My aching back isn’t so bad anymore
As I wrote in August, I was attending Wisconsin Writers Association Board meetings in late July in Wisconsin Rapids when I awoke to a miserable lower backache. I’ve had back problems before, including issues when driving long distances, but nothing like this.
I went for an early-morning walk, and that gave me some relief. Still, the pain persisted, and back problems are in the family. I told my blog readers that I'd likely be calling a chiropractor for the first time that day. Some recommended that idea; others didn’t.
Well, I did see a chiropractor. He gave me some relief, but I decided to switch to a different one. This second chiropractor diagnosed my problem as facet’s syndrome and suggested that my long days sitting, sometimes admittedly with poor posture, adds to the problem. I took Aleve and did stretches and core strengthening exercises faithfully twice daily as he recommended. Still, the pain persisted and was unpredictable from day to day, so my chiropractor helped me set up an appointment with an orthopedic/sports medicine doctor.
The pain subsided before that appointment, so I canceled it. I stopped seeing the chiropractor and returned to playing racquetball, feeling discomfort much of the day but no real pain. I kept doing my stretches and exercises.
A couple of weeks later, I awoke to the same pain, making it hard to even walk at first. I returned to the chiropractor, and after two or three more weeks of treatment, we again discussed the orthopedic.
In the meantime, he suggested, as did another chiropractor in his office, that an inversion table might help. I talked to my brother-in-law, who bought one of these tables in which you strap in your ankles and flip upside down—or almost so—in an effort to reverse the influence of gravity. He said it helped him and that inversion tables also helped two co-workers.
I found a good used inversion table for sale. Instead of paying $250 retail, I paid $100. I started doing 2½ minutes twice, with a break in between, mornings and nights, at about an 80-degree angle. At first it felt like it was inflaming my back discomfort. But by the third day, I sensed a change. By Day 4, my pain had diminished to discomfort. I started playing racquetball, continued doing my recommended stretches and core strengthening exercises, but stopped visiting the chiropractor. That was more than a month ago.
This week, my discomfort seems to have diminish another step. I’m drinking more water and getting up from my desk to walk and stretch more. I’m doing my stretches, exercises and inversion reps. I’m keeping my fingers crossed. Maybe the discomfort will slowly fade, and the strengthening work will pay off in the long term. All I know is I don’t ever want to feel pain like that again, and I’m glad it’s gone for now.
Greg Peck can be reached at (608) 755-8278 or gpeck@gazettextra.com. Or follow him on Twitter or Facebook
Dec 20, 2012 at 1:12 p.m.
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I had to order mine by way of Dunham's, it was over two hundred bucks. Greg got a deal.
Dec 20, 2012 at noon
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Glad to hear Greg, my pain has come back with a vengeance in the last couple weeks:(
Dec 20, 2012 at 11:25 a.m.
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The treadmill or elliptical
is better than the track for low impact.
Keep working on the core.
Strengthening those muscles will
do wonders for the lower back.
Fewer and less severe incidents with
shorter recovery time.
Dec 20, 2012 at 10:18 a.m.
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Keep walking the track at The Club.
Low impact, good cardio.
Try NOT to bang the walls playing ball. Racquetball is a great sport but hard on the body.
Dec 20, 2012 at 9:47 a.m.
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I just shoveled that white lead and the back pain I used to get from shoveling didn't happen. Everyone should use an inversion table.
Dec 20, 2012 at 7:41 a.m.
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It will if you try to shovel that white lead that fell overnight,ouch mine is throbbing.
Dec 20, 2012 at 6:30 a.m.
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Not true.
Dec 20, 2012 at 3:12 a.m.
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I love those commercials "you don't have to suffer anymore". What they are showing you was commonly referred to as the rack.
Dec 19, 2012 at 7:58 p.m.
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Imjust...., my main interest in an inversion table is for stretching. Though, I discovered that using it provides some relief from a minor back pain. Accordingly, I freely recommend using one the same way I'd recommend exercise to anyone, leaving it up to them if they should consult a doctor.
And what is the "treatment" that allows a "real therapist" to alleviate back pain?
Dec 19, 2012 at 7:23 p.m.
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Greg, I have a herniated disk. Hence, severe lower back pain. I use an inner tube and let my legs dangle in the pool. I feel great now. This removes the pressure from the disk, pretty much the same as hanging upside-down without the problems associated with having the head lowered. You might want to try that. Worked for me. I also found that walking in the water helps me feel better all over.
Dec 19, 2012 at 5:52 p.m.
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gazettefan - I would never recommend it to anyone in pain because it's not based on science. There is only one treatment for lower back pain that has been shown to have any real effect, and that effect is no better than what a real therapist can achieve. Everything else is unproven guesswork, and nobody's touching my back unless they have a real medical degree from a real collage that teaches real science.
But I'm funny that way.
Dec 19, 2012 at 5:18 p.m.
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Imjust...., I clicked on that link and remembered reading it before. If someone doesn't have those problems I'd recommend using an inversion table. I mainly use it in place of stretching after walking and running.
Inversion tables are an improvement on the reverse gravity activity people were trying about 20 years ago -in special footwear, hanging from a door jam. An inversion table allows greater control and a variety of angles.
Greg, my sessions are about 15 minutes, which include two periods when I'm inverted at a 45 degree for awhile angle and one period when I'm hanging at a 90 for awhile -the rest of the time I rock back and forth to about 80 degree angles. I make it a practice to not use the table when I'm drunk or have change in my pocket.
Dec 19, 2012 at 5:04 p.m.
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I've been using an inversion table for years. It's great. It's hard to believe more people don't know about them.
Inversion activity can only be bad with a blood pressure problem.
Dec 19, 2012 at 2:48 p.m.
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"Inversion therapy doesn't provide lasting relief from back pain, and it's not safe for everyone."
Read more at the Mayo Clinic website:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/inversi...
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