Re: Back Pain - Need advice!! Please!!

[Guest guest]

Andy,

I feel for you buddy. I've had back problems on and off for the past

ten years. The best thing I've found for it is ice. Ice... Ice...

Ice... Ibuprofen doesn't touch it, Vicodin doesn't do much... but

Alieve does seem to help me more than any of these things. Also, if

it is muscular, stretch. Stretch till just before it hurts, and

continue stretching.

If you want more ideas, please feel free to send me an email.

Dammit

> Hi Everyone,

>

> It's currently 3:30 am and I cannot sleep, so I thought I would

post

> and see if anyone had the problem I'm having. Currently, my back

> feels as if it got ran over by a truck and has knifes being

wrenched

> all over my spine. I can't stand to sleep or lay on my back or

> stomach. No matter what I do, I can't get any sort of comfort at

all.

> I feel a sort of " rush of blood " to the head where I can feel my

> pulse just taking over my body and I feel so incredibly weird. I

> don't know what's going on, but I thought I would post since I'm

> lacking sleep and have absolutely nothing to take, pain wise. I'll

> just sit here until I can bare to go back to bed. I don't really

mean

> to complain, I just wanted to see if anyone else experienced such

bad

> back pain. This is definitely not a one time thing, but it IS one

of

> the worst flare up I've had. I have asked my ortho and surgeon

about

> it, but they just said " well, you have a new jaw position, it'll do

> that, " and didn't help me out further. They also said that " well, I

> guess you could try a chiropractor again, but I don't know how much

> that would help - your whole body is different now. "

>

> Anyways, if anyone has any help or suggestions - please please

please

> respond. I haven't had a good nights sleep or even a day without

pain

> since the day I had my braces put on.

>

> Thanks so much,

> Andy

[Guest guest]

Hi Andy,

I think I've written about this before, but here goes again.

I started having lower back problems when I started into my treatment

several years ago. I probably had the problems much earlier than

that, but because of the body's tendency to tense up, I wasn't able

to feel anything until that point. My massage therapist told me that

I had been " holding myself very carefully for many years " . My ortho

and massage therapist both told me that I should expect change post-

op, that they were working on the whole body. It's really a shame you

don't have anybody to support you post-op in this area.

My problems have only been helped by hard work by me, and a lot of

therapy. I have been to see my regular doc (back xrays, so painful I

could hardly move on the table), a physiatrist (specialist in

physical medicine), homeopath, chiropractor, cranial/massage

therapist. I was holding out an acupuncturist as a last resort

because I am needle phobic. The regular doc and physiatrist were

unable to help me. The former could only refer me and/or offer drugs

to mask the pain, the latter congratulated me on my excellent

exercise regimen and advised me to keep it up. I found that extremely

rustrating, since the problems had not been fully resolved at that

point.

I've been seeing a chiropractor for almost 2 years now, finally down

to only once a week. He was not able to help the lower back pain, but

did a tremendous amount of work to help my posture, in coordination

with the cranial/massage therapy. I still go to the latter therapist

once a month, and more frequently if I have problems. She was the

only one to really diagnose the source of my back problems, through

trigger point theory (pain points). I just kept describing where the

pain was felt, and when it was worse. I have actually been to see her

as an emergency at times when it was bad. She has been the greatest

source of suggestions throughout my whole treatment.

Some of my problems lie in the iliopsoas muscles (actually a pair of

muscles, that run from inside the mid-spine down through each groin

area to the knee), and are exacerbated by sitting for a long time at

the computer without moving. I do a series of yoga postures (3 types

of lunges mostly) at least once a day, for 10 minutes, to stretch and

release these muscles. Before we discovered this as the source of the

problem, it was too painful for me to even turn over at night in bed,

and I also had back spasms when walking at times. If I let up on

these exercises for a few days, I find the problem starts to return.

I also do exercises to strengthen the abdominal and oblique muscles.

I also took a course in mindfulness meditation last October (8 weeks)

which helped in learning to deal with pain, although I was taking it

for stress reduction. Sometimes mentally we can make the pain much

worse than it is.

