz gel and 3 oz travel size.

Cost is 12-14 dollars don't pay more then 14-15 dollars and is just like Absorbine Jr. but is Absorbine Sr. Tractor Supply Co. has it. for 13.?? something after taxes. An good vet supply should carry it.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Then maybe, This may help but prices are little high.

Voltaren gel generic name

Diclofenac Sodium: Topical gel

Non-steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs or NSAIDs. NSAIDs reduce pain, inflammation and swelling while helping the body return to a normal temperature. When the body is injured or ill, it releases an enzyme known as COX. NSAIDs help control two specific types of COX enzymes, COX-1 and COX-2.

Other information:
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[runfiverun]

sometimes it ain't your back.
a torn cartilage in your ribs can feel like back pain but won't ever heal because your treating back issues and not letting the cartilage grow back together.
this can take 6-8 weeks.
I get a pain through the middle of my back from one side to the other like I was compressed [which I was] and occasionally I re-tear the tissue and it hurts all the way around like a back muscle problem.

[jmort]

Walking, briskly, is the best "medicine" I have found for back pain. Has many other benefits as well.

[Teddy (punchie)]

Your right if after a day or so get checked out.

I have seen general work comp. Doctor , was running a fever and with the stomach, pain, back pain ice cold hands we when to ER. After this 3 day spell I felt a little better and still had the 7-8 pain in back was working through it and had lite duty which helped and a helper for 2-4 hours which had me free to do extra odd things at work, panting and extra cleaning like lockers. After two months back to general Doctors and had the stomach and belly area checked, constipation maybe adding to the pain. Heart Okay, Liver, Gall badder Okay, Blood work great, Blood pressure Okay, All tests came back normal to great. Only things are left is something hiding or Muscle. No shadow or nerves pain in legs or arms, just sore - ache there from age and hard work. Knee some and hip area old back injury. Feet from long days a work.



http://www.spine-health.com/conditions/spine-anatomy/thoracic-spine-anatomy-and-upper-back-pain

Tingling down arms or weakness is a bad thing. Sharp stabbing pains when you take a breath or sneeze or cough, not good. See a Dr.

[tomme boy]

Essential oils and back massage helps me get through some bad times. Just have to find the right mix of oils that will work for you.

This was the only thing that finally took the edge off for me. I am on 3 pain killers and 4 nerve suppression type pills. I have a lifetime of bad injuries that are haunting me. From being run over by a car when I was 16 to 3 guys landing on top of me when a rope broke pulling 500 wire about 6 years ago.

[Teddy (punchie)]

sometimes it ain't your back.
a torn cartilage in your ribs can feel like back pain but won't ever heal because your treating back issues and not letting the cartilage grow back together.
this can take 6-8 weeks.
I get a pain through the middle of my back from one side to the other like I was compressed [which I was] and occasionally I re-tear the tissue and it hurts all the way around like a back muscle problem.

Almost like a rib being out, yes that the way it feels most of the time.

What did you do to help them heal?

[bubba.50]

when I hurt my back, the "pain management specialist"(I use the term loosely because all he ever "managed" was gettin' more money from the state) had me on about a half a dozen meds for spasms & nerve pain. none worked as claimed and side effects more than cancelled out what little good they did do.

finally got fed-up & went to my doctor even though I had to pay it myself and he said "the best thing for back spasms is plain old valium". wrote me a scrip for them & a mild pain med & life was good again 'til he retired. now if ya ask for anything specific they either act like yer a full-blown junkie or want to give ya somethin' else just to prove they know more than you.

[Teddy (punchie)]

Walking, briskly, is the best "medicine" I have found for back pain. Has many other benefits as well.

Yes took about two weeks for me to go from 20" inch step to, get back to the 28 inch short steps I take. Normal for me is 34-36 " steps I'm a walker for sure, but if I'm hurting not so much. I make a about 4 extra trips to the dumpster at work just to loosen up.

Plus grab a snack as I have lost 20 lbs, do to loss of appetite. 212 right now. That said I'm changing diet and adding more lean protein and leafy greens in hopes Of losing 20 more, get back to 190 range, that be down from 232-235 last few years, that 40 pounds may make knees , hip, feet and back feel a little less physical stress. Just a goal I have.

[Tackleberry41]

I have found the best thing for my back, is the gym. Its the sciatic nerve thing, messed it up yrs ago. It would come and go, easy to mess it up. But building up the muscles in my back and belly has done wonders for it. The muscles support everything better.

[Teddy (punchie)]

when I hurt my back, the "pain management specialist"(I use the term loosely because all he ever "managed" was gettin' more money from the state) had me on about a half a dozen meds for spasms & nerve pain. none worked as claimed and side effects more than cancelled out what little good they did do.

finally got fed-up & went to my doctor even though I had to pay it myself and he said "the best thing for back spasms is plain old valium". wrote me a scrip for them & a mild pain med & life was good again 'til he retired. now if ya ask for anything specific they either act like yer a full-blown junkie or want to give ya somethin' else just to prove they know more than you.

