What's everyone doing about lower back pain?

[tmschuller]

Damn. Was hoping the dizziness and fatigue was a side effect from the neck n shoulder pain

Could be! My head is held on by plates and screws.. artificial disk. If I turn my head too far I get light headed/dizzy.
Funny thing is if I bale hay or cut wood .. nothing. Turn my head or get a good jolt.. horse just pinned me against the wall and felt that for a few days.. it can bother me to the point of can’t do much. Sucks!
As said good Physical therapist and core strengthening and body positioning/mechanics go a long way. Good luck

 

[Hatin Since 87]

Could be! My head is held on by plates and screws.. artificial disk. If I turn my head too far I get light headed/dizzy.
Funny thing is if I bale hay or cut wood .. nothing. Turn my head or get a good jolt.. horse just pinned me against the wall and felt that for a few days.. it can bother me to the point of can’t do much. Sucks!
As said good Physical therapist and core strengthening and body positioning/mechanics go a long way. Good luck

I’ve done physical therapy. It helped a lot, the dry needling was especially helpful, but the pain always creeps back. I had a cervical mri and was told I have a lot of pressure on a nerve, so they gave me an epidural, it didn’t completely stop the pain but it definitely knocked it down a lot. I do believe you’re right tho, I’ve noticed in certain positions the dizziness/light headed feeling goes away. Some days, I guess depending on my sleeping position, I’ll wake up and the entire day I feel light headed and painful.


Admittedly, I’m an idiot. I keep telling myself I don’t need to do stretches... I’m not old yet! But, obviously, I am, and I do need to.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Chiropractors are like Ibuprofen. They are GREAT; but its a bad idea to use either ALL the time.

A good chiro will make some adjustments, get you adjusted and comfy, and then you will be able to live without them until your back acts up again.

A great chiro will also give you exercises and stretches designed to hopefully put him out of business if you were his only customer.

A big red flag is the "I'm going to need to see you 3x a week for a month, maybe 2. Then we can see where you are then." I wouldnt trust any that try to plan out more than 2 weeks. They cant possibly know how well you will respond to treatment. Ive never had a good one tell me we're going to se a lot of each other for a while. Never more than 2 visits out. Usually its "make an appointment on your way out for 3 days from now. Then we'll see how you feel in 3 days and discuss then.

Ive got one. I see him maybe 3-5x a year.

 

[Hatin Since 87]

Ive got one. I see him maybe 3-5x a year.

Local? I need to try a good chiropractor. I went to one a few years ago but it was kinda sketchy. Didn’t ask anything about where I hurt, didn’t schedule any follow ups, just sat me down, popped my back and neck, took my money and out I went. It left a bad taste in my mouth and never went to another since.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Local? I need to try a good chiropractor. I went to one a few years ago but it was kinda sketchy. Didn’t ask anything about where I hurt, didn’t schedule any follow ups, just sat me down, popped my back and neck, took my money and out I went. It left a bad taste in my mouth and never went to another since.

VERY local to you.

Home | Chiropractor in Mooresville, IN | Dailey Chiropractic

Home in Mooresville, IN. Dailey Chiropractic is your local Chiropractor in Mooresville serving all of your needs. Call us today at 317-831-3877 for an appointment.

www.mooresvilledc.com

 

[Hatin Since 87]

VERY local to you.

Home | Chiropractor in Mooresville, IN | Dailey Chiropractic

Home in Mooresville, IN. Dailey Chiropractic is your local Chiropractor in Mooresville serving all of your needs. Call us today at 317-831-3877 for an appointment.

www.mooresvilledc.com

Thanks I’ll give them a call tomorrow!

 

[gregkl]

Chiropractors are like Ibuprofen. They are GREAT; but its a bad idea to use either ALL the time.

A good chiro will make some adjustments, get you adjusted and comfy, and then you will be able to live without them until your back acts up again.

