Chronic lower back pain - Page 3

**The Reaper** · 06-24-2007, 08:29

I have a couple of buddies who are DOs and I have used them for manipulation when unbeknownst to me, I had a C5-C6 compromise problem causing pain to radiate down my left arm with the hot poker sensation. The treatment left me with less pain and able to move more freely.

IMHO, tdd is correct, the DO is more trustworthy than the Chiro, has a medical degree, and will not claim to be able to cure everything from influenza to eczema by manipulation. They are not cheap though.

The DOs told me that this is a common injury for jumpers from the opening shocks of parachutes snapping your head back while several extra pounds of Kevlar are attached. Who knew?

I would give a DO a try before surgery, but if the injections help, then no worries.

TR

Hipshot · 06-24-2007, 11:45

TR / theDitchDoctor:

Thanks, guys, for the input. The doctor I'm seeing is a DO and will be doing the injections. When I saw him Friday, he was surprised that I wasn't in more pain than what I described based on what he saw in the x-rays and the MRI prints. He currently has me on Lyrica (75mg - 2 caps every 12 hrs) and Tramadol (50mg - 2 tablets every 6 hrs). They seem to be helping - when I can stay awake.

theditchdoctor · 06-24-2007, 12:50

Quote:

The DOs told me that this is a common injury for jumpers from the opening shocks of parachutes snapping your head back while several extra pounds of Kevlar are attached. Who knew?

It's also a common injury in those of us involved with rope rescue (I was trained as a high angle rescue technician for the VFD). If you don't control your speed on descent and then abruptly stop, there's a chance that you will snap your head back and do various things to your cervical spine. There was a utility worker killed several years back in California (I believe it was CA) when he broke (well, technically subluxated) his C-spine in this manner.

BTW, you might look here: http://www.osteopathic.org/index.cfm...D=findado_main
Call the docs in your area and see if they are willing to reduce the cost of treatment (or waive it all together) for a veteran. I know several docs who do this. The other option is to go to an osteopathic medical school- you can find a list here: http://www.aacom.org/data/cib/01-geographic.asp - and inquire about allowing to the students to work on you (under close supervision) in exchange for care at a reduced rate. If you mention that it's a service connected condition, you might be able to arrange a way to reduce the costs out of your pocket.

If I can be of any further help, please let me know.

Doczilla · 06-24-2007, 21:26

I haven't seen them done in a series like that, so I honestly don't know if he'll recommend repeating the injections if they don't work. The literature I'm acquainted with only looks at single injections.

A word about D.O.s- as osteopathic physicians become more mainstream and complete allopathic (traditional M.D.) residencies, fewer are performing manipulations and traditional osteopathic medicine. I know several DOs, but none of them manipulate, or will only do so as a favor to a buddy when his neck is hurting. Having the DO degree doesn't necessarily mean that your doc will do manipulation, so you'll have to ask.

'zilla

Hipshot · 06-24-2007, 22:17

Thanks, Doc...I'll ask.

theditchdoctor · 06-25-2007, 18:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doczilla

A word about D.O.s- as osteopathic physicians become more mainstream and complete allopathic (traditional M.D.) residencies, fewer are performing manipulations and traditional osteopathic medicine. I know several DOs, but none of them manipulate, or will only do so as a favor to a buddy when his neck is hurting. Having the DO degree doesn't necessarily mean that your doc will do manipulation, so you'll have to ask.

'zilla

True, I forgot to mention that.

USMS8504 · 06-26-2007, 16:04

I normally just lurk, but would like to add:

There is a new therapy out (last 5 years or so), called the DRX 9000 spinal decompression, I believe. Might be worth looking into. DO’s and Chiros have been using and seeing great results with it. 80% pain relief if I recall correctly. My wife is a chiro and I can see the other point of views stated here, but you might still look around. There are a number of reservists who are chiros in the civilian sector, might want to look one of them up for a better understanding. After 20 years of ice hockey, and 5 years under a ruck, she did wonders for my lower back.

Link: https://axiomworldwide.com/DRX9000.aspx

I did not really look around, but they should have a link to offices with the DRX in them if you want to check it out.

Ret10Echo · 06-26-2007, 18:56

My Chiro has a decompression system and has mentioned it to me a couple of times. It is a bit pricey for treatment so I am holding off at this point.

Guess that means I don't hurt that bad.

Hipshot · 06-26-2007, 21:48

Be glad that you don't have the pain. Back in 1991 I had a major flair up with my back. It was so bad that at night when I would move, I'd wake up screaming. I was single at the time and had a small 1 bedroom apartment. The young lady who lived in the apartment across the entrance way demanded a key to my apartment so she could come over and check up on me. She was a GS-9 who worked over at Kelly AFB in San antonio. Sandy, Laura and Deb used to take turns checking up on me. Lucky me!

sg1987 · 06-27-2007, 05:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hipshot

. Sandy, Laura and Deb used to take turns checking up on me. Lucky me!

careful - you're coming close to braggin

Hipshot · 06-27-2007, 11:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by sg1987

careful - you're coming close to braggin

No Sir - not bragging - it's the gospel truth. And it's not what you think!

Matta mile · 06-27-2007, 18:37

Hip shot,
One of the members suggested looking into foot wear. That is, do you roll your heel when you walk either inside or to the outside. You can check the heels of your shoes or ask someone to walk behind you. Your heel location on impact however may different when running. As it turns out, I pronate. This aggravates the lower back in my case. I have since got a pair of Brooks running shoes that helps correct this problem.
Some six months ago (when I started publicly whining here about this) I also received alot of good advice.
Stretching, the right footwear and some herbal stuff the wife got me seem to have helped alot. I can now perform "honeydo's" around the house to standard.... a mixed blessing .
Good luck with it!
MM

JGarcia · 07-02-2007, 06:08

What does the heel of ones shoe look like if they are rolling their heel when walking or running?

Matta mile · 07-02-2007, 06:57

JGarcia,

Remember inspecting your boots for needing a new heel by rolling a #2 pencil under the back portion of the heel? Same technique however for the sides of the heel. If you have a good shoe store in your area that sells running shoes or regular shoes they will likely be able to tell you right away.
MM

Ret10Echo · 07-02-2007, 07:06

Those more knowing than I can further elaborate, but generally if you are over over-pronating a lot, the inside of your shoe will me worn down, sometimes almost crushed . You may also be a heel-toe runner and wear the heels out very quickly. Mild pronation will show less wear to the inside portion but it will still be evident that there is more wear there than the other side. There are quite a few good sites out there on how to evaluate your conformance and analyze shoe wear patterns.