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Slipped a disk in my lower back *UPDATE*
AlyceInWonderland
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
okay, so on fathers day, I got home from taking my dad out to dinner, sat down on the couch, and couldn't get back up. I've had back issues (mild ones) my whole life, so I thought I just strained it or something, and it'd go away like all the other times. I gave it a couple of days, but there was no improvement, so I ultimately decided to go to the doctor.
She didn't bother to take any x-rays (...), and prescribed me 800MG of Motrin, and some muscle relaxers, and diagnosed me with "acute back pain" and "muscle spasms".... Well, the pills weren't working (as far as pain goes), but I gave it a couple days to see if i'd improve (first mistake). I didn't improve, and ended up crying in the bathroom cause I couldn't dress my self because of the pain.
I ended up calling a chiropractor my old one recommended (he's since retired since the last time I went to him), and I was able to get an emergency appointment with her, despite it being her day off. She was incredibly nice, did some physical tests, and diagnosed me with a slipped/herniated disk. (she even took off 40 bucks on the appointment price, cause my insurance didn't cover it. yes!) Well, since that appointment, I've improved drastically. I've been icing my back for 15 minutes every hour, and doing these stretches she recommended, and generally keeping active to strengthen the muscles. I only really feel pain if I just wake up, drive (I bought a back support for this, and when I go to work), or accidentally bend a certain way.
Now, though the pain has significantly gone down, it still hurts enough for me to ask for additional help (my chiro went on vacation) to soothe the pain some more, and if possible, give me a quick heal.
Any remedies would be greatly appreciated, and some tips from people who have also gone through this would be wonderful.
Edit: If it makes a difference, I'm 19. Oh and I have another appointment with my chiropractor tomorrow.
She didn't bother to take any x-rays (...), and prescribed me 800MG of Motrin, and some muscle relaxers, and diagnosed me with "acute back pain" and "muscle spasms".... Well, the pills weren't working (as far as pain goes), but I gave it a couple days to see if i'd improve (first mistake). I didn't improve, and ended up crying in the bathroom cause I couldn't dress my self because of the pain.
I ended up calling a chiropractor my old one recommended (he's since retired since the last time I went to him), and I was able to get an emergency appointment with her, despite it being her day off. She was incredibly nice, did some physical tests, and diagnosed me with a slipped/herniated disk. (she even took off 40 bucks on the appointment price, cause my insurance didn't cover it. yes!) Well, since that appointment, I've improved drastically. I've been icing my back for 15 minutes every hour, and doing these stretches she recommended, and generally keeping active to strengthen the muscles. I only really feel pain if I just wake up, drive (I bought a back support for this, and when I go to work), or accidentally bend a certain way.
Now, though the pain has significantly gone down, it still hurts enough for me to ask for additional help (my chiro went on vacation) to soothe the pain some more, and if possible, give me a quick heal.
Any remedies would be greatly appreciated, and some tips from people who have also gone through this would be wonderful.
Edit: If it makes a difference, I'm 19. Oh and I have another appointment with my chiropractor tomorrow.
AlyceInWonderland on
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oh. one thing that really helped a lot was accupuncture
if you actually do have a herniated disc there are other risks associated, such as numbness or weakness in your limbs that you may not notice through the pain, that are symptoms of a larger neurological impact
Surgery is actually a last resort.
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She did... They threw pills at her. Nice.
But yeah, but to the OP: you'll probably want to go back with what your chiropractor told you. I see a chiropractor myself, and when others will shout "go see a REAL doctor", it irks me, but it's still a good idea.
NSAID's are standard initial treatment for back pain along with the caveat "If it doesn't get better, come back"
Luckily I'm feeling much better than I did. The pain is tolerable, but I would like to have none (and not be so fucking slow)
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and don't be afraid to be insistent (or even nag the shit out of your doctor) that it really hurts and the stuff last time just didn't cut it
Depends on how good your health insurance is, what kind you have, and how much you're willing to pay. Personally, I'd ask for a referral to a specialist.
You know, it bothers me when doctors say this. I know it's because they want to try the least invasive procedures first and progress to the more invasive procedures only as a "last resort", but honestly, given the choice of months (if not more) of time consuming and painful physical therapy that's not going to guarantee a resolution to the problem versus an invasive surgery with a painful but short recovery time that has a higher chance of being successful, I'll take the surgery every time. Besides, in the long run, it's cheaper for the consumer to just get the surgery in the first place. Of course, the doctor's don't make as much money... but I digress.
