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06/29/2013 07:26PM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
what I need is some advice. Here is the issue:
in the past 10 days I've managed to really tweak my lower back on the left side sacrum area. (should have listened to the warning signs my body was sending when the pain first started), been to the chiro twice which has helped a bit. been alternating ice and heat.
can't sit, can hardly walk and definitely not in an upright position,
can lay on my right side or back and it's very hard to get in and out of bed.
my house has lots of steps and I've had to use one of them colored rubber band things from the physical therapist, tied around my left thigh, to lift my left leg onto each step going up.
the chiro told me that when we are stressed our body attacks the weakest area... wah-lah.. my lower back.
my job is very physical, hauling canoes and packs and on my feet for 10-12 hours.
my boss thinks I should see a regular doctor aside from the chiropractor. I haven't worked (or stepped foot in the door at work) for 4 days.

I've quit taking the hydrocodone (leftover from my last two foot surgeries) because of the side effects and switch to ibuprofen regimen.

what I need is some advice on stretches for this area, what I've been doing causes more pain than relief.
 
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07/17/2013 02:25PM  
Just saw this post and thought I'd chime in to see how things are going. Hope you're on the mend.

One thing with back injuries is that they are usually not a quick simple fix. Pain in one area can be tied to an injury in another area since so much is interconnected. Most commonly the injury occurs because of weakness in one area or an imbalance between muscles.

A chiropractor can usually provide some relief and help you get back on your feet but don't take that to mean the injury is fixed. Its not that simple. A good chriopractor should refer you on to a physical therapist for further treatment and healing and to help address the underlying strength and imbalance issues that likely led to the injury to start with. Really the chiropractor and physical therapist should go hand in hand.

I'll leave recommendations for stretches and strength training to the trained experts. I assume by know you've found someone who can assist in that area. I just encourage you to really work to strengthen and correct the underlying issues so that you can fully resolve the problem for the future. There's nothing worse than going through life walking on egg shells not knowing when the back is going to go out again.
 
luft
distinguished member(2850)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
07/17/2013 10:44PM  
Mocha I too hope you are on the mend.

I will chime in on the physical rehab talk. I have a bad back and the best advice is to consult a therapist that can design a rehab regiment for your injury.

Most important part is following through with the rehab plan. The stronger you make the muscles the less likely you are to reinjure yourself in the future.
 
10/18/2013 03:15PM  
See a regular Doctor,and are you sure it isn't muscular and not disc-vertebrate?
Took my back out very bad years ago and it was muscular,couldn't walk,laying on the couch and fell to the floor getting up etc.. Point is a muscular injury can be very painful.
Another thing the last 20 years,zero back problems,but I do try to strengthen that area.

Hope you get better soon and sometimes they will take awhile to heal.
 
12/14/2013 07:51PM  
thanks for the responses! I did finally see a regular doctor, got two other drugs (a muscle relaxant and a steroid). took the full regimen of the steroid but cut back on the muscle relaxant because it really made me loopy. went back to work and did my normal work except made the young kids haul the heavy stuff (I'm talking more than 15 pounds). really felt like a slacker. the first time lifting a Kevlar canoe was in September.

I agree with you about injuries being tied together. In june 2010 I fell on a portage and broke a bone in my right foot in the process. it was diagnosed as a bad sprain but was rediagnosed in august 2010 as a broken bone. surgery #1 November 2010. another MRI in 2011 found shards of bone not removed from surgery #1 were causing abrasion on the tendon so surgery #2 was November 2011. i didn't pay much attention to the pain in my neck from the canoe falling on my head when i fell on that portage cuz my foot hurt so bad. but the foot thing has affected the way i walk and I'm so much more cautious and probably over-compensate by using my left side more to keep the weight off the right foot. advil and ice help.

during all of this i went and turned 50 so that gave the DR fodder for his "you're not as young as you think you are" and "you need to slow down and take it easy". that's just crap and i told him so.

here it is, winter again, and i vow to try snowshoeing after none of that or cross country skiing for 2 years. two surgeries, two lazy winters, weight carrying restrictions for two years have all taken their toll on me physically (gained weight) as well as psychologically.

anyway, that's the story. PT on the foot is done but i still do the exercises because that keeps things loose. as long as i keep doing the stretches my back feels okay, but not 100%. guess I'm not the bionic woman after all! :0)
 
12/14/2013 09:12PM  
I think it is very important to strengthen the muscles in the back which will help keep the skeletal muscles and vertebrae in their proper place. Some type of proper weight resistance is good for it.

My brother has had a lot of back problems over the years and he really claims the more walking or exercises like snow snowing is great for it.
Got to keep the muscles working and if you use them usually they will usually respond favorably. Just do it correctly. You don't use them and your whole muscular system becomes more vulnerable in my opinion.
Just do it right and good luck.
 
macsvens
member (40)member
  
01/12/2018 10:10AM  
Just got on this site. Still having back issues?
 
09/24/2019 12:47PM  
Same as previous poster. How is it going Mocha? I have a bad back as well and wonder how the years will treat it.
 
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