Try herbs I'm drinking a tea that has a mix, Hops, Valerian Root, Chamomile these are some common ones.Look for a tea that has valerian root, herb in it.

An look up. Ignatia Amara The following are the indications of Ignatia Amara, as it relates to back. ... back; pain; sore, bruised, beaten; lumbar (lower half of back); sacrum (base of spine)

Watch taking Kava Kava hard on liver in some studies.

Been doing a huge amount of reading and studying hard enough to go to work most nights so I rest , stretch, massage and ice and heat getting ready for work. So allot of reading.

[lightman]

I've had back problems since high school and surgery twice. I suggest seeing another doc. If its a muscle problem you need time off for it to heal. If its a ruptured disc you will need surgery. If its not your back, treating you back will not fix it, so see another doctor. Some times a chiropractor can make you feel better if the disc has slipped but not ruptured. Aleve helps mine more than anything else. One of those nylon back braces has gotten me through some hard times. When you recover, walking and stomach exercises will help to keep it from happening again.

I did the electrical work in the local school system for 22 years. It sounds like our school is bigger than yours and I can tell you that those concrete floors are not your backs friend! Maybe you can make it to schools out, that is unless you work full time all year. Oh yeah, don't just stretch some days, stretch several times everyday. Gently, but do what you can, don't force anything. Just watch what a cat or dog does when it first gets up! Feeling for ya, hang in there Buddy!

[farmerjim]

+1 on the Voltaren gel. I use it twice daily on my back. I am on blood thinners and can not take non steroidal anti inflammatory meds . Only about 8% of the Voltaren gets out of your tissues and into your bloodstream. For this reason my doctor lets me use it. My pain Dr said it would not work on my back, but it does. It works as good as opate drugs.
I also use radio frequency ablation and steroid injections.
You might also try a tens unit.I used one on my knee for years and it took most of the pain out.

[runfiverun]

if it is the cartilage in the ribs you can't do a whole lot to help it.
you just have to let it do it's thing until it heals.
unfortunately it's a long process and easy to re-injure.
just sitting the wrong way will make it hurt for a week.

[victorfox]

If it's not the ribs as runfiverun suggests, good stretching like already told, a better mattress (sometimes harder is much better than soft. I've slept on the bare floor when some back ache strikes some time ago with good results). I do something unusual grandma did, rub with Vick vaporub on the pain spot. Sounds weird but usually works. Here there's a balm most used in race horses, we used it to great success in ourselves, I remember it contains beladona, and other stuff, it really eases back and articulation pains.People say pilates and yoga also is good but never tried. Some women at work swear by it.. God bless your health.

[Blackwater]

Teddy, I was raised to believe that chiropractors were "witch doctors" that would hurt you, or if you went to them very long and trusted them too much, would kill you. I and a buddy both had back problems, mostly from playing Tarzan when we should have been playing Jane or Cheetah, and he went to a chiropractor. One day, he called me from his work to mine and asked if I could come take him to Ralph, his chiropractor. He literally couldn't make it to his car! I went and helped him to my truck, got him in, and took him to Ralph for the "magic treatment." I say that mockingly, as back then, I didn't believe in chiropractors because I'd been raised to think that way and just mistrusted them. But seeing is believing, and when he strutted out like a bantam rooster, after having had to be helped in and walking like Graucho Marx, I HAD to know SOMETHING was going on that I didn't understand, and I knew this warranted another look. Next time I had a bad blowout, I went to Ralph, the chiropractor, and like my buddy Mark, I may not have quite strutted out, but I sure walked out erect and free of pain! This re-taught me an old lesson, that believing what others say or disbelieving them, without seeing some actual results, isn't quite intellectually astute!

Thus begana long and fruitful relationship with ol' Ralph the chiropractor. When he left the area, I was shocked! And I never DID find another chiropractor who would or could do what he did. He never tried to get me on a regimen of regular visits, and each visit, I came to regard him and his skills with more and more appreciation. It was REAL! No question about it. I also have a friend who's older than me, and now deceased, that is as fine a man as I've ever known in this world, honest to a fault, and he claimed another chiro cured him of his sinus problems!

The problem with chiros is that too many of them try to get you on a regular regimen, and I simply didn't have time for that then. Ralph was a wonder. None I have gone to since then, which number around 6-7, have ever been as effective as Ralph was.

