How many of you deal with backpain?

[RCR 3 EVER]

Just wanted to bump this up so someone could find it! Still doing well with the healed disc! :greenchainsaw:

Just be careful,you never know when it will strike again!
After my initial surgery I felt better after 6 months and I then waited for 1.5 yrs. to go on our 24' boat. The third trip out on it the whole family of 6 stepped off platform into water into 5' water,no complaints. The boat swung on anchor for my entrance stepping off platform into about 4' water. My first reaction, I hit to soon, second I hope I did nothing to back.
The next day I could hardly walk and found out I re herniated repaired disk and bulged the 1 above it. Then two months later I lost my job. The boat has also been sold after many years of waiting for healing powers to work.

Bottom line: still be careful, as you are still injured yet feeling better. Glad you are feeling better!!

 

[sharkfin12us]

back pain

Ive been doing tree work since about 1995.Now that im 45 have my own business.I recently bought bucket truck march 2006 so that relieves alot of climbing for me.If i climb a tree i just get it on ground i dont pick up wood any more not worth it.I let the younger guys do it.If you can do that just get the tree on ground and let your workers handle it you can avoid alot of aches and pains.Hope that might help some.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

Just be careful,you never know when it will strike again!
After my initial surgery I felt better after 6 months and I then waited for 1.5 yrs. to go on our 24' boat. The third trip out on it the whole family of 6 stepped off platform into water into 5' water,no complaints. The boat swung on anchor for my entrance stepping off platform into about 4' water. My first reaction, I hit to soon, second I hope I did nothing to back.
The next day I could hardly walk and found out I re herniated repaired disk and bulged the 1 above it. Then two months later I lost my job. The boat has also been sold after many years of waiting for healing powers to work.

Bottom line: still be careful, as you are still injured yet feeling better. Glad you are feeling better!!

You're right-it could strike again even if you are careful! Or turn up in different ways. 2 weeks ago I had to go back to the physical therapist that fixed my back and have my left Sacroilliac joint "reset"; I had to "twist and throw" some decent weight boxes up a conveyor belt because some assjack plowed the dock shut at work instead of dragging it open. I've had trouble with that S.I. joint before, but since this disc has been healed I can EASILY tell when something is out of line. But the disc was/is fine! Now I have muscle pain in the butt from that incident and slipping on black ice 4 days later!!! :censored: Rather that than the disc problem again!

Sorry to hear of your incident and bad luck-hope that things are on the mend for you. Did they ever talk to you about the McKenzie extension stretch that we talk about here? That's what cured me!


:greenchainsaw:

 

[12guns]

Advil, Advil, Advil...I've tried it all, Celebrex, Tylenol, Asprin, etc. Advil is a wonder drug. I've tried to lay off so I'm not taking it litterally every day, but when I need it, sure does help

 

[Sprig]

Advil, Advil, Advil...I've tried it all, Celebrex, Tylenol, Asprin, etc. Advil is a wonder drug. I've tried to lay off so I'm not taking it litterally every day, but when I need it, sure does help

Celebrex is junk, the list of side effects is a gruesome read, I barffed blood the second day (same with all 'anti-inflamatories' fer me tho including Asprin). Best thing I've done for my back is lose most of my gut and cut wayyy back on anything containing gluten, also twisting while lifting I avoid like the plague. Advil sometimes gives a bit of relief and I have found Robaxicet (sp) does ok too. Mostly I try not to re-injure and am no fan of big pressure drops either
My pop calls it 'creeping decrepitude' , I resemble that remark

P.A. glad ta hear you're on the mend man!

Serge

 

[PA. Woodsman]

P.A. glad ta hear you're on the mend man!

Serge

I appreciate that! Like I said before, my two words of advice for anyone with disc problems:

McKenzie extensions:greenchainsaw:

 

[LNG24]

Double Herniated Disc's. L4 & L5 (guess they are always the first to go)

Mine hit me like a truck. I only cut trees for fire wood. I got mine doing construction. Wake up one morning and all if fine. Eat Breakfast and clean up. Just getting ready to walk out the door and it was like someone took a 2x4 to the back of both my knees. 6'4" went down like...well some of your trees, Straight and quick. I tried to get up and could not move. I had never felt pain so severer:censored: I was flat out on my back. I was able to push my way over to the phone and called my g/f friend for help.

