If you have back problems check in and discuss treatments...

[bamademo]

...I was diagnosed last year with Osteoarthritis (Sp?) which is a deterioration of the vertebrae. I weight train, but I think L5 is pinching a nerve. Anyone else suffer from this and if so what are non-surgical alternatives. I'm lucky, I have health insurance for now.

[William769]

1. I have one in my neck that has deteriorated

My doctor gave me some range of motion exercises to do & they have worked wonders.

[The Straight Story]

2. Herniated discs in neck and lower back

I take codene and a prescription strength motrin.

When I am not taking those, beer works :)

[bamademo]

3. I sure like Flexeril and Merlot but that won't help long term.

I've done regular Yoga, but I read Pilates works wonders. Is that true? Please share.

Meantime, I'm off for another Flexeril. :evilgrin:

[The Straight Story]

9. Best thing

Losing weight and mild exercise to strengthen the back muscles. Is funny though, I can do all kinds of yard work and carry heavy things and it may not bother me too much - but then I can sneeze or pick up a bag of flour wrong way and I am layed up for a few days in pain.

[LeftyMom]

4. neck problems

I've been going to physical therapy, and I have a scrip for muscle relaxers, but I don't like to take them. Physical therapy has made a big difference.

[oblivious]

5. I had bad back problems from 15 to 35 years old.

Sit-ups cured it for me. I haven't had back problems in years, after serious problems in my youth.

Maybe it's just coincidence, maybe stronger stomach muscles changed my posture, I don't know, but I haven't had a problem in many years. I do about 100 to 300 sit ups a day. It might be superstition, but it works, so I'm gonna stay at it.

It sounds like your problem is more serious than mine was though.

[bamademo]

8. It feels like I have an ice pick sticking in my lower back muscles

Especially on the left side. It's been like that for a year in spite of physical therapy. If I work out constantly then it diminishes. I'm worried about nerve damage.

[oblivious]

13. A year of pain like that is brutal.

Mine would always go away after a couple of weeks. We're not talking about the same thing then.

It's interesting that working out regularly lowers the pain. I'm just not sure what it means.

[Green Mountain Dem]

14. Have you ever....

taken any statin drugs for lowering cholesterol? Sometimes these drugs cause muscle and nerve damage.

[shance]

6. Pilates is supposed to help realign the body.

n/t

[KaliTracy]

7. do you do pilates?

[KaliTracy]

10. lower left side of back -- 2 issues. One that I started to see a chiroprac

chiropractor for -- left leg was tingly and I felt like I was walking on a wadded up sock on the bottom of my left foot --

the chiropractor/exercises HAVE helped this. Non-issue at this point.


Other issue is sleeping position. HAVE to sleep on one side, with "contour pillow" between knees. If I don't I have issues part of the morning (if not during the night). That's the bummer -- 'cause I can't regulate what I do in sleep.

Trying to do more exercises (balance ball, stretching), but think I need something that is more organized (that I must attend, else I sometimes blow it off if I'm feeling ok).

[Eloriel]

11. Chiropractor

There are some amazing ones out there these days. Get one who is constantly adding new skills thru additional training and who makes use of extensive kinesiology.

[expatriate]

12. two ruptured lumber discs, terrible neck problems

Also, fibromyalgia with a strong tendency toward muscular spasm. These conditions give me quite a history of sciatica, migraine, generalized muscular pain and stiffness. Thankfully, I have a high pain threshold and have been forced to endure pain without complaint since early childhood.

The worst thing to do for back problems is to sit. Standing, walking, lying on the back with the knees bent takes the most pressure off the lumbar spine. Walking is one of the best ways to loosen muscular spasm. Heat in the form of hot water bottles, heating pads, hot showers, will relieve muscular spasm. I use heat in tandem with Panadol (ibuprofen) with occasional use of Codeine if the Panadol doesn't help.

Gentle stretching and strengthening exercises for the neck and back during periods where I don't have pain/spasm have done a great deal toward cutting down on my periods of severe pain. Getting the muscles in the stomach and back strong is very important in helping to support a damaged lower spine. For the neck, trying to retain the natural forward curve of the cervical spine is very important. Lying on the back with knees bent with a tightly rolled towel or special cervical pillow is very good for relieving pain and spasm in the neck. Heat packs are great there also.

If the problem is inflammation rather than spasm, cold packs are your best friend. If heat doesn't work, try cold. I worked for some years in a chiropractic practice, and that was our mantra. That and trying to keep people from sitting, which is an unnatural position.

I am going to try getting a Bambach saddle seat, which permits a much more natural sitting position, avoiding the standard seated position which pushes the lumbar spine out of shape. They're supposed to be great for folks with back problems.

[bamademo]

18. Thanks...I do quite a bit of weight training...

They designed the program for my back and it feels better. It's just that I've had a lot of unexpected problems with aging parents lately (lot's of ER visits) which I'm sure contributes to tenseness in the back. Everytime I get on a regular work out schedule I'm attending to a family emergency with my Dad who had spinal stenosis and falls all the time. He has broken several bones in the last year. I'm terrified I'll end up like that but I feel guilty if I go work out rather then go see my Dad who has been in the hospital 7 times in the last 6 months.

[LosinIt]

23. OMG, you sound just like me

Migraines, sciatica, muscular pain and spasms. I had a double spinal fusion in January (L4-L5-S1). I was surprised how quickly I recovered. I start physical therapy next week, and can go back to the gym for treadmill, bike, etc.

My neurologist doesn't want me taking ANY NSAIDS, worried about rebound headaches. All I take is neurontin, that I had started because of my leg pain. The neurologist took me off of the hydrocodone I had been taking since surgery and upped the amount of neurontin for migraine prophylaxis. Yesterday I had my first migraine in a month! :-) The good news is that my hot flashes also are gone!

