Something happened, that is not good, to by back. A lot of pain when I lay down or 'try' to get up after lying down. I've been to the chiropractor 4 times this week. He managed to cause a lot more pain, but the original pain is still there somewhere under his additional pain.
I was talking to a customer and she was telling me about her physical aliments and then I started to tell her all about my back.
At one point I stopped and said, "We sound like two old people complaining about our aches and pains."
She said, "We are old."
Has anyone else noticed that gravity seems to increase as we get older?
Be careful out there boys and girls. Lift with your knees, or even better, get someone else to lift with their knees.
gene
Up until about 10 years ago, I used to come home everyday bent over. My back hurt so much, I couldn't straighten up. I would have one of my daughters walk on my back every evening.
Then I moved into a new building with a concrete floor. Within a month, the arches in my feet were killing me. I started going to foot doctors, and tried every orthotic device known to man.
Over the years, I learned to cope with the foot problems, but one day I suddenly realized that my back didn't hurt anymore. The arch supports had corrected my walking posture to the point that my back was "good as new".
I know what you mean about doctors diverting your attention away from the original pain by causing some NEW pain. At some point, you're just happy to be back to where you were before you went to the doctor in the first place.
A chriropractor is just a guy that didn't finish medical school. One step below an osteopathic MD.
I use to frequent a chiropractor. He did a great job, but within a week or less the pains were always back, so he set me up on a schedule of a one to two week appointments. I don't know what hurt more, my back or my wallet. Imagine if you had you performed repairs that only lasted a week or two and the customer had to return every two weeks to get that cusion re-adjusted? Anyway, he did sell this goop to me called Biofreeze and I have since found it at Walgreens. That stuff does work wonders on muscle and joint pains. Even though there's no lasting smell with it, just don't get it close to your nose or eyes, but I guess then you will forget all about the back pain! (insert bugging eye smiley face here) that's for you Gene!
Kyle
I had a great experience with a chiropractor. I was all "seized up" and couldn't bend over to pick up a cat (a very big deal for me) and they were able to tweak me enough to make me comfortable. I went once a week for a month or so.
But I think the most important thing I did was do the exercises they gave me! I did them before I got out of bed in the morning. I did them when I got home from work and again before I went to bed. I still do them as part of the routine and I make sure I walk regularly. My issue was mostly muscular and the exercises are lower back stretches.
He was very clear that my back pain would return if I didn't make more of an effort to keep myself limber. His "fixes" were basically temporary, but the ultimate responsibility for my back health lies with me.
My buddy was a DO ( Osteopathic Doctor ) and when I would screw my back up I would go in and see him and he would manipulate me and I would be as a good as new. One treatment and that was it. I had one time I had to go back but never needed a repeat performance. he had said that Chiropractors who want to put you on a schedule are doing it for the money.
Most medical Doctors will tell you if you need frequent adjustments that there is something else going on - like muscle tone, foot problems, etc. Of course the Chiropractors want you to keep coming back so wont refer you to a podiatrist. :)
In regards to DO's, my buddy was a family Doctor but also a brilliant general surgeon and OB doctor. You will find that in many cases DO's actually go to school longer then an MD. It was a DO who saved my life and diagnosed me quickly and I still go to DO's to this day. Though my two oncologists are MD's. But they refer a lot of their patients to DO's for family Doctors.
I included a few smilies in here for you Gene. >:( ;D
Chris
Opp's forgot. two months ago my wife and I decided to toss our older mattress out and went with a 13 inch memory foam mattress. That cured a whole lot of my aches and pains. What a HUGE difference that made for us both.
Chris
I'm going to try a new mattress, Mojo.
I've gotten really sick with this back thing - fever, chills, aches and pains all over. I was told that when the spine is out of alignment the body is weak and that's why getting sick with alignments is so common. It's more of a 'right timing' coincidence than a cause and effects.
gene
Mojo beat me to it. We got a new mattress about 2 weeks ago and I love it. But then, everyone has to choose a mattress for themselves based on sleeping habits (side/stomach/back etc) and preference. I did research for about 3 months before buying. Be sure to read the reviews on www.sleeplikethedead.com. There's an amazing amount of objective research and information there.
June
I bought a foam roller at wal-mart, a cheap way to work the kinks out of the lower back.
http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/lower-back-smr
I bought the 13 inch Nightsleeper from Sam's. Love it. And it actually stays fairly cool and doesn't heat up. Queen is around $ 500.
What a HUGE difference in my back and legs.
Chris
Quote from: bobbin on July 06, 2012, 01:30:32 pm
I had a great experience with a chiropractor. I was all "seized up" and couldn't bend over to pick up a cat (a very big deal for me) and they were able to tweak me enough to make me comfortable. I went once a week for a month or so.
