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To treat back pain, look to the brain not the spine

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Re: To treat back pain, look to the brain not the spine

#121

Post by zacurry »

rsync wrote: post #70
zacurry wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yoga is not recommended for people with lower back pain. When I started having back pain, somebody suggested to me yoga. Everything went great for three months, the pain was still there but lesser , and I felt good and fit. Then one day, while doing surya namaskar, I felt a pain ripping through my spine and fell down, unable to move. I consulted an M.D , and he immediately asked me if I had been doing surya namaskar.…

"Then one day, while doing surya namaskar, I felt a pain ripping through my spine and fell down, unable to move. I consulted an M.D , and he immediately asked me if I had been doing surya namaskar." This is important. Yoga is very powerful and I think everyone should incorporate yoga movements into their fitness regime. However, typical yoga classes and even established yoga movement series (like the Ashtonga primary…

I fully agree with you. I had never felt as good as I had while I was doing yoga.

The problem is , most yoga practitioners (atleast the ones I consulted in india) consider it like some sort of magical cure for everything. I was asked to do surya namaskar , despite them knowing I had back pain . I went to one of the most reputed centres here, and all I got from them were pseudo science mumbo jumbo.

I have got much more valuable info from this HN thread. Thank you for sharing for you experience. Your story has given me hope , I feel motivated to learn more about backpain and find a solution tailored for me.

I also feel this sort of information (personal stories of knowledgeable people) should be more easily accessible for people.A non profit , trust worthy website like Wikipedia, or even a github wiki.

Re: To treat back pain, look to the brain not the spine

#122

Post by cousin_it »

ghthor wrote: post #117
sg47 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

+1 to this. I suffered from back pain for a long time. Long distance running made it worse. Running made my core weaker and my back pain became worse. Physical therapy did not help. MRI scan revealed a 5 degree scoliosis and a slightly bulging disc (L5/S1). What has helped since then is massaging my glutes thoroughly with a lacrosse ball regularly. Foam rolling my back, glutes, ITB and quads. Strength training for th…

Running and walking are the ultimate efficent exercises homo sapiens. In a perfect world all humans, within the standard deviation, are taught first and foremost how to care for there personal physical health from the time they can walk till they die. Walking and running would be the most efficient exercise for all humans. IMHO The issues that come from running are related to where you start from lacking knowledge an…

I've run some half marathons and concluded that long distance running is the worst exercise. It's very repetitive, takes tons of time, messes up your feet, messes up your back, makes your body economical so you'll forever have a harder time losing weight, and on top of that it makes you lose muscle, professional long distance runners look like thin-armed freaks.

Do some strength training and some playful sport instead, like basketball or BJJ. It's fun, you'll look good, you'll move well, and you'll get confident with people, all in 2-4 hours per week.

Re: To treat back pain, look to the brain not the spine

#123

Post by snovv_crash »

ghthor wrote: post #117
sg47 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

+1 to this. I suffered from back pain for a long time. Long distance running made it worse. Running made my core weaker and my back pain became worse. Physical therapy did not help. MRI scan revealed a 5 degree scoliosis and a slightly bulging disc (L5/S1). What has helped since then is massaging my glutes thoroughly with a lacrosse ball regularly. Foam rolling my back, glutes, ITB and quads. Strength training for th…

Running and walking are the ultimate efficent exercises homo sapiens. In a perfect world all humans, within the standard deviation, are taught first and foremost how to care for there personal physical health from the time they can walk till they die. Walking and running would be the most efficient exercise for all humans. IMHO The issues that come from running are related to where you start from lacking knowledge an…

I'm sorry, but no amount of "ultimate efficient exercise" rhetoric makes running by itself a sufficient workout regime.

You also need to do some kind of strength training. A push, a pull, a spinal compression and a spinal tension. Eg pushups, rows, squats, pullups.

Otherwise your core will be weak and you will be missing key stabilizing muscles that prevent injury when you are in an unusual position, like picking up a suitcase or changing a tire. Which is exactly what causes back pain.

Re: To treat back pain, look to the brain not the spine

#124

Post by jtanner »

After reading this article I followed up with the author book "CROOKED Outwitting the Back Pain Industry and Getting On the Road to Recovery".

As a computer programmer who has just gone through 1 year of bullshit therapies and recommendations, this book is a godsend.

If you have back or neck problems and want some non-bullshit explanations, read this book immediately.

https://www.cathrynjakobsonramin.com/books/crooked/overview/

Re: To treat back pain, look to the brain not the spine

#125

Post by tomohawk »

KGIII wrote: post #35
chrismealy wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I read about three chapters of this and it cured my wrist pain. Never would have believed it possible if it hadn't happened to me.

