Chiro / Back Problems

[Darren]

Howdy Guys,
First up I guess a bit of background info, having had ongoing back issue's for I reckon a good 5 years ie very uncomfortable lying down as in almost brings tears to your eye's type pain when rolling over. I believe this all came from a back injury playing tennis which never got any attention (completely my fault) when I was younger.

One way which eased the pain was first thing in the morning on the bike and off I went for a leisurely 10km+ ride, still didn't help the movement wise ie picking things up off the ground a great deal but sure as hell made putting shoes and socks on a lot easier as it seemed to get the muscles moving. I guess at present I rely very heavily on my leg muscles so if they gave way I may as well be in a wheelchair.

Anyway to cut a long story short I'm on annual leave so to keep busy we've been filling skips up with old rubbish no longer required and the back felt a bit funny the odd part is it was no longer extreme back pain whilst trying to sleep which I couldn't remember what it was like.

I thought stuff this I've been putting it off doing anything about it so I thought I'd book in and see what a chiro said, had the x-rays done, I can't recall the exactly wording but the way it sounded it was pretty bad but should be able to be corrected with ongoing visits (twice a week to start off) and monitor after that.

After the first visit, one hell of crack and a bit of pain (as in owww that's good pain right) as I was expecting given how stuffed it is I wasn't feeling too bad, anyway how should you feel afterwards? I am not sure it's due to manual labour but right down the bottom of my back is sore.

Don't get me wrong I don't expect miracle's and to be cured straight away given I am the one which has simply been putting it off for soo darn long but just curious typically how long would you notice any difference? I guess this is like asking how long a piece of string is but wondering whether anyone has had any similar issues.

They have a free workshop coming up mid January about posture, exercises and stuff like that all which really applies to me given I use a computer for a good percentage of whilst I'm awake so that can only be beneficial.

I've also read some real horror stories about chiro's, after 3 months if there's no change I will try alternative means ie physio or other.

Cheers
Darren

[levymetal]

i'm not going to be much of a help here, and i know you're going to go to the posture workshop but check this out: Posture And Bodybuilding. the second 2 were absolute gold for my lower back pain, although it's completely different to yours (i had pain when standing up for too long)

[Grennan]

Yeah I had back problems, and still do to a small extent from when I played Rugby. Went in for a scrum (Rugby Union) and when we've got to pack it, my opposing hooker moved his head and we butted. The whole scrum went down and i was spiked on my head. I went to a sports physio and chiro for a while. Its still not 100%, but it sure does beat the heck out of the ongoing pain.

I was a bit like you, I didn't go to the chiro/physio for a while. I put it off for about 3-4 years when I started then quit playing Gridiron and thought something needs to be done.

When I started going the first couple of sessions actually hurt more than the back pain, but they assured me that was because they had to undo the years of damage. I took me about 3 or 4 months before I started noticing differences in being able to stand for long periods of time and doing manual work. I also did 2 sessions a week.

A part of it is also breaking the habits you've adapted to when you've hurt your back. I used to stand a particular way and I had to teach myself to change my posture and the way i lifted things at work etc.

[Cursed CX8]

Darren, I see the chiro about my neck every 1-3 months, only when i need it. At first it was once a fortnight, but i found that was beginning to cause my issues because the muscles didnt really have time to settle before the next session.

After leaving i generally have lost my headaches (thats pretty much why i go) and my neck is back to the way it should be.
The next day im tight and sore and over the next few days it generally works itself out.

Dont expect a miracle, that you walk in crippled with pain and can dance out the door. It wont happen.

[Jesterarts]

I injured my lower back over a year ago digging a plumbing trench.

I still have a bit of pain in the mornings and after I've been sitting alot. But its alot better than it was, it's just hard to notice results because they take time.

But in a nut shell, when I first did my back I couldn't put my sock or shoe on my left foot, struggled to walk up stairs and getting up was agony.

Now I still struggle a little putting socks on in the morning but it gets easier as the day progresses and I move around. And I feel a little pinch when I get up out of bed or a chair but really that is the only time I notice my back injury now.

As Cursed said, don't expect to go in there and come out a new man. It will take time. But it is worth it I think.

Good luck with it.

