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Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: Martin_1962 on 28 September 2008, 21:37:00

Title: Back advice
Post by: Martin_1962 on 28 September 2008, 21:37:00
Three months still sore, I am now having adverse reactions to most painkillers, I am off the prescribed ones as they caused horrible mood swings, and Ibuprofen is causing tingling limbs.

Doctors all they did is refer me to a physiotherapist, with no idea when I will get an appointment.

I am now getting really depressed.

I am struggling to lift things, needed help with a 25kg potato sack to get in the boot, as I could not knee bend it.

Can't lean over, too much pain, only really comfortable seat is the settees, but car isn't too bad, office chair >:( :'(

I now don't know what to do, I thought I would have completely recovered by now, and the worst thing is I am putting on weight again.

I even have difficulty doing a certain thing so had to swap over :-[ :-[

Sorry about this but I am fed up and need some cheering up.
Title: Re: Back advice
Post by: TheBoy on 28 September 2008, 21:39:00
chiroprator?

obviously, you'd have to be gay, but some people swear by it.


Personally, I'm a big believer in a bit of pain never hurt anyone...
Title: Re: Back advice
Post by: cem_devecioglu on 28 September 2008, 21:42:10
as the age gets older the human body need longer time to recover..

probably you need some phsical therapy if you want to recover

quickly..

Title: Re: Back advice
Post by: Martin_1962 on 28 September 2008, 21:42:14
Quote
chiroprator?

obviously, you'd have to be gay, but some people swear by it.


Personally, I'm a big believer in a bit of pain never hurt anyone...


14 weeks or so is long enough believe me it is not so much the continual pain but the extra pain if I pull it, about a month ago I tweaked and went back to first weeek pain.

Gay - you have seen the proof against ;D ;D, and I still don't like Apple products :D

How bad is it - I considered a motor mover until I saw the price - just have to be good at reversing rather than dragging by the hadles
Title: Re: Back advice
Post by: Gaffers on 28 September 2008, 21:43:32
Ok I was the worlds biggest sceptic on the subject then I was given some by a docctor when my back got so I could hardly walk....

.....accupuncture!  It was like a miracle 1x5min session per week.  After 3 weeks I was running again and it hasnt occured in the past 2 years  :y
Title: Re: Back advice
Post by: theolodian on 28 September 2008, 21:44:51
First, STOP picking up 25kg sacks, or anything else!

Get in the pool.

Go to the physio and learn some good stretches.  Do them religiously!

Expect it to be a long slow recovery. Don't get frustrated and overdo it.
Title: Re: Back advice
Post by: dieseldean on 28 September 2008, 21:44:59
i had a slipped disc 9 year ago but now feel pain of it if i stand still in 1 place for too long. but feels much more painful when waqlking constantly in slow motion whilst keeping wife happy during her shopping
Title: Re: Back advice
Post by: cem_devecioglu on 28 September 2008, 21:45:19
in the previous car I had an accident..nearly 5-6 years ago..although there was nothing broken the pain in my arm continued 3 months and even after a year there were some side effects..
Title: Re: Back advice
Post by: TheBoy on 28 September 2008, 21:45:19
Took medication once - some pain killers when I came off the bike - but then decided it was a bit poofy...
Title: Re: Back advice
Post by: Omegatoy on 28 September 2008, 21:47:31
Martin
Had a real bad accident in the army , report stated severe damage to lower back could cause permanent disability in the future :o
15 years ago the hospital offered me a wheelchair to leave in as my back was to badly damaged to do anything with according to them,
to cut a long story short a month later after being unable to do anything escept face up to life in a wheelchair , my wife stumbled across a chap who swore blind he could sort it,  so i thought bugger it got nothing to lose, went to see him and after just one 45 min session i was able to walk for 300 yards, admittedly it only lasted a short time but he could not risk doing anymore without x rays, so off i went to have some private xrays he looked at them, and had me in for another session told me that he could adjust the spine around the damaged area, took me 4 months of weekly sessions as the back has to be retrained to its new position, but ask anyone on the forum who knows me there isnt a sign of back trouble now, i just go to him once a year for an MOT  and havent had a twinge since, Dr yen yang co, he has a surgery for chiropractic clinic in chipping norton which isnt so far from you, if its realyy doing your head in would recomend him mate!!!
Title: Re: Back advice
Post by: Lizzie_Zoom on 28 September 2008, 21:49:16
Quote
First, STOP picking up 25kg sacks, or anything else!