What I'm suggesting that has worked for me is a combination of daily

yoga & meditation practice (with weekly yoga class, monthly

meditation group sittings), and weekly chiropractic, monthly

cranial/massage therapy. It can be a large investment in time,

sometimes large in money, but it's been worth it to me.

I feel for you with that kind of pain, please explore as many options

as you can to resolve it.

Let me know if there's any way I can help, feel free to e-mail me if

you want, Andy. I'm at fiddlesticks220002 @yahoo.com

> Hi Everyone,

>

> It's currently 3:30 am and I cannot sleep, so I thought I would

post

> and see if anyone had the problem I'm having. Currently, my back

> feels as if it got ran over by a truck and has knifes being

wrenched

> all over my spine. I can't stand to sleep or lay on my back or

> stomach. No matter what I do, I can't get any sort of comfort at

all.

> I feel a sort of " rush of blood " to the head where I can feel my

> pulse just taking over my body and I feel so incredibly weird. I

> don't know what's going on, but I thought I would post since I'm

> lacking sleep and have absolutely nothing to take, pain wise. I'll

> just sit here until I can bare to go back to bed. I don't really

mean

> to complain, I just wanted to see if anyone else experienced such

bad

> back pain. This is definitely not a one time thing, but it IS one

of

> the worst flare up I've had. I have asked my ortho and surgeon

about

> it, but they just said " well, you have a new jaw position, it'll do

> that, " and didn't help me out further. They also said that " well, I

> guess you could try a chiropractor again, but I don't know how much

> that would help - your whole body is different now. "

>

> Anyways, if anyone has any help or suggestions - please please

please

> respond. I haven't had a good nights sleep or even a day without

pain

> since the day I had my braces put on.

>

> Thanks so much,

> Andy

[Guest guest]

Andy, I wish I had checked the group last night. I was up at 3:00, too.

I've had low back pain on and off. It was from a strain a few years

ago--lifing an extememly heavy tool box with my back, not my legs.

Every once in a while I will strain it and--woah, nellie--I can't MOVE!

Maybe I'm not understanding the whole picture, here, but what does

your new jaw relationship have to do with your back? I see no

connection whatsoever.

Hoping you get some relief,

EIleen

> Hi Everyone,

>

> It's currently 3:30 am and I cannot sleep, so I thought I would post

> and see if anyone had the problem I'm having. Currently, my back

> feels as if it got ran over by a truck and has knifes being wrenched

> all over my spine. I can't stand to sleep or lay on my back or

> stomach. No matter what I do, I can't get any sort of comfort at all.

> I feel a sort of " rush of blood " to the head where I can feel my

> pulse just taking over my body and I feel so incredibly weird. I

> don't know what's going on, but I thought I would post since I'm

> lacking sleep and have absolutely nothing to take, pain wise. I'll

> just sit here until I can bare to go back to bed. I don't really mean

> to complain, I just wanted to see if anyone else experienced such bad

> back pain. This is definitely not a one time thing, but it IS one of

> the worst flare up I've had. I have asked my ortho and surgeon about

> it, but they just said " well, you have a new jaw position, it'll do

> that, " and didn't help me out further. They also said that " well, I

> guess you could try a chiropractor again, but I don't know how much

> that would help - your whole body is different now. "

>

> Anyways, if anyone has any help or suggestions - please please please

> respond. I haven't had a good nights sleep or even a day without pain

> since the day I had my braces put on.

>

> Thanks so much,

> Andy

[Guest guest]

I haven't ever had anything remotely like that, Andy, but it makes me

think of 's approach to all this. Ask her to tell you about

Cranio-sacral therapy and massage. I do know that she's told me that

her jaw troubles were only part of a larger system of skeleto-

muscular imbalances that she's been working on with a

multidisciplinary approach, including chiropractic, a specialized

massage, ortho, orthognathic surgery, homeopathic stuff and others.

And I know that she had bad back pain at one point, but I think has

found some relief.