But I think the most important thing I did was do the exercises they gave me! I did them before I got out of bed in the morning. I did them when I got home from work and again before I went to bed. I still do them as part of the routine and I make sure I walk regularly. My issue was mostly muscular and the exercises are lower back stretches.
He was very clear that my back pain would return if I didn't make more of an effort to keep myself limber. His "fixes" were basically temporary, but the ultimate responsibility for my back health lies with me.
Me too ;D
like lots of professions there are good & bad & some have different ideas to others.
After over 10 years of going to & from my GP with absolutely no good results I finally bit the bullet & paid the massive amount of £35 to see a private chiropractor. I was lucky to choose a good one who found my problem straight away & also had the philosophy that they didn't want to see me again ;D Like you bobbin they gave me exercises & made me understand what was going on with it.
Now after moving to Spain I had a 'relapse' & had to find a new one, the first I will call MR Hollywood. He was all show, his treatment room was full of tables & this clients where lined up ready for him so he could walk around the room doing those he choose. Man he was an arse & his idea was to have 'corrections' a few times a week for life.
And he was proud of it ! Introduced me to a lady who had been going to him for YEARS. :o
I feel I am so lucky he was not the first I ever saw.
Needless to say I never went back.
Then I did a lot more asking around & found another angel :D . He had the same ideas as the first chiro, resolved the problem again after a couple of visits & now I haven't seen him for a few years.
Like many things just because it doesn't work for you doesn't mean it's no good.
Suzi
Reading these posts, I see that our opinions of doctors depends on our experiences.
Mine were similar to Kyle's. My chiropractor made me feel better, as long as I emptied my wallet to him on a weekly basis. But not once did he mention any type of exercise therapy that I could do myself. Then I got arch supports for my feet, and my back problems magically disappeared. Again, no thanks to my chiropractor.
We view physicians the same way we view an umpire at a little league game. For every call he makes, half the crowd thinks he made the right call. The other half thinks that he's blind as a bat, and obviously been paid off by the other team.
If a doctor makes us feel better, he's a genius. If he doesn't, he's a quack who ought to have his liscense revoked, and locked up.
When a church gets a new pastor, the members think he's the second coming of Christ.
A year later, he's the spawn of Satan.
I always had a lot of respect for doctors. But I never really had to see one for a chronic condition; just the usual stuff: a check up, vaccination boosters, every woman's favorite exam, etc.. I've had one crummy experience with an OB/gyn that so offended me I wrote him a letter of complaint (he sent me a 5 page questionnaire to fill outbefore my appt., and even though I was the first app't.of the day I waited for 20 minutes in the lobby, and then he kept me waiting another 15 while I sat on the exam table! all that after he told me, "I see you're 35, if you're going to have children you should get moving on it" I replied smoothly, "I'm not interested in children, does that make a difference to you?". I should have walked out then an there).
But I developed a real contempt for doctors while caring for my elderly mother. She was frail, in poor health, and to the majority of them she was a "cash cow". Order this test, that test, reschedule a follow-up, more blood work, more tests... you name it, they ordered it. And by golly they prescribed it, too! Pay per service on the Medicare dime, baby. I was so naive, so trusting, and they were so full of hot air. We finally found a bright young guy who was on the same page... he weaned her off several medications, and actually SPOKE to her, not me! He was great and we still use him as our GP. But he was the exception, not the rule.
Quote from: bobbin on July 09, 2012, 01:18:19 pm
She was frail, in poor health, and to the majority of them she was a "cash cow". Order this test, that test, reschedule a follow-up, more blood work, more tests... you name it, they ordered it. And by golly they prescribed it, too! Pay per service on the Medicare dime, baby.
There's no doubt that many Doctors have "gone retail".
I was in an office recently. There was a hot nurse pushing a cart from room to room offering Tetanus shots, and other "impulse buys". She reminded me of the old "Cigarette girls" that carried a display of smokes around a casino, or hotel lobby.
Most doctors now will have branch offices in surrounding towns that are staffed by PA's.
The patients usually have the perception that the PA is the only one who truly cares about them.
The medical profession is money driven. That's why they treat symptoms.
I may have said this before, however, it bears repeating (at least in my mind): If the medical profession was 'healing' and 'helping' oriented, there would be no chiropractors and no acupuncturists, at least in the USA. The medical profession would have already been offering these types of remedies.
The basic idea of the USA medical profession is that our bodies are a slab of meat that is constantly being attacked by everything, both natural and man made, and we need to fight, fight, fight against this onslaught of ill health or we will die. I think this is a very sad way to live life, even though most people in the USA subscribe to it. This view is an extension of religions that teach that this life is for suffering, and in our suffering, we glorify God, and in glorifying God, we will have a better life in heaven. Instead of sin making life miserable, it's biology.
