Back Pain

[tom27111]

2 minutes ago, grobyfox1990 said:

Lol maybe not so much me at this mornings class. Had to run out to throw up in the gym toilets after drinking too much whisky last night 

Now all the yummy mummies are thinking "oooh, he's mysterious"

 

Definitely going to work in your favour 

[CosbehFox]

Ideal timing for me 

 

My back had been a bit off since Wednesday- Friday night tried to put my shoes on and the most awful pain. It’s got a lot better than Friday night but can’t put my sock on my right foot. So looks like there is something there that needs working on in my back 

[worth_the_wait]

Back ache/pains is one of those weird medical areas that few people seem to fully understand.  It's such a complicated area, and at times the causes/symptoms seem to be unique to every individual.
 
But I think you can divide into two basic types.   There's the permanent damage to the back, possibly genetic or maybe the result of an accident, and for these cases you need to try and get expert advice to determine if there's something that needs to be done to fix it.
 
The other type, which thankfully is by far the most common, is that nearly everyone goes through back pain at some stage in their life ... often for no obvious reason, but there's not a permanent physical problem.   And after a few months/years and spells of pain, it can pass and you get back to "normal" health.   I had loads of issues in my 30's, and had a few recurring episodes ... but it has got much better in later life and generally doesn't give me too much hassle now.  <touch wood>

 

You often have to try and work it out for yourself what causes it, and try your best to avoid doing those things ... and likewise do the things that seem to help it.    My totally unscientific list of things that helped me (in no particular order) are as follows ...
 
Try to lose some weight and stay reasonably in decent shape (even if not at a perfect weight).
Have plenty of gentle exercise and stay mobile; go for a half hour walk every day (without fail).
Never stretch too far for anything, even if just picking up a pencil.
Adopt a good upright posture when sitting down.
Don't stand still for long periods.
Don't get de-hydrated and/or too drunk (my back was always worse the night after a heavy session).
Don't crash out and fall asleep in awkward positions (see point above, about getting too drunk).
Learn the correct techniques for lifting anything heavy - like a box full of wine!
When getting up, hold your knees and use your arms as a sort of lifting frame/mechanism, instead of using back muscles.
Take an anti-inflammatory drug like ibuprofen as soon as your back muscles start going into spasm.  
Try not to sneeze or cough too hard, and make sure you're not doing any physical activity at that moment.
At the first sign of trouble, take care and nurse your back.  Learn what exercises/stretches work for you.

 

But the most important thing I found, was to listen to your back and learn the signs. It usually gave me a clue before it started going seriously wrong.   I just had to learn them through bitter experience.

 

As I said earlier, my back has improved as I got older.    So don't despair if you're having major problems in early/mid life.  

 

[tom27111]

Mines been a lot better the last few days.

 

I've just started doing some simple stretches.

 

About this time last week though, I stood up and after a couple of steps, my legs nearly completely gave way, the shooting pain was so bloody intense.

 

Couple of minutes later, I was OK.

 

Not going to play my normal round of Monday golf tomorrow, so I'm sure that'll help!

 

 

[Muzzy_no7]

I find that a combination of Swimming, seeing a chiropractor and taking CBD oil manages my back really well.

 

Thoroughly recommend for those who struggle.  

[tom27111]

Well, here I am again.

 

I've been doing a bit of a morning routine of stretching, back was feeling great.

 

I've closed the curtains wrong tonight and I'm in fvcking agony 

 

 

[FoyleFox]

15 minutes ago, tom27111 said:

Well, here I am again.

 

I've been doing a bit of a morning routine of stretching, back was feeling great.

 

I've closed the curtains wrong tonight and I'm in fvcking agony 

 

 

I'm resisting the temptation to do any jokes about you feeling drawn and pulling yourself together. Really, I am....

 

Not good news. Did you go to the Dr last time? Or have they go a physio you could see? 

[tom27111]

1 hour ago, FoyleFox said:

I'm resisting the temptation to do any jokes about you feeling drawn and pulling yourself together. Really, I am....

 

Not good news. Did you go to the Dr last time? Or have they go a physio you could see? 

 

Not seen the doctor about it for years. 

 

He told me it would be surgery next time and I'm not keen on that to be honest.

 

I'd virtually not be able to walk until I agreed to that. 

 

It's a very dangerous area to operate on.

 

He was brilliant though, had a model of a spine in his office and explained everything to me. Especially focusing on why the human spine isn’t fit for purpose.

 

Then said: "show me someone over 30 who's never had a back problem and I'll show you a liar" 

 

Then he prescribed me muscle relaxants and told me to just drink alcohol when they run out as it works the same way.

 

Thinking about it, I'm not sure he was actually a doctor? 

 

Good job I only went in to see him for a prostate check 

Edited 3 February 2023 by tom27111

[HighPeakFox]

7 hours ago, tom27111 said:

 

Not seen the doctor about it for years. 

 

He told me it would be surgery next time and I'm not keen on that to be honest.

 

I'd virtually not be able to walk until I agreed to that. 

 

It's a very dangerous area to operate on.

