Back Surgery Is Not Always The Answer

So many people suffer from chronic low back pain. Its the number one reason Americans miss work. Back pain can either come on slow and get worse, or all at once you wake to find you cant get out of bed like a lighting strike out of the blue. Either way its a terrible thing to cope with. When after a few days or a couple of weeks at tops, most people end up going to the doctor. Upon going to the doctor, a lot of the people hurting with low back pain are told by physicians that surgery is needed. This news alone can be devastating in itself. Back surgery required recovery time that most people cant afford to take from work. Back surgery also is very expensive. Not only does it take a to recover and expensive, its also sometimes not even necessary.

So many people have low back surgery when other alternatives could have been used. Other methods of dealing with back pain can be physical therapy, biofeedback, traction, exercise, steroid injections, and electric stimulation therapy of muscles and nerves just to name a few. People that rush into back surgery have found that their back actually hurts worse than it did before the surgery. Some people also need follow up surgery either to correct mistakes made in the initial surgery, or problems in the back that crops up later. Either way this is also devastating. By this time, the patient has been out of work so long, that a financial hardship has occurred, medical bills have piled up, or some people have lost their employment, and find their back pain is no better or even worse.

People needlessly put themselves in this situation. I blame this on a couple of things. Physicians are quick to suggest surgery for the simple reason they do not believe in treating people with pain medicine. Some physicians are more worried about writing prescriptions for pain medication, than the pain your suffering from. This is due to people abusing the system when it comes to prescription drugs, or the lack of knowledge the physician sometimes has towards chronic pain sufferers. Either way the true chronic pain patient suffers tremendously.

When it comes to your back, going under the knife should always be the last resort. Everything under the sun should be tried, and tried again before anyone should have surgery. There are a few exceptions when having back surgery right away is necessary, but for the most part, other measures and therapy are out their and should be used. As a low back pain sufferer myself, though Im not a medical doctor, I would suggest something like this. First find a doctor who believes treating pain with pain medication. Combing physical therapy with pain medication can relieve pain tremendously. Do physical activities such as stretching, walking, sit-ups if possible, this strengthens the muscles around the disc taking the pressure off the nerves that cause such pain. A good program of pain medicine combined with other pain management tactics can do wonders over a period of time. A lot of people have found that the pain has actually went away with this type of therapy.

Worse case scenario, its better to have your back still in tact with pain, compared to the many complications, the severe pain, permanent nerve damage, loss of physical mobility, being unable to work, and even becoming disable due to having low back surgery. Remember no matter what anyone tells you, its your back, not theirs. Its easy for someone to tell you what you should do, but they don't have to walk in your shoes after a failed back surgery.

Copyright 2006 Robert Gould

About The Author
Robert Gould is an advocate in pain managment, helping people who suffer from chronic pain to get the proper pain medication to treat their pain for a better quality of life. For more information go to: http://www.rxscripts4u.com

So Your Lower Back Hurts???

Low back pain is one of the most common ailments people suffer from and approximately 8 out of 10 people will deal with back pain at some point in their life. That's a lot of people... are you one of them?

Out of all of the various forms of back pain, lower back pain is by far the most common and there's a good explanation for this. Any idea why?

It's not car accidents, it's not work-related injuries, and it's not a lack of prescription medications either. Lack of movement and use is the number one cause of back pain!

I bet your orthopedic specialist or chiropractor didn't tell you that, did they?

It's the lack of movement in various muscles over years that leads to muscle imbalances and uneven wear and tear on your body, especially the spine. For example, how many times a day are you bending, leaning, or twisting.

Here's what the typical person's day is like:

Wake up
Eat breakfast (hopefully)
Drive or ride to work
Sit at desk
Eat lunch
Sit at desk some more
Drive or ride home
Eat dinner
Sit on couch and watch tv
Go to bed

Notice the trend here? That's an awful lot of sitting and not moving. Well, this is what leads to serious muscle imbalances and so what do we do, we go to the gym and perform exercises that only make the imbalances worse!

