Back trouble
 

I know some of you guys have had back troubles so I'm asking your opinion. I woke up December 9th and couldn't get out of the bed, had terrible pain in my lower back, hip and left leg. I had broke my long handle ratchet pulling on some big bolts and fell on a motor about two weeks before. It hurt some but had gone away in a few days. Had to go to the emergency room and they xrayed me and said nothing was broken but saw some arthritis in my lower back. Went to my Dr. the next day and he thinks I have a bulging disk. I have an appointment with a specialist on the 8th. I'm taking pain pills and something for muscle spasams. Its been three weeks and it still hurts in my left hip and down my leg to my ankle. Something is pinching my sciatic nerve. I guess years of physical abuse working and birthdays have had a toll on my back. Have you fellas had anything similar?

yea I had similar/same thing several doctors would not touch it. I found a doc who said I can fix that. I checked them out and the had it done. 1 inch cut cleaned out around nerve band aid on cut pain gone home same day. 3 years ago still good

went to a pain management guy. got shots in the lower spinal area. 3 or 4 treatments. helped. did not cure it. shots sometimes last a half a year if you're lucky. what you have there is a 2 year healing process. PT didn't help. slept on a rolled up towel and elevated my legs at night. just have to take it easy and give it plenty of time. tons of naproxen and a good back brace and just lots of time. if there was a secret i'd tell you but man oh man...... never went back to the doctor that told me it was a 2 year injury. should have but I needed an instant fix. time, time and more time. only thing that'll help. it got better over time but it took the full 2 years to get me to 100%. now i'm back in the gym and stronger than ever!! just take it easy and don't do anything to upset it. my wife had to put on and tie my boots every morning for over a year. drove her mad.

and let me ad, I don't know what I did to injure myself but I do know it took 3 or 4 days to get really bad. one morning I couldn't get out of bed and that phase lasted 2 weeks. sitting on the toilet was a new journey in pain. only one chair in the house I could sit in. did I mention time? just time.

I hear ya! That's what the Doc told me... Time! I took a week off and it helped alittle. I'm back at work, not lifting anything heavy. My worst times are sitting or laying down. When I get up it feels like a knife in my back and shooting pains down my left leg. Walking seems to loosen it up. Pain meds help some but doesn't get rid of it completely. Thanks for the info, gonna see what the sports medicine doc says. They will probably do an MRI. Maybe it will show what is wrong.

I tried an inversion table and didn't like it. I put a bar up in garage to hang from(not around my neck!) but like u were doing a pull up. It helps and some times I just use the corner of kitchen counter to lift my upper body on, just use the weight of your legs to relieve the tension in lower back.

welcome to the club, I've been dealing with it on and off for 15 years. I'm on my second surgery. Good PT will help, bad PT will hurt. Look up exercises for sciatic pain. I went thru over two years of PT, two years of shots, had an inversion table. Tried acupuncture and a chiropractor(***** tried to kill me). It still hurts. I find sleeping on the couch helps, keeps me from twisting too bad while sleeping. Bourbon works as good as anything. PM me if you have any questions

Yeah I thought about an inversion table, wondered if it would help. I've been sleeping on the couch and in the recliner with the heating pad. Seems like the cold pack helps for a while. Been using Biofreeze and that helps for a little while. Cant get but a few hours sleep, pain wakes me up. Slept on the floor a few nights, woke up stiff as a board. Walking around helps. It feels like something in my hip joint more than my back. Ive had muscle spacams in my lower back muscles on and off for years, felt like knots in the muscles but always went away after a week or so. Working my last 12 hour night tonight, might try some George Dickel tomorrow! Maybe the Docs can figure it out. The specialist I'm going to on the 8th is supposed to be the best anywhere around. Thanks guys!

as good as the heat feels now, cold is better, youve got to get the swelling down. ibuprofen helps.

I was just down for 3 weeks - pain was so bad I was on the brink of throwing up, couldn’t eat much, so the Ibuprofen really made my stomach worse to where I couldn’t take it any more. Be sure to take it with food.

If you can find a good Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Specialist, an MD, you may be able to get a shot of Cortisone directly into the problem area. That is a way to calm the swelling with the smallest dose of steroid.

My PT suggested using ice, which helped a fair amount and alternating cold and heat - cold to reduce swelling and heat to stimulate circulation and healing. The heat caused pain, so I didn’t do it but sometimes it can help.

Spare is definitely right, you need to find a PT (and doctor) who know what they’re doing.