She gets here and helps me get standing; Well knees were off the floor and feet were on the floor, wouldn't call it standing though. Using a chair back to keep me propped up, I tried to make my way out to the car, ten feet from it, I begin to black out. Made it to the seat and out I went.

Hospital didn't X-ray or run an MRI. They shot me full of morphine and pain killers and sent me home. Thats the kind of care we receive without health insurance if the hospital is Private!

I called a friend of mine, a chiropractor. He takes X-rays and orders an MRI. He was sure, but MRI revealed two herniated disc's. Both pressing on the nerve stem. Thus the reason SOO MUCH PAIN.

What happened next was amazing. He puts me on a DISC DECOMPRESSION machine. I go to him every day for a week. With adjustments and Decompression, I was walking and get this, Riding My Harley! by the end of the week. Still had back pain, Didn't work for two months. Even now, I have my limitations, BUT I AM DRUG FREE including Advil.

Compared to my first day: Three Shots of Morphine, Percocet and a Pain Killer Shot and I still could not walk out of that hospital.

Not all Disc Decompression Machines or the doctors using them, are equal. Do some research and try it. AMAZING!

 

[LNG24]

Just be careful,you never know when it will strike again!
After my initial surgery I felt better after 6 months and I then waited for 1.5 yrs. to go on our 24' boat. The third trip out on it the whole family of 6 stepped off platform into water into 5' water,no complaints. The boat swung on anchor for my entrance stepping off platform into about 4' water. My first reaction, I hit to soon, second I hope I did nothing to back.
The next day I could hardly walk and found out I re herniated repaired disk and bulged the 1 above it. Then two months later I lost my job. The boat has also been sold after many years of waiting for healing powers to work.

Bottom line: still be careful, as you are still injured yet feeling better. Glad you are feeling better!!

This isn't coming from me since I didn't go that route. Everyone I talked to that had the surgery, re herniated their backs. From what "The Experts" told us, the disc above and/or below the repair takes up the slack and its too much for it so they go in About 1 1/2 to 2 years. Just about your time frame!

Unfortunately, from what I understand, if you have the operation, you can not use the Decompression Machine.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

This isn't coming from me since I didn't go that route. Everyone I talked to that had the surgery, re herniated their backs. From what "The Experts" told us, the disc above and/or below the repair takes up the slack and its too much for it so they go in About 1 1/2 to 2 years. Just about your time frame!

I also was told that surgery is just a "temporary" fix, that people end up having problems again. Then I've heard some people say that having surgery was the best thing that they ever did; guess it's very much an individual thing. I remember my therapist telling me "you're getting better because we are fixing the problem". Pills and shots are just a band-aid to help with the pain; but unless you find out what the cause of the problem is and "fix" it you'll always have the pain. The first guy that I went to who ordered my MRI (orthopedic surgeon) had me on 15 different weight-strengthening machines like I was training to be an Olympic athlete. While I was LOOKING good I certainly wasn't FEELING good because this numnuts was having me do exercises that were worsening the problem. The physical therapist started me with that one exercise-the McKenzie extension-which addressed the problem, then he slooowwwlly added other exercises to the rehab. KEEP SEARCHING until you find someone who you feel is helping you..


There's a LOT of good information being shared here on this thread; hopefully someone is being helped by it!

 

[southsoundtree]

back pain

stretching is really important for back health, and we can all do more of it. This post is in part a reminder to myself.

Also, stretching the hand flexor muscles, gripping muscles, can help prevent tendonitis, the step along the way to carpal tunnel syndrome.

 

[Nailsbeats]

A bit of backpain now and then, but who doesn't have it in this business. Usually a quick trip to the chiropractor takes care of the problem for me. The biggest thing for me though is what shoes i'm wearing. My wesco's are great for in the tree or if i'm in the woods all day felling. But if i have to do alot of walking in them, i'll feel it in my back that night. A lower heeled workboot for brush dragging really helps my back out.

Yes, you are the first person I have ever heard say this. The high heel kills me on the ground. My knees and back feel much better when walking with a lower heel boot. I use a stiff mattress rotating regularily and watch my footwear. I have heard it said that it all starts with your feet and know from experience that this is a major factor to skeletol pain. I use insoles in my boots to get the proper balance. I have also noticed that stomach muscles support your back and diet makes a difference. I don't know exactly what it is, but I find my back and whole body feel great when I drink a lot of white milk. I now call it the "liquid steroid". Lots of great advise in this thread, thank you all.

