[Archived] Back Problems/ Repetitive Injury

[SAS]

Has anyone on here every had a back problem thats proved a real arse ache?

and how did they get over it/deal with it?

or has anyone ever had a repetitive muscle injury?

[Presty On Tour]

Swedish massage is a good antidote

i have problems with my right knee and both groins, suffered knee ligament damage years ago and it hasn't been right since and as for the groins, god knows?

before i play football, i usually spend the best part of an hour warming up before kick off, loads of stretching etc and it's all good during the game.

usually the next day i'm sore and especially on cold days my leg can be rather stiff. i use some weight gear to strengthen the knee which has helped but not a lot. As for the groins a good radox soak and if your lucky enough, a nice massage of a sexy female friend who studies health and beauty and is more than willing to practice on you

For your back, if it is a muscle problem I'd try strengthening them by doing some light weights and building from there. Backs are quite delicate, so maybe seeing a specialist is a good idea as you don't want to do anymore damage.

[jim mk2]

Sorry to hear about your back - the bad news is once you have had a back injury it never really goes away.

I damaged my back playing football in my late 20s and decades late am still suffering problems with muscle spasms. Ibuprofen, heat treatment and massage help but it is a case of managing and living with the injury.

With regard to knees, I've had five ops on the right and three on the left, and had my right ankle in plaster for six months, all football injuries. In fact the left ankle is only joint I haven't damaged.

And I still love football......

[Blueboy Downunder]

i was in a car crash about 4 years ago, and as a result have suffered with 2 of the vertabrae in my lumbar spine, rubbing together and at times, causing immense pain. what i have been told is that i got to lose some weight, even though it was the injury that caused me to gain weight as a result of not being able to play football, cricket or rugby. i go to the local gym and i am losing weight slowly b ut surely...i just wish there was something else i could do, instead of having to wear a back brace, everyday of my life.

[matt65]

im in my 40's a and suffered from back spasms for years as well as what i thought

was groin problems from footy and running,had many visits to the GP over the years

and was fobbed of with the quick fix of pain killers,changed GP when i moved to accy

and ended up seeing him about it and he spotted a problem with my hip,had x-ray

and they found i had arthiritis in my hips,will lead to a double hip replacement hopefully

in years to come.they also sent me to Accrington general hospital on a back builders

course where they show you stretches and excersises over a 8 sessions,also

doing plenty of sit ups now which i havent atempted for years and for 3 months havent

felt a thing in my back,hips are no better but they never will till i get my new uns.

so as previous posters have said excersise will help.Might be worth mentioning this

course to your GP aswell.

[thenodrog]

Sorry to hear about your back - the bad news is once you have had a back injury it never really goes away.

I damaged my back playing football in my late 20s and decades late am still suffering problems with muscle spasms.

Funny that. I used to get lots of bad backs in my 20's and 30's and hardly have a problem now. Recently I started with nagging back-aches again and solved it by simply getting a new bed. Try that Jim.

SAS about the best thing from my experience for muscular backaches is a long hot soak in the bath.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

I damaged my back playing football in my late 20s

Errrrr ....should that not read the jim!

[Guest Dik Bleek]

Has anybody tried the machine advertised on TV were you hang upside down and it stretches your spine so that the disc's and nerves can re align?

[SAS]

Funny that. I used to get lots of bad backs in my 20's and 30's and hardly have a problem now. Recently I started with nagging back-aches again and solved it by simply getting a new bed. Try that Jim.

SAS about the best thing from my experience for muscular backaches is a long hot soak in the bath.

yeh have one everyday, doesnt solve it really, its just a continuous back ache in certain places. I go the gym a lot and last time it happened i built up a lot of muscle in my back in the gym.

the doctor has told me to look up loads of back exercises and do them everyday, which has given me a lot of hope because if i do that and its fine at least ill be able to run and play football again

thanks for the replies people, been some good un`s

[broadsword]

If you go running again, do not heel-strike!

[Flopsy]

tried the chiropractor?

[broadsword]

It's in the Natural History Museum isn't it?

[Flopsy]

probably - its the sadist who likes making crunching noises with your spine

[Al]

probably - its the sadist who likes making crunching noises with your spine

It works though. I have had back pain and sciatica cured in no time by an Osteopath after years of specialsts and doctors doing absolutely nothing but give me pain killers.

[SAS]

tried the chiropractor?

not yet, i plan to

i feel i may have strained my back, as im as still as a pencil and have low flexibility at the moment

[Flopsy]

the chiropractor will have a look, and if it is bone they'll have a go, and if not they'll tell you what the issues is and give you a massage (probably) and give you the name of a person they think would help (which is what they did for me)

[Nate]

SAS, I've had back problems since I was a teen. I'm quite tall and as I was growing up, my muscles couldn't keep up with the skeletal system. I've only ever found relief from the Chiropractor. The thing is finding a good one.

First of all they should send you for an X-Ray or some other form of scan. From there they should be able to tell you what they think the problem is. They will then devise a plan of attack to help you out. For example, I had to go twice a week for the first month, then the next two months once a week and so on. Now I go once a month and have no problems whatsoever. I can go to the gym and do weights to help strengthen my back etc.

Now if it is something that they can't help, they can point you in the right direction.

But what works for some, may not for others. If I could show you the X-Rays of before I went to the Chiro and comparable ones now, you would freak out!