Several months ago I pulled something in my lower back and woke up the next morning and couldn't move. Told my wife to pull me straight up to get me out of bed no matter how much I yelled out in pain. I was walking around like Frankenstein. I don't have a doctor and don't take medicine generally. I YouTubed yoga for lower back pain and found a video from some chick from a channel called psychetruth that helped a ton. All of it was done while sitting in a chair and after a couple weeks the pain was gone. The video wasn't that long and I did it a few times a day and felt better everytime I did

so what did this chick look like?

Watching video, while seated, several times a day? You need to control yourself:you:

BTW, don't let anyone do anything to you with getting an MRI, they are guessing without one, if you're insurance wont cover it, call around, they are getting cheaper if you pay out of pocket(local place advertised $400). The Chiropractor that tried to kill me, aggravated the issue quite a bit, she put me on my back for another week after getting treated.

If anyone is interested, I have an inversion table that I don't use anymore, I'll make someone a deal on it

https://youtu.be/Ub8afedu5GQ

Sitting in a kitchen chair made all the difference, instead of getting down on the floor where I'm pretty sure I couldn't get back up under my own power.

tell you what, I recently started sitting in the steam room for 15 or 20 minutes after my workout. 2 days a week. stretching it out in that heat feels AMAZING!!! cant hurt to try. great feeling. and hour in the gym and 15 in the heat. i'm like jelly when I walk out of there. supposed to promote circulation. give it a whirl.

Yep, stretching helps, walking around helps the most. Still hurts worse in the morning and at night. Ice packs help, heating pad feels good for a few minutes then starts to hurt. Trying to stop taking pain meds as I cant take them where I work. Its gotten a little less painful but hip joint and leg still hurts. Going Tuesday to a highly recommended back and spine specialist to see what they can do. I think I need some summer time weather! Thanks guys!

search for press up stretches and figure 4 stretches

Went to the Spine Specialist Tuesday. He told me I have arthritis in the lower eight vertebra and that my discs are compressing some due to abuse and age, and its pinching my nerves. Supposed to start physical therapy and get a shot in my lower back. He prescribed something to calm down the arthritis and reduce the swelling. I guess the term, hard work is good for you, has its limitations! Hope it helps.

I have had sciatica, mine seems to have always been related to the heavy belt I used to wear at work. Yours seems to be related to your fall, but could be being aggravated by wearing a tight belt or a heavy load around your waist

If you wear a belt and carry a lot of stuff on it or in your pockets, suspenders might help some. There is a reason you see old geezers wearing them.

Something else to try.

Yep, I've been wearing suspenders for years at work. Over the years I've picked up and toted some heavy stuff and tool bags. I swamped logged for 20 years, beating and slamming around in skidders, running chain saws topping and stumping trees and ran the tree cutters for 14 years, worst machine was a three wheeled Bell cutter. Done a lot of jumping over the years, wont catch me doing that anymore either. I went to a physical therapist Wednesday and they told me some things to do and not to do. Its getting better. Going to have a shot in my back in Feb. Sucks getting old!

Cfelton, I was just checking in and saw this, just remember when you get those injections in February it's very important that you take a little time to rest , and by that I mean maybe a long weekend at the very least.it really makes a difference !!! Feel better soon .

Oh and don't be stubborn, I say this because I too hate to take meds, but if the injections just don't get the job done for some reason ask your Doc for Mobic , or meloxicam they really help big time to bring down that inflammation.

my back flared up last week, cold weather sets it off. Woodworker thru it, took teh weekend off. Cold packs, hot baths, stretching and wearing my back brace. Taking Ibuprofen before going to bed really seems to help.

David,You can just imagine what the 3 degree days are doing to us back pain sufferers here in the north. I've been slow so I decided to finally reno the little bathroom my wife's been asking me to do for the last 4 years now, I got as far as tiling the floor with that reaching extending motion on my
knees to set the tile and that was all she wrote.. I haven't been able to finish it for two weeks now, just brutal ! To say nothing of the fact that for two days i had to put antifreeze in the pump basin to keep the water from freeing..ggggggrrrrrrrrr .

One thing i ve done that has cut out a lot of my back issues is take my wallet out of my back pocket while driving. I ride about 2-3 hours a day, so it adds up.

