Back issues again, need some new things to try, any suggestions?

[torredcuda]

   4 months since our car accident and I`m still not back to "normal" as far as my back is concerned. I`ve been thru the steroid pack, PT and currently chiro and am 2/3 of the way their but now won`t get any better. Any treatments, excercises or anything that has worked for anyone here? Going to try and find a new back specialists but choosing one isn`t easy as they all say they can help but in my experience it`s usually more of the same.

[ec_co]

CBD for a little natural relief and pilates rehab for the muscles - make sure they specialize in rehab.

[ClarkWGrizwald]

MRI? Might be an instability/ something torn thats holding you back.

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[js27]

I feel you pain. I got 2 herniated disc in 2006 from being rear ended on our interstate. I also did the steroid injection and the PT. I  have back pain every single day since the accident. The treatments help in the beginning and got me back up and moving. It can be a 1 or 2 day or a 6 or 7 day. ( Pain scale 1-10). For me Aleve worked best for my back pain. Advil-Tylenol did nothing, Unfortunately for me since my heart attack 2 years ago I can not take Aleve. Now as I got older the damage turned into DDD-Degenerate Disc Disease. You have to try things until you find what works for you. Laying on the floor with my knees bent at 90's seems to release the pain and gives relief while you lay there. Google stretches for low back pain--there are many of them but again try them to see what works for you. My neurosurgeon told me that surgery should be a last resort as it only give you a 33% chance of helping you. 33% your pain gets better==33% your pain stays the same--33% your pain gets worse. Not great odds.  I hope you find some relief.
JS27

[70 Challenger Lover]

I have back issues as well. It just started one day and got worse quickly. Turned out to be a ruptured (herniated) disc and I had to have surgery to clean up the disc material pushing on the nerves. I entered surgery in great and constant pain and woke up feeling great so surgical options can be very successful. Since then, mild exercise has been important as well as avoiding the obvious things that can cause more damage.

One thing that offered me temporary relief was an inversion table I borrowed from a friend. You can invert partway or hang upside down if you wish but just taking pressure off the spinal column seemed to help for a little while.

I agree that you need an MRI. Try to talk them out of shots to the back. They only mask the problem. They claim the injections lower inflammation to promote healing but only an MRI can really tell them what is really going on.

In my case, I was getting numbness in the legs (some of which still remains today along with a nice limp). The doctor told me if the numbness ever spreads to the groin area, you get to wear a diaper for the rest of your life. It actually started to do just that and when I spoke to the specialist a couple days later, he insisted I have surgery the same day he saw me. Thankfully I dodged that bullet and I thank Kaiser for the great and rapid care I received.

Push for the MRI. If it's a bulging disc, then therapy and inflammation reducing methods will probably do the trick. If the disc (think of it like a tire with cushioning material inside) has actually ruptured (herniated), then the disc gets flattened and all that material squishes out and presses against the nerve bundles causing damage. The spinal column encases everything for protection but it also traps that material inside so it has no place to go. Eventually, the body reabsorbs this material over a period of months of even years but by then, damage has occurred. In my case, I went from mild pain to surgery in three weeks so things can happen quickly.

All this information came from my doctors as I tend to ask more questions than I probably needed to.

[mopar jack]

When it comes to back pain the meds can have more harmful side effects than good. I took Ibuprofen for my sciatica and ended up with ulcers. My wife has degenerative back disease and has been  in and out of pain for years. She found a product called Quell and gave it  a try and for her it has been a great relief. The Quell device is similar to a tens device and doesn't work for everyone.

[7E-Bodies]

I used to suffer crippling low back pain from time to time. It wasn't until I got away from money grabbing doctors and chiropractors and started a mild weight lifting regime that I went pain free. I got a good trainer and stuck with his program. Pain free for many years now. Currently 58.

[YellowThumper]

58 year old here. Degenerative issues, spinal stenosis nerve issues. Definitely MRI to confirm nothing major is wrong.
Proper stretching and exercise is imperative. Consistantly. A main focus is to strengthen everything surrounding. Strong stomach muscles primarily. Idea is to have many more muscles supporting the load.
Be cautious of drugs that mask the pain. This just leads to overdoing what back is capable of handling. Just making things worse.

Good luck

[RUNCHARGER]

Don't know what your issues are but I fractured a couple of vertibraes and suffered alot. What worked for me was Yoga (yep that's right).

[torredcuda]

Just had another MRI last Thursday,  showed pretty much what I thought,  degenerative problems with discs and spine, herniated etc. I had surgery at L4-5 12 years ago and it was a major improvement but will never be 100%. Usually when my back goes out the steroids,  pt combo works after a month or so but not this time. Going to try my own exercises  and see what works,  not going thru more procedures if I don't have to.

[CNUMB]

Not sure if this will help you, but I have had lower back issues for many, many years.. I am a 59 yr old plumbing contractor and abuse it often along with a few accidents from my younger years.. I tried everything, every doctor, but nothing seemed to work until Feb 2009.. Got talked into jumping out of a perfect plane with some friends.. The freefall from 13500ft to 5000ft is breathtaking. The minute the chute deploys its an immediate stop with your feet still heading to ground, it has adjusted my back.. Took 5 yrs for the lower back issues to return, so in March 0f 2014 did the jump again, waiting on the issues to arise to return to the airpark... Best $299.00 per jump I have ever spent..

[torredcuda]

That's wild, but hey if it works.  I have said I need to find a  rack,  the medieval torture device to pull my back apart and relieve the pressure.

[1973Barracuda]

 Was smashed on my motorcycle in 2010. Lots of torn up parts on my body, wound up with three bulging discs. Chiro helped some, but I didn't really get better until I started back in the gym. Lifting, especially some core stuff helped more than anything. And really good stretches. When I am lazy, and do neither, I feel it.

[gzig5]

Several years ago I learned that I had completely blown out the disk at L5-S1 and it was pushing the spinal cord against the inner wall.  Couldn't feel my left leg for nearly two years.  PT and exercise really helped some but there was constant pain that started to affect me mentally/spiritually.  I needed to do something but didn't want fusion.  I ended up getting two Epidurals a couple months apart.  That took care of 95% of the pain and the effect was almost immediate.  The epidural gets anti-inflams down into the core of the spine to give relief. 
Core stability is key to back health.  I'm a bit overweight and not that good at keeping a workout schedule but when the weather allows I play golf regularly and go to the driving range a couple times a week.  That twisting exercise of hitting little white balls has strengthened my core to the point where I no longer have any pain or discomfort in any position.  I'm sure the disk is still blown out but the core muscles are keeping the separation needed.  I'm going to use an indoor simulator facility over the winter to keep it going.  Recently started using an inversion table a few minutes a day and that has helped too.  Good Luck.

[js27]

Here is what herniated disc with DDD look like . This is my Xray from 2017. I had MRI also. The xray shows pretty much what they look like. Notice the spacing in the dice above compared to the two circled.
JS27