[Dayvo]

Have you considered lazer accupuncture? my wife suffered from bad back pain which was 9 out of 10 on the pain scale , and now down to a 2 . Might be worth looking in to

[gopher]

i injured my neck in a car accident and was going to physio
always came out of there feeling worse.

in the end i had accupuncture which helped heaps and only occasionally get pain now

[Dayvo]

i injured my neck in a car accident and was going to physio
always came out of there feeling worse.

in the end i had accupuncture which helped heaps and only occasionally get pain now

My wife was the same , came out of physio like she'd been hit by a truck.

[Vee-ard]

mate, one word, pilates. It may seem completely non-heterosexual, but once you build those core muscles up, pretty much nothing gets overstrained and hurt ever again.

I went to the chiro twice a week for 16 weeks and noticed no improvement, except my problem was the exact opposite, I couldnt sit down... the only thing that would stop the pain was stainding up straight or laying down. I couldnt even drive my damn car.

All of this because after 8 months sitting at a computer with bad posture, I ended up with no lower back muscle strength, and every time I sat, my lower back muscles would go into spasm. its about a 6 out of 10 on the pain scale.

Honestly, being six foot four and working at a four foot two desk was never a good idea.

[06vzcalais]

every case is different i had a motor x incident which involved peeling quater of my face off and a 180kg bike landing on my lower back..3 weeks of continuous traction and 5 months of physio and 6 months of 9 out of 10 pain i went to a chiro biggest mistake of my life i had to take a week off work for the pain i could hardly walk, went back to physio the chiro put my back in place again but crushed the discs and squashed a nerve, i had accupunture solved the nerve problem i was then refered to a massage parlour walked out feeling like a million dollars, i returned to the parlour 4 times problem solved they worked the muscles and helped me to strengthen the muscles,its only in the last few months ive started having problems again i should really stop ignoring it......what im trying to say is dont be affraid to try things like massage and deep heat therapy 9 times out of 10 it helps big time posture is also a biggie

[DanVN]

I've had a screwed neck since i was 10 or 11 ( 9-10 years) always get migranes etc,

I normally go to the chiro when the migranes get unbearable, Normally my headaches go away within 15 mins of leaving, Everythings tight for a while later.

IF i manage to not crack my neck at work it can be good for 2 months or so, if while its tight i turn my head to vigorously or lift something, It'll crack and be sore again till the migranes get unbearable ;(

[greenfoam]

I used to have a bad back and needed costant work at the local crunchers, I think it got bad while I was a surfer, sitting on a board hunched with bad posture all day really stuffed me up. But it got totally cured during the time I was a gym junky and never came back afterwards. I've got no idea why, just a good side effect :0.

I've also damaged my rib cage in the back smashing some rocks with a pick once (riped the cartlige I think) and that never got better for a year or so? I ended up have a Cortisone injection in the rib cage as a last resort and it was fixed the very next day, so that's something for future reference

[Lumps of cheese]

I don't do chiros, never did anything for me so i stay away. Massage therapy works for me, half an hour every 2-3 weeks and it keeps my back in check just nice. I had bad pain the other day and went to get it seen to, turns out one of my ribs had popped out somehow and she just pushed it back in no worries.

[Darren]

Cheers guys, some very helpful responses here.

I reckon I might give it a crack with the Chiro for 3 months and see how things go, if I don't notice any improvement I'll try some of the other available items, hadn't even thought of massage therapy or acupuncture.

I'm not even gain enough to try weights, got a couple of days before the appointment so we'll see how it goes.

The pain has gone from across my lower back into just the left now so I guess that's a step in the right direction.

[Boonz]

i slipped 2 disks in my lower back playing footy when i was 16, it got to the stage where the physio couldnt do any more after 9 months and the doctor said i had to have 3 vertebra fused together near my tailbone. pretty lucky to be walking still really

the longer you leave your back in pain the less chance you have of it ever going back to normal. just because the pain stops in one area isnt always a good thing cos it can do permanent damage to your cartilage and nerve ends, just about the only thing that does help me atm is quartesone, not really a fix but it does keep me mobile...

reason why i went to the physio is cos they put my back back in place anmd worked on the muscles around my back and shoulders to hold it in place.
might be worth seeing both the chiro and physio to get some different opinions.
alot of physios now are doing acupuncture now too which is a good thing cos it can help certain areas of your back to relax muscles and tighten others.

but from what you said in your first post about it feeling better after a bike ride, it does sound like a muscle problem, cos after a bike ride your back muscles would be tense front leaning forwards, i get the same feeling at work when im leaning into an engine bay, it unloads the force pushing down on your spine which can cause pain

[S.T.K.E]

You'd be surprised how much better overall you feel after you have finished with your chrio sessions. I have rooted my lower back and had to go twice a week for a few months. After that my back was as good as new and over all i felt a lot healthier.