Another thought: Can you get a referral from someone to a pain

management clinic? I'm not sure whether it's hard to get them to

treat you, or whether you even need a referral. I believe they can

help, and I believe skilled PT people might be able to, as well. I

know that doing something as easy as a program of exercises helped

when I was down in the back. For me, the chiropractor made it feel

better for about 24 hours, then I was back to go.

I sorta doubt that your ortho and surgeon are your best sources of

relief at this point. They seem to be unresponsive in the extreme,

which is a real tragedy. But whatever the status with them, you need

help. You cannot go on without sleep.

How 'bout your general physician, to rule out something that's purely

spinal? And maybe a sleep study?

I'm no doc, so all I can offer is suggestions and good wishes. But

you have those. I sure do wish you could have had my caregivers. I

think you'd be in a really different circumstance -- and I know that

at least they'd be concerned for you and trying to help you however

they could.

Cammie

> Hi Everyone,

>

> It's currently 3:30 am and I cannot sleep, so I thought I would

post

> and see if anyone had the problem I'm having. Currently, my back

> feels as if it got ran over by a truck and has knifes being

wrenched

> all over my spine. I can't stand to sleep or lay on my back or

> stomach. No matter what I do, I can't get any sort of comfort at

all.

> I feel a sort of " rush of blood " to the head where I can feel my

> pulse just taking over my body and I feel so incredibly weird. I

> don't know what's going on, but I thought I would post since I'm

> lacking sleep and have absolutely nothing to take, pain wise. I'll

> just sit here until I can bare to go back to bed. I don't really

mean

> to complain, I just wanted to see if anyone else experienced such

bad

> back pain. This is definitely not a one time thing, but it IS one

of

> the worst flare up I've had. I have asked my ortho and surgeon

about

> it, but they just said " well, you have a new jaw position, it'll do

> that, " and didn't help me out further. They also said that " well, I

> guess you could try a chiropractor again, but I don't know how much

> that would help - your whole body is different now. "

>

> Anyways, if anyone has any help or suggestions - please please

please

> respond. I haven't had a good nights sleep or even a day without

pain

> since the day I had my braces put on.

>

> Thanks so much,

> Andy

[Guest guest]

I don't understand it, either, Eileen, but I know it to be true. Some

years ago, a friend broke a shoulder. The injury threw his whole

skeletal system out of whack and it took extensive PT and massage

(the ouch! kind, not the Ahhhh... kind) to get things back in synch.

The jaw is right in there with the balance system and spine, too.

It's just astounding how " the hip bone's connected to the leg

bone... " and so on all throughout the body. And I think it's sort of

like pick up stix... one stick in the wrong place can unbalance the

whole bunch.

cammie

> > Hi Everyone,

> >

> > It's currently 3:30 am and I cannot sleep, so I thought I would

post

> > and see if anyone had the problem I'm having. Currently, my back

> > feels as if it got ran over by a truck and has knifes being

wrenched

> > all over my spine. I can't stand to sleep or lay on my back or

> > stomach. No matter what I do, I can't get any sort of comfort at

all.

> > I feel a sort of " rush of blood " to the head where I can feel my

> > pulse just taking over my body and I feel so incredibly weird. I

> > don't know what's going on, but I thought I would post since I'm

> > lacking sleep and have absolutely nothing to take, pain wise.

I'll

> > just sit here until I can bare to go back to bed. I don't really

mean

> > to complain, I just wanted to see if anyone else experienced such

bad

> > back pain. This is definitely not a one time thing, but it IS one

of

> > the worst flare up I've had. I have asked my ortho and surgeon

about

> > it, but they just said " well, you have a new jaw position, it'll

do

> > that, " and didn't help me out further. They also said that " well,

I

> > guess you could try a chiropractor again, but I don't know how

much

> > that would help - your whole body is different now. "

> >

> > Anyways, if anyone has any help or suggestions - please please

please

> > respond. I haven't had a good nights sleep or even a day without

pain

> > since the day I had my braces put on.

> >

> > Thanks so much,

> > Andy

[Guest guest]

Hi Ndy,

I have been experiencing lower back pain off and on for a few years

and 2 months after I got my braces on I had a crisis and it got

progressivly worse, Yoga always helped, but of course I was never

consistent enough.

