Bulging Discs in back?

[smelvis]

Bump and Thanks

[MrsSledn]

For never having neck / shoulder pain, when I started experiencing it along with some of the worst head pain of my life, I went to the doctor. She had an extra of my neck done. In the mean time, I went to a chiropractor. (It was thought by some that when I twisted my ankle 3 times in 5 months, that it messed up my alignment.) In my initial visit, he was able to tell me a lot. What I didn't like was him pushing on the top of my head, since I have been experiencing some bad head aches. I have been going to him for adjustments. The right side of my neck is the main problem. It's like a brick. He got my xray and said I have a bit of stage 1 degenerative discs in my neck. I also got sent in for MRI's of my C-Spine and right TMJ. An hour and a half in that tube was NOT fun! TMJ is fine. Showed a couple slipped discs in my neck. He said this happens to everyone in time as older age approaches. What made mine worse was Cheerleading for many years and a car accident.

Will I have surgery for it? Oh heck no and no one has mentioned it. My Chiropractor did say I would have to see a Chiro for the rest of my life.

The headaches are the worst part. A muscle relaxer has helped.

I would consider surgery as a very last resort. Bring your tests in to a Chiropractor and find a GOOD one. She what that doctor says before making any decisions. It's not going to hurt to try. I am glad I went. Opened my eyes to a lot over the past few weeks!

[forgop]

[quote=MrsSledn;1264714 My Chiropractor did say I would have to see a Chiro for the rest of my life.

[/QUOTE]

Of course he's gonna say that. I'd say before settling on a chiropractor for life, get a real doctor's opinion as well.

[RevSmoke]

Will keep you in my prayers that the Lord provide you with answers and bless those who care for you medically, with guidance and wisdom.

Peace of the Lord be with you.

[mosesbotbol]

This thread made me schedule a chiropractor appointment this afternoon

I would suggest to anyone who has chiropractic benefits on their health insurance to use it whether they have back pain or not. You're paying for the benefit, so why not?

Originally Posted by forgop

Of course he's gonna say that. I'd say before settling on a chiropractor for life, get a real doctor's opinion as well.

Start off on the chiropractor's schedule and as you get better, the time between visits will increase. It could be two months before a visit once better, but I would agree a Chiropractor is for life... Finding the right Chiropractor is essential. A good tip would be to call your local professional sports teams. Ask them who their Chiropractors are and go there. Professional sports rely heavily on Chiropractors and many of their trainers are Chiropractors already. Being warm, stretched, and limber essential to a good adjustment.

Your back will just eventually go out of alignment. The muscle memory is a b***h. Pilates and gentle yoga will really keep you loose and strong in your core. They'll both help you in weightloss if that is an issue. I don't know many guys who couldn't benefit from shedding weight.

Doctors are going to base your progress simply on flexibility, bodily function, and pain level. If you are OK, they will offer nothing you haven't heard to this point. Continue with your annual primary doctor visits.

[MrsSledn]

Originally Posted by forgop

Of course he's gonna say that. I'd say before settling on a chiropractor for life, get a real doctor's opinion as well.

Medical doctors from my understanding, do not care for Chiropractors. Why? I don't know.

When I told my general physican the comment my Chiro said, she laughed a bit and put me on Flexirol.

So take a pill for relief or go the Chiropractic way? Put a band aid on a problem instead of finding out why the problem is happening to begin with?

It's each person's own choice.

[shilala]

A couple of my buds are chiropractors.
One of them explained to me how he was going to repair a half pound of smashed bone in my back with his voodoo. He can also cure everything from acne to polio.
I never was a big fan as a result of past treatments, and he sure didn't help. I understand he's an exception and not the rule, and there's quacks wherever there's room for quackery, but my experience with Chiropractic has been dismal at best.
If it helps, and you guys have found good Chiropractors, by God, hang on to them. I wouldn't be found in a Chiropractor's office, and I wouldn't wish one on anyone. Ever.

[BeerAdvocate]

I have a good Chiro and I have seen him for my back problem but he cant help me.
I got an injection on Monday and it has yet to kick in. Dr said it could take up to a week.
This sure is getting frustrating!

[mosesbotbol]

Originally Posted by BeerAdvocate

I have a good Chiro and I have seen him for my back problem but he cant help me.

What is his specific reason why his chiropractic adjustments are not working? How many have you had? Have you 20-30+ adjustments already?

[BeerAdvocate]

I had 6-8 adjustments, and I actually felt worse afterwards.

[smelvis]

Originally Posted by shilala

A couple of my buds are chiropractors.
One of them explained to me how he was going to repair a half pound of smashed bone in my back with his voodoo. He can also cure everything from acne to polio.
I never was a big fan as a result of past treatments, and he sure didn't help. I understand he's an exception and not the rule, and there's quacks wherever there's room for quackery, but my experience with Chiropractic has been dismal at best.
If it helps, and you guys have found good Chiropractors, by God, hang on to them. I wouldn't be found in a Chiropractor's office, and I wouldn't wish one on anyone. Ever.