[GE4CE]

Hi Darren

I severly damage my back when i was 26
I picked up something far to heavy to put in the back of the ute and heard a loud snap like a branch breaking,looked around and there were no branches around ,must of come from me.
Didnt think too much of it,there was slight pain but i was unbreakable or so i thought.
Next morning went to get out of bed like usual and ended up on the bedroom floor,not good
Went to the doctors and they said i just slipped a disc and gave me some pain relief, panadol forte

Back was sore constantly but bearable,little did i know what the next 6 months would hold for me

Pain started getting stronger and a few friends suggested that i go to a chiro.
X-rays were taken and nothing else on the first day which i was angry about cause i was in pain and left the same way,next day a small manipulation was performed and there was a slight relief.i started walking as alot said that was great and i found that if i did some brief exercising it was ok at the start but as the day got longer the pain would increase alot,i had started to develope siatica which is a nerve down the outside of the left thigh, under the the knee cap,down the shin and to the toe (i will never forget this pain)

The chiro used to get me to lay on my stomach and started using heat packs on my lower back with rubber wedges under the front of my hips and press down on the very lower of my back which was fantstic while i was on the table,as my condition deteriorated he ended up putting a harness around my waist and a vest with an eyelets on the shoulders.Once the eyelets were pinned down with bars the waist harness was attached to a winch and he would basically start stretching my spine,first with just enough pressure for relief but later at much higher pressure.A gauge between the waist harness and the winch was used to measure the pressure.As pain was getting worse and worse I was becoming desperate and tried many other methods,I tried Aqua Areobics (walking in a pool is good) Acupuncutre,Large amounts of various pain relief,I had a cat scan hoping it would show more than the X-ray.I went to a specialist who wanted to wait as surgery was the last option.He warned me that the spinal cord is a bunch of micro hairs covered in a hard shell (spine) and that having surgery was very risky,if one of these micro fibres gets nicked i could close i fist and a finger might not recoil,i could smile and half my face might no respond,basically all muscle response of your entire body was right there in the spine.The pain was so bad now that if i was driving a car i would have to get out at the lights and walk around the car because it was nearly un bearable to sit there,sleep was nearly impossible because when you finally got into a comfortable postion and rolled over you would wake instantly in pain.My body was starting to contort on its own looking for relief because stand straight now wasnt an option

I ended up going to my family doctor who admitted me to hospital immediately

Full Traction and Morphine every 4 hours was ordered which when the morphine was wearing off the pain incredible.

An MRI scan was order where they put you in a big tunnel and run a huge magnetic force through your entire body,This makes for a deeper X-ray covering alot more layers

....It was revealed that i had ruptured 3 discs that were leaking/pressing into the spinal cord L3,L4,L5

A guy called Kevin King did the surgery (I was in hospital for 20 days) which was trimming of the three discs and then refilling the disc with a silicone type product and a bone graft on S1 (tailbone) and it was successful,I still have to be careful

....I hope you are not about to go through what i did..............Good Luck

[coolngroovy]

I had a lower spine injury at work....a little over 2yrs ago.
After going to specialists [sic] & doctors for the first 15mths, i was no further informed as to what the problem was.
A talented specialist actually looked at the x-rays, & diagnosed me.....finally! So all the chiro work that i had done was pointless. It was actually causing me more pain!
I was off work for most of that time. Always trying to go back to my trade....only lasting a few weeks.

The sciatic pain is the most unbearable! My upper right thigh is numb. I could stick a knife in it & not feel it. When the pain reaches the heel!!!! PHARK!!!! No more walkies!
I know what it is like to get out of bed in the morning & instantly hit the floor! The days i called in sick were the days when i couldnt put my jocks on! Sound familiar?
Every night is full of broken sleep! Unless i'm hammered on booze, i wont sleep longer than 40 mins. You do actually get used to it!