So, long story short, they CAN do wonders, but ONLY if you find the right one who has the right skills and moves and touch for whatever it is that ails you. Find the right one, and they're a wondrous resource! Find the wrong ones, and they're just a deep hole into which you can deposit lots of money. And I know of no way to find which one will work for you except by trial and error, and if you're like me, there's been more error than success. But it's worth the search if and when you DO find one, IN SPADES! If you can't find one who can let you walk out erect when you go in bent over, go to another and abandon that one. That was my experience with them, anyway.

I think chiros are a lot like custom gunsmiths, and some have that "magic touch," and many simply don't. Fine one of the magic ones, and if they move, consider moving WITH them! They can be THAT good! But don't expect to find one right off the bat, and you may have to go through them all in your area before finding one that does good for you, and you may not even find one. You can't know until you try them, though. There's no way to tell by their reputation with others or by their looks or that they have a nice office or staff. Just find a good one and you'll really, really appreciate their real talent and skills. If they don't work out for you, you won't be alone, but any time a new one moves in, give him or her a try. You never know until you sample their work. FWIW?

[shoot-n-lead]

This has been a tremendous help tp me.

It has the heat option, you can turn it off, if you like.

https://jet.com/product/detail/fa906a580f0f4475b4eb39d858dcc189?jcmp=pla:ggl:gen_ health_beauty_a1:personal_care_massage_relaxation_ massagers_a1_other:na:na:na:na:na:2&code=PLA15&ds_c=gen_health_beauty_a1&ds_cid&ds_ag=personal_care_massage_relaxation_massagers_a 1_other&product_id=fa906a580f0f4475b4eb39d858dcc189&product_partition_id=161668500060&gclid=CKLM1dO_j8wCFbgy0wodsS4AUg&gclsrc=aw.ds

[xs11jack]

Some of the stuff sounds like my back pain. I am going to get some of the Absorbine stuff and give it a try. I have gone to the VA but the therapy didn't work for me so they gave me a TENS unit. That did very little for the month I had it. I quit that because I put it on one morning and went outside. Suddenly that thing went nuts and gave me three big jolts before I ripped it off and threw it over the neighbors fence. I can't take anything that risks bleeding as I have active Crohn's Disease. I thank you guys for the information.
Ole Jack

[Driver man]

Walking, briskly, is the best "medicine" I have found for back pain. Has many other benefits as well.
Walking is the best cure I have found for a bad back. Pushing through the pain and doing a 2 or 3 mile walk each day will see me right in about a week. No kidding, you need to build up your back muscles without straining them.

[MrWolf]

Thorasic damage is tough to help. I have about six thorasic herniations/damage. Voltaren works ok, so do the Novacaine patches. Surgery is probably out of the question as with mine the risk is way to high and most won't touch them. The cervical and lumbar they said they could possibly do something but not the thorasic. I find heat works best for me as with the cold I seize up and hurt more. I would definetly recommend the Accupunture as I used to get great releaf from that. Keep moving, walking, etc.. Good luck.

Ron

[popper]

Guess I shouldn't have carried that 50# box of printer paper to the car yesterday. Used a cold pack last eve and reasonably good today. I've had some spinal stenosis before, slow toe touching stretch helps greatly. Symptom is shin splint & lower back pain at the same time. Had that 'fire from hell' in the leg once - fortunately it eventually went away with a small dose of muscle relaxer. Got diagnosed with scoliosis lately (really, at my age?), PT, tramadol (trazedone doesn't do anything for me) doesn't help. Walking doesn't either. Only one cure for old age.
Chiropractors (a good one) can provide some relief, bad ones can cause a lot of additional damage.

[robg]

If its a muscle injury try lying face down on the floor ,then push up with your arms keeping your hips on the floor arching your back 10times slowly .try to keep mobile ,it eases in time .

[crowbuster]

if it is the cartilage in the ribs you can't do a whole lot to help it.
you just have to let it do it's thing until it heals.
unfortunately it's a long process and easy to re-injure.
just sitting the wrong way will make it hurt for a week.

Oh sweet lord, you hit it on the head. what misery. Teddy. same here with the volteren. I went to penetran plus. Helps a lot more.

[Teddy (punchie)]

Thank God !! Little of an update. So far last three days. Back doesn't feel 100 % but pain is doing much better. Like I over did it not pulled (stained) a muscle, still sore but doing better. Like 2-3 pain no real bad soreness. Lifted a full 5 gallon bucket and not too bad. Stretching and still exercising twice to 3 times a day after a warm up. Only thing that is not feeling right if I set on floor, stand too long without walking or moving. In a week or so more I'll start to restrengthen, some of the muscles. Mostly with buckets and curls. Start with like a gallon and work up to filling them up. Couple of other things like push ups, pull ups and other Pilates to slowly get back in better shape.

[duckey]

Ive used ice (gel pack etc) instead of heat and it worked for lower back.

