Re: Back Problems to Mark

[Guest guest]

Mark, Mark ,Mark,

( You did not know there were 3 of you did you ? ) (smile )

I happen to be the " Queen of Back Injuries " . My case load at work is probably

80% back injuries, back sprains, and back surgery patients. Now you have my poor

brain spinning with questions ! Will be happy to offer you thoughts and

suggestions if you have the patients to read this long post !

For starters :

It is important to know HOW you hurt your back. I see you are going to PT now.

Have they tried Ultra sound or E stim ??? I love that stuff. I get muscle spasms

in my back like twice a year and Ultrasound and E-stim kicks it is the butt and

boy does that help ! When you have spasms it is hard to breathe sometimes.

Also a good massage therapist that knows Neuromusclar release is worth gold.

Better than any medication. My sister in law is a massage theapist and she can

also break my spasms by doing neuromuscualr massage. She know the origin and

insertion site of every muscle. And when I can't get to her to help me,I go to

one of the chiro's that works for me and have him do the estim and ultra sound.

But a good massage therapist with that special training is priceless.

Also I see where you tried Soma and Flexeril. Robaxin ,as Kaye mentioned has

been around for a long time and is somewhat helpful. The new muscle relaxant

that alot of physicians use now is Skelaxin. Does not knock you out or make you

as sleepy.

Also oddly enough, the innervations, nerve pathways to the pancreas fall in the

thoracic area. Sometimes if the pancreas is slightly inflammed then it will give

you referred pain to the thoracic area. Just food for thought.

In addition, I am not advocating or " not " advocating this approach, but I have

seen a GOOD chiropractor do wonders for a thoracic sprain. A few manipulations

and you may feel better.

In addition, thoracic discs are rare in comparison to cervical and lumbar

discs. Have you had a MRI, do you know if it is a disc or muscular ? An actually

herniated disc is rare in the thoracic area in comparison to the cervical and

lumbar. You can still have a bulging disc which is not quite the same. Not sure

how you tweaked your back but alot depends on if it is muscular or disc oriented

The old school use to say put ice on everything, for at least the first 24

hours. Now our Occupational docs are telling the patients to use heat on a back

injury if that feels better than the ice. Initially ice is good for the pain

and swelling, but at this stage, consider heat.

Also if your stomach and pancreas can handle it, have they recommended any

NSAIDS ? They are anti-inflammatories like Motrin, Celebrex, Vioxx, etc. Aleve

is good for OTC. But if you have kidney problems, gotta watch the NSAIDS. Also I

do not know if any of the NSAIDS are pancreas friendly.

When my brother in law had cancer, I bought some OTC stuff at a health store

called UNGA BAUM. It helped him with his musular pain. Kinda like BenGay. But I

wanna know,,,how do they know that Ben is Gay ? ( smile !)

Hope this helps, let me know if you have any more questions or email me

privately if you want to.

Happy Valentines Day to all,

Lily from Ohio

Back Problems

I know this is off the subject. Does anyone have any back problems. My T-6

vertebrate is tweaked and I have been going to PT to help fix it. The Dr gave

me some Soma, but it upsets my stomach and my back is killing me.....

Any suggestions would be appreciated. I am having a hard time sitting and

typing today. There isn't really any position that fixes or makes my back quit

hurting...thanks in advance.

I hope this finds you and yours well

Mark