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Grog18b paints the perfect thread entry for chronic moderate to severe back pain. What really stands out is addressing the issue of dealing with the cause of most back issues. No amount of surgery, steroid injections, or medicines can really do what physical therapy, and core building can do to fix the problem. Aside from acute injuries , the bulk of the troubles come from overloading vertebral disc spaces, poor posture and some really poor body mechanics; myself included. Without addressing these issues, we really will not have any lasting relief of symptoms.
If surgery is used for chronic back pain, there will likely be some symptom free time. The same can be true with epidural steroid injections, if there is radiating pain from the back injury. This is the time to get seroius about physical therapy (PT). PT is what really addresses the cause of overloaded disc spaces. Tighted the core, and it is more than just sit-ups, and you have a shot at staying ahead of the pain. Pain meds, taken for pain may be needed. There is a difference between addiction to pain meds, v dependency. The clinical picture between the two is very different, especially if handled by pain management folks.
The bottom line I am pitching here is that it takes more than just surgery to deal with back pain that is chronic. You can't undo surgery, and my choice for my back has been to hold aurgical intervention for later. Like grog, physical therapy, and an active core tightening regime has kept me out of the OR as a patient. Pain meds handled by pain management folks when and if indicated.
Great post, grog18b!!
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