Good luck! Let us know what the doctor says.
It's not a matter of not wanting to put work into it, it's a matter of spending less money for a more effective solution to the problem. That sounds pretty logical to me.
I was talking to my doctor about surgery, and she said that it's only 16% effective, and the pain comes back more often than not anyway. I don't want to get surgery, and I'm already improving greatly (pain, if not doing something stupid like sitting hunched, is almost all gone), so I feel like I just don't need it. Plus, with physical therapy, if that becomes the case, it would allow me to strengthen my back muscles, rather than only scraping away the disk tissue.
She said with my healing rate, I won't need physical therapy, but I should continue to go to my chiropractor. She also sent me to get X-rays and they are now being sent to my doctor, chiropractor, and I got a copy on a disk as well.
Now, the pain has subsided greatly (I can now do my regular tasks around the house, and am able to get in and out of a car, unlike before).
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I see you already took the steps to get better but I just wanted to share my experience in case someone with similar problems read it. I thought I was too young for serious back problems since I had no prior issues which was pretty stupid of me.
Yeah, I'm only 19, and it freaked me out that I slipped a disk this young. It kills me that I have no flexibility any more, when I used to be incredibly limber before this accident.
I don't know if you're doing this already, but ice your back for 15 minutes, every hour. You'll notice a significant drop in pain. It's what helped me the most, I think.
What stretches are you doing? My chiro said to lay on my back and pull my knee towards me for 10 seconds, 10 times each leg, and it's been helping a LOT too.
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He recommended rolling up a towel for lumbar support and to not bend forward when I get up from a sitting position (he suggested using the arm rests to push myself up).
Icing definitely helps
Haha, I got the same thing. It. was. awesome.
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Once you're better you should do what you can to improve the fitness of your lower back and abs. Both sets of muscles help support your spine and take pressure off your discs. Don't worry a lot about regaining your flexibility, you'll get there. My wife had crippling sciatica that took upwards of a month to overcome, and with the time she's spent at the gym since she hasn't had any back pain at all.
Especially if they do not send you to physical therapy.
I heard that it takes around 6 weeks for a slipped disk to become pain free, and I'm not in pain in less than 2 weeks, so i'm completely happy with the results. If it does worsen though (god forbid), I will go see a physical therapist.
Now, I'll admit that I'm not in the best shape. I have bit of extra weight that absolutely won't help my back, so I'd like to know, with your experiences, what are the best things to do to strengthen the back and core muscles? This has been a huge eye opener for me, and will motivate me greatly to lose the extra weight, but I would like to know how to strengthen the back area mainly (I've heard swimming is amazing for the back). Maybe let me know which exercises aren't good for the back?
Edit: I will be asking this too, when I go to my chiropractor appointment tomorrow, but would like some additional input.
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I would like to have you keep in mind that you can end out having a stroke if you let people fiddle with your spine.
I was just saying that what she did, and what she told me to do helped me greatly.
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That being said, when it comes to being fitter with one's back, joining a gym is probably the best bet. My wife and I have had no problems since we joined 3 months ago and getting into a full routine. Prior to that, we had Wii fit, and provided it was used religiously, it did a not bad job of building core strength. My experience has been, if it hurts, don't do it, in terms of what to avoid. Bear in mind, I'm in no way qualified to offer advice on this sort of thing, this is just my personal experience.
One thing I do remember is, don't cross your legs when you're sitting. A lot of people do it because it feels comfortable, but when you do so you disengage some of the core muscles that help support your spine, which can lead to discomfort later on due to compressed discs.
Uh oh. I have to remember this. I always cross my legs..
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even if you don't do PT, i would consider doing some training. if you strengthen your core muscles it will help keep everything aligned and even if it slips again it can help stop it
Physiotherapy has been a godsend for me. I spent 7 years trying all different kinds of remedies with varying levels of success. Mostly though, they just helped to lessen the symptoms. It wasn't until I got into see a physio that I've actually started to work my way towards being free of it. Free enough to go balls out, lunging, falling, jumping at badminton. Beyond what the dude actually did while I was in the place (it was called tractioning and it's sort of a therapeutic version of the rack), it was the back/core exercises they got me doing that have really helped me stay pain free. There are a bunch of them but the main ones I do are as follows:
Crunches. Good ol' regular crunches. Since you don't go all the way up, you won't need anyone to hold your feet. Try crunching left and right as well as straight up. You work the obliques that way.
