I found out about 3 or 4 years ago that I have an extra lumbar vertebrae (L6), as well as slight scoliosis. I used to play softball and volleyball but I had to quit because of back pain. I’ve been to physical therapy, a chiropractor, more physical therapy geared towards strength training, and a deep tissue massage therapist. Nothing has worked as a long term solution, the massage therapy worked for a day or two afterwards, but not long term (plus it was expensive). Has anyone else experienced this? Any suggestions?
#1 by Richard C on January 18, 2010 - 5:46 am
Quote
I have worked with people with this problem and what you need is someone that will work on total body stabilization. Doing crunches and back work is fine but it doesn’t do justice to the total program that is needed. A postural evaluation is the point to start and then seeing how your body moves. There are more than likely postural adaptations that have taken place which force an unnatural stress on areas. Your muscles have to become longer and stronger in some areas especially the ones that control the pelvis. The slight scoliosis is not that uncommon and is not the real core of the problem. Talk to potential physical therapists about what they are going to do. Modalities is not the answer but hands on work is. You are going to need someone that really works on the body from the feet on up. Good luck!
#2 by hels on January 18, 2010 - 8:16 am
Quote
Back pain! Very nasty! I’ve had two fractures myself. The most effective thing (other than painkillers) I’ve found are these heat pads you can buy, which stick to your clothing. It seems such a simple thing, but short term they really do work. Make sure your bed is fairly hard and keep moving (even if just a walking round the house) through the pain. When you’re having a good day, don’t go running or stuff like trampolining, which jerks the back.
#3 by B H on January 18, 2010 - 2:20 pm
Quote
Yours is not that uncommon a condition. The key issue here is to try to stabilize things. That means doing a lot of exercises so that the muscles take up some of the support of the lumbar spine. That means doing abdominal crunches, oblique crunches, and back extension exercises on a fairly regular basis. The stronger your back and abdominal muscles are, the better your back will feel.
Trackback: therapy for anxiety