Man there is 900 opinions about back problem fixes.
When I was building my house I took a fall from the counter with the island countertop breaking my fall right across my lower back. Nothing happened right then got up and kept working. Month or so later boom. Then again. Went to back Dr he gave me a steroid pack and some muscle relaxers. Sent me to PT. Pt was goofy I thought went for a few months there was no end in site I quit going.

Little over a year later boom. Dr gave me steroid pack I still had muscle relaxers.

Year later boom. Steroid pack and muscle relaxer.

10 months or so boom. Steroid pack

8 months or so steroid pack.

8 months or so another steroid pack. After 1st of the year I went to Dr got an X-ray. Then went for mri. Mri showed bulge in L5 S1. Then to a back DR. He suggested spinal injections. I wasn’t interested in starting that because they have an end date. Made an appointment with a surgeon. Then went to a consultation with genisis neck and back in Sherman. They sold me on decompression therapy which ended in may.

Well Week and a half ago glutes started tightening up next thing you know I look like I have scoliosis. When my back goes out I’m visibly crooked. Went to the Dr Friday. Another steroid pack. Well those have an end your body will eventually laugh them off. Turns out I’m there. I’ve been to chiropractor 4 times. “Maintenance” as genisis neck and back call it. Working out my core and back with exercise bands and other low impact exercises I’ve learned from pt and what not. All things make me feel good. Chiro adjustment, decompression. But sit down in the truck to leave and it’s like ground hog day. Starts all over

Todays opening day of bow season and I’m laying on a cot in my living room watching more football than I have in years. I can barely stand or sit. Sitting is the worse, when I get out of the truck at work in the mornings there is usually an audience. It’s bad

Tuesday I have another appointment with the back Dr that wanted to do spinal injections. But it’s a teledoc. I need something to give. Now.

This week I’ll have spinal injection, surgery or I’m taking a hospital hostage.


Who has been through it? Seems like there are two kinds of back surgery’s. The ones that say it’s the best thing they ever did. The ones that say it’s the worse thing they ever did. I don’t want to land on the wrong side of that one.

Injections worked for my lower back. You can only get 3 per year. I had a fusion on my neck a few years ago...think long and hard before you go that route.

I’ve always heard fusing is worst case scenario

The thing that fixed me was deep tissue massage. Hurts pretty bad, but works if you have the right type masseuse.

Steroids didn’t help. Injections didn’t help. Chiropractor didn’t help. I had back muscles locked up as hard as baseballs. I was pushed to see the deep tissue person, and I thought it was ridiculous, but I was desperate by then. To my surprise, it worked.

If it doesn’t hurt, they aren’t going deep enough. You’ll feel like you’ll pee blood the next day.

Oh yeah had a sports massage last Friday too.

Yep. My surgeon scared me with talk of being paralyzed at any given time without the surgery. Who knows? Only after-result is not being to turn my head side to side and up all the ways, but the rehab was lengthy. I forget I had it done and still carry corn bags on my head!

Sounds dumb but certain belts and pants throw me off. I have no major issues though

Get a new Dr. Sounds like your stuck in a loop.

Inversion table.

Have one of those too. Use it all the time

Look up McKenzie Maneuvers. You already may be doing them or have done them. I had a similar L5-S1 left disc bulge with radiculopathy down the sciatic nerve. It took me about 2 years of daily physical therapy (at home on my own or with a therapist) to get to a point where my back issues were a non-issue and my foot wasn’t numb. I honestly never thought I would get there. Surgery was never an option unless I developed weakness. Thankfully I never did. I did get an ESI (epidural steroid injection) once and it helped buy me some time to get further down the road to where my P.T. was having a positive effect. Everyone’s situation is different so it’s hard to compare one vs the other (like what is the best hunting/hiking boot).

A straight forward disc bulge typically isn’t fixed with a fusion, but rather a discectomy. They basically shave off part of the disc bulge to relive pressure off the nerve root. There are minimally invasive approaches where the incision is about a half dollar in size for partial or microdiscectomies and then there are regular approaches with larger incisions where they remove the entire disc. It’s condition and surgeon dependent on which might be an option for you. That is if you need surgery.

Polio as a child left me with a weak back and legs. I’ve spent my life (80 yoa) icing, heating, walking, exercising, stretching, lifting weights, etc. I’ve been fairly pain free, living a mostly average life, for the last many years. Then arthritis hit a couple of months ago. It has hit hard in back, hands, and further weakened my legs. I’m being pretty careful. Still walking, lifting and squeezing, but no longer a full mile per day and no longer jogging.

Just another hill to climb and with everything I’m doing, retirement isn’t all that boring. Met a lot of other old exercise nuts at the city park. A bunch are in worse shape than me and they’re still there pushing. No self pity in that crowd.

Bone marrow stem cell injection reversed my degenerative herniated L5 disc.