Leg lifts. Lay down flat, hands underneath your buttcheeks for comfort. Then just lift your legs off the ground. You can simply hold them up in the air (at least an inch) or actually lift them up and down like an exercise. I actually like to make small semi-circles with my legs as it works my obliques as well.
Push-up bridge. Get into the up position of a push-up. Then just hold it until you absolutely cannot take it anymore. Feel free to collapse after.
Superman pose. That's not it's name but it's pretty clear as far as description goes. Lay flat on your stomach with your arms and legs extended so you make a straight line. Then lift your legs off the ground while also lifting your upper torso off the ground. Done correctly, you'll be balancing on your crotch/pelvic area. Basically, you'll look like Superman flying through the air.
I got no name for this one but I think it's a yoga pose. Anyway, lay down on your back and pull your legs up into the position you'd be in for sit-ups. Instead of sitting up though, raise your butt off the ground and push it as far into the air as possible. Done correctly, the only things touching the ground should be the soles of your feet, your head/neck and the upper part of the shoulder blade area.
Those last two are meant to be done at high intensity for short bursts. You push or pull as far as you can and hold for a count of 10. Then do it again after a quick break. I'm supposed to do them twice a day but I'm lazy and only do once.
(thanks for that by the way, that's absolutely excellent, and exactly what I was hoping to get from this thread)
Also, a friend of mine has an inversion table. Good idea, or bad idea?
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It was a combo of the tractioning and the exercises that finally got rid of the pain. Now I just do the exercises and I'm pretty much free of the old, sharp, stabbing pain. I think I'm getting some back spasms these days but they respond well to ice. I think that's just a condition of being in crappy shape.
You're welcome. I went through 7 years of back pain before hitting the physio so I'm pretty willing to help people avoid the same fate. As an aside, if disk problems are suspected, x-rays don't do jack. Disks don't show up on them, they're soft tissue. It's either a CT scan or better yet an MRI that'll give a clear picture of the situation in there. I was 4 years into constant pain before my GP suggested that.
Edit: My chiro suggested something like that and to the best of my knowledge, it couldn't hurt even if it doesn't help. Tractioning achieved the same results with more consistency and control. Basically, it involved my upper body being held stationary while straps wrapped around my lower back. A machine then gently pulled the straps, creating the similar effect you're get on a torture rack. More force would be applied at intervals to increased the "pulling".
Edit: how long did this take you to become pain free? I'd really love to do martial arts again...
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Uh that I am less comfortable with advising you. I have a kung-fu background and so when it came to exercises, it was always "Do it until you can't do anymore." but that actually got me in some trouble a few years back because I tried to do too many sit ups before my back muscles were able to handle it. My advice for sit-ups is to do them until you get a good burn but far before excruciating pain. Then see how your body reacts to it when you wake up the next day. If it's good, do 5 more than last night and again, see how you feel the next day. Then keep adding a few more each day. I know it sounds tedious but when we're talking back pain, prudence is your best fucking friend. Leg lifts though have always been a lot less risky for me personally and even before my back muscles were up to snuff, I was always really comfortable with doing them until exhaustion. But that's me so I think the advice for sit-ups applies here too.
One thing about crunches, I always try to be very careful to keep my back totally straight when I do them. I know others tend to curl their bodies up but that always feels like it's putting pressure on my back. So maybe crunches aren't the best name for them. More like half sit-ups. Sorry, should've been more specific.
I think what's miraculous is that in those first 4-5 years of excruciating pain, I only took painkillers twice. It just never occured to me to depend on them. Weird.
Don't use my timeline as a guide though. Having ages 17 to 23 taken away from me made me pretty paranoid and so I took it REAL slow. I started seeing the physio in May of 2007 and I've only started my kung-fu (on my own, I quit the class) 3 weeks ago. I'm talking REALLY paranoid.
http://www.mesurf.com.au/img/fitness/yoga_back01/yoga_back01_a.jpg
Uh I think the ninja outfit is optional.
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Read the discussion that you guys had yesterday. Really good to see that you relieved from pain(And it is always a better feeling to be freed from such a worst unbearable thing "back pain"). At this moment I just want to share my experience with the back Pain issues. I am 22 years old and have been experienced severe lower back pain a year back. It was hurting me when I've been standing or walking for an hour or more, but it was so bad that it was affecting me at work. Then I have started seeking advice from http://www.irehab.com , which was suggested by a friend. Then after a coarse of treatment for about few days I totally got freed from my back issues. I just wanted to suggest it to others who are suffering due to back issues.