[abunaitoo]

"Absorbine Liniment Gel"
Is this the one for horses????
Same as Absorbine Jr??????
Where would I find it???

[gunoil]

get a 3" med bottle with nice screw cap. Put 1" of hot pepper flakes in bottom, and fill w/your favorite rubbing alcohol. Rub it anywhere you ache with a q-tip (back, neck, elbow, etc.). Its cheap, make a bottle and try it. I want be home without it.

ive used it a while my pains are lot less.

[MtGun44]

Stick-on hot chemical wraps are AMAZINGLY EFFECTIVE. If you have not tried
them, DO.

Exercise helped me get rid of sciatica, one bout in each side. Second one took
6 weeks of 3 times a day exercises, but it did work.

Bill

[Teddy (punchie)]

"Absorbine Liniment Gel"
Is this the one for horses????
Same as Absorbine Jr??????
Where would I find it???

Yep . Is about the same. TSC has it on sale $ 12.99

Little warm or feels warm. I'm using it twice a day.

[Mytmousemalibu]

I feel your pain, literally! Unfortunately my back is in pretty damn bad condition for my age. I'm 33 but my back is probably about 70. The list of problems I have is pretty extensive, 3 herniated disks, one in each zone, lumbar, thoracic, and cervical. The Lumbar is the worst, it's actually ruptured. Unfortunately I have degenerative disk disease. I have congenital/structural scoliosis which is also degenerative due to my disks and the scoliosis attacks them back. There is all the other garbage associated with it like stenosis, siatica, bone contact, etc. I started having trouble in early teens and for the most part it gets worse as time goes on. No fun guys, no fun. Because of my age, risks and the likelihood of success, the benefit to risk ratio doesn't warrant surgery at this time and I have been advised by more than enough people to avoid that right now. I tend to agree. A few years ago I did quite a bit of reading up and listening to people that have had back surgery that it really appeared to be a krap-shoot, a 50/50 shot of people that were helped or bettered by it and the latter it did nothing or made them worse! With those kinds of odds, I am very hesitant not to mention the downtime for recovery.

I have tried most of the things in the book to quench the pain and other undesired side affects of the train wreck that is my spine. Most things I tried I didn't see much relief from, some were worse. Chiro was NOT the answer for me, i'm very pessimistic about trying again. Having someone fold and snap me around isn't going to put the gel back in my disk and plug the hole and neither my scoliosis. I wasn't impressed with PT all that much, I can get better results from stretching. Tried spinal decompression and also had an inversion table for a while, limited results and hated the blood rush from hanging upside down. I don't get much from Voltaren, maybe a little but I rarely use it if that is a barometer for my results by it. I may give the absorbine a try though, thanks for the tip! I have yet to try acupuncture a go though, I have heard positive things. I do get the occasional Cortisone injection into my nerve canal, not a fun thing to have done but it works. The gel in your disks is a nerve irritant so the Cortisone does well to numb the area but I can only get so many as it's not good on the disks and getting them causes scare tissue to form. TENS unit isn't very effective on me. I respond fairly well to a round of steroids as needed but I have been on painkillers and neuropathic pain controllers for more than a decade now. It's about the best thing to provide me with relief, even with it just being a mask over the underlying problem. I feel miserable without them as I have tried more than once to go without and its not a withdrawal issue, I hurt so bad it's unbearable. The pain outweighs the side effects which I am well accustomed to and really not a bother. I just have to have my Dr. monitor my enzymes every so often. A career change getting away from working on cars for a living helped quite a bit. Repetition brings me to my knees. I can only stand to be in the same position for so long and working on cars does a good job of breaking that rule. I pray for a huge leap in medical science to "cure" me of my pain but we all know there isn't nearly the money involved in curing problems, it's in the treatment so I reserve some pessimism for that. I have better days and I have bad days pain wise. I get so sick and tired of being sick and tired because chronic pain is a tough thing to fight at times, it's an opponent that is always there and comes out swinging. You have to put on the gloves and go the rounds, everyday, can't tap out, just have to learn how to fight differently sometimes. I'm not saying all this to grind my ax or go sympathy hunting, there are folks out there that are far worse off than me.

Take care of your back's guys, it can burn you to the ground if it wants to.



Oh, and if you have chronic back pain, especially lower back pain, get a colonoscopy, seriously! Colon cancer can cause lower back pain! I lost an uncle ,whom I am a spitting image to, that died from colon cancer when he was 26. He suffered lower back pain and only found out it was cancer after he was well into stage 4 colon cancer. I lost my grandfather to it also. I have to be checked every 7yrs because of family history and I had 3 polyps removed at an age of 25. Be vigilant, don't let anything pass judgement, it could save your life.

