25 bros. I'm 25 and my back is FUCKED. It's been this way for 6 years or so but I've only just begun to take it seriously. Will be posting more pics down below.
I found a chiropractor whose actually not badly priced, and my insurance covers more than half the visits he says I'll need to get this shit mostly fixed. Basically he said I have arthritis in two spots, discs are so fucking compressed. Between the T9-T12 and T3-T5 is just fuarked. And then the scoliosis I have, it's bad but not irreversible. I think it's because well 1. years of neglect 2. fell through a trampoline head first in my teens and 3. heavy lifting of course.
He says when doing lower body weights aim for reps until I'm in better shape. Low weight high reps. Stretch more obviously, do yoga. Over 8 weeks I'll be seeing him 3 times a week, all paid for by my jewsurance. After that he recommended 8 weeks of just one visit per week. According to him my spine should readjust itself long as he keeps correcting it in this time frame and I keep a better posture.
Anyone have experience with actually good chiropractors, or experience correcting these things? I've been in non stop pain for so fucking long it's hard to believe it could be 70% better, more even. I've given up hope honestly.
Yellow lines show where my head should be at rest. I honestly feel my head rests too far forward as is and so I puff my chest out and pull my head back and it feels like I've "corrected" it. Just making it worse doing that. Didn't even realize it.
>phoneposting Some of my discs seem perfectly fine. Others uh.. well. All the white is the discs being compressed to the point where there's very little tissue in between. Also mostly if not entirely reversible. But fucking hell I should've fixed this years ago.
Normally you are born with such shit and/or it appears during puberty. If you look back what the hell caused this? Lifting weights shouldn’t cause this. Lifting properly should fix your posture etc Maybe a another condition is causing the degeneration of your spine. Fucking Americans are too fine for health care. Here in Germany you would get full MRI of your spine for better diagnosis (especially discs) and could jump from doc to doc and physio to physio
Xavier Bell
Well since I was old enough I worked on a farm. Cutting down trees moving logs etc. I think the nail in the coffin was falling through a trampoline head first back when I weighed 230lbs (I was a typical amerimutt teen at the time.)
I don't know what else could be causing the degeneration. I mean the discs are so fucking close together I wouldn't be surprised if they're just having the shit squeezed out of them. Degenerative issues don't run in the family at all.
Mason Scott
Yeah it was for sure the trampoline thing. Fucked up your spine which lead to protective posture and since then things going uphill.
Well at this point it really doesn’t matter what caused it. Look for a good doc who knows his shit, look for good youtubers who know their shit and look for expertises on reddit. There are for sure some good subs. You have a long way in front of you but wince this is not genetic you will recover. Maybe bot back to 100% but to a level where it will not bother you. You need to chance everything. Learn proper posture, learn how to sleep ideally, learn how to lift things from the ground properly (wear and tear will make things worse if you don’t learn all the things). Daily strengthening regimen and no not such things like bench press etc. more strengthening with bands, isometric things etc. Stretches, decompression (inversion table could be very helpful). You need a fucking plan and then you need to start
Ethan Moore
Thanks for the advice dude. I know this isn't gonna be so easy or simple but I know it'll be worth it beyond a doubt. I can't remember what it's like not to be in pain unironically.
Carson Bailey
My scoliosis curve is way worse than yours. Go see a real spine doctor. Chiropractors may seem like they know stuff but they don't know shit. Go see a specialist if the insurance can cover it and basically don't be fat.
Eli Nelson
Good luck op
Jeremiah Reyes
What is a "real spine doctor?" Genuine question. Never really worried about this stuff before I started yknow actually caring to have a quality life.
Lucas Martin
Forget what they're called specifically, but they specialize in spine conditions like scoliosis. Phone a big hospital and ask them.
Dylan Green
I know Any Forums is retarded with this stuff but unironically getting on test will help your back improve faster and have less soreness. In my experience it's worth doing if you're really serious. Daily corrective exercises do work. Don't deal with the bullshit chiros who think they can just crank your spine. It takes a lot of gradual stretching and mobility work. Gotta remember that all the ribs, cartilage, muscles, ligaments, etc are involved so it takes time. Surgery might be an option to correct scoliosis but keep in mind they have to be pretty damn violent to get things to move a little.
This is how you know that the guy is a fucking charlatan. Disc herniation isn't visible on x-ray, and ESPECIALLY not on an AP image. You can see narrowed disc spaces on a lateral l-spine, but the natural curvature of the l-spine means that the vertebrae are going to overlap on the AP.
Most importantly, the person who took the xray centered way too fucking high. You're supposed to center at the iliac crest, (L4-5) but the dumbfuck who took the picture centered right below your ribs at the level of L2, making it look like everything L3 and below is totally fucked because they overlap.