Get in the pool.

Go to the physio and learn some good stretches.  Do them religiously!

Expect it to be a long slow recovery. Don't get frustrated and overdo it.

Good advise there Theolodian!! :y :y

I can only add a good hard bed, a floor, or wooden board I have found also does the trick! ;)

Toothache is the only thing worse than true severe back pain :'( :'( :'(
Title: Re: Back advice
Post by: TheBoy on 28 September 2008, 21:50:20
Quote
Martin
Had a real bad accident in the army , report stated severe damage to lower back could cause permanent disability in the future :o
15 years ago the hospital offered me a wheelchair to leave in as my back was to badly damaged to do anything with according to them,
to cut a long story short a month later after being unable to do anything escept face up to life in a wheelchair , my wife stumbled across a chap who swore blind he could sort it,  so i thought bugger it got nothing to lose, went to see him and after just one 45 min session i was able to walk for 300 yards, admittedly it only lasted a short time but he could not risk doing anymore without x rays, so off i went to have some private xrays he looked at them, and had me in for another session told me that he could adjust the spine around the damaged area, took me 4 months of weekly sessions as the back has to be retrained to its new position, but ask anyone on the forum who knows me there isnt a sign of back trouble now, i just go to him once a year for an MOT  and havent had a twinge since, Dr yen yang co, he has a surgery for chiropractic clinic in chipping norton which isnt so far from you, if its realyy doing your head in would recomend him mate!!!
Doesn't stop you lifted TD lumps in and out now :y
Title: Re: Back advice
Post by: albitz on 28 September 2008, 21:52:23
Quote
Took medication once - some pain killers when I came off the bike - but then decided it was a bit poofy...
Try a double compound fracture - morphine is suddenly the greatest discovery known to man. ;) ;D ;D
Title: Re: Back advice
Post by: Omegatoy on 28 September 2008, 21:52:41
Quote
Quote
Martin
Had a real bad accident in the army , report stated severe damage to lower back could cause permanent disability in the future :o
15 years ago the hospital offered me a wheelchair to leave in as my back was to badly damaged to do anything with according to them,
to cut a long story short a month later after being unable to do anything escept face up to life in a wheelchair , my wife stumbled across a chap who swore blind he could sort it,  so i thought bugger it got nothing to lose, went to see him and after just one 45 min session i was able to walk for 300 yards, admittedly it only lasted a short time but he could not risk doing anymore without x rays, so off i went to have some private xrays he looked at them, and had me in for another session told me that he could adjust the spine around the damaged area, took me 4 months of weekly sessions as the back has to be retrained to its new position, but ask anyone on the forum who knows me there isnt a sign of back trouble now, i just go to him once a year for an MOT  and havent had a twinge since, Dr yen yang co, he has a surgery for chiropractic clinic in chipping norton which isnt so far from you, if its realyy doing your head in would recomend him mate!!!
Doesn't stop you lifted TD lumps in and out now :y

nope thats true but if you had seen me then you would have cried!!! I did and am not ashamed to admit it!!! thought me life was over!!! guess thats why nothing gets me down now!! :y
Title: Re: Back advice
Post by: Taxi_Driver on 28 September 2008, 21:57:38
Last time i slipped a disc.........doctors advice was take the pain killers.......so i did....his advice was carry on doing as you normally do..with the painkillers...its apparently better to keep moving.....went to physio in the end who put my slipped disk back.....after about 4/5 sessions.....

Apparently im overweight.....according to my doc.....ok i have bit of a gut! and therefore will always suffer from back probs........ive had quite a few slipped discs......

