Success Story

[cp7959]

I love to hear about success stories. It gives us hope.

Mark, I understand what your saying about time. If an injury occurs the best chance for success is in the shortest time frame. However I did mention in a previous post about my Dr.'s Lumbar herniation. He said he was in excruciating pain, and did not want surgery. He took up some form of exercise and in 18 months became pain free. That was 8 years ago. So I'm hoping for a positive outcome as well. But I know everyone's different.

I am very committed to exercise and stretching. I have incorporated some yoga. But I do have concerns about bending or twisting poses with a Annular Tear. Anyone have a view or opinion on that? I would love to try some, but don't want to make things worse.

[dshobbies]

Hi atma_apple,

Welcome to the forum and thanks for posting. I am thrilled for your success. Perhaps you auto fused because your bone was already broken and mended in more than one way.

Thanks for suggesting relaxation as part of an exercise program. I believe the way we carry ourselves, tense and bunched up, is responsible for many negatives in our body. I often suggest meditation and will look into this book.

I would also like to add that spinal education is an important factor. I can't think of anything that can really be done but if I knew then, when I first injured my back, what I know now, my life would have probably been very different. I had no idea what discs were, how they allowed movement or that they could be injured. Suffering with a bad back all my adult life, I was in constant back pain for 6 months before rupturing, in my opinion, at the hands of my chiropractor who should have known better.

Perhaps someone should make a commercial, geared for children, inbetween cartoons, telling them that though everyone at some point experiences back pain, it means something is wrong - from mild to very serious. That way they'll grow up knowing then what I wish I knew

Good for you, Dale

[Maria]

I have a bulge now I don't even remember which cervical level though I think it's C5/6. Supposedly DDD throughout cervical spine and osteophytes which at one time I was told can cause pain and also can keep the cervical spine somewhat less mobile. Now I think my cervical "stuff" has been around at least 10 plus years or at least seemed to have started back in the early 2000's. If autofusion does occur more quickly in cervical spine than lumbar and gives the relief that the lumbar level gave me that'd be nice tho I doubt it's happened yet.

Every once in a while I have a doozy neck thing going on like my low back used to do when it would "go out" meaning I can't move my head in any direction w/o severe pain though the last time I had that was probably several years ago. Normally from "bad positioning" I get neck pain and spasms. If severe now I try to get an injection of Toradol 60mg IM to alleviate. Seems like I need to have alot of relaxation of surrounding musculature (alleviation of spasms/tenseness/tightness) for relief as well.

Haven't had any films of any sort recently on my cervical spine (maybe 2 years) so am thinking I'd like to see the progression of whatevers been happening in there. Usually the neck pain also spawns terrifically painful headaches. Rest w/proper positioning of cervical spine and a fair amount of Fioricet usually will alleviate. The Toradol generally does the trick if the former doesn't work.

If I knew "then" what I know now re spinal education and I ever thought any of it would happen to me I'd have not danced jerking my head all over the place and done alot of the stupid stuff I did. Very heavy back packs through out college certainly didn't help.

[mmglobal]

bumping for poster asking about successes without surgery...