VaughnT Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 It's been a rough couple of weeks. Years and years ago, I did something to my back while toting a sack of coin and currency into a customer. The same thing I'd done a thousand times before, but something was a little different and my back went out. The doc said it's just a pinched muscle, but I think it's got to be some kind of spine cancer or the like because it just won't go away. All the stretching and exercising in the world doesn't help fix it. At best, it's a temporary solution and I'm always afraid of moving wrong and waking that sleeping dragon again. Today, I tried to get into the shop and fill some orders. I managed to get one small order filled, but my back has been hating me for it. Not like I did something crazy or anything. Sometimes the spasms just spasm because I stand up or walk to the kitchen. As the old saying goes, the spirit is willing but the body is weak. Getting old ain't for sissies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSW Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 I messed my back up years ago when I fell in an open footing. Most of my issues come from pinched nerves. Lifting doesn't get me, but twisting will. Sometimes simply walking across uneven ground can cause me to twist my back enough to start issues again. I've had mixed results with chiropractors. Some don't do much, others can make things worse, but I have found one who does wonders on my back and joints. Many times he can straighten things out with only one or two adjustments. I actually have an appointment with him this morning to deal with a back issue that's been bothering me for the last 2 weeks ( he's been away all last week). My biggest scare is that at almost 90 years old, he'll drop dead unexpectedly and leave me trying to find someone similar to him that can help me when I have problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted May 16, 2016 Author Share Posted May 16, 2016 It's that twisting that gets me, too. When it does ease up a bit, I walk around in absolute dread of doing something that will aggravate it again! Some folks have told me to see a chiropractor, but I have issues with people touching me and don't know if I could stand some guy getting that close and personal. It's a messed up life I lead! The worst part is that I have orders piling up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swedefiddle Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 Good Morning, If is wasn't for a GOOD Chiropractor, I would be a cripple. I had a diving accident when I was 15, my cousins carried me in to their Rodeo Chiropractor, I walked out. Yes there are Chiropractors that are better than another (just like any Trade). Ask around, Ask friends, You will find another GOOD one. Quite often your muscles get a little (or a lot) of tension. You have to loosen them up before any adjustment will help. Sitting in front of a nozzle in a Hot Tub works wonders for me. Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John McPherson Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 I have a friend that is a Vietnam Vet/telephone lineman before bucket trucks turned knifemaker that swears by his chiropractor/acupuncturist. I have known a number of quacks in the field, but am about ready to book an appointment with him myself: knees, shoulders, hands, etc. Plumb tore up from the floor up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Ivan Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 I'm still "wet behind the ears" as some here might say at 27 years old. Even still I may as well be 70. Ive been working heavy, demanding jobs since I was 14 and already I've got the dreaded "turned around too fast" back problems. I throw out my back at least twice a year and get bed ridden for at least a week, more commonly 2 weeks each time. My knees are junk and often have a hard time sleeping because of them and my hands are well on their way out. I do my best to take care of myself but it may be too little too late as the damage has been done. Regular stretching and strengthening exercises do help along with a deliberate diet. Living with an incredibly skilled massage therapist (I call her a sadist but whatever) has its perks and I'm lucky for that. A message to all the young ones getting into a skilled trade...TAKE CARE OF YOUR BODY! I'm too stubborn to let pain stop me but it sure would be nice to have been more proactive in my earlier years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 I have, what a friend and Doctor call "infantryitis" my knees, back and shoulders give me fits. Lowest disk in my back is on the way out. Neurontin and a good NSAID are my friend. I get back pain if I forget myself and do something stupid, but the muscles don't spasm. Combine that with some back exercises which are not PG and I do ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notownkid Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 I've had back pain and problems since 5th grade, Army said I was good enough for them but over the years horses farming logging and stupidity added to the pain. Went to a bunch of Chiropractors over the years in a bunch of locations and some helped some didn't, One morning for no reason I couldn't get out of bed, my wife dragged me out and one leg wasn't working and we were 187 miles from home and Doc. A friend came over to help her get me loaded into the truck and hook up the trailer and gave me an oxycodone he had and it got me home, Next day Doc took on feel and said MRI and now, He called and made the appointment in an hr. 3 days later they were operating on a herniated disc that had hit the nerve to my left leg and Surgeon said I was lucky to have got in as I did and that was because the Chiropractor had insisted that they take me immediately. the Chiropractor told me later the difference between Chiropractors is knowing when to quit and send you along to some one else with better equipment like MRI. That was almost 7 yrs ago now and I've not needed a Chiropractor since the operation, mine moved south a few yrs ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arftist Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 21 hours ago, Crazy Ivan said: I'm still "wet behind the ears" as some here might say at 27 years old. Even still I may as well be 70. Ive been working heavy, demanding jobs since I was 14 and already I've got the dreaded "turned around