Back Issues, anybody have them and to what degree?

[aj0421]

I will go first. MRI showed I have arthritic changes in my mid back and lower L4,L5, S1. I had two epidurals last year that didn't really help. Started doing strength training at the gym and they seemed to help but I haven't gone in the last few weeks due to life getting in the way.

I get spasms that I can feel in sections of my body relating to spinal nerves that are close to my vertebrae ( MRI showed this too) when I sit a certain way or during sleep when I toss and turn. These spasms go away when I sit correctly or standup. They don't hurt but are driving me nuts and I wish they would go away, losing sleep. I regularly see a chiropractor that works with the Philadelphia 76ers and other sports stars but that is not helping as much as I hoped.

I am trying to avoid surgery so I am going to do my best to shed the extra 50+ lbs I am carrying around.

Anybody else have issues with their back like this and what helped you?

Aaron age 46

 

[Cherry Picker]

Sorry to hear about having back issues. I can relate.

I broke my left hip in 2018, but it was not discovered then I had also pinched a nerve. They fixed my hip with a rod & pin, but the issues with having a pinched nerve didn't start showing until 2020. Every now and then when I bend right I get a shock all through my body and things stop working. Scares me that someday it is going to happen while I'm driving.

 

[amc rulz]

I have to be careful with my back, just standing on a hard surface and shifting my weight to one leg can put it out. Two years ago, I was down for over a month after trying to move a large oak log. The sciatic pain down my lower spine and leg was incredible. I could only sleep with my knees on the floor and my head on the couch, in tears, even then I only managed an hour or two sleep per night. I thought about a visit to a chiropractor, but I was in fear of more damage. I finally just about crawled on my hands and knees to the doctors office, pain about 8 on a scale to ten. X-rays showed degenerative disks in my lower spine. He told me to stop taking ibuprofin and wrote a prescription for a muscle relaxer that didn’t help a bit, and after researching I found it can do liver damage (I rarely take pills for anything at age 61). My wife finally convinced my stubborn self to hang upside-down on the inversion table we have. After about 3 five-minute sessions over two days, almost all my back pain disappeared, it was incredible!

 

[Rattlehead]

Yep, you’re not alone. I have degenerative disks, spinal arthritis, and some fused vertebrae. Pinched nerves are common as well. Dr gave me something called Seglentis for pain. It doesn’t help much. I also get a couple of injections in my spine once per year. Again, it doesn’t help much.

 

[Longhair]

Degenerative disk disease, narrowed disks, spondylosis, Schmorl's nodes, rotations, subluxations, an anteriority, and arthritis.
It's about to end my career, but at 67 I guess I've had a good run.

 

[aj0421]

Thank you everybody for your responses! I also have stenosis and a slight bulging disc as well in the L4, L5 area and mid back.

I can remember back in my twenties I was in my living room, did a big stretch to the ceiling and I uncontrollably fell to the floor. I tried to get right back up and fell again, after about five to ten seconds I was able to stand up again. It was the scarcest thing and something I will never forget

Going to the gym definitely has helped more than anything. Before I could not sit up from lying completely flat on my back. The pain felt like I was being stabbed, now I can do it with barely no pain at all. Another thing I know I need to work on is my posture, I am embarrassed of my Moobs and tend to walk a little slouched forward trying to hide them. That I need to stop and just say hell with it and not worry what others think about my body. I can deal with the pain it is the vibrations and spasms that bother me more than anything.
I am going to get back in the gym and shoot for more high reps and lesser weight than I was doing before because I did notice that I was getting bigger in my arms and upper back which I don't want. It is hard enough to find clothes now.

 

[Doug]

Spinal fusion did the job for me, it was either that or a wheelchair at 60. (now 82 and still digging 3 days a week))

 

[MasonDixonMding]

Hurt my back working on the farm. It took 6 months before I was back to normal. chiropractor showed me how to exercise. Mainly pull ups. It straightens the back and stretches at the same time. For me I couldn’t sit for very long. When I got home I would lay on the couch. Good luck and be patient.

 

[floridabig]

I do get a lot of lower back pain, but my biggest pain right now is both of my knees are bone on bone on the inside of the knees plus the fact that I am a very large guy over 400 lbs doesn't help. I love going out and detecting and I try to do it when I can because heck we all know what a good workout you get detecting, but sometimes it is hard and painful but sometimes well worth it. Hope you find some relief with your back.

 

[aj0421]

I do get a lot of lower back pain, but my biggest pain right now is both of my knees are bone on bone on the inside of the knees plus the fact that I am a very large guy over 400 lbs doesn't help. I love going out and detecting and I try to do it when I can because heck we all know what a good workout you get detecting, but sometimes it is hard and painful but sometimes well worth it. Hope you find some relief with your back.

Thank you Sir! I was around 340 lbs but when I was diagnosed type 2 diabetes it was a wakeup call that I need to get in shape to be around for my young Son. I stopped drinking alcohol and soda, only have cake at birthday parties where before i was stopping at the bakery probably once a week for a slice of cake or sweets. I am now at 275 and feel a lot better and have been off diabetic meds for over a year.
I hope that you feel better and continue success in your finds!

Aaron

 

[floridabig]

Thank you Sir! I was around 340 lbs but when I was diagnosed type 2 diabetes it was a wakeup call that I need to get in shape to be around for my young Son. I stopped drinking alcohol and soda, only have cake at birthday parties where before i was stopping at the bakery probably once a week for a slice of cake or sweets. I am now at 275 and feel a lot better and have been off diabetic meds for over a year.
I hope that you feel better and continue success in your finds!

Aaron

Thanks alot brother. I'm working on it, soda is my weakness. Just got to keep taking things day by day. Appreciate hearing your story and glad your doing better. Thank you so much for your support.

Nick

 

[aj0421]

Thanks alot brother. I'm working on it, soda is my weakness. Just got to keep taking things day by day. Appreciate hearing your story and glad your doing better. Thank you so much for your support.

You are welcome! You can do it, feel free to pm me any questions you have.

Aaron

 

[jimther]

I have a few back issues… of Western & Eastern Treasures

 

[Longhair]

Well, September 15th I got retired, and not by choice. My back finally wore out.
I've got so much wrong going on that accumulatively it has caused a volatile condition that has a high probability of reoccurrence.
Specifically, this time it was a combination of cupped vertebrae and narrowed discs that caused a seriously pinched nerve due to a relatively minor rotation. I spent two weeks sleeping in a chair because I couldn't even lay in bed. I couldn't stand up straight, lie down, or even walk very far because it was agonizing. All I could do was sit.
A chiropractor has got me to where I'm in pretty good shape now, and he believe that I should be able to do most of the things that "normal people my age" do, but if I get back under horses, I'm likely to wind up where I was a month ago or worse.
My only other option would be surgery, and I really don't want to go that route. By the time I heal up I wouldn't have any work left to get back to, and since I heat my house with wood and live alone, I'd be in trouble with the cold weather right around the corner.

For years now I have said that when I die, I want to be all worn out, used up, with nothing left, and it appears that I'm achieving that goal remarkably well, just a little sooner than I'd hoped.