My Back

[chunk_daddy]

my back hurts SO bad i don't know what i did to it, but it hurts just to move, i like pulled a muscle last weekend and its hurt since but i haven't just sat back and given it time, i pretty much act normal, like sunday i roofed from 8-4 stoping once for lunch, and then went to team practice, then today i went and worked out(sprints, ran a mile, and lifted) and actully right now im laying on the ground cuz it seems to be the best way to stay comfy......ne one have some advice for me?

[Woogie12]

Chiropractor. I had a back spasm and kept trying to play hockey and stretching it out. Just made it much, much worse. I went to the chiropractor and found out I have a twisted pelvis from being run over by a car and years of hockey. He fixed it and I feel great again. I know a lot of people are against them, but they really can help with a lot of things. I don't know about ear infections or hypertension like he says, but back problems and neck problems can definitely be helped by chiropractic.

[Eric Cartman]

Gotta respectfully disagree with Woogie here. Chiropractors scare me a bit. My father had back surgery years ago. He was told that he probably would have gotten away with physiotherapy, but the Chiropractor made the situation worse. It seems to me that there are chiropractors out there who do more harm than good. Everyone I know who has seen a chiropractor, still sees them on a regular basis. Their problems are never solved. Their symptoms may be temporarily aleviated, but the root problem isn't cured. I'm sure that there are good chiropractors out there who help people, but I'd suggest trying a physiotherapist first. While I admit that I have never been to a chiropractor, I have had very positive experiences with physiotherapists (although never for the same problem). I guess you either swear by them or at them. Whatever you decide to do, be careful. Check out a book called "The Back Doctor" by Hamilton Hall. Might be enlightening for you.

Cheers.

[Jack_Dubious]

Theres always Oxycontin...


JDub

[vf-xx]

I threw my back out last summer.

Went to a chiropracter and now i'm mostly better. I have ongoing back problems, but that's cause of my Jui Jitsu and being overwieght.

The trick is you have to find a really good one you can trust. If they don't clearly explain what they're going and why, dont' use them.

[Woogie12]

That is true. I don't trust mine on some things, such as the hypertension, ear infections, asthma, etc. He did help out my back though but yes that is true that you have to find one who knows what they are doing. I wouldn't let him touch your neck though, my neurologist told me he had a patient who suffered a stroke from chiropractic and his neck. It may have been the neuro being biased against chiro but better safe than sorry. Chiropractic is just a suggestion though. What exactly is physiotherapy?

[Hexis]

I think he means physical therapy.

[Thordic]

Back problems run in my family. I'm 23, and I've thrown out my back a few times already. Only once was it bad enough for medication. I could barely walk, two friends had to help me walk back to my dorm at the time (I was 18). I got my dad to bring me some leftover Tylenol with Codeine from my wisdom teeth operation, and a few days later I was ok.

The fact you are doing roofing and practice for whatever sport is just dumb, though.

When you hurt your back, like any other muscle, you need to let it heal. Your best bet is to keep it straight as much as possible. Laying flat in a fairly firm bed is a good choice. Lay off bending over (there goes your social life ;) )/ picking things up for a while. Tell your coach you need a couple days off of practice to recover.

Practicing/playing with an injury, while it may seem like a good idea, is dumb. I've done it, and it just makes the injury harder to recover from.

[chunk_daddy]

OUCH....WOW that one hurt, i do NOT bend over just so u know, srry to disapoint u and ruin fantsy:D

[Thordic]

Heh, just jokin with ya. But seriously, you should lay off your back for a while until it feels better. You don't want to hurt it worse.

[Eric Cartman]

What exactly is physiotherapy?

Wow, I just always assumed that it was a fairly common term, but after searching Google for it, it seems that it's mostly us Crazy Canucks and the Aussies that use the term. I would imagine that Hexis is right, it's probably what you would call physical therapy. Physiotherapists treat a lot of sports injuries and do rehab with people who have had surgeries etc. My experiences have been a combination of massage, heat packs, ultrasound (helps increase blood flow to the injured area and promoted healing)and some excercises that target the affected area(s). They've really done wonders for me when I compressed one of my discs and when I hyper extended my knee (I hate it when people don't put the bath mat down properly! Slip slide and awaaarrgghhh!). While there are undoubtedly good chiropractors out there, I have heard too many horror stories to trust one with my spine.