[blue phil]

Has anyone on here every had a back problem thats proved a real arse ache?

and how did they get over it/deal with it?

or has anyone ever had a repetitive muscle injury?

I've always had a bad back ( a family curse) but discovered that moving around a lot straight after getting up in the morning helps . If I sit down for an hour in the morning first thing then that's it .....the damn thing can seize up .

In pubs I always have to sit down , just standing there is not an option . Ideally I'd lie down ...

A decent mattress works wonders as well ......

[thenodrog]

A decent mattress works wonders as well ......

I had a persistant bad back in the mornings Phil so I took the plunge and bought a completely new bed. Mechanical with one those fancy foam matresses that mould to the contours of your body. It's worked OK too but the night before the bed was to be delivered we moved the old bed itself out and slept on the bedroom floor just on the old mattress. The floor felt really hard but come morning after a superb nights sleep and I was up and about like a spring chicken! The moral to this is that comfort does not have to be expensive.

[broadsword]

Has anyone on here every had a back problem thats proved a real arse ache?

sounds like a referred pain problem, if it's something in your bum that's giving you back-ache.

Sorry.

[S15]

As a musician who plays many, many hours a day, Repetetive Strain Injuries are my biggest fear.

In 99% of all cases, the cure is the one thing you will probably never get, complete rest.

This is why people often get a bad back and it sticks. It might be the kind of injury which takes 6-12 months of minimum activity for the muscle to fully heal. It might be one that only takes 2-4 weeks.

Obviously I have no idea what your situation is, and the main cases I have seen people get are always wrist, arm, elbow or shoulder related, which are areas much easier to give less action. However, if possible, I would give it as much morbid, motionless rest you possibly can.

[bluebruce]

Wondering if anybody knows anything about ankle injuries? I twisted my ankle badly some time ago (whilst I happened to be out with a toe injury already), and somewhat bizarrely I felt, it took 6 months to recover from it. That was my right ankle, and I've been back playing (albeit massively injury prone- mainly in the muscles though, which I assume just haven't been worked enough to cope), although the problem has never completely gone away and occasionally too much running makes it feel weak. But in early December I twisted my left ankle badly in a challenge, and figured it would only leave me out for a few weeks, since I managed to walk home alright. However, nearly two months later and it's not really getting any better. I've rested it as much as I can, but considering I walk on it it's a bit tricky. I'm very much worried it's going to be another six month jobber, which will stop me playing my last months of uni football before I graduate. Injuries have kept me back from anything above the uni 4th team, which is infuriating since I know I could be much higher. I really want to recover soon...anybody got any suggestions?

[Tris]

Has anyone on here every had a back problem thats proved a real arse ache?

and how did they get over it/deal with it?

tried the chiropractor?

I've only ever found relief from the Chiropractor. The thing is finding a good one.

First of all they should send you for an X-Ray or some other form of scan.

Absolutely DUR. I started suffering with back pain a few years ago. My first stop was a chiropractor, when it should have been a scan. A few months having weekly sessions on the chiro's bench made no difference - in fact it might have made things worse. Which is annoying when they charge £35 for 15 mins (thank goodness for health insurance).

In the end the chiro admitted defeat and put me onto a (very accomplished) orhopaedic surgeon who sent me straight for an MRI scan, which illustrated immediately why the chiro hadn't made any difference (double slipped disc). There were a number of options for me including surgery, injections, or simply passage of time.

For now the latter is working, but I can expect a severe bout of pain for a few months every few years. That happened last summer, and the surgeon referred me to proper, hospital based physiotherapy which helped massively.

Osteopathy, chiropractic treatment, acupuncture, naturapathy, chinese herbal cures - they'll all take your cash and say they can help you - but my advice is definitely to rely on proper medical opinion based on proper medical diagnostics like ultrasound, x-ray or MRI.

[jim mk2]

Sorry to hear about your back - the bad news is once you have had a back injury it never really goes away.

I damaged my back playing football in my late 20s and decades late am still suffering problems with muscle spasms. Ibuprofen, heat treatment and massage help but it is a case of managing and living with the injury.

.

Had another scan today and am booked in for the first of a series of cortizone injections in two weeks' time.

Would agree with previous posters : have all the MRI/x-ray scans done in the first instance to make sure there is no structural damage before considering letting a physio/chiropractor touch your back.

[Al]

Absolutely DUR. I started suffering with back pain a few years ago. My first stop was a chiropractor, when it should have been a scan. A few months having weekly sessions on the chiro's bench made no difference - in fact it might have made things worse. Which is annoying when they charge £35 for 15 mins (thank goodness for health insurance).

In the end the chiro admitted defeat and put me onto a (very accomplished) orhopaedic surgeon who sent me straight for an MRI scan, which illustrated immediately why the chiro hadn't made any difference (double slipped disc). There were a number of options for me including surgery, injections, or simply passage of time.

For now the latter is working, but I can expect a severe bout of pain for a few months every few years. That happened last summer, and the surgeon referred me to proper, hospital based physiotherapy which helped massively.

Osteopathy, chiropractic treatment, acupuncture, naturapathy, chinese herbal cures - they'll all take your cash and say they can help you - but my advice is definitely to rely on proper medical opinion based on proper medical diagnostics like ultrasound, x-ray or MRI.

Not my experience Tris. Absolutely the other way round. Each to his own I suppose. However it was the second osteopath I tried that did the trick. Maybe they are not all good.