OT had an MRI today...

[Dave from MN]

been having lower pack pain for years, been really bad since last May. Sometimes it is so sharp it drops me to my knees or keeps me from even being able to lift my leg to brake, other times a constant ache which is mild to severe from lower middle back right down into my hind end. Got sick of paying $200 a visit physical therapy( they wanted me to come everyday!!) treating what they "thought" was the problem. I requested an MRI because I want them to KNOW what i have so they can treat it. Tired of hearing"It may well be a bulged disc ot two". Sure hope it isnt something I need surgery for but being a farmer I darned well need it diagnosed so I can get on with my plans this spring. Wish a fello farmer some luck please! I'm gonna go rebuild a feeder now while I have time.

 

[balatonm]

Good luck,

What part of MN are you in?

 

[Howard H.]

Back in college I had a lot of back trouble - muscle related, I guess - I never went to the doctor to find out exactly.

Being on the track team, I was working out with the football guys and they had a gizmo that held your feet while you did a "reverse situp" - you could dangle over at 90 degrees down towards the floor and then raise up backwards...

I started working on that pretty hard and next thing I knew - I didn't have a problem one. I kept after it until I could do them while holding a 45 pound weight behind my head and I've never had trouble like that since - that's been 25 years ago.

That sure might be the wrong thing to do it if was nerve related or something like that, but it sure worked for me!

Best of luck to you!

Howard

 

[M Nut]

I wondered what you were up to today? Hadn't heard from you at all on here. Thought maybe it was a little colder down your way and you were busy feeding the furnace! I know it's plenty cold up here today. Are you building a feeder for those cows?
Hey, good luck with your back issue. Back pain is no fun to deal with. I deal with it on a daily basis myself. (I was run over in a farm accident when I was 10 years old, and my lower back didn't heal right after that.)
Good news is that it is supposed to be near 30 ABOVE zero this weekend!

 

[fixerupper]

Dave, hope you can get something done soon. It just makes you feel kinda lazy when you're hurting.

I sure hope you can get a quick response from the doctors. Last June I finally gave up and went to the MD to see if something can be done about the back. He took an xray to prove to the insurance company that I needed an MRI. Took the MRI and they found moderate Stenosis in L2,L3,&L5 with severe stenosis in L4, and a vertibrea that has slid ahead. So far, nothing has been done and the back is still hurtin. The system is sooooo slow.

However, another MRI last fall found severe stenosis in C3 and C4 in the neck and some degeneration. Neck surgery is in two weeks. The back has been put on the 'back' burner for awhile.

A lot of people have had back problems leading to surgery and they all have a story to tell about it. It pays to talk to them and listen to their stories. You might be able to make a better decision about your own situation. I shied away from the first specialist and instead have moved on to another one, just because of the stories I have heard from the ones who have BTDT. Jim

 

[chvet73]

I have a 5 level fusion in my lower back. Physical therapy will not cure structural problems. Do not let them convince you it will. Some of my issues could have been avoided if I had surgery to correct the one bad disc before it spread to two discs. Most doctors will tell you if you can stand the pain to leave it alone.
My experience says otherwise. If I had the first disc fixed, contrary to doctors advice it may have never spread to a 2nd disc.
Although I could hardly get around before my surgery, my mobilty is much improved, but my pain level is not improved. I'm going tommorow to have a bone scan. So I'll see waht that leads to.
Anyway when you get the MRI results let us know what they say.
Good luck with it.

 

[Dave from MN]

Central, east of St.Cloud about 6 miles,

 

[DitchWI]

Dave get yourself to a good chiropractor. I have had pretty much the same thing going on with my back for some 20 years now. It still acts up pretty much every year around deer hunting time. I give my bone crusher a visit and problem solved. Not only that but check into a good bed, most problems can be mad worse by a crappy bed-Solect Comfort- if my back is sore from driving a car or truck or tractor with a bad seat a night on this bed makes it feel like a thousnd bucks the next day. Yours my be something differant and may need surgery-just check your options. Good luck.

 

[Dave from MN]

Actually it was a feed hopper/feeder drive system in the barn. Since the flock is only out of the barn 6 weeks a year, I like to pull everything apart, check it all out and reassmeble with grease and antiseize, 1st year here them feed systems cost me over $2000 in parts that were worn out because of neglect. I dont think I spend $100 a year now. I have a nice feed bunk for the cows all ready, but I think I am gonna make one on a wagon for the remainder of winter, the frozen poop will be as high as the feedbunk. I still have to decide what to do with the steers before I go pick up them cows. Price is way down on 350-500#ers. Sure are nice looking steers for dairy.

