how many people on here have back problems?

[TUF_302]

Im 21, only thing wrong with my back is my missus wont get off it! lol!

[Matty4]

Originally Posted by bob^

I have Scheuermann’s disease or syndrome. Disease is an ugly word.
3 of my vertebrae are in a bit of a wedge shape instead of being rectangular. This gives a bigger curvature of the spine looking side on than most peoples backs.
It makes it looks like a bit of a hunch.

I'm lucky where mine isn't that serious - I just look like I have a bit of bad posture. Other people require back operations to inserts titanium rods along the length of the spine to straighten it up.

This is the exact same problem I have.
All I remember from my teenage years was being yelled at to "Stand up straight"....
Little did I or my parents about this or have xrays to confirm it. I was 22 when I had it checked, by then it's too late. I'm 38 now and will suffer with it for life.

Regular exercise and movement helps alleviate it most of the time.

[Falcon Coupe]

Originally Posted by graham_h

I did have a back problem.
Almost had me in a chair for life.
Completely destroyed my L5 S1

I had a disc replacement (Op done on the gold coast) by Dr. Mathew Scott-Young

I have the Charite replacement disc in my back and it fixed the problem 100%
To go from agonizing pain to pain free was well worth the 20k price tag.

What an amazing result, how long was the recovery period ?

[DJM83]

Originally Posted by TUF_302

Im 21, only thing wrong with my back is my missus wont get off it! lol!

gold mate :

[xr6fa]

Originally Posted by ThePistonHead

For those wondering what Scoliosis is (like me):

Thats what my back feels like!!

[graham_h]

Originally Posted by platinumXR

When I was 18 I ruptured L4/L5 disc (mechanic you see...well; back then anyway) and had a fusion with bolts and plates with bone mix...and 17 years since of sciatica and general pain.

About 9 months ago the disc directly below (L5/S1) has now popped and I need a fusion on that one too. When it went the protrusion was pressing the sciatic nerve against the pelvic bone constantly so I had to have keyhole surgery to relieve that first while insurance company decides whether $25K is worth fixing my back for...game of attrition now.

Mind you I was running carrying a lot of equipment which may have weighed about 20kg or so.

This Charite disc looks the goods. I might have to ask my Sturgeon : if this is what he will be using...

Fusions are always bad news. It's like replaceing the shock in your car's suspension with a piece of solid steel !!
I can't stress how much you SHOULD NOT get another fusion. The L5/S1 is crucial to your mobility

[graham_h]

Originally Posted by Falcon Coupe

What an amazing result, how long was the recovery period ?

You may not believe it but it was immediate.
I was on morphine straight after the Op, as you can imagine.
Not for any back pain, but for the sore stomach.

The Op is done through your stomach like a Cesarian section on a woman.
The Op looks great (I saw it on DVD)

Slice your stomach muscles down the middle, literally shift your guts to one side and there's the disc !!
I was out of bed within 48hrs with nothing more than a sore stomach, but definately no back pain.
They offered me 20+ pills of all types to go home with, but i refused any pain meds at all.
A sore scar is nothing compared to what I had; which was quite literally facing life in a chair. My left side had stared to numb and I couldn't feel my feet.

[graham_h]

I'll try and scan my x-rays so you can see the disc in
Oh I have some of my old disc is a platic pot !!
Anyone ??!!

[escapin]

lol awsome pics of ur disc wicked lol

graham h how old r u if u dont mind me asking

[Spudz27]

I am 25 I have scoliosis or curviture of the spine. I am also 40kg over weight. Just gone on a care plan thing to lose the weight. I have some killer ciatica pain but. I saw a physio no good, but she found I had bulging discs, anyway the only thing at the moment helping my ciatic nerve is pain killers. Maybe losing the weight will help.

[graham_h]

Originally Posted by escapin

lol awsome pics of ur disc wicked lol

graham h how old r u if u dont mind me asking

I'm 38 now
Wrecked the disc first time around when I was 26 in Hawaii.
Got dumped on the beach off a thick, heavy wave at Makapuu.

Similar to this



Wave breaks and sucks all the water out from under it, so you hit really hard.

