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The $100B per year back pain industry is mostly a hoax

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Re: The $100B per year back pain industry is mostly a hoax

#161

Post by mistermann »

maxxxxx wrote: post #24
andreyf wrote: post #6

On the flip side, I had lower back pain of varying intensity for about two years before it got really bad really suddenly and I went to someone recommended by someone knowledgeable in the subject who fixed it in about 30 minutes of some serious stretching and twisting and turning [1]. Two months with not a hint of pain and I'm pretty sure this is yet another example of the medical industry being incentivized into ign…

I do half an hour of yoga postures almost every morning. When I don't do them for a few days I get pretty bad back pain and migraines. when I am doing them, no problems at all. Before doing that doctors would give me injections and muscle relaxers all the time. I am pretty sure I either would already had had surgery or would get it at some point if I had followed doctors' advice. The trick is that you have to adjust…

What part of your back? Is there a name or website for the routine you follow?

Re: The $100B per year back pain industry is mostly a hoax

#162

Post by sangd »

I had back pain for 3-4 years and I did many form of exercises including back/neck stretching, yoga, running, walking, jogging, changing work posture, changing table, trying to not sit long. And nothing had ever worked for long. Sometimes I had to take advil or tylernol to ease up the pain. I've heard and researched about the issue and it seemed like a scam to get a really effective cure everywhere. 6 months ago, I decided to take vitamin D3 + Glucosamin and the pain seems to get better, or a lot better. Then 3 months ago I decided to take Moringa powder daily (I usually don't take anything during weekend to let my body recover), and my back pain issue is now gone. I am not sure how long this would last but it's the best method I've found so far to cure my own back pain. I've tested many kinds of vitamins but I find natural vegetable powder are the best form to absorb and seems to produce positive results, at least from the products produced by my body.

Re: The $100B per year back pain industry is mostly a hoax

#163

Post by shakermakr »

chad_strategic wrote: post #152

My recommendations for fixing back pain or a slip disc. 1. If you are a man, get a smaller wallet, don't be sitting on a thick wallet. 2. If you are in a crappy job that annoys you, then quit or get fired. Some back pain is psychosomatic. 3. Lose about 20 pounds. (I was in great weight lifting shape, but had kinda of looked like a line backer.) 4. Yoga 5. Running 6. Standing desk 4 and 5 are free. The medical industr…

Running is terrible for the lower back. Every time you stride you send shock waves up your legs that decompress in the lower spine.

I switched to elliptical training. As you don't lift your feet, impact free.

Swimming is also fantastic for the back of course.

Evidence: had a microdiscetomy 4 years ago, lots of rehab, and now pain free. Every doctor said don't run!

Re: The $100B per year back pain industry is mostly a hoax

#164

Post by onion2k »

taneq wrote: post #144
bigiain wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll vouch for the effectiveness of losing 30+kg (65+lb). Which only reduces the back pain problem for overweight people to a known-intractable weight loss problem... :-/

Weight loss isn't "known intractable". Physically it's very simple, if an overweight person is physically prevented from eating too much, they'll lose weight, just like physically it's very simple to quit addictive drugs. And the drug analogy is a good one, because just like quitting drugs, you can't quit overeating (barring the aforementioned option of someone physically preventing you from doing so - which is liter…

You're right that weight loss is largely a mental rather than a physical issue, but very, very wrong to suggest it's as simple as making a choice. Mental health issues can prevent someone from making good, rational decisions, and the notion that they're somehow failing to make an "easy" choice shows a contemptuous lack of understanding and compassion.

Re: The $100B per year back pain industry is mostly a hoax

#165

Post by avip »

femto wrote: post #16

I can personally vouch for the effectiveness of a morning routine of 15 minutes of exercise at home, targeting the pelvic muscles. The only equipment required is a floor mat, if the floor is hard. I started gently and naturally progressed to a higher level, taking the attitude that there is no hurry, because I'm going to be doing this for the rest of my life, so there is plenty of time to progress. My initial routine…

>I can personally vouch

Which is the opposite of science. What other 15m routines have you tried, in a double-blinded manner?

