Herniated disc update

[troutbug]

So, quite the twist of events.

I herniated my 2 discs about 5 years ago. Some will remember my most recent posts looking for chiropractors that could help me as I was losing my mind with the pains I was getting.

The past 4-5 months have been hell, Doctors were throwing pills at me which were doing nothing, Chiros were doing the same adjustments, ultrasound etc with no results.

So my neighbour told me to see a very well known massage therapist in town. I made an appointment and went to see her. Before she even touched my back she had my issue nailed. IT HAS NOT BEEN FRIGGIN DISCS.

It was a huge issue with lower back/pelvis, glute muscles and alot of scar tissue. She said it will mimic herniated discs issues like sciatic pain and you cannot tell the difference.

She also does shockwave therapy so I booked one session of deep tissue massage and shockwave therapy.

The shockwave therapy, WOW. And when I say WOW I mean, when she hit a pocket of scar tissue it was a pain that I cannot describe but she would turn the machine down when she hit those spots.

After that she did her deep tissue massage, shes a small lady but sweet mother of baby jesus she had me squeezing the table and clenching my teeth. She used alot of elbow lol.

She said the next day I may feel like I was hit by a truck, I said thats ok it should be no different then the past few months. I took that statment back the next day, I was SORE LOL, but the "hurts so good" kind.

Next day I had a 70-80% relief in terms of pain in my lower back. My wife even said I was moving 100 times better then I have been in the past few months.

That lady is amazing.

Now what really had me frustrated was the doctors automatically saying it was my discs and throwing pills at me which in the end just made me tired all the time. My current Chiro did not think it was a disc issue but also could not narrow it down and did not seem to try to hard, had no issue just throwing ultrasound on it and telling me to keep coming back.


I am sharing this story in hopes it will help someone else with some grief. My neighbour had planters fasciitis and the shockwave therapy cured it, her husband also had it done on his shoulder issue and that combined with massage cured him.

I highly recommend seeking shockwave therapy, especially if you have scar tissue buildup like me or muscles that are twisting and pulling. It penetrates wayy deeper then ultrasound treatment to the point it might leave bruising (I had minor bruising).

I go back to see her again Tuesday and I honestly cannot wait, if 1 treatment
gave me this much relief, I cannot imagine how I will feel after another one.

If you are having nagging issues, look up your local shockwave therapist and combine it with a deep tissue massage. I have never had either but now it is all I will go for besides the odd tuneup with a chiro.

[Smokinyotes]

Who is this massage therapist and where is she located

[RandyBoBandy]

How many MRI's did you have ??

[troutbug]

Originally Posted by RandyBoBandy

How many MRI's did you have ??

Couple xrays, 1 CT scan and 2 MRI's but that was a bit ago, MRI wait times here are crazy. But I dont have to worry about that now. This gal has my issue pinpointed.

I have found that once you have herniated a disc, doctors become ignorent and complacent. They just write it off as the same issue.

This issue I have now is most likely caused from the herniation, downtime being laid up when it happened etc.

Like I said, I explained my issue to her, she got me to do a few bends etc. Then said, nope, not a disc but I can can tell you what it really is lol.

Funny how the twisted and pulling muscles plus scar tissue mimic a sciatic nerve pain down the legs. Iv had a nasty pain down the left leg the past month and figured it was sciatica from my disc, literally after walking out of her office from my first appointment it was gone.

I have not had this much pain relief since the injury originally happened

[35 whelen]

Would she be in Edmonton by any chance I'm having shoulder issues that just don't seem to go away

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk

[troutbug]

This is what shockwave is

https://www.shockwavetherapy.eu/

that coupled with the deep tissue massage was the best thing I have ever done

[tri777]

Thanks so much Troutbug !
Going to certainly look into this Shockwave Therapy thing.

[troutbug]

Originally Posted by tri777

Thanks so much Troutbug !
Going to certainly look into this Shockwave Therapy thing.

Just remember to be nice to the person performing the shockwave, in no way would you want to catch that in the butthole.

[tri777]

Originally Posted by troutbug

Just remember to be nice to the person performing the shockwave, in no way would you want to catch that in the butthole.

* Writes into memo "Bring doughnuts & Be overly nice to Technician" *

Lol.

[elkhunter11]

After almost two years of agony and trying, physio, acupuncture, and deep tissue massage, a specialist recommended cortisone for my spine. Three days after my first injections, most of the pain was gone. Two weeks later, I had my last set of injections, and within a few days, I was pain free. I was totally pain free for three months, and for the past six months, I have had only minor aches now and then. But if the pain returns, I will give the shock therapy a try.

[ATF]

Shockwave is great but it's no cure for tears or things like that.
It does work real well though but it was pricey at about $4-500 for a treatment which luckily was covered by private insurance for me.
My wife had it done for Plantar Fasciitis and I ended up using it for a miserable tennis elbow that all the physiotherapy couldn't seem to control.
I will say that we didn't notice drastic results immediately but over the course of a couple treatments spread a few weeks apart it did the trick.

[troutbug]

Originally Posted by ATF

Shockwave is great but it's no cure for tears or things like that.
It does work real well though but it was pricey at about $4-500 for a treatment which luckily was covered by private insurance for me.
My wife had it done for Plantar Fasciitis and I ended up using it for a miserable tennis elbow that all the physiotherapy couldn't seem to control.
I will say that we didn't notice drastic results immediately but over the course of a couple treatments spread a few weeks apart it did the trick.

4-500 a treatment???? Mine is 140

Guess im lucky as I noticed a massive difference next day.

[ATF]

Sorry it was 450 but it covered 3 treatments total.