I finally broke down and went to a chiropracter and his explanation

is that whenever any bone is misaligned, in my case my jaw, your

whole body readjusts its posture to balance things out, and that

readjustment can then cause pain in other areas. A chiropracter can

straighten you out and temporarily releive the pain, but you then

have to take advantage of that time to strengthen the lower back and

abdominal muscles to prevent reoccurence. As your body adjusts and

accepts your new jaw position these problems wil become less

frequent.

The funny thing about this is that I am hoping that after my surgery

my back problems will stop, i never thought that the surgery could

also bring on back problems.

Whatever you do, you have to be proactive, don't think that a doctor

or a pill can fix this, you need to do something, there are a lot of

exercises that can help and many alternative treatments, but the only

one who can fix this kinf of problem is you.

Good luck

Marsha

> > > Hi Everyone,

> > >

> > > It's currently 3:30 am and I cannot sleep, so I thought I would

> post

> > > and see if anyone had the problem I'm having. Currently, my

back

> > > feels as if it got ran over by a truck and has knifes being

> wrenched

> > > all over my spine. I can't stand to sleep or lay on my back or

> > > stomach. No matter what I do, I can't get any sort of comfort

at

> all.

> > > I feel a sort of " rush of blood " to the head where I can feel

my

> > > pulse just taking over my body and I feel so incredibly weird.

I

> > > don't know what's going on, but I thought I would post since

I'm

> > > lacking sleep and have absolutely nothing to take, pain wise.

> I'll

> > > just sit here until I can bare to go back to bed. I don't

really

> mean

> > > to complain, I just wanted to see if anyone else experienced

such

> bad

> > > back pain. This is definitely not a one time thing, but it IS

one

> of

> > > the worst flare up I've had. I have asked my ortho and surgeon

> about

> > > it, but they just said " well, you have a new jaw position,

it'll

> do

> > > that, " and didn't help me out further. They also said

that " well,

> I

> > > guess you could try a chiropractor again, but I don't know how

> much

> > > that would help - your whole body is different now. "

> > >

> > > Anyways, if anyone has any help or suggestions - please please

> please

> > > respond. I haven't had a good nights sleep or even a day

without

> pain

> > > since the day I had my braces put on.

> > >

> > > Thanks so much,

> > > Andy

[Guest guest]

Just a little advice go get a full physical.

I suffered from back pain - diagnosed 'siatica' for YEARS>

Finally on a fluke I needed an internal organ scan and had gone to

see a chiro at the same time, chiro x-rays were perfect beautiful.

Nerve conductions turned up nothing, but I had this aweful pain for

years...

so back to the organ scan - ultrasound. Found out that my right

kidney is totally cysted. However I always felt the pain in my

lower back and down my leg just like siatica - I guess cause the

tubes travel down. I even had kidney stones, and thought it was

back spasms....lol.

SHiloh

[Guest guest]

I finally broke down and went to my chiropractor yesterday. No matter

what I felt, I couldn't NOT do anything. He definitely helped. I

asked him why he thought my back was out so badly and he gave me a

few different guesses about my bite settling and the new posture,

etc. All of which I assumed and read from everyone's posts.

The pain is more bearable right now, but I have to figure out where

to go from there. Everyone has given me so much good advice I'm

baffled! (Although that's not all that uncommon... )

Thanks again for all the advice. It's always a relief when I know I

can come here and always have wonderful people to help me out.

Take Care,

Andy

> Just a little advice go get a full physical.

> I suffered from back pain - diagnosed 'siatica' for YEARS>

>

> Finally on a fluke I needed an internal organ scan and had gone to

> see a chiro at the same time, chiro x-rays were perfect beautiful.

> Nerve conductions turned up nothing, but I had this aweful pain for

> years...

>

> so back to the organ scan - ultrasound. Found out that my right

> kidney is totally cysted. However I always felt the pain in my

> lower back and down my leg just like siatica - I guess cause the

> tubes travel down. I even had kidney stones, and thought it was

> back spasms....lol.

>

> SHiloh