too fast" back problems. I throw out my back at least twice a year and get bed ridden for at least a week, more commonly 2 weeks each time. My knees are junk and often have a hard time sleeping because of them and my hands are well on their way out. I do my best to take care of myself but it may be too little too late as the damage has been done. Regular stretching and strengthening exercises do help along with a deliberate diet. Living with an incredibly skilled massage therapist (I call her a sadist but whatever) has its perks and I'm lucky for that. A message to all the young ones getting into a skilled trade...TAKE CARE OF YOUR BODY! I'm too stubborn to let pain stop me but it sure would be nice to have been more proactive in my earlier years. I dd most of the damage to me body after your age. Suggest you slow down and asess your life and direction before it is too late. As it is all I am good for now is bench work (my somewhat comfort zone) Next stop for me is a jeweler's bench if my hands and wrists hold out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anachronist58 Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 (edited) Wow, Vaughn T, some crew you have fallen in with. I'll skip the long story and paraphrase - broke my back in two places and didn't know it when I was 15. The future Mrs Taylor found me at age 29, living in someone's back yard. She took me to her chiropractor, and I have been going to him for 29 years. What I want to convey here, is that you need to be proactive about your condition. I am not qualified to give medical advice, but everyone knows you can't keep walking around with a rock in your hoof. I am certain that you are in sufficient pain to get past your irrational aversion to being touched - so get over it, and listen carefully to what your Peeps have been saying in your thread. The biggest challenge will be walking through your fears (I at times fail to "get over" mine, and must "walk through" them) and start asking people who go to Chiropractors about their experiences. There are good, bad, and mediocre professionals in every field. Last year, Mrs Taylor's Chiropractor told her "You need to have you're MD look at this". Ended up with a total shoulder replacement, and reminds me from time to time how proud she is of her new left hook. Never give up. Robert Taylor Edited May 17, 2016 by Anachronist58 psychotic text editor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted May 24, 2016 Author Share Posted May 24, 2016 Right now, I'm trying a regimen of basic stretching and exercising the abdominals. The last therapist I saw said that it's probably a question of being out of balance due to how I work, walk, etc. I can see some validity to that since I always carried the coin on my left shoulder to leave my gun hand free. With the abs tight and sore from two or three sit-ups, the lower back feels a lot better. I'm guessing that it has to do with the whole core taking on a share of supporting the torso. Regardless, I was able to get in a solid hour or so of forging before my back decided I a break was mandatory. It hurt like the dickens to walk back to the house, but I felt great about actually getting some forge work done! Tomorrow, I'll do the same thing and see if the pattern repeats. It'll be a long slow road to getting any semblance of function back in my life, but I'm hoping that it will pan out. If not, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpankySmith Posted May 24, 2016 Share Posted May 24, 2016 Vaughn, after I had my neck surgery I was astonished to have to re-learn how to hold my head upright....I had been unconsciously always looking down to mitigate the non-stop pain. Once relieved, my muscles SEVERELY protested being asked to line back up in an upright position. So yes, I feel your pain both literally and figuratively. Having to retrain your body to do something different after you trained it - consciously or unconsciously - to do something else is no fun at all. Hang in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockstar.esq Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 Vaughn, Sorry to hear you've had so much pain. I don't know if you've ever seen a podiatrist (foot doctor) but it's incredible how much difference a set of orthotics can make when they're in a good shoe. I have a long history of back injuries and I'd resigned myself to the semi-constant pain. I ended up at the podiatrist because my feet were acting up, it turned out my arches were so high that I was putting too much force on some bones and causing fractures. Basically I was on an endless cycle of hobbling from one foot injury to the next, even when my feet didn't particularly hurt. It's weird to think I'd been walking on broken bones for a decade or two. The orthotics not only fixed the foot pain, they greatly reduced the back pain. Maybe it's worth looking into for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kozzy Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 In chinese medicine, one thing that's supposed to help back problems is to eat more snake. Guess it's time to whack the weeds and look for some good rattlers to snack on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 33 minutes ago, Kozzy said: In chinese medicine, one thing that's supposed to help back problems is to eat more snake. Guess it's time to whack the weeds and look for some good rattlers to snack on More snake? Is that Chinese medicine from China town in San Fransisco? Oh sorry, don't ask don't tell! Goodness my back feels great! Frosty The Lucky. (he doesn't get put on moderated sometimes) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 Bending down to catch them is a salutary exercise for the back. Buying them pre-caught is cheating; like driving to the gym! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted June 22, 2016 Share Posted June 22, 2016 Excersises certainly help, for me, as dose taking neuronten and meloxican. When things do get sideways (when I get dumb and either stop one or the other) a cane helps with the walk back to the house (and getting up from a chair, lol) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arftist Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 Vaughn are you at least taking a regimen of over the counter anti-inflamatories/pain relief? A good thing to try is Aleve and Tylenol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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