Damaged some cartlidge in my knee too........ but still climbed Diamond Head the next day ( dragging my leg all the way)

[graham_h]

This is my Xray
That's the disc when I'm stood "upright"



The pointed bits are hammered into the bone
The "floating" metal ring is surrounded by plastic so doesn't show up on the Xray

[Trevor 57]

Not a back problem as such, but after 50+ years, wear and tear kicks in so I am very careful how I use it, every now and then I get a twitch in the lower back, feels like muscles that are attached to the spine, but it generally goes away in a couple of hours of careful use.

But I to am overweight so that is probably not helping.

[XRQTR]

I've had issues with my back since I was 13 when I slammed my pushy into the side of a car that had come out of a shopping centre car park on a blind corner. Anyway, after years of treatments I was finally good again, until I got spun around 180degrees on the Monash 3 years ago and slammed into the barrier wall lifting the side of the car almost a metre off the ground.

Anyway, enter my back problems again, since then I have actually had attacks so bad that they drop me to the ground (mind you all the doctors that I went to after the last accident told me it was musclular, ye right). initially I couldn't even get out of bed the pain was that severe, it's as if someone has stuck a screwdriver or a knife into my lower back just to the right of the spine and is pushing it deeper as I keep pressure on it. I need to drop to the ground or sit in a chair as soon as it hits the pain is that bad my legs actually go weak from jolts sent through my lower back.

Yes I'm overweight and that I know for a fact isn't helping as when I was lighter I had almost no problem, but this was before the last accident so hard to say for sure. I also find that my right knee which took a fair hit in the accident plays up a bit.

What I have found that helps is doing crunches in the morning before I get out of bed, yes it kills my back but I find that if I push through until it's actually more painful in my abs than what it is in my back. It helps to strengthen my lower abdominal muscles which then pull on my lower back muscles so I don't slump as much. This doesn't make it go away entirely but it does allow me to be able to work on cars or even stay on my feet longer, if I am on my feet too long I will get attacks of pain and it can drop me.

Additional to this I have found the Nurofen back pain tabs a big help, this Monday at the shop I could barely move towards the end of the day so yesterday I went and got some tablets. Now I'm a firm believer in slightly dosing up on any meds I take, even a doctor once agreed that a double dose on your first hit actually gets things moving along much quicker. What I do is take 3 instead of the 2 they prescribe straight away, this takes the edge off only it doesn't actually make the pain go away completely, but by taking the edge off I can start to move more normally.

As most people with long term back problems would know it's the guarded movements that actually make it worse as you're always tensing your muscle around the affected area. What I have found works for me is to numb as much of the pain as I can to let my motions be less guarded and this actually loosens the muscles around the area and frees alot of the pain which is more due to muscle tightness than anything else.

Anyway this works for me but may not for others, it's worth a try if you haven't tried it before, hopefully it can help even just one more person alleviate the pain and live a more normal life.


Regartds
Stef
Phoenix

[XRQTR]

On that, if you do decide to take either the Nurofen or the Panadol back pain tabs, don't use Mother energy drink, LOL I found out the hard way that it actually has an adverse effect and can give you heart palputations. So be careful.

[Falcon Coupe]

Originally Posted by graham_h

This is my Xray
That's the disc when I'm stood "upright"


The pointed bits are hammered into the bone
The "floating" metal ring is surrounded by plastic so doesn't show up on the Xray

Can even see the curve of the lumbar !

I showed this thread to my chiropractor on my last visit, he was suitably impressed with the operation, he mentioned the prosthetic ? (for want of a better term) would have been a large part of the 20k.

[graham_h]

Originally Posted by Falcon Coupe

Can even see the curve of the lumbar !

I showed this thread to my chiropractor on my last visit, he was suitably impressed with the operation, he mentioned the prosthetic ? (for want of a better term) would have been a large part of the 20k.

True the whole process was 20 grand.
The disc itself is worth around 7k.
Rest is surgeon's fees, theatre fess etc.

Point is when you're faced with a life of constant pain and life in a wheel chair, you'd pay anything (if you had the $$)

20k to have your life back is worth it.
It's amazing to me that so many people I've spoke to STILL have spinal fusion.
Their dumb *** doctors or so called "specialists" have no idea this proceedure even exists.
Surely as specialist should make you aware of the different options ?
It was only by luck I found out about this proceedure from a web forum, otherwise I'd have fused bones now :

[Falcon Coupe]

Originally Posted by graham_h

True the whole process was 20 grand.
The disc itself is worth around 7k.
Rest is surgeon's fees, theatre fess etc.

