Comments on: Ouch Part 2

By: Dan

Dan — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 13:07:40 +0000

Long time reader, first time… yeah, you know…

so anyway, this caught my attention. late to the party.

I ruptured a disc in martial arts about 3 years ago. It felt like a muscle injury, like I yanked the snot out of my lower back, along with a *pop*. I’ve torqued muscles before and heard them pop, like the grade 3 calf strain–torn calf muscle–I’m currently nursing. my herniated disc felt exactly like a lower back strain. Except heat didn’t help. at all.

the good news is, if your leg isn’t yet numb maybe on one side and the other doesn’t feel like a searing, red-hot spear being shoved down the other, your sciatic nerve is probably fine. The one other test I was given before I got the MRI was to stand flat-footed and lift my toes. Not rock back on my heels, just lift my toes. Like tapping your foot. I absolutely could not do that, at all. If you can’t, you’ve likely got a problem.

Until you get this looked at via MRI, you absolutely do NOT need a chiro doing anything to your back. at all. personally, I think chiros are quacks and are unworthy of the title “Doctor”, and I think anyone would do well to avoid them, but that’s a different issue. no flame wars. just that screwing around with your back can cause all sorts of serious problems, or exacerbate existing ones.

By: Saku

Saku — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 18:01:52 +0000

I hope you feel better soon. These things can be pretty tricky but it definitely sounds like you’ve got a lot of good people helping you!

By: Lenore

Lenore — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 14:36:40 +0000

Chiropractor. Trust me. Good idea.

By: Spirrah

Spirrah — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 17:57:29 +0000

About a half cup of Epsom salt in a long hot bath will work wonders. Then drink a cup of chamomile tea and/or take a valerian tablet. Chamomile and valerian are natural relaxers and will help keep you from keeping those muscles tensed up against the pain. I would also advise against lifting anything even remotely heavy for several days ’til you heal up some and then very carefully start working the stiffness out. Unfortunately now that you’ve pulled those muscles once it’s very easy to pull them again if you’re not careful.

By: Dutch Uncle

Dutch Uncle — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 13:53:22 +0000

I’m going through it myself – occasional flareup of herniated disks from years ago. Mommas, don’t let your babies play football! (or other impact sports!)

I’d like to second the motion on: (a) Chiropractor. Definitely good when you find one with an approach that works for you – they can have very different techniques, softer or harder, so you have to find someone you’re comfortable with (just like a doctor). Helps keep the problem at bay. (b) Convince the doctor to give you the strongest anti-inflammatory you can stand for two or three weeks, typically drugs oriented towards arthritis. With normal OTC stuff I need to take so much that it kills my stomach. Avoid pain killers – pain is a warning, and pain killers are dangerous. (c) Keep your core muscles in shape and watch your weight!

Good luck!

By: Wolff

Wolff — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 15:20:35 +0000

If you hurt your lower back the doc will give you 600 or 800 mg ibuprofen and tell you to “rest” so take the ibuprofen useing across teh counter 200 mg pills (800 normaly works for me ) and the to take the strain of your lower back (this is going to sould weard but it works) you find a chair or couch and you lay down on the floor on a pad, or rug you the scoot your butt up to the couch or chair and put you legs up on the seat makeing a kind of ” _/””’ ” shape lay back and relax you will feel the strain on you back stop all most at once. avoid quick movements and lifting anything over 25 lbs for a while. good luck

By: Den

Den — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 11:58:13 +0000

Paul, really, really sorry to hear about this. Lower back injuries are nothing to mess with. I’ve had some pulled muscles and/or herniated discs in the past, and I felt like I was gonna break in two. A couple of things have worked for me over the years — I haven’t had problems w/my lower back now for about five to seven years, so they seem to be good practices. First, make sure your core muscles are well-exercised; balance between those in front and those in back help keep things stable. Second, if things get painful and you see a doctor, see about cortisone shots in the small of the back (assuming that’s where you’re experiencing the pain). I had a bad bout years ago, and those two shots were life-savers.

I’ve done something as simple as sneeze too hard and had my back go out, so it’s always lurking around the corner. But with luck, you’ll get through this and get to wrestle with your son again. Best wishes that time is soon!