Back Pain Relief?

Many faithful readers know that I've had my share of back pain over the years. In fact, I've experienced on-and-off back problems since I was 12. I remember exactly how I hurt my back the first time. I was doing hack squats the “old-fashioned” way – straddling a barbell with one arm in front and one arm behind.

I read in a bodybuilding magazine of this fantastic way to build front thigh mass called the hack squat. Because I was 12, didn't (and probably couldn't) belong to a gym (this was nearly 40 years ago), and didn't have the money or space to buy my own hack squat machine, I fashioned one myself.

Needless to say, you know the outcome. I tweaked my back to the point where I had severe pain in my lower back area and had a really hard time participating in sports. I remember at the time that I was in PE class (back when Physical Education was thought of as an integral part of a young person's education); it was winter so it was football season. Because I was fast, my team relied on me to run streaks, posts, corners, and other speed routes.

The pain really hampered my ability to get open. To this day, I do not know how I ran at all. The pain was quite severe. But being the stubborn fool, I “toughed” it out.

That episode lasted for a month or so.

I didn't have any more issues for several years. After college, I got a retail job at a sporting goods store. There was the normal selling, stocking, and administrative stuff. The stocking is what got me this time. I was moving a case of shoes. Rather than pick it up, I decided to push it across the floor. The bent position I took put my lower back in a compromised posture, exposing it to a shear force that was, looking back now, probably quite severe.

Again, the back went pop and I momentarily lost some feeling. I was in pretty severe discomfort for many months this time around. In fact, the excruciating pain did subside, but it never went away, fading into a dull ache that ranged in severity from a pain level of 1 to about 5, depending on seemingly random factors. In other words, I was always conscious of my lower back; it never let me forget or give me any relief from pain.

Fast forward 10 years. I had one last bout with tremendous back pain. I was doing really heavy leg presses and let myself do them in poor form, rounding my back at the bottom of the movement so that I could get the maximum range of motion and – my hope – getting the best leg stimulation possible.

That worked! My legs blew up in size and my lower back again got tweaked. This time, really badly. To the point that I became almost totally immobile. This time, the episode lasted 8 months. I was on Vallium, cortisone, heavy doses of Aleve; I saw a chiropractor (who only made it worse), an accupuncturist (minimal short-lived pain relief), even an orthopedic surgeon.

Yes, I almost succumbed to surgery! I was in a shambles. At the time, I ran a consulting business. I couldn't make appointments so my income dried up. It was the most dire time of my life.

I never contemplated suicide, but I came to understand why someone might end it all. Life was simply miserable.

What made it worse is that I had just met a woman that I fell in love with. I was such a miserable trainwreck that I felt this relationship slipping away, too. This made life even more desperate.

I literally tried everything short of the knife. I bought an inversion table and practiced inversion therapy religiously. I began using DMSO along with several over-the-counter medications. I stopped taking Vallium (now I knew what being a drug addict felt like and I certainly did not enjoy it).

I found a great physical therapist.

After several months of PT (both professionally-administered and on my own), I emerged with 80 percent less pain. More importantly, I became a functioning human being again.

Turns out, after having an MRI, that I had a slight bulge in a disk, but my physiology being what it was, that tiny bulge was pressing hard on my sciatic nerve.

Fast forward to about 7 months ago. I began taking heavy doses of supplements: Calcium, condroitin, glucosamine, fish oils, MSM. I began drinking a ton of water. I cut out soda (caffeine and sugar are inflammatory).

Most interesting thing: I began doing heavy deadlifts! I think all along that my core was in an out-of-balance situation (my abs were way stronger than my lower back), made worse because I had back pain, so I didn't do any lower back work.

Now that I've balanced my core strength and give my body plenty of nourishment without the inflammatory chemicals, I am now pain-free.

The weirdest thing is, I start to develop pain in my low back with even a single soda!

I am certainly no back expert. Nor am I a chronic pain expert. I know what works for me. I have no idea what works for you. However, I do know that Jesse Cannone, author of Back Pain Cure, is an expert at healing bad backs. Jesse has the perfect program for making your back stronger than ever and removing pain forever.