[Mango]

chiropractors = evil, they should all be shut down. They do more harm than good. It really depends where the pain is coming from. Is it localized or just generally sore? Your doing some pretty intense stuff and the only real way to heal up is to rest and do a hot/cold therapy. But, it'll probably hurt for a while and you'll just keep doing whatever and eventually it will heal OR you'll need surgery. LOL who knows. I could go into a really long explanation but nobody cares anyway.

[wyn1370]

actually mango I care. I've been thinking of going to a chiropractor or massage therapist for a few days. I did something to my shoulder recently (not sure what) and it's not getting any better. I think it's due to some serious knots in along my shoulderblade and maybe a blood flow issue. The pain has actually spread to include my neck on occasions. So please enlighten me to the evils of chiroprators and maybe offer a suggestion of a better solution.

[bornl33t]

I work a VERY physical demanding job in a warehouse that requires alot of lifting. Up too 120lbs at a time, which explains my big stature without going to the gym :D

Let me explain some possibilities to you, having educated myself just recently on the subject.

There are several possibilities why you are experiancing pain. I'm not a doctor so I'm not going to sugjest what could be wrong. It could be a muscle, it's could be your spine. (my roomate just had surgury for a slipped disk and he was in alot of pain for several weeks before the surgury)

First of all there are things you can do to avoid back problems. First and formost....STRECH. I can't stress this enough. I spend 10-15 minutes each day streching getting my muscles ready for teh task ahead.
Other things include a propper diet (protein is important, pop and candy is bad), your posture (sitting, sleeping, driving a car will all contribute to your back problems), playing sprots correctly (when playing basket ball land on your toes not your heals), excercise the mucles in your back ( strong muscles will helf reinforce your back), PROPER LIFTING (keep the load close to your body, lift with your legs, don't twist or turn while lifting,.......)

Now if your already hurt what can you do? Well the best thing is see a doctor. They will be your best source of imformation and if nessicary they will be able to do an MRI.
In any case, STOP doing any activity if you hurt your back. Ppl often make it ALOT worse by continuing their activity. And just couse if feels good the next day doesn't mean it's healed. Back injuries take a relativly long time to heal.
If not handeled properly you may end up with some fused verdebre (sp?) So alot of doing nothing is key. My understanding is that Chiropractors are muscle speciallists. If indeed you pull a muscle in your back they would be your best bet. Injuries to your spine should be taken to a doctor. One of the big things that will give away an injury to the spine is a shooting pain or numbness in the left leg. This pain is being cause by the syatic (sp?) nerve being pinched or somehow distorted in the spine. This is the case in 70-80% of ppl who have spine injuries.

I guess the big thing I'm trying to say is, back injuries can be avoided, once you are hurt there's only one solution, resting your back. And once it's hurt it's easier to hurt the next time.
I'm sure webby could shed some light on the subject as well, he's got experiance with back pains.

[Mango]

Ok, Heat said a lot of good things and I dont disagree with any of it.

My gripe with chiropractors (as is shared by many of my professors at college) is that many of them do not requier any degrees in kinesiology or physical therapy or anything of the sort in order to get thier certifications. Many of them are reading x-rays on a daily basis with little to no training. It is very hard to find a GOOD chiropractor that will not try to heal your "vertabral subluxation" or the like (which does not exist). To find a good one, you really have to do a lot of homework on your own so you can tell whether he/she is just trying to scam you for money or what not. Personally, I would go to a sports doctor or some specialized physiologist for your problem. Very often chiropractors are in the business just to keep you coming back through temporary relief. Many of thier manipulations cause the body to realease endorphines which make you feel better. Through the extreme motions, the body thinks something is about to break or a joint is being pulled beyond it's maximal rotation or axis. So it will react by trying to numb the pain.

But as I said, I'm sure there are many good ones out there. The trick is finding ones that actually WANT to heal you as opposed to adding another recurring customer. Personally, I want someone with a DEGREE, who completed some form of board exam (usually 2 for most M.D.'s ) AND completed years of medical school to fix my problems if they are that serious. Not some guy who got an associates and a certification. Some states regulate them more strict than others also. This website might help answer some questions so you can make your own decision Chirobase (http://www.chirobase.org/17QA/index.html)


Personally, I would go to a specialist. If you have a doctor in your plan or area that is a Sports Medicine Specialist, that is an excellent place to start. And of course, everything Heat said about stretching and so on, proper lifting, is excellent. :D Good luck.