So take the painkiller Martin and find a physio..... :y
Title: Re: Back advice
Post by: Taxi_Driver on 28 September 2008, 22:00:07
Quote
Last time i slipped a disc.........doctors advice was take the pain killers.......so i did....his advice was carry on doing as you normally do..with the painkillers...its apparently better to keep moving.....went to physio in the end who put my slipped disk back.....after about 4/5 sessions.....

Apparently im overweight.....according to my doc.....ok i have bit of a gut! and therefore will always suffer from back probs........ive had quite a few slipped discs......

So take the painkiller Martin and find a physio..... :y

But you will have to pay for it privately......but too much tho....think i as paying about £40/session last time  :y
Title: Re: Back advice
Post by: shyboy on 29 September 2008, 08:52:07
You've got to establish what the true cause is. Most back trouble emanates from muscle spasm, which can be overcome, not 'slipped' discs, (this is major rupture trauma which doesn't repair itself easily). Most important thing, as already said, is avoidance of weightlifting in the wrong manner, and gentle excercise to keep things mobile.
Pain killers help enormously, but conceal the body's pain warnings which can lead to further damage, or a slowing of the healing process. And some of them can cause problems like ulcers etc.
You've got to bite the bullet and go carefully until you know the true cause. I really hope you can get full relief eventually, because it's like entering paradise when the pain subsides.
Title: Re: Back advice
Post by: Martin_1962 on 29 September 2008, 09:03:08
I have had no xrays and the back has just been looked at, I have been told it is soft tissue damage and will take around 3 months to heal.

It is now just over 3 months :'(

I have given up pain killers because the side effects are worse than the pain.

However I still feel lucky I am walking and alive.

I landed on my bum then instantly smacked down on my back. It felt as though my entire insides were trying to exit via my back.

I really hope that there is not a 3 month waiting list for the physiotherapist.
Title: Re: Back advice
Post by: TheBoy on 29 September 2008, 09:10:08
Quote
Last time i slipped a disc.........doctors advice was take the pain killers.......so i did....his advice was carry on doing as you normally do..with the painkillers...its apparently better to keep moving.....went to physio in the end who put my slipped disk back.....after about 4/5 sessions.....

Apparently im overweight.....according to my doc.....ok i have bit of a gut! and therefore will always suffer from back probs........ive had quite a few slipped discs......

So take the painkiller Martin and find a physio..... :y
I knackered my back up long before I was overweight (believe it or not, I was 9.5st, until I gave up proper work)
Title: Re: Back advice
Post by: Martin_1962 on 29 September 2008, 09:14:27
Even when overweight my back was fine, now I feel ancient
Title: Re: Back advice
Post by: TheBoy on 29 September 2008, 09:14:57
Quote
You've got to establish what the true cause is. Most back trouble emanates from muscle spasm, which can be overcome, not 'slipped' discs, (this is major rupture trauma which doesn't repair itself easily). Most important thing, as already said, is avoidance of weightlifting in the wrong manner, and gentle excercise to keep things mobile.
Pain killers help enormously, but conceal the body's pain warnings which can lead to further damage, or a slowing of the healing process. And some of them can cause problems like ulcers etc.
You've got to bite the bullet and go carefully until you know the true cause. I really hope you can get full relief eventually, because it's like entering paradise when the pain subsides.
That is why I do not take medication, ever. Except 0.5 aspirin if I'm flying (precautions, seeing as I'm a fatty), and those painkillers when I did the aerobatics on the Kawasaki.

Your body is telling your brain something isn't working right, so masking that will lead to further damage.

Hence my oft used phrase here "a bit of pain never hurt anyone"


As I'm not a pill popper, those 0.5 aspirin when I fly knock me out for the flight.  And those painkillers transported me to a parallel universe, that people from the 60s will be all to familiar with ;D
Title: Re: Back advice
Post by: Andy B on 29 September 2008, 09:15:20
Quote
.....
I can only add a good hard bed, a floor, or wooden board  .....