A great chiro will also give you exercises and stretches designed to hopefully put him out of business if you were his only customer.

A big red flag is the "I'm going to need to see you 3x a week for a month, maybe 2. Then we can see where you are then." I wouldnt trust any that try to plan out more than 2 weeks. They cant possibly know how well you will respond to treatment. Ive never had a good one tell me we're going to se a lot of each other for a while. Never more than 2 visits out. Usually its "make an appointment on your way out for 3 days from now. Then we'll see how you feel in 3 days and discuss then.

Ive got one. I see him maybe 3-5x a year.

My chiro says he doesn't want to see me regularly. He wants, with mostly my work input, to get healthy and not have to darken his doors. He has plenty of business. He doesn't need to see people just to fill his calendar.

The first time I saw him he thought he could get me fixed in 3-5 visits. We haven't hit that number as I was at number 7 I believe this week. But I am making progress for the first time in a year so I'm encouraged.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Also dont be afraid to pair the chiro up with a good massage therapist. Ive got range of motion issues from a severe case of whiplash from back in 2001. (skydiving accident)

My range of motion of my neck on a good day is from 9:30 over to 1:30 or 2:00. I know a KILLER massage therapist in Beech Grove that can get me back to 9-3 after about 30 rough minutes on my neck and shoulders.

I'd go broke keeping that range because Im back to "normal" within a week.

But between her and him, Its GLORIOUS.

And Dailey also has a very good Massage therapist that rents a room from him. Christine is her name. My wife sees her too. Its possible when the planets align to get a session with her immediately before him, so you are good and loose for your adjustment.

Thinking about it, I wonder if Christine could work the same magic as the other masseuse? Hmmmm...

 

[johntheplinker]

800 mg Vitamin M x 4 times a day
Change your socks
Drink more water

 

[dmarsh8]

One thing that helps is, lay on your back and put your legs on the couch or a chair with at a right angle.
Back of legs basically touching the furniture, calves laying on top. Make sure its not too high. Lay there for about 20 min.

You may not need this, but I also put about a 18" section of a swimming pool noodle that the chiro gave me about a 1/3 of the way down from the top of your shoulders.

Obviously strengthening your muscles helps too. Weak core usually means pain in your back. Not bending your knees and/or getting into an ideal position for lifting things can help too. Engage your abs purposely. If you pay attention to it you will probably notice yourself doing things with your back instead of from a position of power which means engaging your core/legs.

Proper posture as often as possible. Especially if you drive a lot. You should not be laying/slouching back, or forward. Adjust your seat so it's basically 90 degrees and get the height and also the distance from the steering wheel where you aren't putting stress on your neck and back. I don't go to my chiro much but he's very good. He had a lot of back trouble years ago and figured out a lot of things himself along the way. He doesn't try to get me to come back. He just says do the above and if you need adjusted, stop in.
45 min from me but I don't hesitate if I need to go. And no appt needed.
Dr. John Watson in Greensburg. FWIW

 

[Drewski]

I was a bundle of “old man pains” for a long time no matter what expert I saw and what magical elixir of hocus pocus I tried. It came down to having to work. 3 days/wk, 15 min of therapist advised stretches followed by the basic 4: squats, deads, bench, standing press. I threw pull ups in there too. Followed trainers instructions til I was confident to coach myself. Started light and added 5 lbs/wk. Took ~6 weeks for the mystery pains to go away, and shortly thereafter for my clothes to start fitting better. Yeah, everybody’s got a reason why they can’t do weight training; I had my reasons too until I decided I didn’t. I’m not trying to be a bodybuilder; just maintain and grow strength which is still possible in spite of age and injury. Diet and sleep are critical parts of the mix too. Chris Kresser has been a great source of modern non-corporate health advice.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Yep. Exercise helps a lot too. For multiple reasons. I’ve started small. 30 mins on the treadmill a day. Even if it’s just a fast walk to get my heart rate up. As I get older my bp meds aren’t working by themselves. So I have to eat a bit better, cut back on the alcohol, and get off my butt. Just increasing the dosage every year isn’t going to cut it, and so it’s time to work at it a bit.