I had a fever for the last 4 days and today is my first day of feeling OK. If I am rambling on too much, or if I said anything that upset anyone, please don't blame me. Blame the idiot that started this thread.
gene
No Gene, it was no idiot that started this thread, or encouraged the thoughtful replies.
The grim reality is that none of us going to escape life alive. The key is to understand that our bodies are finely tuned machines and to take reasonable care of them (just like a sewing machine!).
I still respect the medical profession, but now I approach it more as a "consumer"! I'm buying a service and if I don't like the way I'm treated I'll move on, thank you. I pretty much interview doctors now. I will never see an ob/gyn again unless there is something seriously out of whack. I go to the local Family Planning clinic and see a very savvy, Nurse Practioner who knows enough to ask pertinent questions and how to LISTEN without interrupting.
I now understand that the only person who really cares a fig about my health is ME. Knowledge is power, and an informed consumer drives change.
I've had episodes of backaches before, and sometimes they took a long time to clear up...but once I had what my doc called a spasm. Never had such pain in my life! I couldn't even dare to try straightening up, and we were at the cabin, so I had to ride home100+ miles curled up in the van. I'd have gone to the emergency room, but didn't think I could get out of the car.
Got home and took hydrocodone I had from something else. The next day I went to see a DO. He gave me more hydrocodone, a muscle relaxant for at night, and Prednisone. Wow. I couldn't believe how that worked. Within three days I was taking walks again.
I did a bit of reading and it sounds like a spasm occurs to prevent you from doing any further damage to your back. The funny thing is that I don't remember doing anything to hurt it in the first place...but we did move some furniture around, and slept two nights on the worst pull-out sofa ever. I'm pretty sure that was what set me up for that spasm.
I think next time I'll just sleep on the floor! I'm pretty convinced your bed can have a profound effect on your back pain, or lack of it. I hope I never have another one of those...
Quote from: bobbin on July 10, 2012, 01:44:11 pm
No Gene, it was no idiot that started this thread, or encouraged the thoughtful replies.
The grim reality is that none of us going to escape life alive. The key is to understand that our bodies are finely tuned machines and to take reasonable care of them (just like a sewing machine!).
I still respect the medical profession, but now I approach it more as a "consumer"! I'm buying a service and if I don't like the way I'm treated I'll move on, thank you. I pretty much interview doctors now. I will never see an ob/gyn again unless there is something seriously out of whack. I go to the local Family Planning clinic and see a very savvy, Nurse Practioner who knows enough to ask pertinent questions and how to LISTEN without interrupting.
I now understand that the only person who really cares a fig about my health is ME. Knowledge is power, and an informed consumer drives change.
:o ??? I could have written that.
After my first child I told the doctor what he could & couldn't do to me ;D
They 'might' know the drugs but you know your body best.
I am trying to educate my OH to think the same way, with the exception of me, no one is going to sort out his heath Issues.
Hope you are feeling better Gene.
Suzi
Get well, Gene. That couch ain't gonna cover itself, ya know.
Hang in there Gene, some improvement is good news. You are going to make it man.
Doyle
Thank you for the kind thoughts.
I got 3 hours of work in today. Felt great but wanted to make sure I can put in even longer hours tomorrow.
Sofadoc was right, again. No one broke into my studio and finished any of the many projects sitting there waiting to be attended to. And no one made any deposits into my bank account either!
Thanks again.
gene
Quote from: gene on July 11, 2012, 05:00:49 pm
Sofadoc was right, again.
What do you mean
again?
Are you implying that I've been right before?
You really should save the "I hurt my back" excuses for times when you feel fine, but just don't want to work. When your back really
does hurt, that's when you blame the UPS driver.
Another back pain issue occurred today. Not to me, but my helper. He was stripping some furniture. Next thing I knew, he was doubled over in back pain. He went home and took a couple of Hydrocodones. 2 hours later, he was back at the shop good as new
.
My question is:
Do pain killers and muscle relaxants (such as Hydrocodone) really work that miraculously on you guys? I've been prescribed them many times for a variety of ailments. I never could tell if they were even working. Maybe if I had a more positive (gullible) attitude, those pills would have more effect on me.
I have a neighbor who swears by more than 20 herbal supplements. I'm convinced that they work for her simply because she thinks they do.
These are the two songs that kept playing in my mind when my fever was doing it's best to get me better.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCwDIC1O8lI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mynzbmrtp9I
People go to voodoo witches: some get better, some die.
People go to Christian faith healers: some get better, some die.