Point is when you're faced with a life of constant pain and life in a wheel chair, you'd pay anything (if you had the $$)
:

I agree, one cannot put a price on health, it's a great result.

[ed taxi]

hi
i have had back pain for most of my adult life schoolboy rugby did not help colapsed scrumbs are wicked on the back.
i also have mild scolosis and a natural fusion of t4/t5.
my pain was mainly musclular and i generaly put up with it or took anti flams like voltarin...being a storeman did not help davey pumps and starter motors picked up wrong can hurt(i dont mean falcon starters i mean ones for cats and big diesels)..

all was going good till i fell of a roof 6 mths ago.(i install AUSTAR now) fractured c7 t4,5,6,7 and broke 3 ribs....same day grant denyer came a cropper in that monster truck.

6mths off work lots of physio and exercise should see me back to work in a few weeks will be more carefull getting on to roofs from a ladder.

i am 47 now but some times feel 147......

[platinumXR]

Originally Posted by graham_h

Fusions are always bad news. It's like replaceing the shock in your car's suspension with a piece of solid steel !!
I can't stress how much you SHOULD NOT get another fusion. The L5/S1 is crucial to your mobility

I understand what you are saying and ordinarily I would agree having had to put up with the first fusion since 1992.

I have spoken to my surgeon and countless others at great length about this very thing and it is not a decision that has been made lightly. But simply put: If I don't have the fusion I cannot go back to my job full time and for me that's not really an option.

Not only that but there is still too much protrusion and on-going pain etc. for it not to be done, it's a necessity to relieve more of the initial symptoms.

If I go back to work now I have a weak spot in the disc and in my line of work that's just asking for trouble as it would be very easy to make it pop again just doing every day work - can't say but you can probably guess :sm_drool:

I may be going back to work shortly to do some part time light work so will see what happens anyway.

[MethodX]

Another 1 with back problems here.
Was diagnosed with epilepsy in 2003, had such strong seizures the arching cracked some of the backbones.

Wont be the same again.
Ah well

[deathlucky]

20 stuffed neck stuffed lower back.
stuffed the neck in a car crash when i was 18. If i don't move it for a while it will stiffen up and hurt. Best way i have found to keep it from hurting is a motorcycle since you tilt your head side to side in corners. back is alot better now it used to get very sore if i jar it or had a hard day at work i fixed it by doing sit ups 70+ a night.

[The G6ET Spot]

I have had back [problems for the past 10 years. Did it while lifting a box that only weighed around 6 kgs.

Amazing seeing that I had been doing furniture removals for the 22 years prior to doing it.

As with everyone, have my good and bad days.

[AllCoupedUp]

Hey guys,

Well, I've just done mine. I'm 32, with a 7 week old son.

I've been into the gym scene for some 11 years and broke my ankle two years ago playing basketball. I have not trained (weights, pilates, etc) for two years. I was only saying to my wife that I should get back into it for my the sake of my body... Then, on Friday, went to move a trailer and snap, crackle, pop L2,3,4 and sacral issues. Hopefully find out the damage tomorrow morning. I'm a nasty mess at the moment - feel totally helpless at home, and bloody angry with myself for letting myself get this way.

On a side note - I'm 6'6" tall, lanky - hence the gym!! Had fused L2 to sacral issue since born, have a mild scollioscis, and sometimes sciatica (spelling) as I grew too tall too quickly!! Hopefully, for me, my wife and my son's sake, the diagnosis tomorrow will be OK. Fingers x'd...

[red_hotxr6]

Hey heads up, think positive and follow the docs advice...take it slowly..

[Executer]

I slipped l4 and l5 at the same time in 2008 whilst at work ( building a swimming pool). I'm now 27 years old, have 2 prolapse discs but have it well under control. 1 year ago, I copped bad sciatica and it took 7 months to go away, contant treatment and pain killers. All good now but i have to keep up with the chiropractor. Im in law enforcement now and constantly carry heavy gear all day around my waist. I only just managed to avoid going under the knife for the sciatica.