[Lloyd Smale]

if asprin or any over the counter pain med takes care of your pain your pain isn't worth complaining about. take it from someone that has lived with it for 15 years. 5 back operations later and a electronic stimulator implanted in my back that even morpine doesn't kill real pain. It about makes you to sit in a chair to numb to complain about it. I threw all the drugs away. I don't want to live my life like that. Id rather live with the pain every day. If it truly is that bad you should consider surgery. It didn't work for me but lots of people do get relief and id rather be cut on 10 times that be a junky.

[Mytmousemalibu]

if asprin or any over the counter pain med takes care of your pain your pain isn't worth complaining about. take it from someone that has lived with it for 15 years. 5 back operations later and a electronic stimulator implanted in my back that even morpine doesn't kill real pain. It about makes you to sit in a chair to numb to complain about it. I threw all the drugs away. I don't want to live my life like that. Id rather live with the pain every day. If it truly is that bad you should consider surgery. It didn't work for me but lots of people do get relief and id rather be cut on 10 times that be a junky.

Nothing over the counter can even come close to touching my back pain, not even a mouth full of asprin, Aleve, etc. I wished it was that easy... Morphine really didn't do squat for it either. The best thing drug-wise to counter my pain is Percocet/oxycodone. Is it ideal, NO! I avoided that road for a long time but as surgery hasn't been a viable option, I finally had to surrender. I have been on a mild dose for going on 10yrs, it is the only thing like that I take, I don't do drugs, I take my meds as intended & scheduled by my doctor. There are a LOT of people that can't handle things like that without abuse, I am not one of those people, I have pretty well defined self control. I'm not an addict or junkie or anything of the like, just a physically handicapped, normally functioning adult living a regular life and making the best of a lemony situation.

I an overly tired of all the regs and flaming hoops we have to jump through just to get a simple prescription filled. Absolute royal PITA. Tired of being given the "look" by people like I am some sort of scumbag junkie. I don't wear my pain on my sleeve, I might appear like everyone else but nobody around me is aware that I may be in a great deal of pain. I'm not all that old so automatically I get looked at like i'm some junkie that managed to bribe a doctor into a prescription which certainly isn't the case. One look at my MRI's would settle that argument immediately. There's always someone to belittle or call you out as full of it for stating the injury and reason you can't do ________ for them. Being broken & disabled sucks in more ways than one.

[Omega]

I injured my back on a parachute jump, well the landing anyway. Turned out to be a bulging disk pressing on the sciatic nerve. The things that have helped me, in no certain order:

Inversion therapy, great before lifting or doing things I probably shouldn't and after. Daily stretching should be done, the docs in physical therapy used to use a table to stretch my back but I bought one like the teeter hang ups, but a cheaper brand/model. I didn't want to invest that much on something that may not work, and the one I got works just the same.

Off the shelf version of the tens unit, play with the settings to find the ones that feel better, but be sure the pads adhere well or it will give a "bite" as described above.

Sleep Number or the like bed, find a good position, mine is head raised a bit and legs raised a bit and fairly low number, which goes against most of what I read but I wake up feeling much better than a normal bed. A bit pricey but I'm worth it. Go to a sleep number store, they will find the setting for you, it will tell you if you need a soft or hard bed even if you don't buy theirs.

Meds; I try and avoid scripts so use naproxen (Aleve) for days I can tell I'll be sore, used to be Ibuprofen (Motrin) but it stopped working as well, Army over prescribed I think. For days when I'm really hurting I have flexeril and lidocaine patches, but they stopped being able to give the patches so gave me a lidocaine cream instead. The patch works great, but now you have to see a specialist to get those so I make due with the cream. I try real hard to get by with the gadgets above, meds are the last resort, but there have been days I couldn't get out of bed. Once I had to go to the ER, they injected me with what I believe was either a muscle relaxant or cortisone, it just took the edge off so I could move around. I had to have someone drive me home because they expected me to be unable to, but it didn't effect me that way. Now that I keep flexeril on hand, I won't be going back to the ER though the shot worked faster I didn't like the no driving part, though I understand their reasoning.

[Lloyd Smale]

I would see if the doc can give you fetenal. Its a patch and its in your system at a set level all the time so you don't have all the ups and downs of taking pills waiting 4 hours till they wear off and your in pain again just to take them and drewl for an hour and repeat it over and over.
Nothing over the counter can even come close to touching my back pain, not even a mouth full of asprin, Aleve, etc. I wished it was that easy... Morphine really didn't do squat for it either. The best thing drug-wise to counter my pain is Percocet/oxycodone. Is it ideal, NO! I avoided that road for a long time but as surgery hasn't been a viable option, I finally had to surrender. I have been on a mild dose for going on 10yrs, it is the only thing like that I take, I don't do drugs, I take my meds as intended & scheduled by my doctor. There are a LOT of people that can't handle things like that without abuse, I am not one of those people, I have pretty well defined self control. I'm not an addict or junkie or anything of the like, just a physically handicapped, normally functioning adult living a regular life and making the best of a lemony situation.