It's called Back Pain Cure. If I'd have had this program 10, 20, or 30 years ago, I'd have had a much more productive and happy life.

Dealing with Minor Injuries

Last month, I went on an excellent road trip vacation with my family (my wife and two boys — a 3 1/2 and 2 year old) up through central Oregon and back down the west coast. Absolutely stunning scenery!

We loaded up (and I'm not exaggerating) the Pilot — 2 bikes, bike trailer, stroller, porta crib, and enough food and clothing to last most sane people 6 months! But we're insane.

We spent the first week at a cabin on a ranch outside Ashland, OR. There was a ton to do there for the boys, and I could ride my mountain bike on some pretty hilly and rugged terrain. It was hotter than you-know-what, and even the flats felt like mountains.

That's the prelude 🙂

So I picked the hottest day of our stay to explore. I climbed a bunch of hills to get where I was going (which, essentially, was “nowhere”). Then the trail disappeared.

After a little trek up some ridiculous terrain, I became “the decider.” Bad idea! I turned around. As I approached warp speed, I started to brake, but obviously not enough!

I made a slight turn of the wheel, the tire dug in, the bike stopped, but I didn't.

After slamming hands first into the gravel, I made two somersaults and landed on my shoulder. After I picked the gravel from my palms and knees, brushed off a bit, I hopped back up on the bike.

A little blood, but remarkably not much pain.

Until two days later.

My right wrist had taken the brunt of the crash and was pretty sore. That was a month and a half ago. It is still sore. Especially after I had the shots yesterday to burst the ganglia that had presented itself.

Plus, apparently, I had broken my hand, but it had already healed. Now I've got this red (soon-to-be-purple) bruise on the back side of my arm where the hand meets the wrist. The doctor said the treatment given works about 50 percent of the time. Let's hope. Otherwise, my alternatives are to “live with it” or have surgery to remove it. I guess it's like a cyst. Not a big deal, but man am I tired of surgeries! 3 on the knee and an emergency appendectomy are enough for this cowboy!

So, to the subject of this post.

How to Deal with Minor Injuries

First and foremost, the treatment I am about to describe is not to be construed as medical advice. I am not a doctor, just a guy whose had his share of minor injuries and is sharing his successes and failures with you. We're talking sprains and strains, slight pulls, and the like. Not bone breaks, muscle tears, incessant bleeding or other soft tissue damage that might require surgery. Seek medical attention right away! Then, treat your injury right away with RICE:

• Rest
• Ice
• Compression
• Elevation

I hate medication as much as the next guy, but I recommend that you also take a pain reliever like Motrin. It will take the edge off and reduce swelling. Obviously, don't take a medication that you know you're allergic to or have had adverse side effects in the past.! I've found success by also keeping the joint immobile for a day or two. I ice the injury for 10-15 minutes every hour for as long as I'm awake. Of course, you may have some timing issues if you're at work or have to drive somewhere, but if you're home, ice as frequently as possible. Then, after 2 days or so, start light exercise. Get the joint moving. Do whatever you can without pain. If you experience pain, stop. Ice some more. After 3-5 days, you should be at 80 percent or so.

Dealing with Injury while Exercising

My particular wrist pain is exacerbated mostly by anything where a weight is pressing against the palm of my hand. Things like bench presses, military presses, and the like. But interestingly, you never notice this until you're hurt, but supporting weight in things like squats and calf presses KILL! So I work around it. Rather than grip the bar for the duration in the squat, I wrap my arms around the bar so that my hands aren't gripping the bar at all. For calf presses, I did donkey presses instead of standing presses. Things like that. You have to continue treatment for as long as the injury persists, keep the joint flexible and strong, but without causing any undue pain. Time doesn't heal, but it sure helps! If you follow this advice, I am hopeful that you can keep the minor injuries that you're going to get to a minimum and allow you to continue to workout with minimal lost time.