BBP, a few million and growing, it dont seem that anybody is really fixing this stuff, just putting bandages on it. I feel you on the hip and leg stuff, sitting at this damn computer and driving seems to be the worse for just irratation. My right hip goes numb then I get dull pain in the leg. I sure hope the discectomy works, I have alot of years left, sounds like you boys got a couple decades on me almost. Oh and the rtv thing, I thought it was the cureall. You know they can fix about anything with that stuff. Jed

 

Don't laugh at this (I know your going to anyway) but I even tried WD40 on my back. Hey theres folks that will swear it helps their arthritis. Didn't help me though but it makes for a nice cologne!

 

I read about your WD40, been there done that. What works better is DMSO. Used it on the horses a few times then was told you could use it on people. It works, but you can not get it for human use. Not a problem, just go to a feed store and tell them its for your horse. PS, DMSO is actually a solvent and when you use it one of the side effects is the taste of garlic in your mouth. I still use the DMSO somtimes when my Crohn's acts up but for my back I have started using Eucalyptus oil instead.

 

650viper and anyone interested,

there are many other optoins instead of surgery... unless of course you broke/fractured your back(devilonads),

in my office i do 2 types of treatments... one is spinal rehab and the other is spinal decompression, this one just became FDA approved and has an 86% success rate. thats 4 out of 5. this therapy is designed specifically for bulge's/herniations/sciatica, and degenerative disc's..

i have offered my help to the forum before and i will do it again....email me and i will try and help in any way i can.. a few people have called from the forum and i have helped them alot, maybe they will reply and tell how they are doing..

 

understand the anatomy of the low back...

you have 5 lumbar vertabra in between each one is a disc..the disc is not the problem , the disc is the result of the problem..thats why as you read these post you see most people start with 1 surgery and then have another and another..it progress's up the spine
usually.. L5,L4 and up

the problem is the structure of the vertabra's themselves... picture a jelly sandwich, 2 pieces of bread(vertabra) and jelly in the middle(disc) if you squeeze the bread together the jelly goes out the weakest side(herniation)..

thats what happens---- the structure(bones) squeeze the disc out into the spinal cord and nerves(sciatica)..you dont fix the disc(except in rare cases) you fix the bones and that will draw the disc back in off the cord and nerves..

i see some of you talking about inversion, this is good but decompression is much better and way more effective.. its like comparing the raptor(inversion) to a DS(decompression)...no comparision in my opinion, thought i would try an lighten up the talk with that bad joke..

oh well

 

Hello Chirochris, I use the Raptor for my back. How do I use the DS? I understand about decompression but how are you doing this? I would guess that it requires special equipment found only in medical facilities? Once I had a Dr. strap me into a machine that actually stretched me ( kind of like a rack ) Actually it felt good but this was many, many years ago and I am sure things have advanced since then.

 

I had a laminectomy in c5+c6, only in hosp. 231/2 hrs, packed my own bags before the doc came around the next morning after surgury, he either released me or I was busting out. I was back to work part-time in 6 weeks, full-time in another 4 weeks, since then all I've had problems with is my left foot goes all kind of stupid and I'll almost fall down. This was due to me not going to see the doc untill I couldn't take it any longer, my spinalcord was smashed flat by the disk, must be a little damage in there that rears its ugly head every so often. I pity the guysa with problems in the lumbar area, my wife had three fused together due to a 74 lincoln running us over on a harley, she has probs. that make me feel pretty silly if I whine about mine! Anyway get a few opinions before you jump in, you only get one spine and it takes all the abuse, especially if you ride.

 

Chiro, thanks for chiming in, I'm up for anything. I have had two different surgical opinions, one said lets fix it the other said to were a brace and do therapy. Let me tell you about my situtation: My first injury accured to my back at age 15, see I worked on a dairy farm and at that age weighed about 100lbs. We seemed to like the three string hay bales that weighed in at 120 lbs, my back didnt like that much. That healed and it was about nine years later till my next injury. Then last year I did it again, but this time it didnt heal. I am only 28, a general contractor, also a framing contractor. I have employees, but still if I dont work, I dont get paid. I build houses for a living, it tends to make me bend and lift things, continuously. Then for play, I ride quads of course, snowmobiles, Jeep, basketball, well a bunch of stuff that tears up my lower back. I'm a light weight tall guy. Purty fit, for the most part anywho. My point being, every aspect of my life requires a good back, I have got to fix this. I have insurance, but that only helps. I dont want to give up everything in my life cause of this, again I need it fixed. I have not been able to give my all for going on nine months, its time to solve the problem. I forgot to mention I guess I inhereted arthritis from my gramps, its helping to worsen the problem. I didnt want to give my life story, but man if anybody has a good sugestion I am all ears! Chiro, Cracker, anybody, Help All US Poor Boys Out PLease!! Jed

 

650viper, I'd suggest trying to tweak your diet to see if you can get rid of arthritis symptoms. For instance try avoiding dairy or grains for a while. It wont cost you a penny and you might be surprised.

 

Holly sheet you guys are making me scared but kinda like I am lucky at the same time.

I have the typical degenerative disc issues that most see who are over 30 and 2 herniated discs (l3-l4 and l4-l5) and have seen just how impossibly painfull that friggin sciatic nerve can be.

Going to warn you this will be a little long but hopefully it will help someone out there.