I an overly tired of all the regs and flaming hoops we have to jump through just to get a simple prescription filled. Absolute royal PITA. Tired of being given the "look" by people like I am some sort of scumbag junkie. I don't wear my pain on my sleeve, I might appear like everyone else but nobody around me is aware that I may be in a great deal of pain. I'm not all that old so automatically I get looked at like i'm some junkie that managed to bribe a doctor into a prescription which certainly isn't the case. One look at my MRI's would settle that argument immediately. There's always someone to belittle or call you out as full of it for stating the injury and reason you can't do ________ for them. Being broken & disabled sucks in more ways than one.

[Lloyd Smale]

you are not alone in the bulged disc thing. My surgeron is a family friend and he told me that 75 percent of the population over the age of 50 have bulged discs and back problem. he said one of the key causes is cigarette smoking. It constricts your blood vessels and cuts off blood flow to your back and discs. He refused to operate on people unless a hair test shows you clean of nicotine. I was a smoke and he made an exception for me and made me promise to at least try. He said that his success rate on smokers before he quit doing them was only about 20 percent. So if you smoke quit. If your overweight deal with that before surgery. I se people all the time ******** and moaning about there back that are 50 lbs overweight. Tie a 50 lb weight hanging over your belt in the front and go through your normal day and see how much it effects you. I lost weight and still am working out 3 times a week trying to loose more. Between quiting smoking an loosing so far 30 lbs my back problems have been about cut in half. Problem I have is my sciatic nerve is damaged and I get nerve pain in my leg all the time and my left foot is completely numb. That will never change but its not so bad I cant live with it. Another thing to consider is the heart doctors advice. If you don't take an asprin every morning for your heart do it for your back. It thins the blood a bit and gives it better flow to your back. If it doesn't help with the pain it will maybe prevent further damage
I injured my back on a parachute jump, well the landing anyway. Turned out to be a bulging disk pressing on the sciatic nerve. The things that have helped me, in no certain order:

Inversion therapy, great before lifting or doing things I probably shouldn't and after. Daily stretching should be done, the docs in physical therapy used to use a table to stretch my back but I bought one like the teeter hang ups, but a cheaper brand/model. I didn't want to invest that much on something that may not work, and the one I got works just the same.

Off the shelf version of the tens unit, play with the settings to find the ones that feel better, but be sure the pads adhere well or it will give a "bite" as described above.

Sleep Number or the like bed, find a good position, mine is head raised a bit and legs raised a bit and fairly low number, which goes against most of what I read but I wake up feeling much better than a normal bed. A bit pricey but I'm worth it. Go to a sleep number store, they will find the setting for you, it will tell you if you need a soft or hard bed even if you don't buy theirs.

Meds; I try and avoid scripts so use naproxen (Aleve) for days I can tell I'll be sore, used to be Ibuprofen (Motrin) but it stopped working as well, Army over prescribed I think. For days when I'm really hurting I have flexeril and lidocaine patches, but they stopped being able to give the patches so gave me a lidocaine cream instead. The patch works great, but now you have to see a specialist to get those so I make due with the cream. I try real hard to get by with the gadgets above, meds are the last resort, but there have been days I couldn't get out of bed. Once I had to go to the ER, they injected me with what I believe was either a muscle relaxant or cortisone, it just took the edge off so I could move around. I had to have someone drive me home because they expected me to be unable to, but it didn't effect me that way. Now that I keep flexeril on hand, I won't be going back to the ER though the shot worked faster I didn't like the no driving part, though I understand their reasoning.

[atlas366]

Thank God !! Little of an update. So far last three days. Back doesn't feel 100 % but pain is doing much better. Like I over did it not pulled (stained) a muscle, still sore but doing better. Like 2-3 pain no real bad soreness. Lifted a full 5 gallon bucket and not too bad. Stretching and still exercising twice to 3 times a day after a warm up. Only thing that is not feeling right if I set on floor, stand too long without walking or moving. In a week or so more I'll start to restrengthen, some of the muscles. Mostly with buckets and curls. Start with like a gallon and work up to filling them up. Couple of other things like push ups, pull ups and other Pilates to slowly get back in better shape.
Good to hear you're doing better. I used to have terrible back spasms. I was about 40lbs overweight. In between episodes I began exercising. Particularly core exercises. Leg lifts, crunches, sit ups, many other things too. Lost 40lbs over the course of two years and feel great. Haven't had back issues in 15yrs. The exercising really worked with other benefits too. I'd stay in tight with your medical professional, this worked for me but may not be appropriate for you. Good luck.

[Teddy (punchie)]

The aspirin idea something I was thinking about. Or a willow tea or some other natural blood thinner.