I went through 10 + years of 3 steroids cortisone epidurals a year, now I’ve had zero issues in past 4 years

I've been where you are. I got hurt in the Army. L5S1 herniation. Had my first back surgery (diskectomy) at 29yo. I didn't listen to the dr on recovery, did stuff I shouldn't have and my back was bad again. I had the same thing where I was bent and crooked. I live on daily oxycodone for about 10 year. Had second diskecromy due to being unable to urinate. Disk blew agin during postoperative physical therapy. Had an emergency surgery again and this time they did a 3 level fusion. It wasn't a typical fusion. Head of neuro did my surgery and he talked me into this. No rods or.screws, only titanium cages and bone graft. Recovery was a lot harder and much longer due to no added stability with rods. Bu5, after a year long recovery it was a night day difference. It's been amazing since. It will still act up a little from time to time but no where near where I was. I remember rolling around on the floor begging my wife to kick me as hard as she could to try to alter.something. if I could have been able to reach a gun I'd have killed myself. The pain was just unreal. Now I feel like a new man.

I have this t-shirt too. L3-S1, and C7 herniations. Over the last 10 years, lots of radio frequency ablations, steroid injections, and even a procedure called decompressive neuroplasty. Minimal benefit from any of it. Doing ok now with a constant 3 on the pain scale and I can definitely tell ya if it's gonna rain. Meds and staying in shape have provided the most benefit.

Sorry to hear you are struggling through this, Ducknbass. It's a crap shoot.
Had L2-3 and 3-4 fused using the XLIF procedure employing the cages packed with bone morphogenic protein in 2012, when I was 59. Long recovery, but it worked. Then L4-5 started deteriorating under the transferred load. The laminectomy in 2018 did almost nothing, so I had it surgically fused (Dr. George Martin, El Paso, Mazor robotic system) with the usual rods and screws. Helped. Then L5-S1 started to fail. Had injections. No effect. Martin fused that joint in 2021. Pretty stiff now, and putting on shoes and socks is a stretch each day. Had right leg pain and foot numbness treated with a right side S1-S2 injection a year ago that worked very well. It has now mostly worn off, and I need another from the yahoos at Hendrick in Abilene. But I am waking up several times a night with cramps on the outside of both ankles. This corresponds with the dermatomes related to S1, and it is my belief that I need injections both sides, but can't get the Hendrick idiots to get me an appointment for an evaluation. Been trying for two weeks. (Be sure to look up dermatome maps, if you haven't already.)
At age 70, I am very interested in the stem-cell treatment that Bobo reports!

P.S. I have had PT with most of the surgeries and found very little relief. Even tried dry needling. What a crock!

Any way you look at it; it’s a bad deal. I regret things I did in my youth. Guys I know(that never weight lifted or never lifted much of nothing or were non athletes) have the best backs! So, I reviewed the latest surgeries on YouTube….looks to me like they still use a Harbor Freight chisel and ball peen hammer.

Nolanco, agree about PT. I went through some nasty surgery a couple of years ago. I quit breathing twice but they brought me back. 25 days in ICU flat on my back. Came out of hospital with no muscle tone. I had to learn to walk, followed by stretching and strengthening at home plus 3 days per week of PT for 3 months. Also did home exercises. Bottom line is that, after the first couple of weeks, I could have done it myself at home.

I’m pretty well convinced that a walking regimen, along with doing some home reps with ankle, hand grip and arm weights is the best bet. Also, the squeeze grips. I do most of this stuff daily sitting in a recliner watching TV. Then go to the city park to walk a mile.

BTW, I remember nothing that occurred during that 25 hospital days. My memory got wiped clean about the whole thing.

I had neck surgery over 15 years ago, I had no choice but it did eventually help.
I have a chronic back, arthritis/ bone spurs, I went to a specialist and there’s nothing they can do, as far as surgery, pain management is it.
I won’t take hydrocodone, I will just have to deal with it.

That sucks man, I hope it gets better for you. My only recommendation is to consult with AT LEAST two surgeons to get opinions before you get operated on.

Last winter my muscles locked up like that. Deep tissue massage helped me. Hurt like heck but it did wonders that pain pills and muscle relaxers did not do.

Dicknbass sounds much more serious than locked up muscles. I know several people who have had back surgeries including wife, FIL and co-workers......all seemed much better afterword pain wise but some loss of mobility.

Have an uncle and 2 friends that have had surgery, theirs were all huge successes for 10-5 + years and counting. 1 follows the dr’s rules about lifting etc. the other two not at all.

Dad had pretty bad issues with it and loosing a few pounds and a couple exercises for his back have kept his under control.

The wife’s brother had back surgery last year. The doctor ‘snipped’ the wrong nerve, and the brother has no bowel or bladder control. Lots can go wrong with back surgery.

These work, just make sure you're medically able to use one.

I'm looking at disability because of back issues, huge hit to your man card. Injections are a next step I was told last Thursday.

Hope you get relief, hard to understand how bad the pain can get if you haven't been there.

I got arthritis in my L4, L5 and S1. Had 4 rounds of injections. Doing better it after a full day of work around house or hunting property I’m gobbling Advil. Gonna try to get by for awhile. Growing old sucks huge.