Hello @dx311mddnos,

Thank you for joining Connect and sharing on the Chronic Back Pain discussion. If you don't mind me asking, do you also struggle with back pain? You mention that you are too young for disability, but I was able to get disability when I needed it when I was in my early 20s due to a genetic bleeding disorder and the physical damage it caused. I have since had joint replacements and corrective surgeries that helped me get my life back on track, so I am grateful for that. I know firsthand the process of disability, medicaid/medicare and other social programs are a frustrating process to try and go through.

@dx311mddnos, what sort of things do you currently do to try and help your back pain?

I've had 2 back surgeries already. Still have chronic pain. Now I live on pain meds. U can't very well get on disability. By being off work for 12 months. Unless 1. U have a very supportive spouse or family. Or 2. U stay in a homeless shelter and have nothing. So.... Since I don't like those options. I'm stuck working through the pain. I don't have time to fight with the gov about what they think. So I guess when either 1. My kidneys fail due to the meds and I have to have dialysis. Or 2. The pain is so bad I can't walk at all.... Then I will work on fighting the gov. I have kids. And I don't have time to deal with Medicaid food stamps and housing. I've always been the only one I can depend on. And I hope there's a nursing home that will take me in at that point. But . of coarse. With all the post traumatic stress disordered homeless vets... I won't hold my breath.

Have you also tried some of the alternative stuff like Tai Chi? It is a slow movement based activity that includes stretching in many directions. That type of thing helps a great deal. My PT for my shoulder had to deal with ROM exercises for 4+ months with me for post surgery on my shoulder. Then I had also some cold laser treatments from my chiropractor and I also had a type of therapy that became famous in th e1930s and was promoted by C. Everet Coop, a prior Surgeon General of the US, Prolotherapy which my health plan does not pay for no matter how it helps you heal.

Try a few different things before you just think you will have to deal with chronic pain for the foreseeable future.

I had tried prolozone therapy,
No help.altough acupuncture, gave a little relief, I'm destined, as well to pain,meds.
Guinea pig ,N pain.
Excercise, bite my tounge n keep moving.
Bless.
U.

@Inpngrf1234 I had reached a point where I could no longer walk, lay down or sit without excruciating pain. After diagnosis of Degenerative Disk Disease, and having a disk impinging on my spinal cord, I had a laminectomy to my L5-S1on December 22 2016. I had PT, and acupuncture, as well as drugs to help (Gabapentin, Baclofen, and Tramadol) with the remaining pain. My surgeon had encouraged me to try alternative therapies because if he had to do surgery it would involve rods and pins around my L4 disk. I read about ART (Active Release Technique) on Mayo Connect and decided to try it because the pain on the right side of my back, hip, groin, leg, ankle and foot was still constant and nearly unbearable. I did some research and choose a chiropractor who had taken many certification courses in ART and whose office was close to me.

Dr. Todd Andrews, chiropractor, told me I would need 2 treatments a week for 3 weeks so I tried it. To my amazement, I felt better after the first treatment. By the end of the 3 weeks my pain was so much better I decided to continue ART once a week to work on the remaining small amount of pain. After 3 months, my pain was completely gone; I could walk longer distances, and go up and down steps without even a hint of pain. I continue to have a treatment once a month. I also use this treatment now for shoulder pain, although I haven't had the same amount of pain relief tnere. Perhaps if I was doing it more often than once a month I would find longer lasting pain relief.

My only problem with ART is that it isn't covered by Medicare or probably any health insurance. I pay $95 per treatment, which includes laser and chiropractic adjustments if I need them. I don't get many chiropractic adjustments as my PT had told me not to do that since my surgery. My chiropractor is very gentle when he does adjust my back. I was hesitant at first because I am on a fixed income, but the cost has been well worth it. I live in Southern California so the cost may be less than that in other areas of the country. I highly recommend that you do a Google search for ART (Active Release Technique), and if you think it may be helpful, try it.

I hope things get better for you. Gail B

Thanks, Gail,b.
I have always thought, wish they would have straightened my neck b4 adding all the nuts bolts,plates n screws.
My spinal cord is impinge under the plate.
But i have tried everything else.
I will check it out, I live in SC.
Thanks for the information.

@gailb. I am in bed with spondylolisthesis of L5S1. I have cortisone shots every 3 months after which I feel much better but they wear off by 6 weeks. I keep wondering when I should consider surgery but then I hear stories like yours where the surgery did not fix the problem and you continue to be in pain. Then I read above about ART which helped someone else. Is there any protocol re: debilitating back pain, especially spondylolisthesis? I don't want to cause more pain by experimenting. I should also mention that I am 67 and have already had both knees totally replaced as well as both shoulders which have had total replacements. HELP ! Tired of lying in bed or living in pain. I live in Maine

Gail, I’m also in Southern California. My chiropractor also does ART. I have cervical and lower back pain. The ART also really helps me a lot. I buy four at a time for $220. That’s only $55 per session, and she also adjust me if needed. She doesn’t do laser but she does ultrasound and other techniques. I find it very helpful.

I seriously recommend you viewing the information I just sent you about nevro hf10 neurostimulator spinal cord therapy. I did a one-week trial with excellent results I have serious pain from L1 through L5 causing severe sciatica down the back of the right leg also nerve pain from surgery on left foot and achilles tendon on the left ankle implant was done 2 weeks ago turned on this previous Monday already feeling the effects from the permanent implant it's not a super fast fix but you turn up the power slowly until you get the desired effect that you want. Find a good doctor and give it a go. Mine was done through my pain management doctor. I'm 63 years old and suffering with this for a long time and this is becoming very very successful throughout the country. I live in Oklahoma.

@gailb, I understand your frustration and confusion. I have the same thing you have and I've searched for 1 1/2 years for the right thing to do. Physical therapy did nothing after going 3 times a week with this pain is horrible. My second pain Dr helped a lot because she's not a pill pusher. I wanted treatments of some kind. She gave me several ablations, many injections of cortisone and a prescription of low-dose hydrocodone. I've had nerve testing by a neurologist who said if left untreated with surgery I could lose bowel and bladder control. I finally got to the right Dr, a n orthopedic psiatrist (spelling?) who is into sports medicine. He showed me on X-Ray how my spine is actually in two sections just held together because the spinal cord isn't broken. But it is being damaged by the loose vertebrae sliding into it. He said my choice is to keep living like I am, in bed or an orthopedic chair, and using a walker to get around my house. The only alternative is surgery. This will be my fifth spine surgery and all have gone well so I'm going to have it asap. You must research your surgeon, ask to speak to some patients he/she has treated, find nurses who work in the same hospital and ask who they would go to. Tell your primary Dr you want the best neurosurgeon available, not somebody he golfs with or owes a favor to. Good Luck!