(no subject)

[miss_lucy21]

My lower back has been jacked up for nearly a decade. In 2004, I slipped on a concrete floor and landed flat on my back (think cartoon character slipping on a banana peel and you'll have a decent picture of what I did). I had some physical therapy for it when it didn't get better with ice and rest and ibuprofen (I'm allergic to all other anti-inflammatories that aren't steroids). That got me in good enough shape to keep working retail for another couple of years and to mostly get through my stint in helping to build houses without major issues. Well, then I threw it out when I was getting ready to move to Cleveland. And it got better, but not really. And then I really did a number on it about 18 months ago- I bent down to put my shoe on and I don't know what the hell I did, but whatever it was, it was not good. And I've had to be exeedingly careful ever since, because if I overdo anything, if I try to wear shoes that are higher than flats (even 1 inch heels), if I try to lift anything heavier than about 20 pounds, I can't walk for a week.

Well, I now have insurance, and I'm pretty damn tired of dealing with this. I want to go on a whitewater rafting trip with my brother next year and there's no way I can do that at this point. Heck, I'd like to wear some of the shoes I have that I can't wear anymore. So, I talked to the doctor and we did x-rays and I have a referral for physical therapy. I got the x-ray results back today, and apparently my lumbar spine is normal. There's some very minor scoliosis in that my hips aren't even, but they've never been even, so I doubt that's causing much of the problem. But this is important for 2 reasons: 1)there's nothing wrong with the disks in my back (I didn't think so- I don't have disk like problems) and 2) there's no arthritis in my spine at this point, which would not be a fixable thing. This pretty much indicates that it's a muscular issue and that's fixable. Challenging, but fixable. The thing is, my muscles are crazy tight. I have never been flexible, even as a little kid, and my muscles have just gotten tighter as I've gotten older. I have no idea why they're so tight, but they are. So, we'll see what some PT can do about that. But I'm kind of hopeful that I can maybe stop feeling like I'm 83 instead of 33...

Comments

[hagar_972]

PT is not, actually, massage. And it's not, actually, about loosening muscles, though that can also come in. You are far more likely to be given a mix of muscle-building exercises, rigged to the intensity your body can presently stand and probably adjusted to counter the muscle group imbalance issues you're almost bound to have at this point.

(Been there, done that, and yes, muscle imbalance will screw someone up this badly. It's not just a right/left issue, it's the entire set from foot to shoulder - if you're lifting your legs with the wrong muscles when you walk, that would do this, too.)

Additionally, if you can have access to Alexander Technique treatment, I strongly recommend it.

Also, you know that ibu is an NSAID, right? And if you're not allergic to ibu, there are chances you're not allergic to some other NSAIDs, too. Edit: just spotted the "other" in that sentence up to. But the rest of this still stands, because.../edit There are dozens of them. I've been through dealing with a chronic inflammation without meds (longstanding muscle issue -> inflammation is involved); I can't say I recommend it. Also, that takes years. It's really worth it to try and find a med you can take, even if it means 2-3 rounds with urticaria. (I've had urticaria, I've had chronic inflammations, I have a scale, here.)

Failing that, see if you can't find a cream with camphor, assuming your sensory sensitivities will tolerate that. I find most creams useless, but the ones with camphor in the mix actually do some good, particularly when combines with a hot pad.

[miss_lucy21]

Yeah, the issue with most other NSAIDs are breathing issues, not hives. So anything aspirin or naproxen related are off the table completely, since I can't chance the asthma flare-up (the aspirin reactions were ER-quality bad, and my doctor just doesn't play with that). And there was another one (I only remember the brand name, DayPro) that made all of my joints swell up horribly (ironically enough), so that one and ones related to it were also declared off the table. My doctor has no idea why ibuprofen is okay by my immune system, but it does appear to be the only one.

[hagar_972]

See if etoricoxib (brand name Arcoxia) is something that isn't already ruled out. It's the stronger of the lot and my entire family has really good experience with it. And, well, there's always Voltaren, which is useless in the gell form but not half bad in the pill version. Voltaren is is a digestive track risk, though.

[miss_lucy21]

Voltaren is definitely on the No List. I haven't heard of Arcoxia, but I'll ask about it. Thanks!