While the medical magicians can control my pain with drugs, they wont operate to fix the problem. Problem is....one of the pills makes me vomit nightly! Every night around 3-4am. The other pain killers make me extremely drousy! Can you imagine a spaced out zombie walking around, trying not to throw up? LOL....that's me on the pills! That's how they sent me back to work!

I had quartozone? injections in the base of my spine....& i have to say...HAPPY DAYS!!! Instant pain relief! What a difference it made! I didn't even care if he hit my spine with the needles...twice! After 15mths of constant mind twisting pain, there was instant pain free!
Shame they sent me back to work on [non-existant] alternate duites! The injections lasted 7 weeks before i couldn't stand up again! I would like to go for them again, but i'm hanging out until i really need them. Kinda taking one day at a time.
I refuse to take the pills unless i am writhing in pain!

Now i cant return to my trade, i will probably end up on sickness benifits. All my plans & projects have been shelved indefinately.

But i'm not down yet!

[Tim Smtih]

I've been going to chiros for years. And in all of that time i've only had one or two that did the job well, for me anyway. There are different styles of chiropractic so if you are unsure you should ask the chiro to explain it for you. I was run down by a car whilst riding to work so i can tell you a thing or two about back pain. I have found that chiros can only do so much, and i have used physios and herbal remedies as well to supplement. Everyone's an individual and something that works for one person may not work for another. So if it isn't working now it won't work later, don't waste your money. Good luck with it.

[Low_VX_Taxi]

I think with chiropractors/physiotherapists you have to find a good one as there are some really really bad ones out there that will simply make it worse.

I found a great one when I tore two liguiments in my lower back, he helped my spinal alignment and ways to cope with the pain (without massive doses of muscle relaxents), he had a backround in a fair few areas (even acupuncture), he was pricey but worth every penny! Unfortunately I moved and now if it flares I just have to grin and bear it (its not easy explaining to a chemist or hospital that at 24 years of age you have the same back damage as an 85 year old brick layer...... not that your a junkie wanting anther hit......)

Hopefully yours can be prevented or at least find ways to cope with it, but a good physio/chiropractor will be able to help, just ask friends or people in your area for suggestions on a good one

[MagiTEK]

Another person with back pain here.

Too much incorrect lifting at work.

Had the xrays done and started seeing a chiro on and off for 8 months. always left feeling worse. but got better after a couple of days. just. I ended up stopping cause it was a waste of time for me. I found that your better off working at maintaining good posture and trying to sleep straight helped alot. Exercise also was a bonus. some light exercise also helped strenghten the lower back muscles and provide more support.

[Darren]

I was riding each and every morning but the last few weeks even before chiro it's painful just getting out of bed, after a few hours the muscles or something wake up, get moving or whatever they do and then I'm right for the remainder of the day until I go to bed.

It doesn't seem to matter how I sleep ie back, left hand side or right hand side I will wake up not in pain so much but just really uncomfortable in the lower back / hip region.

I'm heading to chiro again this morning, I'll mention it to him and see how we go.

[Melissa]

coolngroovy, are you on Workers Comp?

My hubby had the same problem. Hurt his back at work, doctor refused to look at scans, MRI's etc. The doctor actually told him there was nothing wrong! He had 8 cortisone and oxygen injections, but couldn't take pain killers. Ended up being 2 slipped discs - 1 of the discs ended up breaking off and was floating in his spinal canal. Also had Sciatica and Cauda Equine Syndrome.

Wasn't until he saw an Independent Workcover Assessor that he was referred to a Neurosurgeon, and then had emergency surgery 6 weeks ago. So far, the sciatica has eased, cauda equine has gone, but back pain is still there...

[coolngroovy]

coolngroovy, are you on Workers Comp?

My hubby had the same problem. Hurt his back at work, doctor refused to look at scans, MRI's etc. The doctor actually told him there was nothing wrong! He had 8 cortisone and oxygen injections, but couldn't take pain killers. Ended up being 2 slipped discs - 1 of the discs ended up breaking off and was floating in his spinal canal. Also had Sciatica and Cauda Equine Syndrome.

Wasn't until he saw an Independent Workcover Assessor that he was referred to a Neurosurgeon, and then had emergency surgery 6 weeks ago. So far, the sciatica has eased, cauda equine has gone, but back pain is still there...

I'm not on workers comp any longer.
I was for the first 18mths though.