Another (idea) thought with me now, that I'm not using ice for pain. Is not massaging too hard, over doing it. I was and also was looking into muscle damage from massage. Was advised to add a couple of stretches for long inter muscles of the back so going to reintroduce them slowly.

Also going to post some other areas, to looking into about muscle pain.

I need to loss an other 10 lbs. and hopeful to get off 20 if I can. Back to 215 Lbs. (from 228-232) and looking to try to stop the mid night, get home from work snacking and all out eating.

Still need more sleep up at 6:30 most mornings. That 5.5-6 hours a best.

For me work is getting better, thankful for this, almost back to normal. Not having trouble with too much. More paranoid from almost to months straight of pain. Wet Mopping (most of it scubbing) for about 1000 sp ft. went Okay, some five areas, darn coffee and pop, worst is raisins that they grind into the floor.

Praying for all of us and yours, and the pros to help us. I be up dating the list of things that may help.

PS most doctors have know idea. They all think the pain bills will take it away. I laugh. This is not like we have a sore over worked muscle, most like the monsters are in there pulling, tearing the muscles apart. I thank God I'm past most of that, and can relax and calm down to regain some physical and mental strength.

[MrWolf]

Chris, I hear ya. I go through the same things. I don't look disabled as people constantly tell me as I keep myself still fairly fit and push through the pain - 6' 205lb. I have been on the same low dose of Vicodin for over ten years. It just takes the edge off, that is it. My ortho specialist cannot understand how I manage to keep going like I do. Hang in there.

Ron

[Lloyd Smale]

yup unless you've had REAL back pain you don't have a clue. Its the kind of pain that is so bad that you cant get out of a chair and sitting for more then a few minutes about puts tears in your eyes.

[Mytmousemalibu]

It's a struggle sometimes like I said, preachin' to the choir I know! I have never smoked, I don't do illicit drugs, I really don't drink much, I had a single beer a couple weeks ago, the 1st one in about 3 months. I could stand to lose some weight and I am working on it currently. I'm 6'1", fairly stocky feller and i'm about 210-215 right now, not perfect but not a wreck either. I find the same to be true, the oxy just takes the edge off and lets me keep going. Despite my problems, i'm fairly active and can put in a hard days work, just have to be careful. Not to be too pessimistic but all things staying the same, I probably have another 15-20yrs in me before time and wear & tear takes me out of the working pool. Not to terribly long ago my doctor was chatting with me and made the point that I might consider looking for something that would get me off the shop floor at some point. I almost got to the puffing up my chest and playing the man card but based on my back's progression and my age... He has a point. Not quite ready yet but it has been on my mind. The last time I saw him I went for a round of steroids; I was helping my friend and bent over and locked up, he had to wheel an office chair over and help me down. Pretty constant bad pain radiating down my legs. I think we had talked about trying the fentanyl patches out. I'm open to giving them a whirl. I did order a bottle of that Absorbine to try on my other sore spots. Gotta keep on chugging along!

[MaryB]

Lifetime of low back pain after an injury in high school. Someone slipped on blown in snow/ice at the top of a set of stairs and took out 20 people on the way down. I was bottom of the pile...

I just dealt with the pain until it finally got so bad I couldn't work anymore. Back doc removed bone spurs and chewed up disc from my lumbar area and that gained me 5 years of less leg pain. I do take pain meds, up to 3 oxycontin a day(usually take 2) and up to 6 percocet(usually 2, I hate the drugs) as break through pain hits. Oxy and percs are the same drug, oxy being a slow release version.

If you have mid back pain the absolute worst thing I find is standing in one spot and doing something, aggravates the floating hunks of disc at T8-T10 in my back. As mentioned WALK as much as you can handle.

[Mytmousemalibu]

Well I finally got the bottle of Absorbine I ordered... I have to admit, this is pretty good stuff for just general sore spot and achy joints. Boy is it strong though! I didn't get it with my back in mind but for some other boo boo's. I have a few joints that have been inflamed and some tendonitis going on and this stuff feels pretty soothing on them. I've had to put in some 15-20hr+ shifts the last two weeks and it has been beating me up.

Thanks for the tip on the Absorbine!

[ascast]

I gave up High power shooting because of back pain. I just can not lie face down for prone shooting unless I get all scrunched up in a fetal position, more on my side than prone. On, lay on a firm big pillow between my short ribs and belt. I find walking brisk is the best. I also flat on the floor on my back with feet up in a chair for about 1/2 hour, once or twice a week. That helps a lot, but the TV looks is funny. You might try some of the womens drugs, like Midol. I have found them to stop a muscle issue sometimes. I would not make it a regular habit though.

[abunaitoo]

I found the Absorbine Veterinary Liniment at a feed store.
It works great.
Cheaper than Stop Pain. Smell is not as bad as others.

