Back Pain: A Note
Dec. 12th, 2008 08:38 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
brianhFor some reason, the issue of back pain has come up on multiple blogs I follow, and LJ. Misdiagnosis and "It's not serious, it just hurts a lot, I won't go to a doctor!" seem to be a common theme.
Let me say this, as a two year veteran of a prolapsed disc: See the fucking doctor. If you slip and hurt your back and the pain comes back or persists for more than that day, _see the fucking doctor if it is at all possible_. There are hundreds of ome remedies that will help you with the pain-- epsom salts, relaxation, yoga, etc. Check them out, sure. But /see the fucking doctor/. Get it checked out. And if you still feel pain after following what the doctor tells you, see a specialist, if you can, and if not, treat your back with velvet gloves, and watch for the pain. For pity's sake, do that even if you've got the insurance and the specialist says you're mostly okay.
I believe in a Creator, yes. I also _know_ there's evolution. I don't see a conflict. You can have a divine Creator and still be a work in progress. In fact, it's almost a certainty for a living, changing universe like the one we're in. But whether you're an atheist or a theist, these are the facts: Our backs-- muscles, spines, and so forth-- despite millions of years of evolution, were originally designed for horizontal, quadruped creatures. We've come a long way, but major change goes on and on, and there is a reason that back problems are persistent and chronic for the human species-- our backs are taking pressure in ways that they're not yet 100% suited to (and may never be so without deliberate engineering, which may not be wise-- there are some uses to being able to switch handily between modes of transportation).
Treat your back with respect and care. This is how you move. This is how you live. I wish now that I'd been far, far more aggressive about my care and diagnosis than I was-- and the consequences for my loved ones are greater because I did not. So if you won't do it to spare yourself, do it so that you don't become a burden on those you care about.
Let me say this, as a two year veteran of a prolapsed disc: See the fucking doctor. If you slip and hurt your back and the pain comes back or persists for more than that day, _see the fucking doctor if it is at all possible_. There are hundreds of ome remedies that will help you with the pain-- epsom salts, relaxation, yoga, etc. Check them out, sure. But /see the fucking doctor/. Get it checked out. And if you still feel pain after following what the doctor tells you, see a specialist, if you can, and if not, treat your back with velvet gloves, and watch for the pain. For pity's sake, do that even if you've got the insurance and the specialist says you're mostly okay.
I believe in a Creator, yes. I also _know_ there's evolution. I don't see a conflict. You can have a divine Creator and still be a work in progress. In fact, it's almost a certainty for a living, changing universe like the one we're in. But whether you're an atheist or a theist, these are the facts: Our backs-- muscles, spines, and so forth-- despite millions of years of evolution, were originally designed for horizontal, quadruped creatures. We've come a long way, but major change goes on and on, and there is a reason that back problems are persistent and chronic for the human species-- our backs are taking pressure in ways that they're not yet 100% suited to (and may never be so without deliberate engineering, which may not be wise-- there are some uses to being able to switch handily between modes of transportation).
Treat your back with respect and care. This is how you move. This is how you live. I wish now that I'd been far, far more aggressive about my care and diagnosis than I was-- and the consequences for my loved ones are greater because I did not. So if you won't do it to spare yourself, do it so that you don't become a burden on those you care about.
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I completely agree
Date: 2008-12-12 08:48 pm (UTC)I'm a massage therapist and I treat back problems all the time. Most are muscular in nature. When I see signs that the problem is nervous or spinal I require them to see a back specialist before I'll treat them again. This is very</> important!
My father refused to go to the doctor for upwards of a year for his increadible back pain. Eventually is leg went numb, except for the unbearable pain. He couldn't get out of bed, had to crawl to the bathroom, and eventually wanted us to call an ambulance to take him to the emergency room. He thought they were going to amputate his leg, and he was ready for it.
Instead we called our family doctor, who advised us NOT go to the emergency room. He made an appointment to see a neurologist the next day, including an MRI. He also phoned in a perscription for Vicodin, which allowed my father to sleep through the night and crawl out to the car the next morning. (According to our doctor, if he went to the emergency room in an ambulance we'd end up paying for the ride and all they'd do for him is give him Vicodin anyway.)
Sure enough, the MRI showed he had a massive herniated disk pressing on his sciatic nerve. He was scheduled for a discectomey in three days.
Unfortunately he waited too long, which we were warned before the surgery. He had permenent nerve damage. That was almost ten years ago, and his leg is numb to this day. He has trouble walking, and has to keep a good eye on his feet for injury that could necrotise and cause gangrene.
And all of it could have been taken care of if the idiot handn't been too proud/scared to go to the doctor a year earlier.
Final point; Herniated discs are nothing to joke about, but luckily they aren't that common. The results of disc surgery are very good and not to be afraid of. The people who are afraid of the surgery often remember some of the horrible results that happened back in the 1970's when this surgery was a massive opperation and they didn't know what they were doing. Now days it's nearly an outpatient proscedure, with excellent outcome almost always.
Unless you wait too long!
Here endeth the lesson.