Go to a physical therapist, because your neck's curvature looks fine and your posture just needs adjusting. Don't waste your time going to this guy, because it's clear that he's trying to scare you into opening your wallet.
what does this condition feel like and what did the trampoline experience feel like
Jose Miller
Where can I find the best exercises/stretches for something like this? I was told I could do any stretches when I asked if any were unsafe for me. I figured there might be some I should avoid since some of my vertebrae are actually twisted. >muscles Yeah uh, my muscles are unbelievably tight. Like, the other day my gf was rubbing my back and she was like "oh my God is this bone?" My entire back is like that... I don't know how the hell to fix that. A masseuse, maybe? According to him my neck is actually way too straight. Should have a curve like pic related. So, I don't quite follow; my discs aren't actually THAT compressed? Or....? I did lose like 2 inches of height, or at least an inch and a half so I wouldn't be surprised if more was wrong than the scoliosis. I honestly feel so fucked that just stretching and light exercise feels like it'd hardly do anything (granted I do notice a difference when I don't do yoga for just one day.) Constant pain. Always a pinched feeling in my lower back, near the tailbone. Mid back is always sore and has a pinch to some degree. When I tilt my head side to side (or try any mobility stretches for that matter( it's EXTREMELY tight. Hurts to do all around but I feel like the pinching is more at the base of my neck than anywhere else in my upper body. I always feel like there's tons of pressure on my spine unless I'm laying down, in which case shit still hurts just not as much.
Honestly can't remember much of the trampoline accident. I was a huge pothead so I just lit up a cigarette and me and my "bros" just laughed it off huehuehue. When i grew up and stopped smoking literally every day almost all day I noticed holy shit I feel fucked up. I did have pain before quitting but it wasn't as bad.
>According to him my neck is actually way too straight. Should have a curve like pic related. Your neck's curvature is normal. The curve he's drawn there is also normal. >my discs aren't actually THAT compressed? Correct. Your discs might be compressed, but you can't tell that from an AP lumbar spine xray. And again, I really can't stress this enough, the picture is taken in such a way that makes your vertebrae overlap unnaturally. Whoever took that xray needs to be fired, because an AP lumbar spine is literally the easiest spine xray to take. The ONLY way they could have fucked it up in the way they did is on purpose.
Let me illustrate how they fucked up. Imagine having 5 boxes evenly spaced in front of you labeled 1 through 5 left to right, and taking a picture of them. If you take a picture from right in the middle centered on box 3, you can still see the gaps between box 2 and 3, and between 3 and 4. However the gaps between 1 and 2, and between 4 and 5 are closed because of the perspective. If you center it on box 1, the gap between 1 and 2 is open, but now every other gap is closed because of the perspective. This is what your doctor did to make you think you're more fucked than you actually are. This is not something that can be done on accident, whoever took the picture made the conscious decision to make your back look more fucked than it is.
Damn. That's really something man. That's messed up. I'm curious what a good x ray from the right angle would show. Get this, this is the best part: the chiropractor took it. He took the x rays and showed me them and positioned me to take them and all. He didn't instruct me to change my posture, it really is that fucked lol. But yeah he was in charge of the pictures. It's literally just him and his secretary/front desk lady at his little office. Wonder if I should confront him about it or just take my free chiropractor visits, spread them out a little more, and leave once they're all used up. I don't think chiropractors are a complete waste of time, I do feel better after getting adjusted.
Noah Stewart
These might help, at least for lower back pain. I have misaligned hips and mild scoliosis
I wouldn't even confront him about it, I would just go to a physical therapist. Adjusting feels good because it's just cracking your back, the feeling goes away after a couple of hours. Basically, here's the difference:
Physical Therapist: >alright, you have a mild S-curve in your spine, here are some exercises and we're gonna do some tests to figure out the root cause of the pain in your neck and lower back, see if it's muscular or nerve-related Chiropractor: >yeah you got evil ghosts in your bones, we call 'em subluxations, they cause all sorts of problems from back pain to kidney failure to cancer (not joking they actually believe this), so we're gonna pop your back and cure what ails ya, will that be cash or card?
Daniel Nelson
Thanks a ton dude. My other chiropractor not covered by insurance has taught me some of this stuff, yeah. He seems to be a lot less of a quack. Talked alot with him about naturopathy and he shared with me a few good tips for exercising and some stretches. I'll have to stop by his office tomorrow and talk to him about all this shit. He's a genuinely good guy, hates all other doctors and shit chiropractors that are basically just like gib money we crack you. He put a big emphasis on stretching and doing yoga and whatnot when I saw him last. This guy doesn't even mention exercise or stretching unless I ask him about it. I'll call my doctors office tomorrow to see about getting a physical therapist. Thank you user.
Benjamin Edwards
>Where can I find the best exercises/stretches for something like this? I was told I could do any stretches when I asked if any were unsafe for me. I figured there might be some I should avoid since some of my vertebrae are actually twisted. if you google, you will find lots of stuff, to a certain extent it's going to depend on what your curvatures are, but you can also just do them and see for yourself what your mobility imbalances are. >Yeah uh, my muscles are unbelievably tight. Like, the other day my gf was rubbing my back and she was like "oh my God is this bone?" My entire back is like that... I don't know how the hell to fix that. A masseuse, maybe? massage, foam roller, massage balls, stretching, better sleep, better nutrition (for instance, magnesium), it's all helpful, with the ultimate goal being better, balanced mobility and posture.
