Jersey Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 Young guys, TAKE CARE OF YOUR BACKS! I've been in pain for the last 2 weeks, just like a knot right between my shoulderblades, and i finally went for an MRI today. The images don't look good and i'm hoping something can be done other then surgery. Anyone have expierience with a C6 bulge or herniation... or whatever that disk is doing, pressing on my spinal cord? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v8dats Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 holy crap i get the same kind of pain all of the time. it comes and goes. i hope that you can treat it somehow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jersey Posted December 6, 2006 Author Share Posted December 6, 2006 Don't want to scare you but, just pay attention to your body. I've had these "knots" between my blades several times over the last few years but always "worked though" them. Now i'm wondering if it was this same disk all these years and i never took care of it earlier and could have now possibly saved myself surgery. And, i blame myself for this because i never go to the docs, never go to the chiropraptor like (i think) i should, always lifting heavy things the incorrect way... on and on. So, at 39, i'm dealing with this. I can't really say what caused it but the only thing that comes to mind is - I was at work the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and the only thing i did with my back was pick up a monitor, put it up on my hand it up like a pizza guy would carry a pizza (done this many times, nothing new), carry it across the company and put it down. No pain at all. An hour later sitting in my office i started feeling this "knot" in my back. 3 hours later i was suffering in major pain on the way to see the Chiroprator. That's the only thing i can think of that possibly triggered the weak disk or something. Sux. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 Jersey, you & I are about the same age (I just turned 40 this past summer). I had a motorcycle accident in 1999 that banged me up & down pretty good. I never did see a chiropractor until 2005. However, I worked out before and after that time with weights. The exercise did help, but my vertebrae in my back and joints in my neck were not aligned. My neck has some bone spurs (arthritis) now, but I keep it at bey with regular visits to the chiropractor. This has helped so much that I took up martial arts a couple of years ago. That and the weights combined with the chiro make for some good regeneration, longevity, and strength. All the streching, twisting, and fighting is great for my back and neck (OK the fighting is not, but it comes with the territory). You need to strengthen your back & neck after you recover from this. I also suggest stretching later on (serious whole body stuff) and chiropractor visits too. Don't let your body go at this point. You are at the cusp in age when you either 1) stay in shape and hold on to youth/health even though you age or 2) it starts to decay more rapidly now and you let it all go to hell in a handbasket and do nothing until they rush you to the hospital for a coronary. Be serious about this and get stronger. Stronger is better. Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rival5 Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 I had a herniation in the lumbar of my back(lower back). I was carrying a printer and felt a pop and had some pain. The pain went away after two days. Two months later I started to have pain in my left leg. I thought I had a pulled muscle. As time went on the pain became worse from my left butt check down to my calf and numbness in my toes. I was literally laid up on my back for 8 months. Eventually I got an MRI and found I had two herniations one the size of a quarter. I did cortizone shots but it didnt help. I eventually had surgery. Almost a year later now I'm almost back to my pre injury self. I still get slight pains once and a while(little pins and needles) and am very cautious of my back but things are much better. I'm 23, was perfectly healthy, and I'll have to be careful for the rest of my life with my back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlderThanMe Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 wow. Dude I am one of the young guys and I have had back pain in the past. When I was 15 I was inline skating in a park and went over a root under a path and fell right on my rear. Mind you I was like 14 at the time so I had never really had pain. Well they discovered that two of vy vertabrae were not completely bone and were still cartilage and had squished a little bit and I was in serious pain for over a week. Fortunately I have been careful since then and built up the muscles in my back so that it protects my spine from being injured if I fall down on my rear again. all that before I get my drivers lisence...That pain was soo bad I could not think or do anything. I was having back spazams and other nasty stuff lying in the ER. I have been mostly pain free in the last 5 years from building up muscle and not getting overweight which the doctor said would be a big no-no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