I hear you!!!
I got rid of my wallet. Got an iPhone SE case/wallet for the front pocket.
Holds IDs and CC cards. One of the best things I've ever bought on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

My kids were going to get one of those for christmas, i told them great now i can loose both my phone and wallet at the same time

Hey guys my back has got to a bearable point but still reminds me that I'll be 60 this year! Spare, it seems that the cold outside definitely makes it worse. Doing PT and a lot of stretching. Taking Gabapentin 300 mg and Meloxicam 15 mg at night before bed and Metaxalone 800 mg and Tramadol 50 mg days when it bothers me. The night meds help a lot for getting up in the morning! Used a few tubes of Biofreeze, works good but doesn't last too long. Hope you guys up north are doing ok during this cold a$$ winter. I've worked thru some pretty chilly nights, down in the teens, that's cold for NC. Im ready for some springtime!

I started sleeping propped up in a sitting position due to a shoulder injury that causes extreme "holy ship my arm is breaking" pain when rolling over in bed.
Since doing that I wake up with almost no back pain!
Considering getting one of those adjustable beds but it would cut into the 4 stroke motor fund....

be careful with those meds, read up on their classifications and side effects, have your wife read the effects as well so she can be aware of possible side effects. My daughter didn't react well with gabapentin, she turned evil. I took Tramadol and it didn't phase me any, some people it sends for a loop.

Our bed is definitely is part of the problem, I hated it when we bought it, and hate it even more now. I've been sleeping on the couch for the last three years. My wife wanted a pillow top bed and it sucks. I test drove a purple mattress this past weekend and I really liked it

We've been thinking about the Purple mattress too. Our Serta is about 7 tears old and pillow top too. Probably time to replace it. We want to get a king also. I tend to wake up with less back pain when I sleep on the couch. Mattress is kinda soft.
The meds help but I don't take them much. Makes me alittle moody sometimes! Definately sleep better taking them and wake up with less stiffness, but a little sleepy.

Been busy lately. I got a shot in my lower back about a month ago. Injection hurt like crazy but after four days it began to feel better. Had a six day shutdown two weeks later and with a little Biofreeze, made it through it. I can still feel it and its stiff when I first get up but its a lot better. Hope it lasts for a while!

the only way I sleep good anymore is on the couch, I think it keeps me from getting two twisted up while I'm sleeping. My couch has foam cushions, but I place a 3/4 sheet of ply under them.
BTW, if anyone wants an inversion table, make me an offer(boat parts, car parts, cool toys, good bourbon, etc...), located near Charleston SC

Yeah I seem to always sleep better on the couch or in my recliner. I asked the Dr. about the inversion table and he said I might get a little relief using one but didn't think it would help me much. I had already watched the video and wrote the number down for the teeter. Seems I make out ok as long as I can get plenty of rest which is hard to do around here!

oddly enough, Ive been doing some exercises to help with shooting that have really helped my back. Stand in a shooters stance, legs slightly bent, leaning forward, weight on your toes. Arms slightly bent, out in front holding a weight(i'm using 20 lbs). Hold it out front and count to 10, rotate to the left, count to 10, back to center, count to 10, right, 10, back to center, 10. it really helps with my core muscles, and has helped a lot wit my back, I haven't been to the range in a while, so I dont know if it helped with that or not

Geez! Felton, Charlie Spare ,I have not been checking in here a whole lot in the last few months,been checking in a bit but I don't know how I missed this! I hope you guys feel better soon.this back stuff is just brutal.Spare I really like your exercise routine and I'm going to give it a shot to try and strengthen my core, oddly enough I was just thinking about how to do this yesterday as I have decided i am going to make an appointment to get my back done again . This time they are going through my stomach and through my back , I think it mite help my recovery if my core is stronger. Between as you put it ,birthdays, and beating up your body I'm just getting weaker by the day. Not to mention I found out last week that my last neck surgery was not totally successful. On of the fusions did not take and it's going to have to be redone. So no boating again this year to top it off .

I might try this. Last few years the only exercise I get is walking the dogs, yard work and the horizontal bop. I need to strengthen my core.

I recently started using CBD oil and have gotten as much if not more relief from it as I have opiates abd muscle relaxers. My mother in law recently injured her back and had back surgery, I got her to try it, and she has experienced similiar results. I know there's a "stigma" around it because everybody thinks it's weed, but most of it is made from hemp with zero thc in it. It tastes awful and numbs your mouth, but 1/2 ml of the 1000mg per 30 ml bottle placed under your tongue sublingually for 60 seconds can do wonders for shooting pain and swelling. I've found it takes the sharp edge off enough so I can get up and actually move around again.

I’ve heard good things about that stuff too.