 

[Dave from MN]

Thanks everyone for the thoughts and advice. Been seeing a Chiro, but ussually I hurt worse the next morning, they have me on a chiro, the stretching, then some electric pulse back thing. It hurt worse everyday. I just want to make sure there isnt anything broke, slipped, buldged and what not before I hit the stretching /strngthening routine. Early xray did show a vertibrae that was tilted and not in align with the other. Chiro and therapist said "Hmmm, well lets try this for a while and see what happens" when I know all is mechanically ok , then I will feel more comfertable with the Chiro and therapy. Even starting to hurt my performance the ol bedroom. Cant keep letting Lynn sleep everynight, she'll want to keep it that way!

 

[num hutz]

Dave,have you tried cortazone shots?if that does not work you and your wife might have to increase your bed room activities. have a good day.

 

[M Nut]

Oh, I see. Well, you always want to save money where you can. Boy I know cattle prices are sure down right now. I watched really nice beef cows that were 8-9 months along with calf struggle to reach the $675-$680 mark on Monday. Big cows. They weighed them on the scale and they were 1700lbs+. If I would have had enough hay, I'd have 20 more cows at home, but I don't have one extra bale this year. So it goes.

 

[Larry in GA.]

Dave, hope you can get something done quick, or at least know what is wrong. Good luck and keep us posted please
Larry

 

[Mike M]

Saw a TV show over the weekend where some doctors are using a technic for worn down discs where they strech your spine apart kinda like traction for so many seconds so many times a week for 5 weeks ? not sure but it helps the discs regrow back thicker and they can see the results in the Xray or MRI.

 

[Brokenwrench]

Dave,
Hope they figure it out.

Just a thought for ya, my dad has back problems similar to yours. Sometimes bad, sometimes bearable. He had done the MRI, shots, and chiro thing. He was the same way you were, seemed like the chiro made him worse and always wanted him to come back..

A family friend kept telling him to try a massage therapist, dads thought was that if a chiro didn`t help, a massage therapist wouldn`t do any good.

Last week he lifted goofy and wrenched his back up again. The massage therapist for the Vikings(no joke) happened to stop by the shop. She lives in town here and we know her well. Jokingly I told her to fix dad up, within a few minutes of her poking, pushing and pulling on his back, she goes "there it is". I thought he was gonna tip over, no clue what she did, but she straightened him out. He now has an appointment with her to go in the end of this week to get his back done. His back is still alittle sore, but no pain in his leg, and he ain`t walkin around like he`s got a corn cob up his backside.

Not sayin it`s a miracle cure, but when your in pain it don`t hurt to try.
Good Luck BW

 

[balatonm]

Ah, tthats only a 5hr drive from here.

Good luck with your back, hope ya figure out whats wrong.

 

[DaveS]

Brokenwrench, It sounds like your massage therapist is a better chiropractor than your dads chiropractor was.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Take your MRI to a neurosurgeon and talk to them about XSTOP. Wife in the hospital in a wheel chair and walked out 2 ours later. It works. Go on the internet and look for www. Xstop.com

 

[El Toro]

Check out this web site. There's a man in Ohio that had surgery on his back in Germany. His dad has posted on the Farmall forum needing info on his F12 Fairway and still keeps in touch. His son is back at work with no problems so far. Hal
stenumhospital.com

 

[Anonymous-0]

Take your MRI to a neurosurgeon and talk to them about XSTOP. It works wife went in the hospital in a wheelchair and walked out two hours later.
Go on the internet and search for xstop.com

 

[Kestrel in CT]

If your MRI is negative and no nerve/disc damage, I'm a big believer in building up the lower back muscles using a hyper-extension bench like Howard H described.

It takes up little space and is not expensive.

My back still goes out once a year due to over exertion but is nothing more than severe muscle strain.

Pain is excruciating but not as bad as the wife's "I told you so !".

I'm 56 and been doing hypers 3 times a week since 1980, on the advice of a chiropractor no less. Good luck........

 

[Brokenwrench]

That might be it. She has quite the following around here. Before she was hired by the vikings, she was the college instructor in St. Cloud, so I think she knows her stuff. Funny thing was, she wasn`t doing any twisting, crunching or adjusting. To me, it looked like she was simply pushing on his back, when she did whatever she did I didn`t know if the look on dads face was pain or relief.

 

[T_Bone]

Hi Dave,

Try ice packs to deal with the pain as it works really well. I crushed the bones in my foot that severed alot of the nerves inside the bones thus have tremendous bone pain 24/365. With using ice packs for the past few years, I've cut my morphine, Percoect and muscle relaxer use in half.