660Z Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 I`ve had and still have a Heriated Disk (L1-S5) in 1992,The last one above the pelvis. Talk about pain!!!! It hits your siatic nerve and just shoots down your legs. Anyway, I was helped with phyisical therapy (sp?) Heat, body pulling and back exerices. I still have pain and problems but as long as I`m moble I`m happy. I won`t lift anything of weight without help, either a friend or something mecanical. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldestzguy Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 I used to get these pains all the time to the point I would walk around looking deformed trying to give in to them. I could not move my neck, right shoulder, back, etc. I went everywhere. All the orthopedic doctors told me it was my back. I even, in desparation; went to a Chiropracter and he slapped me around and walked on me etc. I finally went to a family doctor for something else and in two minutes he told me I had knots in my muscles because of stress. He knows I hate any kind of pills but he told me the knots would not truly go away unless I took muscle relaxers (I think mine was Flexerill) to relax the swollen and tense muscles so the could get smaller and RETURN TO THEIR NORMAL PLACE. He said you have to take the relaxers because swollen tense muscles twice their size cannot go back into place. I took four or five of these in the proper order and the pain was gone forever in 15 minutes. I had one more episode a year later and took two of the remaining pills I still had and it went away. That was 10 years ago. Years of suffering for nothing. Yeah, I had xrays also. It did not matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimzdat Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 Well, I can speak from experience on this one, as I currently have C5, 6 & 7 bolted together, and I just turned 36 this year. My problem was herniated discs, minor bone degeneration, and bone spurring. I had a first surgery a few years ago (a laminectomy)--basically they just went in thru the back of my neck and used a fancy dremel tool to remove the spurs they could get to. The neurosurgeon wanted to try that first instead of the fusion, because the fusion places extra stress on the vertebra above and below the fusion point. Had the second surgery a year ago-cervical discectomy- (almost to the day--it was on 12/5/05)-they went in thru the front of my neck, cut out a section of the vertebra, removed the herniated discs, stuck in a couple chunks of cadaver bone, then bolted it all together with a titanium plate. Best part? it actually worked--I was having shooting pains in my hand and arm, and was taking flexeril once in a while, and ibuprofen daily (between 3000-4000mg daily); and that was just to make it tolerable. Now, I still take the occasional ibuprofen, but it's nothing like it used to be, and I can just take 2 OTC pills and be good. Worst part? Not being able to eat for 3 days without extreme pain. Having to wear the hard collar for 6 weeks (do a google search for "Miami J" collars). The 8 weeks of PT after the collar came off wasn't much fun either, BUT IS VERY IMPORTANT!! If you don't keep up with the exercises, you will just do more damage--what I learned is that most people with spinal problems end up relying on the wrong muscles to take up the slack, but that actually causes your body to pull itself outta whack. Don't take any part of your spine for granted, and do what ya need to do to get it fixed NOW--otherwise you're gonna regret it. Part of my problem is genetics and my height (I'm 6'8"); other people run into this problem due to overexertion/accidents/whatever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2126 Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 I'm 55 years young and have had similar back issues, as you guys have mentioned. First avoid any surgery at all costs, it a last resort and the odds are questionable as to the outcome. From my experiences and many hours of research and investigation on the old back.....the bottom line is pretty simple! You gotta get fit, eat a good diet, and then stay in shape!!! Too many couch potatoes these days! Its a cold reality when you realize your back is f'd up and life as you knew it has now been changed because of it. I always tell folks..."There are two health plans you can subscribe to in life, the pay now or the pay later plan". The genereal populous tends to subscribe to the pay later plan. Just look at all the commercials on TV that play on your emotions and then tell you to buy their pill or what ever to fix your problem....because it certainly wasn't your fault it's f'd up. Right!!!! Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bschiltz Posted December 6, 2006 Share Posted December 6, 2006 OTM, I feel your pain! I'm 17 but have some back problems, started when I was a freshman in HS (~15 years old). My teacher for weight lifting class thought I should be able to lift more than I could, so she put another 50 lbs. on the squat bar and told me to do it. Being 15 and standing infront of the whole class I wasn't going to say no. I got under the bar and lifted it up, squated down and tried to stand up. It didn't work. There was no immediate pain, just an uncomfortable feeling. A day later I could hardly stand to sit straight up in a chair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jersey Posted December 7, 2006 Author Share Posted December 7, 2006 Thanks for all the info and kind words guys. I've promised myself to regularly visit the chiropractor after i get through this ordeal. I know some people don't believe in them and i understand, but i really feel they help keep me in line. I've wrestled for 10 years though grade/high school and played football as well so i'm thinking this may have helped