I had bad ones and now I have a great guy if not for him and my general Doctor lady I would have went nut's. Jim my Chiro is secondary or not a preferred provider on my insurance and the guy takes what my insurance pays and doesn't charge me the extra. Sadly my back is past the stage where he can help much, once every few weeks I get tangled up where I walk pretty funny and can't straighten up and he can still fix that. but that's about it along with the neck adjustments.

In fact I think most including my employer thought I was faking until they took a lower back MRI and guess what there it was, they didn't pick it up on the regular full back MRI go figure. Still waiting for L & I to try and screw me. pricks. I wish we could transfer the pain to the doubters I bet they would go home crying like babies, pricks!!v

[treatneggy]

Reading this thread , it's obvious everyone's experience is different.

My wife went to the emergeny room 1yr ago this past Feb. (for what her GP over the phone said was a pulled muscle) - she had no feeling in her right leg from the waist down and was in so much pain she could barely even move.

It took 5 hours and 2 or 3 percoset before the attending physician decided to do an MRI, stating that "we won't find anything wrong with you," even after poking needles in her leg from the knee down to her toes and her telling him she couldn't feel any of it. End result was severely herniated L5-S1 and bulging on L3-L4 and L4-L5. Followup with spine specialist the next day resulted in her being in the operating room two days after that, because according to him "we could give you all the drugs at our disposal and it won't help". During surgery they removed a good portion of the L5-S1 disc and shaved the bulges off of L3-L4 and L4-L5.

The surgery took away "most" of her pain, but to this day she still has neuropathy and only partial feeling in her leg and foot due to either the nerve still being pinched or permanent nerve damage. The last x-ray she had done showed disk degeneration progressing up into L2-L3.

[mosesbotbol]

Originally Posted by BeerAdvocate

I had 6-8 adjustments, and I actually felt worse afterwards.

You should feel worse. Your back has been "out" for a long time and getting straight is going to hurt more as I posted earlier. You should have 20-30 sessions with going 2-3 times a week.

Unless your body is aligned, you're going to have a lifetime of back pain. Surgery could very well make it worse for life. No one knows how much scar tissue you'll have from surgery and if that pushed against the nerve- you lose.

It sounds to me you did not give chiro a fair shake. You'll find great two weeks after your shot, but it's just temporary- not a "cure".

Transforming your body is a cure.

[mash]

I realize that there are lots of opinions and anecdotes about back pain, which usually means that nothing works predictably. You don't hear people disputing the usefulness of Insulin.
That said, there is no evidence, none, that chiropractor treatments help with chronic back pain. I would be very wary about going to one ad infinitum, or "forever", if they aren't helping you.

[forgop]

Originally Posted by MrsSledn

Medical doctors from my understanding, do not care for Chiropractors. Why? I don't know.

When I told my general physican the comment my Chiro said, she laughed a bit and put me on Flexirol.

So take a pill for relief or go the Chiropractic way? Put a band aid on a problem instead of finding out why the problem is happening to begin with?

It's each person's own choice.

I'm not saying chiropractors are all bad as I've used them in the past myself-God only knows that he'd probably do me some good for my current back issues. All I'm saying is a chiropractors himself has a vested interest in making you believe you're a patient for life.

What I'm suggesting is having a doctor that specializes in back issues give you an actual prognosis and how they would deal with it (a general physician is only someone I'd see for minor stuff like basic illnesses/wellness checks). If a specialist says the chiropractor is your best bet, by all means do so. Obviously, it's a surgeon's best interest to get you on the table, but I don't know of a legit doctor that is going to recommend surgery unless there are other less invasive options you haven't already tried without any relief.

[mosesbotbol]

Originally Posted by mash

That said, there is no evidence, none, that chiropractor treatments help with chronic back pain. I would be very wary about going to one ad infinitum, or "forever", if they aren't helping you.

There isn't? How did you come to this statement? How about the millions that no longer have back pain from Chiropractic treatment?

Spinal alignment is critical for energy flow throughout the body and when the spine isn't aligned, there's unequal pressure put on the disks. It's a pretty simple. An unaligned spine twists the hips and creates unequal leg lengths which does cause injury and puts further pressure on the disks.

This is not to exclude spinal lengthening and reducing weight. If one's waist is less than 8" chest width, time to start losing weight!

[shilala]

Originally Posted by mosesbotbol

There isn't? How did you come to this statement? How about the millions that no longer have back pain from Chiropractic treatment?