 

[gregkl]

I was a bundle of “old man pains” for a long time no matter what expert I saw and what magical elixir of hocus pocus I tried. It came down to having to work. 3 days/wk, 15 min of therapist advised stretches followed by the basic 4: squats, deads, bench, standing press. I threw pull ups in there too. Followed trainers instructions til I was confident to coach myself. Started light and added 5 lbs/wk. Took ~6 weeks for the mystery pains to go away, and shortly thereafter for my clothes to start fitting better. Yeah, everybody’s got a reason why they can’t do weight training; I had my reasons too until I decided I didn’t. I’m not trying to be a bodybuilder; just maintain and grow strength which is still possible in spite of age and injury. Diet and sleep are critical parts of the mix too. Chris Kresser has been a great source of modern non-corporate health advice.

This is spot on. All of it.

A side benefit of pull-ups is the hang time you are getting. Vertical hanging is good for the back. Helps to counteract the compression it gets the rest of the time.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Dammit. Its contagious. I havent really had any lower back pain in years. After talking about this my back started hurting. Damn you! LOL

 

[bwframe]

Dammit. Its contagious. I havent really had any lower back pain in years. After talking about this my back started hurting. Damn you! LOL

I caught a shoulder impingement off of a buddy talking about having shoulder problems.

I do low carb and daily intermittent fasting. A few months after starting that routine four years ago, I noticed the daily old man wakeup pains were gone. Some of it I'm sure came from weight loss.

Daily stretches and exercise is now a requirement to fend off aches and pains that again try to return.

Use it or lose it seems to be the rule for me. I follow a lot of YouTube physical therapists and trainers. The more serious I pursue it, the better I feel.

It's often tough for my brain to wrap around working out. My "workouts" need to be accomplishing a chore in my mind. I'm really good during the shovel work time of year.

 

[nucular]

Someone already mentioned this solution but I talked with my doctor about lower back pain and his #1 suggestion was to stretch your hamstrings daily. If you sit a lot, your hamstrings will shorten and it causes all kinds of problems. Helped me tremendously.

 

[Jaybird1980]

I caught a shoulder impingement off of a buddy talking about having shoulder problems.

I do low carb and daily intermittent fasting. A few months after starting that routine four years ago, I noticed the daily old man wakeup pains were gone. Some of it I'm sure came from weight loss.

Daily stretches and exercise is now a requirement to fend off aches and pains that again try to return.

Use it or lose it seems to be the rule for me. I follow a lot of YouTube physical therapists and trainers. The more serious I pursue it, the better I feel.

It's often tough for my brain to wrap around working out. My "workouts" need to be accomplishing a chore in my mind. I'm really good during the shovel work time of year.

Low carb means low sugar and sugar definitely leads to more pain and increased inflammation.

 

[gregkl]

Daily stretches and exercise is now a requirement to fend off aches and pains that again try to return.

Use it or lose it seems to be the rule for me. I follow a lot of YouTube physical therapists and trainers. The more serious I pursue it, the better I feel.

It's often tough for my brain to wrap around working out. My "workouts" need to be accomplishing a chore in my mind. I'm really good during the shovel work time of year.

Yeah, movement has always been better for me. I wonder if I will ever be able to sit around and watch football when I'm old and retired!

 

[AtTheMurph]

The only thing that has ever helped my bad back is strengthening my core, sit ups, leg lifts and stretching, especially hamstrings.

 

[Chewie]

Gee whiz, a mostly serious thread and the first thing that comes to mind involves the side effect of a little blue pill.
Back pain isn't funny, that I know. The only time I've ever had it was while caught in the idiot syndrome (knocks on wood until knuckles bleed). Anyone suffering with it has my sympathy!