[375supermag]

Hi...

I injured my back 25-30 years ago in an industrial accident.
I was unloading trucks as part of my job running a receiving dock. The truck driver neglected to chock his rear wheels or set his brake and the truck rolled forward. The portable dock plate fell forward into the gap between the trailer and the dock, the stand-up electric lift truck with me aboard obeyed the laws of gravity and fell into the gap.

The battery compartment for the lift truck was in the rear and when the lift truck stopped falling, I hit my back on the top of the battery compartment. Hard!

It took three men to get me off the lift truck...I was in excruciating pain. The doctor at the emergency room said the x-rays showed my lower back vertebra were compressed. He gave me a supply of pain meds and told me to take a couple weeks of work. He also gave me a regimen of exercises to do to keep my back stretched out and flexible.

For the most part, my back is OK, but when I lift too much or over exert it rebels rather dramatically. Usually takes two or three days of inactivity, back massages, heat and pain meds to recover. I normally don't do the prescribed exercises except when I have a flare-up then I do them daily for a couple weeks.

PS... the company I worked for installed a permanent electric dock plate with an ICC bar locking device after I returned to work. They also got a fine from OSHA for not having that equipment or chained wheel chocks beforehand.

[fecmech]

I haven't read through the whole thread but as others have said walking helps me a great deal. When I get out of bed in the morning I'm a basket case, after a couple miles with the dog I'm in pretty good shape. One other thing that is very helpful to me is swimming. I go twice a week to the Y and swim laps for about 1/2 hour. The water takes the weight off your spine and things seem to stretch and relax a bit. Being weightless in the pool can do wonders for a cranky back!

[xs11jack]

I tried the absorbine in the liquid. Couple of things, I should have gotten the gel as the liquid comes out of the bottle and runs all over the place, but with a kleenex I manage to keep it where it is suppose to be. The smell is pretty strong for me. My Lovely Wife and my Cat like it just fine. Some times it is spotty in it's effect. My left knee is worse than my right one and yet some times it fixes the pain in the bad one and leaves the other one hurting. I am going to keep on using it. I can't take aspirin products because of Crohn's Disease and my VA timid doctory won't give me more than 5 Hydrocodone a month. What a wuss. Thanks for your post that helped me.
Ole Jack

[cainttype]

Hanging upside-down... "Inversion Therapy", as mentioned earlier by Omega, can be amazingly effective for many problems. Results from this approach can be hard to believe for those unfamiliar with properly using gravity to decompress the spinal column, allowing discs to slip into place without chiropractor "adjustments", and relieving pressure on irritated nerves (including sciatica).
I've used an inversion table for years when needed. The tables are very convenient, their adjustments allow for a wide range of angles (tension). My old-fashioned "gravity boots" are still capable of working miracles for fast, effective remedies for many back-related issues.
I highly recommend inversion therapy for anyone willing, and physically able, to learn the basics and utilize what I think is the best, and most over-looked, answer for most normal back-pain issues related to spinal and/or nerve-related problems.

[MrWolf]

I really miss using my inversion table. After my last fall using it causes to much pain. Traditional accupuncture used to work for me also.

[gunoil]

get a 3" med bottle with nice screw cap. Put 1" of hot pepper flakes in bottom, and fill w/your favorite rubbing alcohol. Rub it anywhere you ache with a q-tip (back, neck, elbow, etc.). Its cheap, make a bottle and try it. I want be home without it.

ive used it a while my pains are lot less.

Bump!

[fivefang]

Teddy, ck. out "Kinesio-Tape", (spelling might be not correct) it has helped me a lot, but you need to have help getting it where it need's to be

[Boaz]

Had a bad lower back since my 30's. The only thing I found that helped was ;

Get my 12 year old son to stand on it creating twice the pain so when he got off it actually felt better

The tens unit at the chiropractor would help for a couple of days . They would crank up the 'voltage' till you said stop .

4-6 Tylenol and moving around is as good as it gets for me when it's bad .

[dpunch]

One thing that I found after my years of your nuts reply's. I have had joint pain in my shoulder with 4 tears in it and bad knees for the last 30n years. I started with eggshell membrane pills off amazon one year ago. I had problems walking up stairs and always was in pain. I Have no more pain in my knees at all. I still have some shoulder problems . The big thing is the Eggshell membrane. I have had 2 other people try this and it worked for all of them. No BS try it

[Ehaver]

I read this when it started, but I have no read page two.

I don't know if anyone has mentioned stretching, but that seems to help me. I think my back issue has something to do with the muscles. If I stretch my legs, including glutes, It helps for a bit.

Any activity that requires me to be in the same position for long, hurts. Its like I lock up and I ache for a long time after. very very stiff in the mornings.