The key to eliminating back pain (nearly any ache, pain, or injury for that matter) is to identify the muscle imbalances that are pulling the spine, bones, and joints out of place and then stretch the tight muscles while strengthening the weak muscles.

How do I know this? Well, as certified personal fitness trainer and post-rehabilitation specialist, I have worked with hundreds of individuals with back pain and the conditions that ranged from sciatic pain, to bulging discs, to spinal fusion, and others. In working with these individuals I discovered some startling facts.

1. Many people who seek professional help are often mis-diagnosed and end up following a treatment plan that fails to eliminate the cause of their back pain.

2. Nearly all of the individuals I worked with were able to eliminate their back pain, or significantly improve their condition even though all of the traditional treatments failed them (physically therapy, chiropractic care, cortisone injections, anti-inflammatory medications, surgery, etc).

Even more amazing is the fact that most of these individuals were able to eliminate their back pain in a matter or days or weeks simply by performing a handful of exercises and stretches! These weren't your basic exercises or the standard back stretches and stomach exercises most "experts" recommend – these were specific exercises and stretches prescribed based on the individual.

Many of these people had suffered for years and years with aches, pains, and stiffness and lived inactive lives because of their back pain.

3. Most treatment plans offered only address the symptoms and don't address the cause, which usually delivers just temporary relief for the individual.

In addition to helping hundreds of others eliminate back pain, I also have had personal experiences with back pain and other various conditions such as tendonitis, muscle strains and sprains, and more. In every single situation the traditional treatments did nothing but treat the symptoms (often times not successfully) and the only approach that gave lasting improvements and relief was targeted stretches and exercises.

Have you tried traditional treatments and found little relief? I am not saying these treatments are not effective at temporarily reducing the pain or inflammation, but I am saying nearly all fail to get rid of the underlying cause of the problem.

So how do you identify these muscle imbalances? Well, it isn't easy but with a basic understanding of how your body works you can at least start looking at your situation and find out which muscles are over worked and too strong and/or tight and which ones are too weak and stretched out.

It also helps if you can find a qualified health professional who specializes in identifying muscle imbalances. Unfortunately, there are still few professionals who use what I call the "common sense approach." However, your best bet is to look for a personal fitness trainer that is trained and certified in post-rehabilitation, a manual physical therapist, or an osteopath. Also, don't be afraid to ask questions... you need to take charge of your health care and be sure to quiz them to find out what type of an approach they take in treating back pain.

I also recommend you my video, "Lose the Back Pain" here: http://www.losethebackpain.com . It's shows you step-by-step, how to identify the true cause of your back pain and what specific exercises and stretches you need to do to correct it.

I wish you the best and remember the key to a healthy back is movement!

About The Author
Jesse Cannone is a certified personal fitness trainer, post-rehab specialist, nutritionist, and a national fitness presenter. He is also the author of Burn Fat FAST and A Bride's Guide To Fast Fitness + Weight Loss in addition to many other popular fitness articles. He is known for his hard-hitting and to the point style and offers a great free email newsletter called Fitness Success News, which you can subscribe to at his website http://www.achieve-fitness.com
jesse@achieve-fitness.com

Low Back pain - Ayurvedic Management

Low back pain is one of the most common pain disorders today .It is a chronic condition characterized by a persistent dull or sharp pain per the lower back. It may be also associated with burning, stiffness, numbness or tingling with the pain shooting down the buttocks and the legs.

When we stand, the lower back functions to hold most of the weight of the body. When we bend, extend or rotate at the waist, the lower back is involved in the movement. Low back ache is often precipitated by moving, lifting objects or twisting of the waist. Severe pain in the low back can be quite debilitating to patients. Pain in the lower back restricts activity and reduces work capacity and quality of enjoyment of everyday living and turns daily life into a misery.