this disk get to the position it's in now as well. I've also worked on cars since my father had me holding the flashlight when i was a kid and have lifted many a trans/motor over the years, of course not always the correct way which i'm sure also added to this mess. I'm only 5'7, 175lbs and still in pretty good shape but, the back seems to giving up slightly on me now. I really made this post to hopefully get the attention of possibly one or two of our younger guys to play it safe when they can. I received the report today and i'll post it below. Basically what i got out of it is that, that piece of disk may be separated and floating, and i also have slight some degeneration of some of the other disks. The rest i'll let the doc earn his pay and explain exactly what the heck it all means! lol. I picked up a prescription today for some drug (exactly like prednisone with a diff name which i can't remember at the moment) that is a steroid to reduce the swelling. I'll be calling an orthopedic that specializes in the spine area in the morning to make an appointment. One thing that is kinda cool about this whole thing... i finally get to try steroids like i've always wanted to while growing up! lol. J/K, j/k. Again, thanks guys. Fingers crossed i'll avoid the knife. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wigenOut-S30 Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 Sorry to hear Jersey. I hope you will be able to stay out of the knives way. But you know you have to do what you have to do. Our DBA here just had to go on disabilty cause of this back. He has serious back problems from a wreck and just abusing his back most of his life. He is going to have to get surgery as well. I have had some back pain in my life but it was more muscular spazims and what not. please take care and thanks for the warning.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MONGO510 Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 I had what I thought was back pain, for many years. The doctors could never isolate the problem. After complaining for about 10 years they did an angiogram and found the problem was my heart. The pain was Angina! Do not assume the pain you have is back pain! It felt the same to me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldestzguy Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 Women's heart pain is almost always in their back for some reason and a lot of men as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RB26powered74zcar Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 I had back pain for years and didn't know what to do about it, so I decided to use my VA benefits and go get a physical. Guess what? I had cancer (non hotchskins lymphoma SP?) and it ate up my L2 disc so bad, L1 and L3 were touching... They admitted me right on the spot and went in through the left stomach area and removed the damage and put in a titanium ball and cage type doo-dad.... Bottom line.... get yourself checked out when somethings wrong with you, it may be serious and can be fixed before it eats you alive... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlderThanMe Posted December 8, 2006 Share Posted December 8, 2006 bschiltz: yeah...I stared having pain when I was 14(I think?) L5 and L6 got squeezed together when I fell and it HURT!!!!! I have been working on my back muscles and abs and it really is much better. Every once in a while I will feel it a tinge but nothing bad. I just keep working the muscles to help support my back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeeZ Posted December 8, 2006 Share Posted December 8, 2006 As young as you are, you really need to be careful. When I was 18, I was working putting in a modifed Torqueflite in a Dodge Coronet when the damn thing slip out of the trans jack. I thought at the time the trans was more important than my back and I pulled some muscles. Took me a week to get over it and to this day (I'm 58) I continue to have problems from time to time. During my pharmacy career, I have seen alot of guys with bad backs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHO-Z Posted December 8, 2006 Share Posted December 8, 2006 L5 S1 Lower Back, Had to give up pipe welding and am now a Mech Engineer. Did not get surgery on my back. I have to watch what I do and how long or I pay for it. I do feel better if I do my Back exercises. As said before "Watch Your Back" it only takes an instant for a life time of pain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted December 9, 2006 Share Posted December 9, 2006 Thanks for all the info and kind words guys. I've promised myself to regularly visit the chiropractor after i get through this ordeal. This is a good idea, period. Just make sure your chiro has ALL the information on what they found AND make sure you go to a GOOD one. There are ones that specialize in sports injury rehab, etc. They are good for the young & restless. ... I picked up a prescription today for some drug (exactly like prednisone with a diff name which i can't remember at the moment) that is a steroid to reduce the swelling. One thing that is kinda cool about this whole thing... i finally get to try steroids like i've always wanted to while growing up! Hahaha! Too bad they're NOT the anabolic kind!!!! If they gave prednisone to my granny, it ain't for making her look like Arnie. Get well & treat your body good. That way you'll make it to 40. Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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