AFT/Chris update

Chris, sorry to hear about your misfortune. You have been one of the consistently helpful people on this forum for many years. Best wishes that you start healing and 2020 is your comeback year.
 
Wishing you the best ever Chris. Please consider to undergo a MRI scan supported by a good neurologist. Kind greetings and best wishes for 2020.
 
Wishing you the best ever Chris. Please consider to undergo a MRI scan supported by a good neurologist. Kind greetings and best wishes for 2020.
Yeah, don't let the insurance company screw you with just an x-ray. Soft tissue damage/issues don't show up on x-rays.
 
I know that all too well. What has helped me is some exercise, and planking several times a day, just very briefly each time. Good luck with it.
 
I've spent the last 30 years in pain from my neck and shoulders - ranging from a steady 4 or 5 out of 10 up to probably a 9.5 out of 10. I finally talked to a buddy of mine that is highly regarded in the PT field and he recommended me to someone. I have literally left every single visit feeling improved. Now we're focusing on my hands which are a mess too. Best wishes on a speedy recovery Chris.
 
Sorry to hear about your injury! Your tutorials have been quite helpful over the years. Even the older ones are a good reference. It's those things that I end up having to do once every other year that make them very useful.
 
Chris, you helped me often and I donated to your site several times. Allow me to help you. I’ve had two back surgeries - laminectomies for ruptured discs. The first one was very similar to your injury. The second was sciatica caused by overuse from cycling. I’m 56 years old now. I still ski bumps, lift weights, ride mountain bikes and am 95% functional. You need to manage your health care moreso than the old days so, please take this advice.

1. Stop chiropractic. I believe in chiropractors for structural maintenance stuff. However, in my experience, they are the enemies of soft tissue injuries. Cancel your next Chiro appointment and get in to your primary care physician or an orthopedic surgeon if your insurance allows.

2. GET AN MRI!!! Have your MRI read by a surgeon and schedule a surgery consult to discuss your options.

3. If you smoke, stop. I see a lot of people who regret back surgery. They’ve all been smokers. I don’t know the why’s and how’s but I know what I see. Smoking is bad for recovering back injuries.

4. On your doctor’s advice, you will be walking upright for one mile the day after your surgery. You will be mostly pain free. It gets better from there.

5. Post surgery - Strengthen your gut and your hamstrings. I found this out years before they were calling this “core strengthening”. Keeping a balance of strength between stomach, quads and hamstrings is essential. A few planks and a couple leg curls with a strength band a day is all you need.

I cannot emphasize enough - get that MRI! That is the ONLY way to diagnose your injury.

Surgery saved my life. The last one I did was in 2008. Eight-weeks to the day after that surgery, I got lost in the desert of Moab on my mountain bike. What started as a 15 mile ride turned in to 47 miles of suffering. I was fine.

Good luck! Keep us posted.
 
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some have been asking so i thought i'd put it here:

i was doing daily YouTube and Twitch livestreams for a while, but had to stop. my back issue flared up again, and this time i had to go to the ER. they basically did pain management, and couldn't offer an MRI to see what was going on. it's definitely some nerve issue.

it started out with not being able to sit for more than 5 minutes (literally), then progressed to the ER visit and not being able to walk, forced to lie down for about 5 days.

it's been maybe 2 weeks now. i have an MRI pending (who knows when that will be) and i have pain meds. by now, i can walk a bit, finally back to my day job, but need to lie down often to "reset" my back. pain meds don't do much.

anyways, not sure when i'll be back to livestreaming, but hopefully some day. people were asking, i don't usually share this kind of info for sympathy or whatever.

hope all is well with everyone. life is precious and we take a lot for granted until we literally can't move.

--
also re-reading posts are comforting again. i finally have insurance so doing doctor things is finally a possibility. thanks again for all the info. prior to this, i was doing Physical Therapy for strengthening muscles, which helped a bit but clearly not the solution. but i looked at the invoices - i only paid like $15 per session thanks to insurance, but each 45 minute session where i moved my legs a bit was $1000 at face-value. holy moly. medical is crazy :(
 
some have been asking so i thought i'd put it here:

i was doing daily YouTube and Twitch livestreams for a while, but had to stop. my back issue flared up again, and this time i had to go to the ER. they basically did pain management, and couldn't offer an MRI to see what was going on. it's definitely some nerve issue.

it started out with not being able to sit for more than 5 minutes (literally), then progressed to the ER visit and not being able to walk, forced to lie down for about 5 days.

it's been maybe 2 weeks now. i have an MRI pending (who knows when that will be) and i have pain meds. by now, i can walk a bit, finally back to my day job, but need to lie down often to "reset" my back. pain meds don't do much.

anyways, not sure when i'll be back to livestreaming, but hopefully some day. people were asking, i don't usually share this kind of info for sympathy or whatever.

hope all is well with everyone. life is precious and we take a lot for granted until we literally can't move.

--
also re-reading posts are comforting again. i finally have insurance so doing doctor things is finally a possibility. thanks again for all the info. prior to this, i was doing Physical Therapy for strengthening muscles, which helped a bit but clearly not the solution. but i looked at the invoices - i only paid like $15 per session thanks to insurance, but each 45 minute session where i moved my legs a bit was $1000 at face-value. holy moly. medical is crazy :(
I feel for you man. I had long standing back issues and finally doubled-down on PT and doctor visits. They were all super skilled and well intended but it turned out that after multiple spinal injections and PT it was the therapy hurting me more than the root issue.

I finally found a PT who knew about my issue and he showed me a few simple and effective stretches/exercises that help reposition things when they are out of whack.

I guess I'd say. Don't give up, but also listen to your body. If something hurts, it's probably not helping.

Happy to discuss more offline. My issue is a bulging disc around L5-S1.
 
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