vp911

Back is still killing me.... more than 7 months later with no resolution.

03CoupeV6

Has a doctor diagnosed what's causing your back to hurt so much?

vp911

Well, the most recent doctor just says its muscoskelatal (sp?) pain from muscle spasms. He sent me back to physical therapy and massage therapy - only for ultrasound therapy. Also prescribe some med - which worked for a couple days, but has no effect on me anymore. I shelled out 4 grand to buy a massage chair. It works and makes my back feel better for a few hours but then the pain is back.

I am slowly starting to believe it will be like this forever.

neuronbob

Have you seen a neurologist (e.g. someone in my specialty) or orthpaedic doc? If the pain is this chronic, therapy may be helpful but not enough. Someone in your condition may require prophylactic (preventive--taken daily even if you don't have pain, to decrease the number of days with pain) as well as abortive (muscle relaxants, narcotic pain meds, ibuprofen, etc--taken at the time you have pain for "rapid" relief) medications.

HTH some.

vp911

Yes, two neurologists. The second one is the one who sent me back to P/T and M/T. I had taken a couple different muscle relaxants before - and now pamelor for the pain. didn't know that pamelor was used for back pain prior to hearing it from him. The problem with the pamelor was that the lower dosage didn't do much and the higher one made it so I couldn't drive - and I have to drive on a daily basis.

I am planning to schedule a follow up appointment - I will call tomorrow to schedule that. I am really hoping there is something that can be done. Thanks, Bob.

neuronbob

Check your PM, one is coming.

TheAcAvenger

I've seen a lot of wrecked cars before...but for someone that didnt flip or hit a tree.. that looked brutal. I feel really really really bad for you man. That sucker wasnt an accident, that was a disaster

bradykp

the panasonic chair at brookstone? i want that one.

anyways....i got in an accident a while ago...about 6 years ago i think. rolled twice in a jeep cherokee. it was because of a faulty axle, installed by my (former) mechanic. because i didnt get "hurt" there was no one for me to sue. not the manufactur of the piece, not the mechanic, nothing.

anyways, lower back bothers me occasionally, and i'm almost 24. but the thing is, i also played basketball, hockey, track and field, baseball, etc etc. not to mention working as a waiter and dishwasher (standing for 8-10 hours at a time). not that the accident didn't cause anything, i'm just not in the lawsuit crazed culture, and realize my back bothers me for a number of reasons.

in your case, it was probably just the accident. back injuries don't show up immediately after, but tend to appear later on. hope everything works out well for you. glad to see the car protected you pretty well.

vp911

Nah this: http://www.thefactoryoutlet.com/mass...gechair19a.asp I did a lot of research and found that the chairs from sharper image and brookstone have crap a crapy warranty and won't last long.

Thanks for your input - and also very sorry to hear about your accident also

bradykp

oh, the panasonic is amazing. it senses where your spine is, and adjusts from there, so that you get a nice massage. your chair looks good too. i'm not a fan of brookstone, but i love panasonic. i'd buy it online if/when i get it.

davenlei

Hey VP,

Sorry about all your troubles from someone else's inability to drive within the safety of the road conditions.
Regarding your back pain, maybe I can lend some releif or insight on how long you will hurt. My wife was in a pretty severe accident on a freeway several years ago. She was rear ended by a Corolla while she was at a full stop (freeway exit backed up onto the freeway lane) in her 4 month old (only 1500 miles) Prelude and the impact pushed her under a Ford F150 truck. The lady that rear ended her was driving about 50MPH. My wife had severe back pains and spasms for many months. She cried to sleep many times from the pain. It took a little over a year for the spasms and pain to subside. It did alter her life however. She was an avid runner but after the accident (6 years ago), she cannot run anymore without having severe back pains the next day. Different things will still trigger her back pains. A few times I had to panic brake in our car and her back would flare up a few hours later. It really pisses me off because before the accident, she NEVER complained of back pains. Now she is very protective of her back because any sudden movements or hard jolts can set off an attack.
Sorry to say but this accident will probably alter the quality of the rest of your life if you are a physically active person. But on the bright side, at least you have the rest of your life to bitch about the pain because that was one severe accident.

vp911

Yup, this chair does the same thing. I am a big fan of it,

vp911

Very sorry to hear about your wife's accident. I have heard from everybody that this type of injury is bound to cause problems for the rest of your life, it really is unfortunate. It has stopped me from running - which is something I would do 2-4 times a week depending on my schedule. I have since replaced it with using an elliptical which is much better; however, I now have a $1,000 treadmill in my house that I don't use and a gym membership for $60/month to use the elliptical and swim because I can't go running anymore. I wish the insurance company would pay for an elliptical, but of course they won't. After much research into the machines, I have found that a good one that will last several years will cost a good $3,000. In the meantime, I will continue swimming at the gym and hope that the combination of treatment and various medications will resolve the issues.

Thanks to neuronbob for all his help in addition to everybody else.

GreatWhiteNorth

I was rear-ended several years ago and the pain wasn't resolving itself. Finally my GP, who's an open-minded older doctor, sent me to see a special kind of chiropractor who deals with the upper-cervical region (www.nucca.org). The idea is that if your atlas (the top vertebra) is out of alignment, all kinds of unpleasant side effects can occur, from back pain, muscle spasms and limping. Fixing this alignment will finally allow the body to heal itself, since it's no longer compensating for this one fault.

It worked wonders for me and I recommend you check it out. No affiliation, just a very happy (and pain free) patient.