Dealing with debilitating injury

[ccbreder]

There are good chiropractors, but I put my faith in Physical Therapists. Chiros have hurt me, Therapists have only helped.

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

thanks! stiff but no spasms for 2 days, im sorta stooped and slow but im movin [emoji217]

 

[Spirituallifetime]

How is your back doing? It takes awhile to heal, you may have pulled some muscles. Let it heal for a couple of months. What happens as we get older our back muscles get weak then one day we bend over and the muscles can't take it because there is not enough strength in them. After your back heals you need to do stretching and strengthening exercises. This helps my back a lot. And a visit to the chiropractor would also be a good idea. Where i'm at now it is about $65 for one visit to chiropractor. Last spring I had to go to see him my back was so painful I could hardly do anything, 3 visits and I was doing great.

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

we postedaround the same time, see above for how its doin im pretty fat so, thats prolly a big part of it. ive lost like 6 poundss tho in the last month or so so im working on it.

 

[gypsychic]

Glad to hear you're doing better. I 2nd finding a good PT, although a bad one can also do damage. If you can afford it, a PT can help your strengthen your core muscles with a pace that shouldn't cause you to rebound. They will make sure you are doing the exercises with the correct form and customize a program for you. If you can't afford it, you can look up exercises online or get books from library. Just remember to go slow.

Try to remember to use good posture when walking, driving, etc. I have found that associating reminding myself to check my posture with random daily activities has helped me. Like when I brush my teeth, or stopped at a stop light in the car, or while doing dishes I remember to self check my posture. Before it became second nature to do these checks I would post little postits on the bathroom mirror, the steering wheel and the window in front of the sink. Now just doing those activities usually is enough to trigger me to check my posture without the stickies.

Sounds like resting in bed has got your creative juices flowing(I saw your shower thread earlier)...

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

yea...off work but dont want to drive long distances so im bored lol

 

[Dean]

For muscle pain in your back, try laying down on your back on a firm surface. Rest both legs on a pile of pillows, a box or a chair. You want to make as close to a 90 degree angle with your legs as you can. Put you arms out to the side in a comfortable position but no higher than your shoulders. Lay there for 5 minutes, but not longer. You can build up to 10 minutes slowly. You can do this every day if you like and will relax your back. Make sure that when you get up you roll over on your side and push up with your hands to a sitting position so as not to stress you back.

Hope this helps.

 

[HarmonicaBruce]

Martin, is your van high enough that you can stand up in it?  I suspect that spending lots of time in a van where you can't stand up straight is bad for the back.  I used to work with a young woman, 30 or so, who was fat and had a large belly that stuck out as if she was pregnant.  She had her spine fused.  The doctors who were involved with it should all lose their licenses.  She needed to lose 100 pounds and get in better shape, not have her spine fused.  I'm 67 and my back is great.  I think it's because I stretch a lot, and am lucky.  I do the stretching routine we did when I was in track in high school.  I need to lose 50 pounds, as I'm now at 200.  When I'm around 150 I feel a whole lot better.  I have every size jeans from 32 to 40.

So my advice is lose weight, exercise, and stretch (being very careful).  Good luck!

 

[BigT]

20+ some years ago, I really clobbered my back. I ended up confined to my bed for a month and a half. (not good when you're only in your late 20's)

I completely blew a disk out. They wanted to do a cage in my back...but those were still kinda new just yet, and I'd heard others having issues with 'em...so no thanks!!

What was my other option???

Take better care of myself.

I have to bend over quite a bit in my work, and that old back injury still likes to show itself, but as long as I'm taking care of myself, keeping myself in check, and watching how I lift and bend my body, (which is what sets it off)...I can usually work through it in a day or so.

 TAKE CARE OF YOUR BODY. It's the only one you get!! Get out and get some exercise. Get the blood circulating. Move your body around (and not just to grab another bag of chips!!) 

...you gotta maintain your body.

This sounds a lot like me, only I was in the early 30's when I slipped a disc in my lumbar spine, following several years of driving concrete ready-mix trucks.  In my case it took years before I could return to work of any kind.  When it first went out, I ended up in the hospital for 4 days (I couldn't walk or get up off the floor at all, and I was in blinding pain).  

My doctor also wanted to put a metal cage around my spine, but back then it wasn't perfected (is it now?) and came with too many complications and huge risk of a relapse, so I said NO WAY, JOSE!  

Now I'm 52 and most of the time, 80+%, I feel great.   Today's injury really came out of left field.  I was just climbing on my bike to run a few local errands and get some exercise.  

Unfortunately, I've been laid up in bed for months, following rotator cuff surgery, so I haven't been able, until lately, to get any exercise.  I'm guessing this has a lot to do with why I re-injured my back today.  
Now I'm in major pain and have a lot of trouble getting off the bed and/or across the room.  :s   I'm not happy about this.  

As someone said, having to worry about our future health sucks (I coined that a little), and i know I have to worry about it.
My injury is a combination of workplace abuse, and the natural degenerative process we all suffer as we age.  
This means that as I get older my spine is going to degenerate more quickly than some (I got a head start).  

When I think what's in store for me in the future, it worries me a lot.  

To the OP.  I know this thread i old, but how are you doing now?