Something can help you, and still be a hoax. No contradiction.

Re: The $100B per year back pain industry is mostly a hoax

#166

Post by PhasmaFelis »

taneq wrote: post #144
bigiain wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll vouch for the effectiveness of losing 30+kg (65+lb). Which only reduces the back pain problem for overweight people to a known-intractable weight loss problem... :-/

Weight loss isn't "known intractable". Physically it's very simple, if an overweight person is physically prevented from eating too much, they'll lose weight, just like physically it's very simple to quit addictive drugs. And the drug analogy is a good one, because just like quitting drugs, you can't quit overeating (barring the aforementioned option of someone physically preventing you from doing so - which is liter…

> Physically it's very simple

So is cutting your arm off with a hacksaw. "Simple" does not mean "easy."

Re: The $100B per year back pain industry is mostly a hoax

#168

Post by noir_lord »

femto wrote: post #16

I can personally vouch for the effectiveness of a morning routine of 15 minutes of exercise at home, targeting the pelvic muscles. The only equipment required is a floor mat, if the floor is hard. I started gently and naturally progressed to a higher level, taking the attitude that there is no hurry, because I'm going to be doing this for the rest of my life, so there is plenty of time to progress. My initial routine…

I have a spinal condition (syringomyelia), I lost a similar amount of weight (250 -> 185).

Started exercising gently and worked up to a fairly intensive callisthenics (starting with basic stuff and using a pull-up bar, pressups handles). Takes me 40mins every other day to do a full 'routine' (quoted routine because it varies every time).

The end result was that I only take my medication on a night to sleep now, during the day I'm drug free which is fantastic because the medication wrecked my ability to focus.

The funny part is I didn't lose the weight because of my back but because I was having other health issue (and had metabolic syndrome, a big warning sign for diabetes), at my last checkup all my results where slap bang center of normal for my age.

My doctor told me pretty much the same thing when I asked him about exercise "listen to your body, if it increases the pain the next day back off that exercise".

For the first time in 3 years my health is level enough to live a completely normal life, I will never put the weight back on (kept it off for nearly 2 years now by calorie counting and using an accurate scale tied to my phone, I get weight every morning and night at the same time and it shows me a nice graph).

Re: The $100B per year back pain industry is mostly a hoax

#169

Post by taneq »

beebmam wrote: post #148
taneq wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Weight loss isn't "known intractable". Physically it's very simple, if an overweight person is physically prevented from eating too much, they'll lose weight, just like physically it's very simple to quit addictive drugs. And the drug analogy is a good one, because just like quitting drugs, you can't quit overeating (barring the aforementioned option of someone physically preventing you from doing so - which is liter…

It is not physically simple to quit addictive drugs. It depends on the drug. Even alcohol is not simple to quit, depending on the person: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delirium_tremens

A few people seem to be reading my comment as "dietary restriction is easy and so is quitting addictive drugs."

I meant the comparison with addictive drugs to illustrate how difficult it is to resist the urge to overeat. And I believe the two cases are essentially the same - you can't save an addict who doesn't want to be saved, and you can't convince a fat person to diet if they don't want to lose weight more than they want to eat food.

Re: The $100B per year back pain industry is mostly a hoax

#170

Post by lsc »

cmurf wrote: post #46
jackweirdy wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Similarly I fractured my foot out here in the US and a podiatrist told me it absolutely needed surgery. I flew home to have an orthopaedic surgeon look at it in the UK, they gave me one of those plastic ankle boots, and told me to slowly ease back into walking over the course of a month.

Doctors in the U.S. are paid per procedure. They are not salaried. And they aren't paid to make you better. They're paid to try (via the procedure). No refunds.

Other models are available; if you are in Silicon Valley and want doctors who are salaried rather than paid per procedure, you can use Kaiser. Is it better? I don't know, really; I use them now and think they are okay, but I'm not really medically qualified.

I imagine there are similar health groups in other parts of the country.

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