 

He was brilliant though, had a model of a spine in his office and explained everything to me. Especially focusing on why the human spine isn’t fit for purpose.

 

Then said: "show me someone over 30 who's never had a back problem and I'll show you a liar" 

 

Then he prescribed me muscle relaxants and told me to just drink alcohol when they run out as it works the same way.

 

Thinking about it, I'm not sure he was actually a doctor? 

 

Good job I only went in to see him for a prostate check 

I'm wary of commenting because it sounds like it's rather worse than 'a bit of a bad back', but my recent experience in finding excellent osteopaths/chiropractors has been hugely beneficial - the only problem with regular GPs/doctors is that they are not specialists, and one that I teach freely admits to not being much help in acute situations.

 

I feel silly mentioning it really, because I am sure you've explored that route, but just in case you never have...

[Free Falling Foxes]

7 hours ago, tom27111 said:

He was brilliant though, had a model of a spine in his office and explained everything to me. Especially focusing on why the human spine isn’t fit for purpose.

I read some years ago that in evolutionary terms, we've only been walking upright for a few minutes and the spine, muscles ect. have yet to fully adapt.

[Bordersfox]

On 04/12/2022 at 17:29, worth_the_wait said:

Back ache/pains is one of those weird medical areas that few people seem to fully understand.  It's such a complicated area, and at times the causes/symptoms seem to be unique to every individual.
 
But I think you can divide into two basic types.   There's the permanent damage to the back, possibly genetic or maybe the result of an accident, and for these cases you need to try and get expert advice to determine if there's something that needs to be done to fix it.
 
The other type, which thankfully is by far the most common, is that nearly everyone goes through back pain at some stage in their life ... often for no obvious reason, but there's not a permanent physical problem.   And after a few months/years and spells of pain, it can pass and you get back to "normal" health.   I had loads of issues in my 30's, and had a few recurring episodes ... but it has got much better in later life and generally doesn't give me too much hassle now.  <touch wood>

 

You often have to try and work it out for yourself what causes it, and try your best to avoid doing those things ... and likewise do the things that seem to help it.    My totally unscientific list of things that helped me (in no particular order) are as follows ...
 
Try to lose some weight and stay reasonably in decent shape (even if not at a perfect weight).
Have plenty of gentle exercise and stay mobile; go for a half hour walk every day (without fail).
Never stretch too far for anything, even if just picking up a pencil.
Adopt a good upright posture when sitting down.
Don't stand still for long periods.
Don't get de-hydrated and/or too drunk (my back was always worse the night after a heavy session).
Don't crash out and fall asleep in awkward positions (see point above, about getting too drunk).
Learn the correct techniques for lifting anything heavy - like a box full of wine!
When getting up, hold your knees and use your arms as a sort of lifting frame/mechanism, instead of using back muscles.
Take an anti-inflammatory drug like ibuprofen as soon as your back muscles start going into spasm.  
Try not to sneeze or cough too hard, and make sure you're not doing any physical activity at that moment.
At the first sign of trouble, take care and nurse your back.  Learn what exercises/stretches work for you.

 

But the most important thing I found, was to listen to your back and learn the signs. It usually gave me a clue before it started going seriously wrong.   I just had to learn them through bitter experience.

 

As I said earlier, my back has improved as I got older.    So don't despair if you're having major problems in early/mid life.  

 

Great post.  

 

As @HighPeakFox mentions in his post it sounds like Tom's issue is probably beyond a lot of the suggestions but for those of us who suffer chronic back issues (chronic in the sense they are long term rather than crippling) you make some excellent points. 

 

As you say I think the key thing is finding what works for you.  The booze point is the same for me, whilst a few drinks relaxes me and can ease discomfort too many and I obviously sleep in some very weird positions making it worse in the morning. 

 

For myself the following has been effective:

 

1) deep tissue massage/trigger point release. Personally, and everyone is different, I have found this far more effective than a Chiropractor.  

2) stretching before bed and in the morning if I feel a bit tight.  There's loads of suggestions from physio folk online (Dr Jacob on Insta has some excellent stuff you can do in five minutes).

3) CBD oil and meditation.  Whilst stress and anxiety are not the root cause of my back issue I have realised they definitely are a trigger.  If I've had a particularly rough day at work I'll have a hot bath, do some stretches, do a bit of mediation.  It really helps.  

4) seeing a physio to rectify long term functionality/mobility.  For too long I did what is a typical male thing and just muddled along.  It was only when it got really bad that my wife virtually forced me to a physio. 

5) staying active where possible, even just a walk is good for back and spine mobility.  

 

Through a combination of these different things I'm now able to exercise regularly including strength training specifically targeting areas of weakness in my back (programmed by my physio).  Progress is never linear but there is progress and I'm in a much better place physically and as a result mentally.  

 

As you state there is hope and it's about trying to be pro-active in finding things you can do, people you can see, to get back to life without back pain. 

 

For anyone suffering - don't do what I did and allow it to become chronic or at the point your back is almost constantly spasming.  The sooner you address it, the better I'd say.