People go to New Age whoop dee doo whatever: some get better, some die.
People go to medical doctors: some get better, some die.
People go to chiropractors: some get better, some die.
Clearly, none of the above have a handle on how life works.
hey now,
gene
Quote from: sofadoc on July 12, 2012, 01:48:00 pm
Another back pain issue occurred today. Not to me, but my helper. He was stripping some furniture. Next thing I knew, he was doubled over in back pain. He went home and took a couple of Hydrocodones. 2 hours later, he was back at the shop good as new
.
My question is:
Do pain killers and muscle relaxants (such as Hydrocodone) really work that miraculously on you guys? I've been prescribed them many times for a variety of ailments. I never could tell if they were even working. Maybe if I had a more positive (gullible) attitude, those pills would have more effect on me.
I have a neighbor who swears by more than 20 herbal supplements. I'm convinced that they work for her simply because she thinks they do.
First, the pain is there for a reason, Sorry but your guy is a fool to continue work while he can not feel what's going on. He could potentially, unknowingly do much more damage than the original problem.
& second, 99% of then don't work on my old man, you will know if they don't work. :(
Suzi
Gene, you know with that fever and such, your back pain could have actually been a symptom of
what was to come. Kind of like the flu. May not have been a back issue at all.
Quote from: DBR1957 on July 13, 2012, 04:26:54 am
Gene, you know with that fever and such, your back pain could have actually been a symptom of
what was to come. Kind of like the flu. May not have been a back issue at all.
It's probably a "chicken or the egg" thing. His muscles may have been weak, and more easily strainable due to an oncoming flu.
Kinda like when you feel a brain freeze coming on while eating a snow cone. Even though you know it's coming, you still take one more bite.
Quote from: Grebo on July 13, 2012, 03:10:58 am
your guy is a fool to continue work while he can not feel what's going on. He could potentially, unknowingly do much more damage than the original problem.
You're quite right. He
is a fool. But for many, many reasons besides painkiller abuse.
I bought a large bottle (1000 pills) of aspirins and put them on the work bench. He plowed through the entire bottle in about 2 months.
Speaking of back pain. I was shocked to see that my local WalMart pharmacy had a new computerized machine by the counter. You take off your shoes and stand on it and follow the orders given on the screen.
It asks you to stand at attention and then it analyzes the pressure points in your feet. It then ask you to raise one foot and it again measures the pressure points. You then put that foot down and raise the other. Then you stand at attention again and adjust your standing position
so the little ball lines up in the target.
It then reads everything, computes your pressure points and then displays what type of arch you have and what support you need by a corresponding number. Next to the machine is a rack of arch supports and you find your number and then buy what you need.
Pretty dang niffy and probably just as accurate as a foot doctor. Maybe more so. The arch supports are $ 49.99 BTW.
Chris
I've tried every arch support that's ever been invented. And a few that haven't been invented yet. That Wal-mart display is just a gimmick to sell generic pre-made arch supports. It works fine for people that don't really have a foot problem to begin with.
But you're right. It is about as accurate as a foot doctor (but that isn't saying much).
I cringe every time I see an overweight kid walking around in flip-flops. I want to grab them and shake them. And tell them that if they aren't going to put the cheeseburger down, at least wear some supportive shoes. But I was young once, and had that feeling of invincibility, so I know that it would fall on deaf ears.
Years ago Kimberly Clark had a machine that made toilet paper. It had 3 sections:
1. a wet section where water and such was added to paper fibers to make a slurry. It was then transferred onto a felt conveyor belt.
2. Dry section where the paper was dried.
4. Cutting section where the paper was cut and rolled.
There used to be a 26 year learning curve to learn how to run that machine. Yes children, 26 years.
A worker would see something going off in the wet section and make an adjustment. This adjustment would affect the dry section and he would have to do an adjustment there. This would affect the cutting section and the wet section... over and over until 26 years go by and the worker finally has a handle on running that machine.
Along came statistical process control. This says that stuff goes off a bit all the time but it's only because of random chance. There is no need to do anything to the machine when something is going off by change. It's no big deal and it will not affect the entire process.
The learning curve to run that machine became 6 months.
I think our bodies are like that. I buy foot supports and a few weeks later my back begins to hurt. I don't make the connection so I do something else. Then I do something else and this affects something new... over and over until the day I die.
I have more aches and pains in my body than I did 35 years ago. I think this is 'normal'. I wonder how many maladies are nothing more than the result of random change. It's no big deal and it will not affect the entire process.
And yet, we all support a multi, multi, multi billion dollar medical and drug business.
Just a thought.
gene
Maybe we should perforate our muscles so they won't tear (it sure as hell works on toilet paper).