Question
Hi!

I am a fellow volunteer on this site (Bible Studies area) and I have a few questions for you.

Background: I am a 42-year old male. 6?? and I am a professional computer programmer by trade (so I sit a lot.) When I was 22, I was playing basketball and seriously wrenched my back. The next day, I went to a Chiropractor who did an 揺mergency adjustment? Ever since that time, I have had my back go out every few years (I think he may have injured me.) I have always been able to recover after a period of time. I have been active over the years with golf and bowling and I have been able to live with it. When my back did go out, I would simply do the Advil, exercises, and an occasional Vicatin if needed. I should mention that I get a massage every few weeks and that has a tendency to give me back pain the next day. My masseuse thinks I have arthritis forming.

My situation is worse this time around. Last September, I was golfing on a rainy night. The next day, my back was out bad. So I did the usual routine for a week, but it got worse. I decided to go to a different chiropractor and he started the adjustments and therapy (stretching exercises and some traction.) It wasn抰 getting better after another month, so he decided that I should get an MRI. The x-ray shows that I have two disks in my lower back that are bulging. I don抰 remember the names of the disks, but I think one of them is L7??? They are lower back. They are not burst, but judging by the x-ray, they are clearly bulging and not getting moisture (I am repeating what he told me.) The chiropractor also said that my pelvic bone was locked slightly, but I didn抰 understand what that was or if it is related. I did also involve my regular doctor at the time, and he gave me some steroids which worked wonders. However, he told me that these are temporary and if the pain returned, to come see him and he would refer me to a surgeon. The pain came back, and I have not returned to him yet.

I decided to stick with the chiropractor because he was opposed to the surgery at first. However, after months of therapy, he gave up on me in December. He said that my next option is to get epidural treatments or surgery. I was told that the epidural treatments are temporary, so I am not sure those are best. I am in constant pain, but not enough so to have surgery (at least yet.) I don抰 take medications for it, but there are days that I want to pop an Aleve (right now is one of those days, but I typically don抰.) I have gained some weight (I am about 270 now), so I know that is one area that I need to work on. I used to do the treadmill avidly but I fear the pounding would aggravate the injury worse, so I just purchased an elliptical machine. It is not set up yet. I have not been able to exercise since last September.

So I am looking for some advice, especially on starting exercising again. I can take the pain (it is a 1 or 2 on a 10 scale), but the pain shooting in my legs does concern me梞y regular doctor told me the danger with a disk is that they are acidic and can eat the spinal cord. Since my disks are not ruptured, I hope that the pain I am feeling is from the pressure on the nerves and not from corrosion. The pain in my legs is actually in the upper front, and I don抰 always get it. I have been continuing the massages, I take jet tub baths in Epson salts, and I make liberal use of a product called Bio Freeze (a topical which helps), so I can get the pain down to a 1 (but not 0.) We also got rid of our water bed, so I sleep well at night. I did buy a high-end chair for my job (Hermann Miller Aeron), and it helps, but sitting is still the worst part of my day. I can抰 make a living lying on my back, but lying down does help. I don抰 understand about heat or ice ?should I be doing either in this case?

I do feel that if I could lose some weight, start stretching and exercising a little more aggressively, and maybe start taking Aleve for the swelling, I might be able to win over the pain. My regular doctor also told me he would give me some more steroids if I want ?should I consider getting on those for a week while I ramp up my exercising?  I do walk crooked right now and wonder if I need regular chiropractic adjustments. I know once I start exercising my pain will increase, so I guess I am asking if I should avoid the elliptical. Specifically, do I risk rupturing my disks? I do have the exercise ball here, so I am set up to do the exercises the chiropractor showed me.  I am motivated. But if all of these cases always end in surgery anyway, I would rather get that done while I am relatively young. On a side note, my postman went and had the laser surgery and he said he worked miracles on him. That is not helping me make a decision ?ha! I would prefer to avoid surgery.

Thank you for your time. I know upfront that medical advice is difficult to dispense without actually examining me, so whatever advice you give, I know it has some limitations of distance. I was surprised that my chiropractor gave up on me like that, and my doctor, though a great guy, does tend to use the *nuclear* option, so I am not sure where to turn for advice. I am wondering out loud whether I should see another chiropractor ?I have had friends recommend others. My regular doctor does have my best interest at heart, and he had no problem with me seeing a chiropractor. But I am avoiding him at the moment because he will send me to a surgeon.

Michael O扚laherty
Streetsboro, OH  

Answer
Michael:

Thanks for writing!

Yes, I commend you for true grit! You make John Wayne look like a woos.

Unfortunaetly, not all chiropractors are equally trained.

First of all, how much water do you drink? The disc have a very poor blood supply and depend to a large extent on the area around them for water. The area around them must be wet all of the time.

Do a water challenge. Drink 12 ounces of spring water every hour on the hour for six hours and see how you feel. Also drink water at night.

As to:

Specifically, do I risk rupturing my disks?

At this point, I doubt that a disc is going to suddenly rupture. If that is going to occur, it will usually occur on the first episode of back pain. But the gnawing pain would gradually wear you down.

It could be that the first chiro did actually do more damage to your back. That does happen with the "pop'em, snap'em" approach. At the very least, they did not get to the root of the problem.

I suspect that on the original injury, you tore the ligaments that hook your back bone to your hip bone. That tear will throw the whole spine into a compression and squash the disc thoroughout the spine.

Go to www.sorsi.com, www.soto-usa.com and www.icak.com  and look for a good chiropractor. I see you are in Ohio, I know Brian Mouch is in Cincinnati. At least call him and see if he can refer you to a good chiropractor near you. Or drive over to see him, it will be well worth the trip. Tell him I referred you.
Here are a list of the doctors in Ohio.
James Schmit
806 E WAYNE ST
Celina, OH 45822
419-586-7776
[email protected]
419-586-7777
  Member Since: 1975
Sorsi Hours: 98
Certification: DC
Brian Mouch
6010 Wooster Pike
Cincinnati, OH 45227
513-271-4849
  Member Since: 2005
Sorsi Hours: 322
Certification: DC
Harvey Feenstra
191 S. Mecca
Cortland, OH 44410
330-637-1394
[email protected]
  Member Since: 1994
Sorsi Hours: 24
Certification: DC
Mark Dumas
723 PHILLIPS AVE, STE C
Toledo, OH 43612
419-478-0303
[email protected]
  Member Since: 1987
Sorsi Hours: 209
Certification: CC

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Does this anwer your question?

Dr. Rozeboom