What I have learned about "Back Problems"

December 1997 I hurt my back while pushing a large/heavy box where I work... the cause of this was that I did not keep my body STRAIGHT to the box, but TWISTED to move the box into place... I was off work for a week, on prescription pain reliever and muscle relaxer, until my back UNcramped and I could walk again

June 1999 I hurt my back again... this time while leaning over to put a PIECE OF PAPER down on a table, and, again, TWISTED as I did so... no weight this time, but the twisting motion was about the same... after the pain pills and muscle relaxer did not seem to be helping, I went to a Chiropractor (Dr Gibbon in Washougal WA 360-835-3150)

After "popping" my back straight (an adventure in itself... but THAT pain soon went away and I could stand up straight) Dr Gibbon explained the following:

• As people age, the cartilage discs in their backs shrink (why people get shorter with age)
• A Push/Twist or Lift/Twist with thinner discs may cause the edges of the vertebrae to touch
• When the vertebrae touch, an AUTOMATIC body response is for the muscles on either side of the spine to LOCK in place, as a defense to make sure the spine is not injured
• This muscle LOCK is what happened to me in Dec '97 and again June '99
• When pain pills and muscle relaxers don't work... visit a GOOD Chiropractor

August 2000 my back locked again, but not as a result if any twisting motion... instead I suffered a "spontaneous collapse" of a disc (I can't pronounce or remember the "scientific" name) as follows:

• I had just worked (mostly sitting) a VERY hot weekend at my Koi club's annual show... but I did help with packing up some of the equipment and putting it back in storage
• Even though I thought I was drinking plenty of liquids, I was obviously "slightly" dehydrated
• When dehydrated, the body ROBS from one part to supply another part
• In my case, fluid was taken from the discs in my back (already thinner due to age)
• Lifting boxes of paper at work, even using correct lifting techniques, caused a "partly deflated" disc to finish collapsing, leading to the edges of the bones touching... leading to the VERY PAINFUL lock described above

June 2001 Update

I also have shoulder pain (this getting older is the PITS !!) which is due to the beginning stages of Arthritis... so I started taking a combination tablet of Glucosamine/Chondroitin to try and help

The tablet did not help my shoulder, but it seems to have helped my back a great deal, due (I think) to the "pump up the tissue" effects of these two supplements. The tablets I buy are the "Move Free" brand sold by Schiff, at 1-800-526-6251 (I buy mine at the Costco warehouse store)

September 2001 Update

After a VERY busy Saturday (we built a new house, and even after moving in, we're still doing a lot of work) I didn't feel anything out of the ordinary on Sunday or Monday, but by Tuesday and into Wednesday and declining on Thursday, I was in AGONY with pains shooting down both legs, from about my hips to my knees

When I was finally able to get to Dr Gibbon's office Thursday afternoon most of the pain was gone, but he was quickly able to explain what had happened, and do a minor "pop me straight" exercise to eliminate the rest of the pain

• The great deal of work I had done on Saturday, even though each load and motion was small, had built up to, eventually, cause a swelling in my back and nerve pressure on (I think) the third Lumbar joint
• This (I think) third joint is where the nerves begin that cause SHOOTING PAINS down the backs of both legs
• The swelling takes "about" 48 hours to reach "critical mass" (I had no pain for about 2 days)
• Once begun, the pain takes "about" 2 mores days to go away... IF you don't do something else to cause the partial compression in your back to squeeze even closer, at which time you will have the LOCK problem described above
• My Chiropractor uses Glucosamine/Chondroitin himself, but at a higher dose than I have been using