 

[hoot gibson]

just my two cents worth . i lived with back pain for 26 years , got so bad i would lay over 3 or 4 . 2x4 blocks trying to get it streched out . going to the back bone dr. ( cant spell it ) all i did was keep going back . i have a friend that is a medical masuse. he was working on what i thought was a pulled muscle in my side . he told me that i had a rib out of place , and something was wrong . he worked on my side around to my back , and after about 4 visits . i havnt had a back ach in the last 6 years . mine was just about the belt line in the middl eof my back , like a burning tooth ach all the time , and when i babied it, the muscles on the sides of my back got worse . but like i said i havnt had a bck ach for 6 years . soon after it was fixed , i went back to the back dr. to get my neck loosend up . he ask how my back was , he handnt seen me for awhile , i told him the story , and he looked me rite in the eyes and said .. what does your ribs have to do with your back!! i left the office without saying a word. hoot

 

[Jerry Lord]

if your gonna load it, pay load it.

 

[Philobite]

Something worth considering

I've heard that long term/high dosage use of Ibuprofen is bad for your liver or kidneys, I forget which.

Ibuprophen - kidneys, but only at very high doses for sustained periods
Acetominophen (Tylenol) - liver

Also, ibuprophen is a significant factor in emergency room admittance (gastrointestinal bleeds). But it sure is great for short term use for back strains.

In '04 I came down with a chronic severe pain syndrome that most of the meds except heavy narcotics barely touched, and the specialists all told me was something I'd live with the rest of my life. So I invested a lot of time and resources in researching through peer reviewed medical journals to find a solution for myself that would be healthful over the long term. I ended up using something commonly used in sports medicine both to prevent as well as treat musculo-skeletal injuries in Europe and Japan: Systemic Enzyme Therapy (SET) and it not only resolved my pain and allowed me to drop the meds, but it actually reversed the underlying problem, and I found it significantly improved my cholesterol numbers. (In fact, Olympic teams routinely take SET to prevent training and performance injuries).

Several friends with serious, chronic back problems have pursued SET and all of them were able to gain the upper hand in short order. Might be worth a try. One reason I chose it for my condition was that I needed an anti-inflammatory and anti-edemic that I could take for life that had no risk profile. There are several SET complex products (aka proteolytic enzyme complexes) that one can try: Wobenzym N (#2 OTC anti-inflammatory after aspirin in Germany), Neprinol, VitalZym, etc, as well as various vendors of the single systemic enzyme, serrapeptase. Many online vendors sell the various products competitively (and some not so competitively).

I discovered that for acute or chronic pain, the dosage I had to take is much higher than the dosage they call out in the instructions. That's a maintenance dose for healthy folks. But it's perfectly safe to take high dosage.

Aside: there is also a non-SET Cox-2 inhibitor (that's an anti-inflammatory) that is natural, scientifically validated, and that I found helpful for inflammation and pain as well (although at this point I just take the SET) and that is the product Zyflamend. May be worth looking into for back pain.

In any case, if anyone is interested at all, I can point you to a website I put together at the insistence of guys that suffer the particular syndrome I have (chronic pelvic pain syndrome) where I tell enough of my story to be illustrative and there are links to small, helpful portions of the medical research that exists (there is a lot of it out there). And I'd be happy to offer input here if it's helpful, understanding I'm not in the mode of giving medical advice of course.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

I think I might get hooked on Flexeril. It really takes care of the bad LBP and neck spasms i get with all the different bulging disks I have.

Probably the only thing that will keep that from happening is the wrung out dish rag feeling it gives me the next morning. A one to two day cycle of use every few weeks seems to help a lot.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

This might help...

Just bumping this up because of the recent "revival" of back pain posts...

 

[Groundman One]

By the grace of God my back has survived more than ten-years of humping logs and tree filth up and down hills and across lawns and ditches. I very rarely have any back pain at all. I think it's because I walk a great deal. Not nearly as much as when I lived in the boonies and had no car, but it's still a very rare day that I walk less than four or five kilometres after work. I think it's the best exercise there is. Time to think and get in tune with your body. Walk quickly with good posture and your stomach tight, it helps build up a solid core and your back appreciates it very much.