Moses, there's no doubt that it works for some people. I think what the doc means is that it's not been studied, nor formally presented to any acting medical body like the AMA.
I've never seen any numbers like that, and I'm crazy anal about doing my due diligence. I've read volumes of papers both presurgery and postsurgery. In all those Google searches, I've never seen any numbers or studies come up that regard chiropractic effectiveness for chronic back pain. Granted, it may be because I never specifically looked. I just assumed they didn't exist.
I'd sure like to look at some, if you know of any. I suppose it'd be hard to find any that aren't eye-rollers being that there's no reason for chiropractic to do anything but sway numbers in their favor, and no disconnected body that's interested in refuting/retesting their data.
All a person can do is try them and see if they help.

Personally, I have no doubt that they can solve minor to medium issues with adjustment, so long as we lose weight and exercise. It's pretty much common sense.
I don't think they can solve major back problems, save the whales, and cure the environment as some assert.
One thing I think most chiropractors have over doctors is that they really do care about their patients individually, they'll expend a huge amount of effort to get to know you, your condition, and do everything within their power to help. That positivity alone can go a long way toward healing people, and I think it's 100% awesome.

[mosesbotbol]

Originally Posted by shilala

Moses, there's no doubt that it works for some people. I think what the doc means is that it's not been studied, nor formally presented to any acting medical body like the AMA.

Why are chiropractors so widely used by pro atheletes where cost is not a consideration?

Read this article on AC Milan and how a chiropractor improved player performance and how players avoided injury.

http://brightonchiropractor.wordpres...-chiropractor/

[mash]

Originally Posted by mosesbotbol

There isn't? How did you come to this statement? How about the millions that no longer have back pain from Chiropractic treatment?

Spinal alignment is critical for energy flow throughout the body and when the spine isn't aligned, there's unequal pressure put on the disks. It's a pretty simple. An unaligned spine twists the hips and creates unequal leg lengths which does cause injury and puts further pressure on the disks.

This is not to exclude spinal lengthening and reducing weight. If one's waist is less than 8" chest width, time to start losing weight!

In answering you, I'm going to keep the OP in mind. I don't want him to believe that a) chiropractors are backed by data showing they can cure chronic back pain and b) you should go for one forever, if you don't get better it's just because you haven't gone enough. Both of these statements are false, and are not wise to follow.
Is it true that people have had relief of back pain going to a chiropractor? I'm sure they have. Same as people that go to massage, wear copper bracelets, get acupuncture, see a naturopath etc. Have "millions" gotten better? I don't know, where are those numbers from? How many people have gone to chiropractors and not gotten better? What is their success rate? If people go to a chiropractor for 10 treatments and don't get better, what is their chance of ever getting relief? How about 20? How many people would get better if they did nothing, and let nature take its course? Do all chiropractors follow the same protocol, if not do some have higher success rates than others? Are there certain types of back pathologies that respond better to chiropractic treatment than others?
This is what I mean by evidence as opposed to anecdotes (people saying "I used a chiropractor, I got better, you should use one too. I don't know anything about your condition, but I'm sure you'll have the same result I did.")

As with any therapy, if you are using a chiropractor and not getting better, you should seriously consider whether you should keep going. Are you helping yourself? Please be a critical observer, this applies to traditional medicine as well.

[shilala]

Originally Posted by mosesbotbol

Why are chiropractors so widely used by pro atheletes where cost is not a consideration?

Read this article on AC Milan and how a chiropractor improved player performance and how players avoided injury.

http://brightonchiropractor.wordpres...-chiropractor/

"It is where neurology, biochemistry, psychology, dentistry and chiropractic are used to maintain fitness and to detect potential injuries."
and...
"I imagine that Milan’s players are prescribed medication as part of their injury treatment, although Meerseman would not do that himself."

Those two things kinda stick out like a sore thumb, Moses.
The article doesn't support any "widely" assertion.
As I said earlier, I have no doubt that chiropractic can help in some situations. Here's one where it's used preventatively, in combination with a whole regimen of wellness conducive activities. As I said earlier, it makes good common sense. The players are treating their bodies right in every way possible, from a wide variety of angles. Optimum health should definately cut down on injuries, and I'm sure it's doing that for the team, even though there's no numbers stated, which was the conversation we were having.
If anything, the story supports what I said earlier...
"One thing I think most chiropractors have over doctors is that they really do care about their patients individually, they'll expend a huge amount of effort to get to know you, your condition, and do everything within their power to help. That positivity alone can go a long way toward healing people, and I think it's 100% awesome."
This team has a 100% dedicated Chiropractor that's open minded and uses everything available to create a complete wellness program.
I think that's genius. Not something you'll get going to the doctor, either.
That's not a knock on doctors, they're trapped in a system where they have to maximize performance and minimize individual attention.
It's a shame it's come to that, but it's what it is.

Again, if someone is getting relief from a chiropractor, like I said, by God, hang on to him. I didn't find that in my experience, unfortunately.
I respect anyone's choice to try a chiropractor, but I'd still not recommend one, both because of my experience and the fact that I don't know one who's created results I'd recommend.