I found the opposite was true for me. We got rid of our 'orthopedic' firm bed for a softer one years ago, & I find it tends to support my back better .......  having said that though, SWMBO always says I could sleep on a washing line!  ::)  :y  :y
Title: Re: Back advice
Post by: TheBoy on 29 September 2008, 09:20:41
Quote
Quote
.....
I can only add a good hard bed, a floor, or wooden board  .....

I found the opposite was true for me. We got rid of our 'orthopedic' firm bed for a softer one years ago, & I find it tends to support my back better .......  having said that though, SWMBO always says I could sleep on a washing line!  ::)  :y  :y
I'm with Lizzie on this - if I doss around friends house etc, or fall asleep for a couple of hours on the sofa, I will pay a price.  I need my hard bed.

OOFers who have been to the Lakes/Newent meets laugh at my bloody great queensize airbed, but its the best I've found for my back - campbeds and smaller airbeds seem to not give support, and sleeping on ground is too cold (another thing that plays me up).
Title: Re: Back advice
Post by: mantahatch on 29 September 2008, 09:29:53
If you can afford it go to an Oestopath and get it sorted by paying for it. Waiting on the NHS will cost you more in the long run.
Failing that go for acupuncture, never believed it myself but father had it for a frozen shoulder and it has never returned.

Mike
Title: Re: Back advice
Post by: Andy B on 29 September 2008, 09:41:23
Quote
.....
I'm with Lizzie on this - if I doss around friends house etc, or fall asleep for a couple of hours on the sofa, I will pay a price.  I need my hard bed.).
What ever is good for you. When we go away in the C***van, as the bed is just foam seating laid out for a bed, my back starts to suffer.

Quote
OOFers who have been to the Lakes/Newent meets laugh at my bloody great queensize airbed,  .....
 :-X  :-X  :-X  :-X  :-X  ;)
Title: Re: Back advice
Post by: TheBoy on 29 September 2008, 09:43:37
Quote
Quote
.....
I'm with Lizzie on this - if I doss around friends house etc, or fall asleep for a couple of hours on the sofa, I will pay a price.  I need my hard bed.).
What ever is good for you. When we go away in the C***van, as the bed is just foam seating laid out for a bed, my back starts to suffer.

Quote
OOFers who have been to the Lakes/Newent meets laugh at my bloody great queensize airbed,  .....
 :-X  :-X  :-X  :-X  :-X  ;)
I agree, and meant to put that at the end of my post - different things work better for different people, so you need to find what works for you.  :)
Title: Re: Back advice
Post by: jereboam on 29 September 2008, 09:46:45
Quote
Quote
Quote
.....
I can only add a good hard bed, a floor, or wooden board  .....

I found the opposite was true for me. We got rid of our 'orthopedic' firm bed for a softer one years ago, & I find it tends to support my back better .......  having said that though, SWMBO always says I could sleep on a washing line!  ::)  :y  :y
I'm with Lizzie on this - if I doss around friends house etc, or fall asleep for a couple of hours on the sofa, I will pay a price.  I need my hard bed.


A hard bed absolutely cripples me - can't walk the following day.  Soft or medium for me!  My wife is the opposite - she prefers a hard bed.  We use a foam rubber mattress on a "spiral" spring base - had it for 30 years - and mostly we're OK.  Never found anything more comfortable.  My wife has a board under her side of the mattress.  

As for backache - had that for years, although it's been a lot better recently.  I used to get back spasms that would lay me up for a week, sometimes sparked off by a sneeze or some other minor movement.  Of course, it was never that which actually caused the problem - usually I'd overdone it in the few days before.  

Not quite sure what you include as painkillers, but I eventually discovered "non-steroidal anti-inflammatory" drugs, which helped a lot.  Ibuprofen is one type, which didn't help me at all.  But something called Diclofenac sodium worked wonders.  Not sure if you can get it without a prescription - the trade name is Voltarol, I think - but I never go any where without them, "just in case".  But don't take them for an extended period - they'll ruin your digestion.  

Tried codeine/paracetamol once - I hallucinated - definitely not nice.

