To crack or not to crack ???

Ok I hurt my lower back 2 weeks ago combo of weight lifting and playing hockey. It literally had me laying on the floor for 3 days. I got a Cortisone shot from my doctor last week which took away most of the pain and is allowing me to be pretty mobile again ( although sitting till hurts ). He put me in physical therapy now 3 days a week which is fine I exercise plenty anyway now I'm just doing it under supervision. The problem is I want to get back to mtn biking and playing hockey ASAP and honestly PT doesn't feel like it's going to do it anytime soon. So what do you think of Chiropractors ???? I want to get this back thing aligned ( from what I have gather I have a slightly bulging/slipping disk L3 S? ). I've asked around and I get widely varying opinions on the subject of " back crackers ". I'm not going to abandon PT and exercising to strengthen the area, but I need to get up to speed quicker

I had a very similar injury to yours (L4/5) and never stepped foot into a chiro's office. There's all the pros and cons out there, but now I kind of wish I would have gone for some treatments. I took the road of deep tissue massage and hshiatsu (sp?) message. It worked very well for all the muscle and tendon tightness and spasms, but feel that my back is still off alignment. What kind of advise did your doctor give you about seeing a chiro?

My Dr. is hardly ever definitive about ANYTHING ! but he said he wanted me to try PT for at least 3-4 weeks and if I wasn't back to normal he would take an MRI and make a further determination from there. The PT I'm seeing is adamantly opposed to Chiro's ! He says they are short term solutions but I want the quick fix / alignment knowing that I will continue PT and strengthening exercises for my back.

I believe Splat has some exercises for ya.:D

Too bad, Board. Sorry to hear.

Start doing back stretches every day. Chiropractors didn't work for me, and if you know how to stretch correctly, you can do what they do, only better and free.
Take a yoga class or two that specializes in back problems.

If all of the above fails, Tequila deadens the pain quite nicely.

Benny the problem I have right now is I can't stretch ! I can't even touch my knees and yes previous to this injury I did yoga and stretching

I totally believe in the crakers. I have had different, relatively serious back problems due to living growing up on a farm, something about hard physical labor when you are 10 doesn't do your back well I guess. but anyways, I would go see one, they are going to tell you you need to go all sorts of times a week for a long time, but I would give it a shot for a week or two, then see how you feel, with your pt, you should probably be fine once your back is straight. Just my two cents

I too totally believe in chiropractors..IF YOU CAN FIND A GOOD ONE. I got as guy here I see about once a month for a tune up...he has had me on a continuious stretching and core strenghtening program for about 3 years now. It has helped me big time. Another thing I would recommend in conjunction with a cracker is acupuncture...I've found it really helps to relieve the tense muscles which pull your back out of alighnment in the first place.
Anyway good luck and get better soon!!

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Originally posted by Benny Profane
Too bad, Board. Sorry to hear.

Start doing back stretches every day. Chiropractors didn't work for me, and if you know how to stretch correctly, you can do what they do, only better and free.
Take a yoga class or two that specializes in back problems.

If all of the above fails, Tequila deadens the pain quite nicely.

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Very ture, Pilates will also be very useful if you can find a decent class (great way to meet chicks as well). Find a massage therapist that specializes in myofacial release rather than the bone cracking chiro. I've been dealing witha bulging disk in L4/L5 for 3 years now and when I'm keeping up my excercise / stretching / massage routine I'm all good...when I slack (the past month) shit starts to get funky...when will I ever learn.

I'd reccomend a chiro. My philosophy, though, is that you should use a combination of PT and Chiro. That way you get both your muscles and bones straight, and everything is in happy hippy harmony.

Hurt my neck/back snowboarding a few years ago. Couldn't really turn my head. Anyhoo, I searched around for a chiro who did massage, PT, cracking, found one, and 3-4 weeks later was better than ever.

Good luck.


J-

I've seen chiros on and off over for a few years. They do work well, but as fernie stated, a good one is hard to find. There are a lot of quacks out there that will tell you not to do anything for several weeks and have you keep coming back once or twice a week. This is very wrong. If you see a chiro, it's very important that you complement the treatment with some sort of PT: stretching, weights, yoga, pilates, etc. Even better if you can find one that incorporates massage into their treatment. While I've never had it done (due to the lack of a recommended practitioner where I live), I know several people that swear by myofacial release. These are people that have seen good chiro's in the past. I would definitely investigate it. But baring a torn/damaged disk (which would require rest), I would definitely work on not just healing that area but strengthening it too. It's the only way it will get better permanently.

two kinds of docs out there- MDs and DOs- find a DO who specializes in OMT, which is their term for chiro, but taken to the next level... lots of DOs just do regular doc stuff but some are really gifted in this aspect of body alignment which is what sets them apart from MDs...

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Originally posted by baseWeldr
two kinds of docs out there- MDs and DOs- find a DO who specializes in OMT, which is their term for chiro, but taken to the next level... lots of DOs just do regular doc stuff but some are really gifted in this aspect of body alignment which is what sets them apart from MDs...

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sounds very promising ! what is a DO and what is OMT ?

btw thanks for the info and words of encouragement folks !

My neck has been jacked for the last three days just from sleeping on it funny. Never happened to me before but it's really pissing me off and I think I'm going to get cracked as well.

My quack isn't very accomplished but he's a friend, and thus free. He also finishes chiro school in a month or so. Wish me luck.

I've had good luck with chiros and stopped seeing a PT altogether after 10 years of not getting far. But like freeheels says a good one is key. Mine takes a real physio approach and constantly harps on stretching and strengthening areas to get balance.
When you injure your back muscles spasm to protect that injury, the muscle spasms pull that and other parts further out of alignment. You need to break this cycle. For me addressing the misalignment would reduce the spasms allowing me to do the stretching......
My chiro won't touch me when it's too inflamed and acute though and I think that's key. He sends me home for lots of icing and rest first and then he'll work it gently first. Good luck, it ain't much fun.

Doctor of Osteopathy- treating the body as well as the symptoms- stronger presence in the midwest than west (google might reveal their philosophy better than I can- my wife's only in her third year of a DO program so what do I know?) I think OMT is manipulative therapy, they refer to it as manipulation... I would find a doc with a DO after his name in the yellow pages or something and ask them about it- they would likely know where to point you... I had a OMT guru treat me once but I've never done the chiro thing so I don't know the difference but they do scoff at the comparison- I dunno, maybe its the same as a gifted chiro with a higher bill (wife would kill me for sayin that)....