Anyone else got a jacked up back?

Guys, the last few months its felt like one of those aliens has been trying to burst out of my spine between my shoulder blades. finally got an MRI of part of the area and it shows advanced arthritic deterioration of the vertebra and some compression of the discs. It turning me into an invalid, and getting answers from the doctors is nigh impossible. I usually have to take a painkilller an hour before I get out of bed in the morning, and I'm selling my Concours14 - just too big to handle. Don't want to part with the Duchess; anyone out there got any advice?

Have they pinned down whats causing the condition?

Also do you have any other symtoms?

I feel for you man. I tweaked my lower back when I was only 21 and now it acts up on me about once a year to the point where I can hardly move for a couple days. The worst part is it is always something minor that flares it up, like picking my shoes or lifting the damn toilet seat. Like you I already have some degeneration going on in my lower back and the doc said the only thing I could do is stay skinny and keep my core strength good. I visit the chiro every 5 weeks and do an ab workout every time I go for a run. I'm not at the point where I need drugs for it so that is good.

+1 on all the advice given. I too have lower back pain from a surfing injury in my late teens and most recently from a shattered femur while racing.

Core exercise and Yoga (I know sounds lame) really works and is a hell of a work out if done right (without cheating).

A close friend HIGHLY recommends acupuncture and swears by it. He's a former football player and has alot of old injuries. Says he feels like a 20 year old after each treatment.
I have yet to try it, but I'm very tempted.

Hope you get it worked out.

Back pain sucks! I have had TWO fusion surgeries to L3-5. They fixed the problem with the vertebrae but the surgeries caused more problems than the back pain itself. I took massive quantities of opiates (50mg Dilaudid/day) for years.
I just said screw it one day and threw out the pills and went cold turkey. **Not advised!**

I started working out with stretching and light weights and heavy cardio. I sit in the sauna for a long time too. I got my nutrition up and my weight down.
I have learned to "let the pain walk along side me" Sounds kinda hippyish, I know, but I do live in a hippy town.
The greatest thing I have done for my back is to not let it control me. The drugs and the chronic pain became a "thing" and I had to put a stop to it.

I started racing because of this. I decided that I could not race and have back pain or race and have back pain. I always wanted to race and wasn't going to let the pain control me. I suffer every day with pain and more on race weekends. What I get from the experience of living instead of wallowing in the pain is worth it.

What ever happens with you, I hope for a very positive outcome.
Like I said, back pain sucks!

If you dont fancy Yoga then look into Chi Gung. Its a little less contortionist than Yoga but is still very good for strength, tone, posture etc.

A strong stomach is the best thong for a knackered back...helps support it and relieve stress on lumbar areas whilst improving posture.

Anti inflammatories like ibuprofen can also help if taken properly (if you are not adverse to such things).

Take care of that back Zen, you wont get another one!

I understand your frustration at the demo too, i have a few long term martial arts injuries from classmates and silly mistakes. They can be costly!

I'm a physical therapist working in the outpatient orthopaedic setting and work with many people who have back pain for a variety of reasons.

Ironic enough, I am loathe to give out advice to anybody who I haven't personally evaluated for the same reason it's hard to get solid advice from non-medical folks. Without knowledgeable hands/eyes/ears to see you as the big picture, it's impossible to formulate a specific (and thus effective) treatment regimen. Generalized approaches like yoga/pilates/self-help books/youtube( ) etc may help but are often not specific enough and may even make things worse.

If you've gotten x-rays and MRI to the area of complaint but haven't gotten solid answers, maybe seek a second opinion. My general experience with diagnostic test results is that they are often only a piece of the puzzle and may not be relevant at all! I always tell clients that x-ray and MRI tech is becoming so refined that they will pick up all but the smallest of details and the well-trained radiologist interpretting the results will objectively report those results as they see it. The missing piece is often the clinical relevance. Degeneration found? So what! Everybody (seriously) has degeneration occurring from the moment we stop growing to the day we die. People can be pain-free and active through all this (as you once were).

If you haven't tried PT yet, speak with you doctor about it. A good PT should be able to help you by trying different approaches to treat your pain and help set you on the road to staying pain-free. If progress is limited, a good PT should also be able to point you in a direction to pursue further help based on what did/did not work.

If you have tried everything, still haven't improved, or the pain is getting worse, you should probably revisit your doctor as this could be a sign of something more insidious. not to freak ya out tho the vast majority of people I've worked with improve greatly with conservative treatment.

Klinky cant you recommend a natural pain relief??

Good man! yea, i didn't want to come across as a coldhearted bastard for "withholding" advice...just think any halfway decent advice should be more than a shot in the dark. thx for understanding.

glad to know ur in good hands medically. don't know if ur from the usa, but despite how f'd our health care system is...i still believe it serves its purpose

...and if you're overseas, you've probably got the advantage