Survey indicates that 70 per cent of the people suffer from low back pain at some time in their lives. The highest rate of back pain occurs among the 45 to 64 year age group. The incidence of low back pain is greater among women. In 90 per cent of the patients, low back pain resolves within six weeks, i.e. self limited. In another 5 per cent the pain resolves by 12 weeks. Less than 5 per cent of back paid account for true nerve root pain.

Causes

One of the common causes for the backache is poor posture habit. Balanced posture decreases stress on your back by keeping the muscles, bones and other supporting parts in their natural position. Any change from normal spinal curve can stress or pull muscles. This leads to increased muscle contraction, which causes pain. Low back pain can result due to health problems like osteoporosis, scoliosis, spinal stenosis. Sprain or strain of muscles or ligaments in the area can also manifest in low back pain. Other possible causes include fibromyalgia and benign or malignant tumours. A fall or blow to the back can strain or tear tissues around the spine, or even break a bone leading to back pain. Lack of exercise or incorrect exercise can also lead to low back pain. Too much weight or overweight also is a cause of low back pain.

Treatment

Conservative treatment is the most likely course of action for most patients. Treatment options include rest, Traction, Short wave diathermy, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications, weight control, steroid injections in step by step order.

If a patients does not get relief after 8 to 12 weeks of conservative therapy surgical intervention is considered. The most common surgical procedure is a discectomy, which involves removing the soft gel-like material in the disc. This procedure returns the disc to a more normal shape, relieving the pressure on the nerve. the neurosurgeon can also perform a foraminotomy, which is a procedure designed to expand the opening the nerve travels through.

Drugs and knives don't always work because from 60% to 90% of disease is not the result of structural injury, but rather of the mind-body response to stress

Ayurvedic Perspective

Ayurveda holds that low back pain is a result of vitiation of one of the three principal 'doshas'. 'Kateegraham'/'Prishtasoola' or low back pain is an indication of Vata aggravation and bone and muscle weakness.

Ayurvedic Treatment

Treatment in Ayurveda is to bring the vitiated 'dosha' back to the state of equilibrium and thereby to the state of health. For treating low back pain, internal as well as external treatments are done. Herbal preparations like 'Asthavargam' are administered internally. Daily purgation is recommended to restore the vitiated 'dosha' to the state of normalcy.

Ayurvedic Panchakarma treatments like Abhyanga (oil massage), Basti (meditated enema) are very much helpful in relieving backache and correcting abnormalities. Drugs like Yogarajaguggulu, Lakshadiguggulu, Triphala Guggulu, Maanarayana tailam are useful in this condition.

Yoga and Yogasana

The source of the pain is due most often to pushing oneself beyond physical or emotional capacity. The spine needs stability and, therefore, the mind must first be steady. So, the first step is to learn to relax the mind and focus on the specific areas of back pain. With practice, you can redirect the body's energy and affect the pain.

Among the Yogasanas ,when there is pain, start with simple back-bends, such as Locust, Cat, and Sunbird. To keep the spine aligned practice Hero Pose.

Caution- Before trying any of these postures, consult with a yoga teacher or therapist to determine the best postures for your condition.

About The Author
Dr.Shashikant Patwardhan is practicing as 'Ayurvedic Consultant' for last 25 years at the city -Sangli , Maharashtra -India. He has done his graduation in Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery [B.A.M&S] and post graduate Fellowship of Faculty of Ayurvedic Medicine [F.F.A.M.] From Tilak Ayurved Mahavidyalaya, Pune University , India, during the years 1970-1976. He is a chief editor and Ayurvedic Consultant of a 'Comprehensive website on Ayurveda - http://www.ayurveda-foryou.com. He is an author of many books on Ayurveda and is first to publish them in ebook format. He has written ebooks like - Ayurvedic Cure of Diabetes , Home Remedies in Ayurveda, Treat Common Diseases with Ayurveda & Yoga , Ayurvedic Principles Revealed. He regularly writes articles on various topics in Ayurveda in Ayurvedic health magazines and alternative medicine sites.
editor@ayurveda-foryou.com