[graham_h]

Originally Posted by Executer

I slipped l4 and l5 at the same time in 2008 whilst at work ( building a swimming pool). I'm now 27 years old, have 2 prolapse discs but have it well under control. 1 year ago, I copped bad sciatica and it took 7 months to go away, contant treatment and pain killers. All good now but i have to keep up with the chiropractor. Im in law enforcement now and constantly carry heavy gear all day around my waist. I only just managed to avoid going under the knife for the sciatica.

Have them xrayed once a year to make sure they don't degenerate. Mine only took three years

[hawkgirl]

I have nerve damage in my back at T12-L1. The nerve is cut where it exits the spine, caused by shockwave from a big impact.

I have pain every day, I cant sit or stand for long periods, and can't twist my torso. And the weather makes it play up too . No other treatments work so I am having nerve blocks for ever. Currently I have them every 3/4 months. Drugs like nurofen dont have any effect, so when I cant cope I take endone & tramadol (i try not to take them if I can help it, as its too hard to function after.). Occasionally the muscles on the right side of my back spasm & go rigid - when this happens I cant walk at all & have to take drugs normally given to cerebral palsy sufferers.

I couldnt work for many years, currently I am working full time but it is a big struggle. It has caused scoliosis (nothing like some of you guys) and twist & rotation of the pelvis. I have a great chiropractor who has helped lots in the last 18 months but i still have to be careful about what I do ( do I ride my bike for half an hour, or be able to walk tomorrow?). The injury literally affects everything I do.

Yeah, Im one of those people who look ok but have a cripple sticker

[H.G]

mine is just from years of incorrect lifting and trying to prove I can do it.. even now I am required to lift things that are questionable .. but that comes with the job.. Ive bulging discs and calcium growths apparently but Im pretty certain being fat doesnt help either.. haha

[Fev]

Originally Posted by Fev

im 20, last July i had 4 screws and 2 rods screwed into my lower spine (S5/L1) to support the disc which collapsed/degenerated/something something.

for about 4 years before surgery i had sciatica which by the time i was 19 prevented me from walking more then 15mins before i had to sit down, had to quit my job and find something else so i could sit down. Completely ruined my quality of life - even in the bedroom - also severe lower back pain

before the surgery i could barely get out of bed - i could barely even lay down flat on my back - just couldn't do it without pain shooting down my legs and straight up my back..

Now that i've had surgery im alot better then what i was, still painful but it was major surgery and will probably take another 6 months to get over for the most part. also got 2 big scars on either side of my spine just above my bum - looks kinda weird but i dont take of my clothes all that much anyway lol..

i was in hospital for 1 week and off work for 2 months
operation called Dynesys but its no longer subsidised by the government (i got in the day before they changed it lol)

http://www.zimmerspine.com/z/ctl/op/...65/template/PC


Also - reallllly dont reccoment going to chiropractors.. they are evil plain and simple.

So its been just over 3 and a half years since this post of mine way back when I was 20 (now I'm 24). I'm a whole different man since then and i've actually lost a fair bit of wait too. I'm about 100kg as opposed to the 115kg I was back then - that 15kg loss of weight has made a huge difference in the amount of pain I was in. I can walk, run, stand sit for as long as need be as long as I get a good nights comfortable sleep - the missus likes to push me into the corner late at night which can get painful for the spine haha) and all in all I have no regrets whatso-ever having my Dynesis implant.

When I get sick or it gets quite cold it can get a bit sore but there's no more sciatica at all to report! It's a bit tender at the moment as I'm recovering from the worst flu I've had in years but Neurophen helps when It gets a bit too annoying to ignore.
I rarely take pain killers nowdays although I must admit I got into reefer for a while after I turned 21 and it became my pain-medication. I'd still choose it over the stronger painkillers and their side-effects anyway.

I still need to get around to strengthening my core muscles and hitting the gym, could still lose a few more kilos too but at the moment i'm pretty happy with where i'm at!

Hope everyone elses back issues are getting better! Its tough and debilitating but if you have options to take then TAKE THEM. Waiting only makes it worse, putting it off only makes more pain, only makes it take longer to recover.
They will NOT fix themselves unless you're proactive about you're fitness - sitting down, laying down and taking it easy might feel better but even though it gets painful, its only doing you harm.