Japan uses walk-in freezers for people with back pain to exercise in. They've had excellant results.

Don't be surprised if the MRI shows nothing wrong. I've had extensive testing of all kind and nothing shows up as being wrong. That's typical for nerve damage.

T_Bone

 

[Anonymous-0]

I had part of a bulged disk removed from my lower back 3 years ago. My back and rearend are now pain free.

 

[5020 iron]

Dave I live by the old Persian supper club in St. Cloud.

 

[Gun guru]

I have lifted weights off and on for years and one thing that I have done and still do is hang from a chinning bar and let your weight stretch out your back muscles and bones. This really works for cramps and sore muscles. It may work for you, real cheap too.

 

[dave guest]

Hope you get some relief, Dave. I have had my back fighting me for 30 years. Heat helps, baby it a lot, stretching helps like hand from tree branch as long as you can. Painkillers, never. I was always the first to help pick up anything too heavy.

 

[Dave from MN]

Yeah, my bad habit has always been,"let me do it", being 6'1" tall i find I have developed poor lifting technique. Very,very hard to make myself squat and use my legs.

 

[steveormary]

Dave,

I have had back pain for about 12 years now. At first I was diagnosed with a compression fracture of t12. Now it is severe arthritis. My neurologist said not to have surgery. First time to chiro I thought mabe I would get some reliefe. 2nd trip made me realize it was a scam. So that didnt work. Now,one more session with Dr.Sharp Needle(accupuncture) and I dont think that will work either.
Looking back I should have pushed for more pt and mabe surgery. BTW pt stand for pain and torture. Good luck Dave and be careful.

steveormary

 

[allred1]

Dave,

You may have what is called Degenerative Disc Diease. If so be sure to check out "getadr.com" before getting a fusion.

Hope it is just too much heavy lifting

 

[omahagreg]

My dad and uncle were past the doctoring for their back pain-only money spent, no relief. They both got 'inversion tables'. Did not cost much, and both say they worked wonders. Dad, if he notices his coming back, starts using the table again and feels much better. Greg

 

[Tim in OR]

a few years ago, I started having tingling on my arms. This continued till I started having control issues with my legs. I went to the GP. He couldn't figure it out so he sent me in for a MRI. Next he told me "I don't know what it is but its not life threatning". I decided I would have to live with it till a few months later, I couldn't control my legs well enough to run, and My arms were numb all the time. I went to a different doctor. He sent me to a Neuralagist. After another MRI, she told me "This is whats wrong, You won't work till its fixed, and you will be very careful till its fixed.
I had a ruptured disk, and a bone spur inside a vertebre. It was pinching my spinal chord.
I've had it corrected, but because it was late, I still can't run, but I can feel in my arms again.
If you don't like what your DR. says, Get another opinion.
good luck
Tim in OR

 

[chuck t]

A McKenzie trained physical therapist (mckenziemdt.org) usually can help this sort of thing. You should see some change in 1-2 visits.

 

[Anonymous-0]

I have the same problem. I had the MRI and doc said most of the discs were getting pretty thin. Also had 2 bone spurs. He said no operation would help, to just get smarter in my lifting and I might make it till retirement. I finally went and got a support wrap for lifting. I wore it for a year and I feel pretty good now. Only wear it occasionally. It is wide and has a foam pad in the back. I could feel it relieve the pain as soon as I put it on. You might give one a try. It was in the $30 range from Grainger.

 

[2x4]

Friends when in Vietnam filled a coffee can with water & froze it, then rolled it on their backs. Good temporary relief.

 

[Paul from MN]

Dave, I have seen a bunch of different chiropractors over the years. None are quite the same. The difference between the best and the worst is staggering. In fact the difference between the best and a good one is pretty amazing. After college I was working in Massachusetts and was completely disabled by the pain in my lower back. Picked a guy out of the yellow pages and boy did I get lucky. He was amazing. When I got to his office, my wife and a neighbor had to help me. I was perspiring from pain alone. 30 minutes later I walked out, pain free. Did have to go back a few times. But I never felt pain anything like that again. Make sure you are seeing the best in the area. I think the only way to know for sure is to try them out.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Been there, done that. I have had two surgeries on my lower back. First one back in 1978 and a second in 1986 because I lifted something too heavy. It has been good ever since. A disc about the 4th up from the bottom was ruptured both times I had surgery. They just cut away the part that is pressing on the nerve and is a pretty routine type of surgery. Take care of your back afterwards and it will be good for years if not the rest of your life. Get a good neurosurgeon to do the surgery!!! Stay away from chiropractors because they could cause some serious damage.

Tom