UGH... my back... No trail today...

myright

myright

Gold Member
Joined
Jan 31, 2008
Messages
5,178
I've got degenerative disc disease in two discs (sounds more horrible then it really is) and one of those discs is torn.

It's been ~ 6 years since I first hurt it bad and have been pretty good since. Last night I was bending over to pick up one of the kids toys and my back locked up... UGH... All plans are out the window this weekend.

It's not nearly as bad as it was the first time, but I had plans to put my boy in the backpack and hit one of the local state forests today. :mad: Wifey is working so I guess it's cabin feaver with the boy today.

The upside though - I've got some Boston Butt on the grill and will have pulled pork in about 7 hours when it's done cooking :thumbup:

How do you guys with bad backs get through it?

I've got a jacuzzi so I sit in that to loosen up the muscles and use ice at night. I don't have any prescription pain killers so I try to manage it with Advil, but for the most part I just try and tolerate it.
 
Oh man, that sucks. Sorry to hear it. Good on you though for trying to stay off the pain killers.

Mmm... pulled pork, sounds like a nice alternative to me!

Here's to a quick recovery.
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stingray4540 said:
Oh man, that sucks. Sorry to hear it. Good on you though for trying to stay off the pain killers.

Mmm... pulled pork, sounds like a nice alternative to me!

Here's to a quick recovery.
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Thanks bro - I try to stay away from them, they make you feel good, but I don't remember much on them .:D

Some 120 minute IPA tonight will do the trick.
 
My right I feel your pain brother.. I've got 3 herniated disks in my neck... I try to workout as much as possibl to strengthen the surrounding musculature..I also try to stretch allot... I have also uses a commercially avail. Tenz machine which send small electric impulses directly to a given area... THat thing is great.. and is worth the investment..Hope you feel better soon.
 
+1 on the muscle stim machine. Pinched nerve in my neck after a car wreck, that thing does wonders. Also, long, hot showers work on a lower back that has seen one helluva beating from football.
 
I have a bad back and neck that go every once in awhile also bro. Always happens when doing something simple.

I haven't found any tricks to make the pain more bareable. I just give it time..

Pulled pork should work though!
 
RescueRiley said:
My right I feel your pain brother.. I've got 3 herniated disks in my neck... I try to workout as much as possibl to strengthen the surrounding musculature..I also try to stretch allot... I have also uses a commercially avail. Tenz machine which send small electric impulses directly to a given area... THat thing is great.. and is worth the investment..Hope you feel better soon.
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Yup - working out has been the one sure fire way to keep these "flare ups" away. It's been quite some time since I've had some actual pain worth mentioning. Since the kid's come I have been pretty lazy about working out and now I really know all my hard work working out was really worth it :thumbup:

I've only ever been hooked up to the electric stim machines while at PT and they worked great. I never really thought of getting one for home I just figured they were pretty expensive.

stingray4540 said:
IPA? Isopropyl alcohol?!

I'm assuming you're using IPA to abbreviate something else?
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India Pale Ale - by Dogfish Head - A local brewery around here :)

Isopropyl Alcohol and Orange juice may do the trick too ...... You try first :)
 
tonym said:
I have a bad back and neck that go every once in awhile also bro. Always happens when doing something simple.

I haven't found any tricks to make the pain more bareable. I just give it time..

Pulled pork should work though!
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Yeah, it's funny how that works. You can push your body to the limits with no issues and you bend over to pick up a kid's toy and BAM.. :(
 
Ouch! I feel for you. Sounds like my back. I can lift heavy objects, but bend wrong and I'm out of comission for a few days. My worst bout was the result of picking up a check book. Stretching, ice packs and heat are the best for me. You have to control the inflamation, and ice packs or heating pads seem to work better than the anti inflamatory drugs. Take care of it, and get out in the brush when it loosens up.
 
