BearsTruth Board

I had lower back pain off and on for about 10 yrs. A lot of the ideas on here are great. I would start with stretching, foam rolling, and a physio ball. If this works then start with core strengthening and losing weight.

If it doesn't work I would go to a chiropractor. I have used two different ones and both were great. If you find one, ask them to use the muscle stimulator. Feels great when your back is tight and causing pain.

If your pain goes down to your toes you might be in need of surgery. Last summer my pain was so bad down my legs and into my toes, that I HAD to have surgery. Maybe the technology has really improved, because mine has been good so far. I had my surgery in the middle of August and I started hooping again about 2 months ago. Now, I'm a shell of my former self, but I don't have pain when I play. In fact, the only time I have pain is on cold mornings and if I've been sitting too long. My Surgeon said I may never feel 100% again, but that I should be fairly close in a year and a half.

Ryanmetz knows of what he speaks. I was in the spine business for a while, and like any area of medicine, one becomes a "doctor snob." You get to know the surgeons that you would let cut on you or your family and the ones from whom you would run (limp?) as fast as you can. A responsible surgeon will always consider surgery to be the last alternative.

Case in point--my former secretary had low back pain for a while and went to see a spine doc. His first recommendation was surgery. She was a terrible surgical candidate for a lot of reasons that I won't go into in a public forum, but I recommended that she get another opinion before undergoing surgery. I helped her get an appointment with one of the best spine surgeons in the country, and he put her on a course of physical therapy and weight loss which helped her tremendously.

In my office, I know a couple of people who swear by their chiropractors. They have back pain and go to the chiropractor at least once a month. They always say they feel better, but they are back to the chiropractor again the next month. Is he or she really fixing what's wrong, or is he offering non-narcotic palliative therapy?

Finally, my own personal experience. I had a herniated disc at L4-L5 about 20 years ago. I had an injection of cortisone administered directly to the disc at a pain management clinic recommended by my ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON. It worked wonders. 10 years later I was seen by a neurologist for a different problem and he wanted to do an MRI on my back because of my history. His comment was that my L4-L5 disc was a "textbook" example of how that procedure is supposed to work. The steroid injections don't work on everyone every time, but when it does work, it beats the hell out of surgery.

Bottom line: See a qualified orthopedic or neuro spine doc. Find out what's wrong, using all of the imaging technology for which your insurance will pay. Get a diagnosis and a suggested course of treatment. Get a second opinion. Educate yourself on your alternatives. When you've done all of that, make an INFORMED decision about what is best for you.

This is disturbingly wrong.

That's fine if you think so, i'm not going to argue with you about it though.

Run it's course. I hope everyone has no back issues after this thread.