I am skeptical. What about those three chapters resolved your physiological ailment?

Think about pain as a feedback loop between your brain and the pain site. The feedback loop itself is a thing, and can cause additional pain if not interrupted. It can cause your muscles to tense up, etc. If left untreated too long, it can continue on despite the initial cause no longer being a factor.

Re: To treat back pain, look to the brain not the spine

#126

Post by dredmorbius »

neogodless wrote: post #58
maxcan wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Serious question - have you ever done any weightlifting, specifically whole body functional movements like deadlifts, to address your back pain? http://spartascience.com/blog-post/strength/deadlifts-can-cu... Note: if you haven't, even though I strongly and emphatically recommend it, its almost certainly best to start with a coach who can teach proper movement mechanics.

Oh man, I want to read this article. Sadly, it'll have to wait. Be I'm on my phone, where I don't know how to turn off "light gray text on white background" style! More on topic, I'm an anecdote of someone who squats and deadlifts to prevent pain in my back and hips. Stopping for a couple weeks usually allows the pain to return.

https://outline.com/http://spartascience.com/blog-post/stren...

Re: To treat back pain, look to the brain not the spine

#127

Post by dredmorbius »

Mz wrote: post #105
katastic wrote: post #5

I've been living this horror for six years. If I could just magically stop using medicine and not being treated like a drug addict for merely taking prescribed medicine by all walks of society (from cops, to nurses, to neighbors), don't you think I'd have already fucking taken that choice? The majority of people don't want to be on pills. They want to get better. If I'm in too much pain to physically get out of bed,…

I've been living this horror for six years. If I'm in too much pain to physically get out of bed, how am I supposed to exercise? I would email you, but you have no contact info. I imagine I will regret posting this. I usually do. Some broken part of my brain has yet to master hearing of someone else's suffering and going "Welp, not my problem!" It is still on my To Do list. Some general thoughts, that may or may not…

Any references on the lymph mobilisation claim?

Re: To treat back pain, look to the brain not the spine

#128

Post by tcj_phx »

gforge wrote: post #110
tcj_phx wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for responding, and for the links. > I've seen patients spiraling down into an abyss of pain after repeated failed surgeries. I think surgery is commonly seen as better than doing nothing. Someone I know has some deterioration from cortisone medications. He just heard that his neck implant didn't fail, now the next joint down is gone. He'd rather not have surgery again, but is rather miserable currently, and s…

There is an inertia but I would say that it is often of benefit to the patients. The problem is that I as a surgeon love to operate (note that we don't even have a monetary incentive) and I truly want to help my patients. This makes me biased and the inertia has saved me quite a few times for starting performing new cool procedures. The biggest problem is that we often have a big problem with discontinuing treatment…

Hi, thanks again for your comments. I am trying to better understand the mindset behind the medical status quo, and you've given some good insights.

> I am not a cardiologist so I don't know the full details on the statins, but I would be careful not to skip them. Cardiovascular mortality has decreased hugely the last decades and this one of the major treatments - they must be doing something right.

Statins cause massive numbers of side effects: http://www.skepticalob.com/2009/06/doctor-listen-to-your-pat... - this doctor figured out that an elderly patient's "progressive muscle weakness" was caused by the statin that he'd been on for years.

> Also be careful of flat-earth arguments, there are plenty of people who want to disprove medicine - some of us are researchers but others are just writing blog posts after finding a single article contradicting a treatment.

My girlfriend was grievously harmed with the injection of Depot-Provera ~10 years before she met me. This drug is known to be defective - usually it just makes women fat, but sometimes it makes them suicidal - but doctors inject it anyways. One theory is that depot provera was approved by the U.S. FDA because that agency's job is to approve drugs, and was long ago captured by the industry it supposedly regulates.

Medical apologists could say that Provera is very effective at preventing babies, so "they must be doing something right". But you have to ignore the carnage: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=depot+provera - "Depo Provera has destroyed me" has a compelling title.

Assuming there is good basis for common medical practices is a great impediment to medical progress.

Re: To treat back pain, look to the brain not the spine

#130

Post by toasterlovin »

Nihilartikel wrote: post #100
tsomctl wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you read Starting Strength, you'd know. To summarize, it has everything baby calves need to grow strong, which is also similar to what humans need to grow strong. Lots of protein, along with some sugar and lots of vitamins and minerals.

I might add, if the lactose gives you grief, invest in some kefir grains and ferment it out. You get some extra b vitamins and folate in the exchange. Plus it's hella tasty.

I'll just add that, in my experience, milk and coffee do not mix well. YMMV.
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