My wife used to go to a "manual manipulator" who (she said) improved her back problems, but as far as I could see, didn't help very much, as the pain always came back within a week.  On the other hand, I went to him once or twice, and he fixed my problems for quite long periods.  However, that was 15 years ago when we lived in Holland, and we haven't found anyone using the same techniques back in the UK.
Title: Re: Back advice
Post by: TheBoy on 29 September 2008, 09:52:18
Quote
Quote
Quote
Quote
.....
I can only add a good hard bed, a floor, or wooden board  .....

I found the opposite was true for me. We got rid of our 'orthopedic' firm bed for a softer one years ago, & I find it tends to support my back better .......  having said that though, SWMBO always says I could sleep on a washing line!  ::)  :y  :y
I'm with Lizzie on this - if I doss around friends house etc, or fall asleep for a couple of hours on the sofa, I will pay a price.  I need my hard bed.


A hard bed absolutely cripples me - can't walk the following day.  Soft or medium for me!  My wife is the opposite - she prefers a hard bed.  We use a foam rubber mattress on a "spiral" spring base - had it for 30 years - and mostly we're OK.  Never found anything more comfortable.  My wife has a board under her side of the mattress.  

As for backache - had that for years, although it's been a lot better recently.  I used to get back spasms that would lay me up for a week, sometimes sparked off by a sneeze or some other minor movement.  Of course, it was never that which actually caused the problem - usually I'd overdone it in the few days before.  

Not quite sure what you include as painkillers, but I eventually discovered "non-steroidal anti-inflammatory" drugs, which helped a lot.  Ibuprofen is one type, which didn't help me at all.  But something called Diclofenac sodium worked wonders.  Not sure if you can get it without a prescription - the trade name is Voltarol, I think - but I never go any where without them, "just in case".  But don't take them for an extended period - they'll ruin your digestion.  

Tried codeine/paracetamol once - I hallucinated - definitely not nice.

My wife used to go to a "manual manipulator" who (she said) improved her back problems, but as far as I could see, didn't help very much, as the pain always came back within a week.  On the other hand, I went to him once or twice, and he fixed my problems for quite long periods.  However, that was 15 years ago when we lived in Holland, and we haven't found anyone using the same techniques back in the UK.
LOL, been there a few times.

Title: Re: Back advice
Post by: tunnie on 29 September 2008, 10:08:03
get a bit of WD40 in there
Title: Re: Back advice
Post by: theolodian on 29 September 2008, 10:34:21
The one thing that I forgot is get a back support belt thingie from Boots.  Wearing that is the only way to really reduce the strain on your back and let it heal.  If you can't wear it while sitting then make sure that you have a good support pillow.

This should let you get to the point where you can start doing stretches.  It will start to feel better in a couple of days, but you need to wear it for a couple of weeks at least.  Then keep it in the car or relatively close by in case of a relapse.
Title: Re: Back advice
Post by: Marks DTM Calib on 29 September 2008, 12:36:28
Avoid a Chiropractor as they dont do anything to prevent re-occurance!

I have used the following with a lot of success!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Treat-Your-Back-Robin-McKenzie/dp/0958269238/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222688009&sr=8-4
Title: Re: Back advice
Post by: Allenm on 29 September 2008, 13:58:36
Quote
Avoid a Chiropractor as they dont do anything to prevent re-occurance!

I have used the following with a lot of success!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Treat-Your-Back-Robin-McKenzie/dp/0958269238/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222688009&sr=8-4

Not strictly true!  My brother is a chiropractor and does the full range including x-rays - he also issues a full customised exercise routine to prevent further problems.  The problm is that not all chiropractors are Doctors - because they were previously unregulated there was a bit of an amnisty so it is worth going to one who has qualified to provide all medical services including taking and reading x-rays, ct mri etc.
Title: Re: Back advice
Post by: BigAl on 29 September 2008, 22:40:19
When my back was playing me up a couple of years ago, i bought a "flexi-bak" http://www.flexibak.net/ for about £65 delivered and i found that it did ease my back pain considerably