Sorry to hear that myright :( I wish you a quick recovery and reprieve from the pain, man. I strained (muscle strain) my back a while ago loading some firewood into my gf's jeep, and that hurt pretty well for the first day or two after; I can't even imagine the pain from a torn disc. It's a good thing you have a jacuzzi, it's probably better than those commercial hotpacks. I haven't really found those to make a difference at all.

I hope it gets better for you after a little quiet time, rest, and stretching. :thumbup: Enjoy that pulled pork!
 
I feel you pain! I have L4-L5 severe herniations with the L4 nerve root being impinged.
Some days I can hike 5-10 miles or bike 10-20 miles with minimal discomfort. Some days I can barely get out of bed. It's like caring for a baby, your always tending to your backs ills.
Stretching is very important as is strengthening.
It's odd how we can still lift, hike, bike, but then pick up a pen off the floor and your in bed for 3 days. :(
 
PorcupineMtns66 said:
It's odd how we can still lift, hike, bike, but then pick up a pen off the floor and your in bed for 3 days. :(
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Yup, although I wasn't seriously injured, the "straw" was picking my neighbors dog's toy off the ground a few hours after I had dealt with the wood.
 
rksoon said:
Yup, although I wasn't seriously injured, the "straw" was picking my neighbors dog's toy off the ground a few hours after I had dealt with the wood.
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Yup - the first time I ever found out anything was really wrong with my back was bending over to pet my dog. I had to be carried to the car and went to the hospital - I had never felt pain like that and had no idea what it was.

I felt a lot better when the doctor told me that I can really do whatever I want as long as I can handle the pain. At first I was concerned that I would jack it up worse, but it was reassuring hearing that from the doc.

BTW - I'm a wee bit better and hope to be at least 80-90% by Monday so I can hit the trail with my wife and kid. I'm off of work and don't want to waste the day laying around - although I may have to:o

It's amazing to me the amount of people that have back issues.
 
myright said:
I've got degenerative disc disease in two discs
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I'm in the same boat bro and have been living with the discomfort for over 20 years. About 3 years ago all I did was sneeze and was laid out for a week and a half with sciatica ... not a good feeling. Anyway went to a physical therapist and she ( was hot as hell ) put me on a stretching and core strenthening program focusing on the abs and legs. The pain hasn't gone away completely but it has made a HUGE difference.

Stretching everyday is the ticket :thumbup:
 
KuRUpTD said:
I'm in the same boat bro and have been living with the discomfort for over 20 years. About 3 years ago all I did was sneeze and was laid out for a week and a half with sciatica ... not a good feeling. Anyway went to a physical therapist and she ( was hot as hell ) put me on a stretching and core strenthening program focusing on the abs and legs. The pain hasn't gone away completely but it has made a HUGE difference.

Stretching everyday is the ticket :thumbup:
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Nothing like a hot therapist :) Mine was a 50+yo Russian woman followed by a man... :thumbdn:

We learn to live with the pain pretty quickly huh? I've heard that chronic pain is one of the leading reasons for depression and I can see why. If I had this level of pain for any more than a week or two at a time I'd be a miserable SOB.
 
I blew a disk bad a two and a half years ago and had such ungodly sciatic pain that I had to have surgery. I was instructed to really work on my back muscles through exercise and stretching. Well, after a year I kinda slacked off and just as predicted, the sciatic pain came back, but on the opposite side. I was determined to get real real serious about back and core strengthening exercises and haven't had any major issues since.
 
KuRUpTD said:
Anyway went to a physical therapist and she ( was hot as hell ) put me on a stretching and core strenthening program focusing on the abs and legs.
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Yeah, the doctor I saw told me the same thing too, that strengthening one's core is important in preventing back injuries. Hope you get to hit the trails on Monday myright :thumbup:
 
This got me thinking.

This would be HORRIBLE if this happened on a solo trip into the bush or in camp. Having to break camp with this type of pain would take forever. Luckily I've only been unable to walk from the pain only once in my life. The rest of the flare ups are just very painful but still allow me to walk.
 
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