Been avoiding the needle and scaple for years because I dont know anyone that has had long term positive results, and most have only slowly deteriated over time and either increased medications, or were in for more surgery. One thing I have learned from lots of research is that unless there is severe bone damage most times fusing the vertabrae isnt a good idea as there are many other non surgical ways to battle problems with the discs. Read that as you should look into every possible treatment before surgery as its normally non reverseable and you can always have it done later after all else may fail etc.

I am not a Dr. but from dealing with this crap since my 20's I have learned a whole lot and will share what I can so that it may help some of you in your decisions, investigating new alternatives, and just finding ways to relieve the pain.

First and foremost we have to look at what really is happening inside us when we start to have these problems, and though its different with each of us we still may share many of the same external problems that contribute to our level of pain.

I know many people think that back problems come from injury or heavy work/lifting, and though that can be true even the most inactive office worker can find themselves humped over like a damn monkey in severe pain.

From talking indepth with several professionals (ortho, chiro, accu, pain mgmt etc) it seems that except for the most serious injuries (and even some of these too) much of the contributing factors were in place before the real pain started. By this I mean we had allowed our bodies to change in ways like losing muscle (especially stomache and back) lowered regular activity, continued misalingment of the vertabrae, poor diet, poor posture, ignored minor injuries, too much time spent in unnatural positions (sitting etc), and a host of other things that just add to or combine to put our bodies in a state that will allow a better chance of a painfull or serious injury to the back.

I know its hard to think about this crap when your in your teens or even twenties and only have tolerable if any real pain, but the little stuff adds up and those small symptons like a pinch in the leg here, and little numbness there are signs of something we shouldnt or should not have ignored.

So besides lining the bulging pockets of ortho surgeons by submitting to surgery or living on pain killers, anti inflamatories and muscle relaxers what the he!! can we do????????????????

Actually there is a whole lot we can try before giving in to surgery, and even the different surgery proceedures that have been coming out appear to have much better potential than ever before, but dont forget if your decided non surgical treatment fails to give relief you can always go back and go under the knife later.

Some of these were mentioned earlier but I am going to list them in the order that I believe they should be considered (not done but looked into etc) and though you may or will have different results than I did or even the next guy etc we are all looking for the same thing, to just be able to get back to normal.

Chiropractic is a great thing when done right and performed by a talented and knowledgable doctor. The very idea of having your spine properly aligned makes good sense and will help most everyone, but depending on your exact problem you may not find the relief your needing from the area your experiencing the most pain. Still there are benefits to being properly aligned like aleviating stress on other parts of the spine and body and allowing less stress on the various muscles and body in general.

Accupuncture/accupressure is another treatment that may offer relief, but is also very dependent on the abilities of the person giving treatment. Many have found great results, and others feel no different, but even if you dont get immediate relief of your main complaints most still get the benefit of relevied stress and a reduction of the immediate or even secondary pains.

Physical therapy/exercise is great for those who are able to partake in it. If your injury doesnt limit your being able to use this treatment then most all should consider it, and even along with any of the other non invasive treatments. Weakened muscles can not properly hold our spine where it belongs, and after an injury or years of a misalinged spine our bodies are really calling on our muscles to help out in getting things where they belong. I have seen friends who were getting as much pain from their back muscles being stressed as they were from the pressure on their nerve. Additionally there are other health benefits to building up your muscles and getting into better physical condition that can only help you too feel less stressed and better overall. Its deff worth a shot.

Streching is another great thing and could be combined with many physical therapy routines, but streching out those stressed out muscles can do wonders (has for me and many others) for many.

Traction is another thing that has been introduced by various machines over the last ten or so years that basically administer a measured amout of isolated streching in the area of the herniated or degenerated disc. Some like VaxD claim to actually allow a herniated disc to reclaim much or most of the fluid that has been pushed out from the disc, and can actually allow the disc to repair itself. This is one worth looking into for anyone with mid to lower back degenerations or herniations and I have seen people who had to be wheeled into the office in a wheel chair that were able to walk in and out on their own in a matter of a couple weeks of treatment. One problem with this and the other newer machines like it is that if you thought you had problems getting your insurance to pay for your chiropractor your in for a fight most times.

All of these things may offer releif from the pain or even reduce it to the point that its only minimal at most times, but I have found in my case and several others with similar disc problems that a combination of at least two of them sem to work best.

Think about how much better your recently aligined spine would react to having relaxed and unstressed muscles that dont fight to pull your spine out of alignment again, or what you may gain from adding those with a goo streching routine, or some muscle building, and even a little accupuncture etc.

A plus to much of these is that you should not see an increase in the formation of arthirtis like you would from fusing the bones or replacing discs.

Epidorals, these though still minimaly invasive have proven to work great form many. Problem seems to be that many only get temporary relief and the pain returns. There have been good advancements in these and they are much more precise in their applicatio, but the potential for typical surgical problems and even paralysis still exist so you need to be care in going this route.

So there are many alternatives to try and I know I must have left out more than one procedure etc, but all share the idea of avoiding surgical fusion of the vertabrae and he future of pure he11 and pain many see from having to continue with additional surgery to fuse more vertabrea in the future as the fusing actually seems to cause additional stress on the non fused ones and cause them to need surgery in the future. I have known more than one person to start with one or two fusions and end with all kinds of problems and more needing to be fused later in he future, and thats not good at all.

If anyone has questions on the various treatments I mentioned above dont hesitae to ask, as I had experience with most of them.