Our company also builds log cabins (which I don't enjoy very much) and I find slabbing logs dowright painful. It just kills my lower back, but only for the duration of the work.

 

[Liz08]

Ibuprophen - kidneys, but only at very high doses for sustained periods
Acetominophen (Tylenol) - liver

Also, ibuprophen is a significant factor in emergency room admittance (gastrointestinal bleeds). But it sure is great for short term use for back strains.

In '04 I came down with a chronic severe pain syndrome that most of the meds except heavy narcotics barely touched, and the specialists all told me was something I'd live with the rest of my life. So I invested a lot of time and resources in researching through peer reviewed medical journals to find a solution for myself that would be healthful over the long term. I ended up using something commonly used in sports medicine both to prevent as well as treat musculo-skeletal injuries in Europe and Japan: Systemic Enzyme Therapy (SET) and it not only resolved my pain and allowed me to drop the meds, but it actually reversed the underlying problem, and I found it significantly improved my cholesterol numbers. (In fact, Olympic teams routinely take SET to prevent training and performance injuries).

Several friends with serious, chronic back problems have pursued SET and all of them were able to gain the upper hand in short order. Might be worth a try. One reason I chose it for my condition was that I needed an anti-inflammatory and anti-edemic that I could take for life that had no risk profile. There are several SET complex products (aka proteolytic enzyme complexes) that one can try: Wobenzym N (#2 OTC anti-inflammatory after aspirin in Germany), Neprinol, VitalZym, etc, as well as various vendors of the single systemic enzyme, serrapeptase. Many online vendors sell the various products competitively (and some not so competitively).

I discovered that for acute or chronic pain, the dosage I had to take is much higher than the dosage they call out in the instructions. That's a maintenance dose for healthy folks. But it's perfectly safe to take high dosage.

Aside: there is also a non-SET Cox-2 inhibitor (that's an anti-inflammatory) that is natural, scientifically validated, and that I found helpful for inflammation and pain as well (although at this point I just take the SET) and that is the product Zyflamend. May be worth looking into for back pain.

In any case, if anyone is interested at all, I can point you to a website I put together at the insistence of guys that suffer the particular syndrome I have (chronic pelvic pain syndrome) where I tell enough of my story to be illustrative and there are links to small, helpful portions of the medical research that exists (there is a lot of it out there). And I'd be happy to offer input here if it's helpful, understanding I'm not in the mode of giving medical advice of course.

I've also heard very good things about Zyflamend, although I've not personally used it yet. It is supposed to be excellent for inflammation, and obviously doesn't have the negative side effects to the liver, kidneys, and intestines that drugs such as tylenol and ibuprofen do. The site where I get my supplements has some good info/research on it if anyone is interested in reading more.

 

[pdqdl]

I seem to be the exception to this back pain thread...

I really don't suffer from back pain, hardly ever. Unless it follows a traumatic injury, and then I recover quickly.

In 1976 I was rear-ended by a drunk in a car while turning into my driveway. I was riding a motorcycle, so I was essentially slammed by the car at 39 mph+, according to the police report. That messed up my back for quite a long time.

In 1981, I had another motorcycle wreck, and did all kinds of damage. Six months later, nobody at my company could pick up a heavier rock than I could. It was revealed two years later that I had crushed two lumbar vertebra, and that they had fused naturally. So got real lucky.

Over the years, I have often thought how unusual it was that I had no back problems. In fact, I really think those fused lumbar vertebra have helped me avoid a great deal of discomfort.

2 months ago, I was in a head-on car crash, and broke (non-displaced) 2 cervical vertebra. I went back to work the following day, but I wasn't toting any logs around, you can bet! Since then, I am pretty much back to work full time.

Sorry all you other fellows have back problems, because I KNOW what it feels like. I just seem to be lucky on the recovery side of things. This was such a depressing read, I just thought someone should put something positive in it.

Oh yeah: I am 50 years old. Or young, depending on your point of view.

 

[Lumberjacked]

Yup!

Im with all ya guys but Im only 25 and have already broken 4 vertebrae. I hit a 25 foot wide drainage ditch on my brand new snowmobile going 75mph+ 3 years ago. I fractured my C 6&7 and my L 1&2. Pretty f-ing lucky to be walking much less alive, yet I still love my dangerous job! Not too many people out there that can or will do our kind of work, I consider myself lucky that I am one of the few. Keep it safe and take lots of hydrocodone.