[xxqqqzme]

15. L-1, 2 & 3

broken in an auto accident. Living w/ rods that were placed as stabilizers. I hate how they restrict my movement, not gonna talk about the discomfort. Anyone share any rod removal stories?

[applegrove]

16. SSRI's stop my back problems. Didn't even remember I had had

a sore back and then I tried effexor and boom - I could barely walk.

I think I read somewhere that they were looking for a cure to arthritis when they tripped over SSRIs as anti-depressants.

Food for thought!

[CoffeeCat]

17. I had a partial laminectomy in 2000...

I was 5 months pregnant at the time (with a 10 month old baby!) when I had surgery for a ruptured disc. I bent over to take my baby out of her height chair and it felt like lightning hit my back.

I had a partial laminectomy to repair the disc between L4-L5. Prior to the surgery, I had an awful time with sciatica. My doctor told me that sciatica was common in pregnancy, so I didn't think anything was wrong with my back. I endured the pain, and kept returning to the doctor, but they said there was nothing they could do--except Tylenol--because I was pregnant. They even refused to do an MRI.

Five years after surgery--I am doing well. Sciatica kicks up if I don't bend at the knees when picking things up, etc. I'm constantly picking things up because I have two very-active preschool-aged girls. Anyone who has kids knows that their toys are always all over the floor! :)

My husband said that the new trend in back surgery is disc replacement. I haven't done any research on it, but he mentioned that it sounds very promising.

My heart goes out to anyone with back pain or chronic pain. It's really a challenge, and it can be quite frustrating.

Thanks for starting this thread! :)

[AngryAmish]

26. Minor correction here

A "partial laminectomy" does not repair a disc. A partial discectomy removes the part of the disc has ruptured and a laminectomy takes a part of your spine out that is likely to impinge on a nerve root coming out of the spine.

Sorry to be so persnickety.

[AngryAmish]

27. Minor correction here

A "partial laminectomy" does not repair a disc. A partial discectomy removes the part of the disc has ruptured and a laminectomy takes a part of your spine out that is likely to impinge on a nerve root coming out of the spine.

Sorry to be so persnickety.

[sam sarrha]

19. there is a machine that is supposed to stretch the space and suck in the

bulge in the disk.. cant find it now.. i have seen their offices in Walmart and my chiropractor has one.. it costs a lot..

The loss of calcium is frequently associated with the production of bone Spurs.... this is said to be caused by a Calcium deficiency.. the body need it for processes other than bone mass.. so it takes it out of the bones.. but cant use it efficiently because of all the other elements that comes out with it.. and that precipitates out in the body in other places..

the calcium in the average Oyster shell calcium and chalk pills is only absorbed around 15% if at all. You need to take Calcium CITRATE. it is absorbed around 50 to 60%. and the MDR {Minimum Daily Requirement} is Bogus.. you need Much more!! if you have a problem..
I take 5 grams in the morning and 5 grams at night of CA "CITRATE".
not that you should- because i CAN NOT prescribe Calcium as that would be illegal, i am not a doctor. however i am not aware of any toxic effects of calcium at the dose i take.. i am not aware of any toxic level short of creating a plaster impaction.

I would get a copy of Dirk Pearson and Sandy Shaws.."Life Extension" It saved my life.. I had a virulent form of Inflammatory Rheumatoid Arthritis and i found in that book an article about the amino acids..Ornithine and Arginine.. seem that they are elements in 'T Cell Receptor Inhibitors.. and growth hormones that repair your body.. It is the T Cells that through a compromised immune system attack the joints and cause arthritis symptoms. in 5 days i started getting better and in 2 weeks i had not symptoms.

"Life Extension is the definitive encyclopedia of enzymes,amino acids, vitamins..etc and how they work... i cant recommend it enough, you can get one used for $0.70 to $10 used on http://www.amazon.com . but you cant go wrong for the price of just shipping..

i have the same problem.. i am 6'6" and 56 it is pretty normal.. i have also fractured L5 almost all the way across diagonally.

[bamademo]

20. I take pre-natal vitamins, HR and calcium citrate 1500 with D

I work out about 3 to 4 times a week. If I go for 3 days without working out, then I suffer. I just want to find a way to unpinch the nerve without surgery.

[bettyellen]

22. have you tried the tennis ball massage thing?

you tie up two togther in a tube sock. align them with your spine and roll them under your spine to loosen it up. i do it after applying heat, take asprin afterward. it's great.

[Southsideirish]

21. My relative has an entire titanium spine from the base of her

skull to the bottom of her tail bone, all inserted at age 79 and she is doing very well 3 years later. She had multiple back problems that had been getting worse over the years so they just replaced everything.

[Piperay]

24. Chiropractic

if it wasn't for my chiropractor I would be in constant pain and probably hardly able to move. I have deteriorated vertebrae and Osteoarthritis because I had scoliosis that went untreated. Acupuncture might help with the Osteoarthritis, my chiropractor told me it could help with my pain but wouldn't be a cure. I have found though that chiropractic treatment and strengthening muscle exercises has been enough to eliminate most of my pain except for neck aches & minor back aches when I exert myself too much.

[uppityperson]

25. Massage and regular dancing

Both help keep your body in shape. By dancing I mean dance classes or with a dance group, whole body dancing with decent body mechanics, like near/middle-eastern dancing, aka raqs sharqi, aka danse orientale, most commonly known by its misnomer belly dancing. It is much more fun than crunches and really works out abdominal muscles which hold your back together.

Yes, I do both and my back only bothers me when I don't do/get them regularly.