[CDNOutdoorsman]

Is it a secret of where and who performed this procedure?
I have what sounds like extremely similar issues as you, have for many years.
I have tried almost everything out there but haven't heard of this shocktherapy. I recently had a cortisone shot again (2nd one in about a year and a half) and it seems to be doing the job but I know its not a forever thing. I have done spinal decompression, acupuncture, active release, massage, chiro etc. I feel like I am running out of options but am happy with what the cortisone has done so far. I would like to talk to this person that diagnosed you and seems to be helping you. Good to hear that someone finally understands what your issue is and can treat it properly.
From my MRI, they tell me that my L4 and L5 are herniated.
Anyone have any reputable shockwave therapists in Calgary?

Thank you.

Thank you

[warriorboy10]

Bit more insight. A good read if your planning on this type of therapy.

https://www.verywellhealth.com/shock...ciitis-2549421

[troutbug]

Originally Posted by warriorboy10

Bit more insight. A good read if your planning on this type of therapy.

https://www.verywellhealth.com/shock...ciitis-2549421

I would take that article with a grain of salt.

Shockwave got rid of planters faciitis in my wife and our neighbour and they both fought the issue for years with nothing else working.

That article only targets certain conditions as well

I have not felt this good in over 4 years so it is most definitely working for me. Yes painful when it hits pockets of scar tissue but its obviously doing the trick.

Not saying its a cure-all but it seems to be talked down a bit in that article. I did a ton of research and the one article you found seems almost negative is some sense.

The lady I see for this said when she first got the unit, the company that sells them said to take it for 3 months, no payments. If it does not work it can be returned. She said they have never had one returned.
Kinda funny, the lady I see calls it her Subaru due to it costing the same amount as a brand new subaru she wanted at the time but she got the machine instead.

I am impressed because I have had doctors, chiros etc telling me its a disc issue, cant do anything etc. After 2 treatments with that machine plus a massage I feel better than ever.
She says chiros that have it love it, ones that do not or refuse to believe in it hate it as it takes alot of business from them.

The more people I talk to the more popular I see this treatment is and how it has helped so many

https://www.eswtusa.com/articles/200...k-wave-therapy

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6029898/

https://www.shockwavetherapy.eu/studies

[theoldguy]

So asking where is this place? I’ve been having disc issues and shots for yrs. Would like to check this out.

[troutbug]

Originally Posted by theoldguy

So asking where is this place? I’ve been having disc issues and shots for yrs. Would like to check this out.

Its in Hinton but I googled shockwave therapy and there is places all over alberta that do it

https://www.google.com/search?client...viders+alberta

[Big Bull]

Could you share the name of the therapist and or clinic? Is it Shan Wellness?

[kritz]

Originally Posted by Big Bull

Could you share the name of the therapist and or clinic? Is it Shan Wellness?

Seems to be a secret!

[Exuberant]

I will share my cure for my "herniated disc" or so the doctor said it was. I apparently had a herniated disc in my lower back twice and it was the most intense pain of my life. After the second time and the doctor prescribing strong pain meds and just suggesting chiropractor "although its not been proven" I started researching for myself. I found out this problem is common in males (30+) due to weak obliques, hip flexors and glutes. I have now started an exercise regiment and have greatly increased my core strength, glutes and hip flexors. I have not had a single issue and this has been a year now. I have always been "in shape" from work and general hobbies but never focused on those muscle groups. Hope this can help someone out there because it took me forever to find this solution and I was so scared of it happening again.

[350 mag]

Believe this or not.

Inversion table and Yoga really helped my back issues.

You need to find out which way your discs are bulging and exercise accordingly.

Strengthen your Core .....and engage your core when lifting or doing activity that can hurt your back such as snowmobiling over moguls.

Engage your core and wear a back brace works for me.

[saskwhitey]

Shockwave worked miracles on my bad shoulder, nothing else had touched it for two years.

[troutbug]

Originally Posted by Exuberant

I will share my cure for my "herniated disc" or so the doctor said it was. I apparently had a herniated disc in my lower back twice and it was the most intense pain of my life. After the second time and the doctor prescribing strong pain meds and just suggesting chiropractor "although its not been proven" I started researching for myself. I found out this problem is common in males (30+) due to weak obliques, hip flexors and glutes. I have now started an exercise regiment and have greatly increased my core strength, glutes and hip flexors. I have not had a single issue and this has been a year now. I have always been "in shape" from work and general hobbies but never focused on those muscle groups. Hope this can help someone out there because it took me forever to find this solution and I was so scared of it happening again.

Spot on. I had alot of scar tissue and muscles pulling my pelvis crooked etc. Shockwaves plus deep tissue massage has done amazing things. Also thos issues mimic herniated disc symptoms which is why I though it was my disc.

[Timberdoodle]

You might also want to look into pilates for preventative maintenance. It's a game changer.

[tri777]

Any updates on where your at with the above back issues now Troutbug?

[KegRiver]

I am really happy for you troutbug.

But I don't think it would help me much, for one I don't see any outlets close enough to be within reach for me.

Plus I have bigger issues now, that are not going away, ever.

I'm not even sure it would do me any good if the other issues I have didn't exist.

I know for sure my situation was caused by a back injury when I was just 16.
The result of being bullied.

Also, several years ago I had acupuncture done and that resolved the worst of the symptoms. My back still bothers me at times but nothing I can't live with.

Last but not least, in all those years of living with this I've only had one bout of sciatic pain. It's what lead me to seek help from a acupuncture practitioner.

But I am glad to hear that others are finding relief for their back pain.

I wish all fellow sufferers the best.

Thanks for posting this.

[ctd]

Good to hear your on the mend.

[Penner]

I hate pills. I’ll only take medication as a last resort. I’ll try every other conventional means possible before a take a pill. McDavid’s miracle is an example that proves this. Get more than one opinion and research it yourself.

Glad you have found relief. Back pain sucks.