Yeah that actually makes sense to me.
I have never known anyone that went in for back or neck surgery that came out better.

 

Didn't think Chiro was something I'd ever try/need, but ended up finding a local for helping w/ back spasms & man what a difference. Went in walking crippled & after a few treatments it was back to 100%...normally I'd be down for at least a week. Don't let anyone believe Chiro isn't a form of doctoring - the VA even has it added to their treatment resources. Hope all works well for your issues.

 

Thank you Iceman.

 

I use an inversion table to help ease back pain. It's like a teeter totter that you hook your feet into and flip yourself upside down. After that gravity decompresses the spine.

 

Micro discectomy 25 years ago for debilitating sciatic pain
been good ever since

 

Yes there are exceptions. I knew right after I wrote that they would be posted.
But look it up, back and neck surgery have the very least percentage of success of any surgeries (elective and scheduled).
For any other kind of surgery they wouldn't allow it with a 40% success rate.
Anecdotal information yes but for or the people I know that have had back and neck surgeries they seem to come out worse and then are just looking so forward to the next surgery that's going to fix it all - again and again.

 

I was a rower in college and pulled my back a few times. “Back” then it was nsaids and PT. Then in my mid 20s I pulled it lifting and spent 2 days on the living room floor with my feet up and pumping nsaids. Got ok but ultimately ended up with L5-S1 bulge on my right sciatic nerve. I walked hunched over and leaning to left to try to relieve the pain. Docs kept moving me to more potent drugs, 2 rounds of 6 weeks of PT, and about to put me on opiates. When I asked about when I should go to ER they said if I lose bowel movement then go…lol. Well thankfully I never lost control but did wake up one morning and my right leg wouldn’t support me any longer - actually couldn’t walk. Ultimately wife drove me to ER and underwent micro discectomy. When I woke up in recovery it was the first time in almost a year I was laying flat in my back with no pain. Been great since knock on wood.

since then I have focused on understanding what is causing any back pain as it’s typically not right in the spot it hurts. For me, the upper legs (hamstrings and quads) pull down on my hips when tight and I end up with some discomfort in the back. Same with neck pain coming from shoulders and lat tightness. I’ve been doing martial arts now for over 11 years and that has kept me active and focused on full body fitness. Good core and balance across the musculoskeletal system tends to solve a lot. And btw healthy weight. In my early 50s now and feel better than many times in my earlier years.

The chiropractor hate thing bothers me a bit. my wife is a dentist and went to a pretty prominent med school. She has nothing but bad things to say about chiropractors and will actually personally suffer through pain in neck and back by taking nsaids vs trying a chiropractor. I have found that many bad views from folks are related to either bad personal experiences (there are bad chiros out there) or from indoctrination into the med field where there has been active shunning for many years. In my wife’s case she has never had any first hand experience. Personally, I had a few good chiros over the years and all were Palmer grads. I had one guy from Life Chiropractic college or something like that years ago and he was awful. Any of my minor tweaks here and there over the years since then have been helped with chiropractic visits and I’ll continue to use for obvious misalignment of things. Some of the bad wrap I think assumes that chiros can cure everything and are a direct replacement for other modern meds. And don’t get me wrong, some of the chiros out there profess that most everything is curable by something they can do. I however feel that medical docs, pharmacology, and chiros all have their place across the spectrum. Just have to be smart as the patient as all of these professionals are “salesmen” to a certain extent.

good luck with your pain and hope you find the right path.

 

I've been tearing down an old shed in my backyard for a couple months now. I work on it for a couple days, take a brake for a couple days, then go back at it again. Finally got it all torn down and loaded onto my trailer to haul to the incinerator.
The last few times I worked on it, I got over ambitious and overdid it. I paid for my foolishness for several days with back, neck, and shoulder pain.

You guys are right, getting old aint for sissys.

 

I know exactly what you're talking about. What used to get done on a Saturday morning will take me all week.
I take LOTS of "unscheduled breaks".
I go to bed sore and wake up even sorer.
But I'm not going to quit. Jobs needs to be done and I actually enjoy the satisfaction of getting it done myself. and I'm not going to quit until I'm 6 foot under.

 

I read “I don’t mind getting older, but my body is taking it very badly” . Getting old is challenging for sure. Bending down, getting up from a chair, arthritis, breathing issues, worn out body parts, peeing too often at night, etc. I’ve been lucky so far needing only two rotator cuff surgeries and recent hip replacement surgery. Seems like you have some pain somewhere in your body everyday. I don’t expect that will ever change. I’ve had 5 different medical conditions for decades but thankfully they’re all under control by medication and exercise so I’ve felt healthy and been able to do mostly anything. But since turning 70 and now at 74 the reality is hitting me that various physical activities I could do, even though they were getting harder, are probably no longer smart and putting too much stress on my heart, lungs, and other body parts. Mentally I’m finding that tough to accept and haven’t accepted it yet. Fortunately riding motorcycles hasn’t fallen into the category of something I can’t do or is no longer smart to do. It’s still a savior.

Speaking just for myself I’m incredibly grateful to the various chiropractors I’ve seen for now 50+ years since a lower back problem in college at 19 damn near ruined my life. I was in significant pain doing anything, even sitting. Highly respected orthopedic doctors back then called it a slipped disc and prescribed “rest” (aka do nothing) first for a week, then a couple weeks, a month and so on for a frickin year with zero improvement. After that waste of a year which had me completely depressed I saw a chiropractor out of desperation to try some alternative to doing nothing. I had heard all the comments about them being quacks. He took an Xray and said it was a curved spine. I could see that clearly in the Xray. For several months that fella did weekly chiropractic manipulations and had me do spine straightening movements, swim and specific back exercises I still do to this day. That man and a succession of chiropractors after him saved my life allowing me to run almost daily for 40 years and now fast walk (before the hip), including about 30 marathons and half marathons since I was 58 (slowly but I finish). My back still goes out and nothing I do myself fixes it. It used to happen every several years and now maybe once or twice a year. But when that happens I’ve been lucky that whatever is causing it is fixed by one 10 minute chiropractic treatment. Get my body twisted in half and I’m good to go. I know chiropractors don’t work for everything and everyone, and many doctors don’t believe in chiropractic science, but I’m here to tell you they’ve been life savers for me.



My new shiny titanium and ceramic hip.