So here I am... (Page 1 of 2)

Hi Bun...not trying to give  medical advice here by any means so please don't take this as such, only a story of my Wife who had back problems. Knowing what works for one doesn't always work for the other...but my Wife has surgery on hers and made it so much worse.. I'm not sure how you feel about Chiropractors but after seeing one he helped her a lot. I'm not saying it would help you, but seeing what it did to her I would certainly explore other avenues before surgery. This is only one case I know, I'm sure surgery has helped many people, just letting you know her story and of course you'd make up your own mind. Either way good luck to you and I hope it turns out that you get better and back to doing your job the way you know you can, and playing your guitar. Also let me say thanks for the job you do, not everyone is built for that and I admire what you do.

Cam

Good luck bud.  Firefighters have it rough.  A friend of mine from high school got crunched in his first couple of years.  He was also rescue and EMT certified.  His first EMT patient died while he was working on her.  The emergency docs said there was absolutely nothing he could have done for her, but he still had some anguish to work through.  Then at a cabin fire (an old hunting lodge up in the woods) the ceiling gave in and the chimney collapsed onto him and two other firefighters.  He was in the middle of the three.  The men on either side of him were killed by the chimney but he survived.  Messed him up physically and emotionally for a time.  He lost both his firefighter job and his off-season job of ski guide to disability (broken back).  Over the years, I've learned this his story isn't unusual at all.  Good men and women out there doing it.  My sincere thanks to you. 

Hope your back gets better. 

- Zurf

Lots of luck w/ the back bunbun. I fell through a roof and broke my neck 40 yeras ago. I use to live on flexeral and vicodin.

+1 on all the above, especially that MRI and finding a good spinal specialist.  Same story for me, L4/5 blown disk, surgery after suffering a couple months (going through the workmen's comp hoops), and resulting nerve damage from the delay.  Prompt attention to the root of the issue is key to a good prognosis, and you can plan on a bit of physical therapy afterwards. 

Flexoril is a darn good anti-spasmodic, but it can make you a bit spacey.... as you said though it doesn't do much for the pain. Anti-inflammatory drugs will keep the swelling in the joint down a bit and should give some relief. If you are feeling any numbness in your legs, you will want to seek medical advice ASAP (which you should do anyway) as it might be an indicator of a nerve getting the life strangled out of it, and might become permanent.

Been there and surely feeling your pain!

Take Care;
Doug

Dad was a career firefighter and had back problems, too.   He swore by foot massages.  Seriously.  Apparently there is some nerve connection between your feet and your lower back.  Acupressure and all that helped immensely.   And for the record, Dad was no new age hippie, either, so it must have had some effect.   

Sorry to hear about your problems, bunbun. I am another Chordian back sufferer, but nowhere near as bad as you, and some others. I know how very painful it can be, though, and sympathise. Not being able to play guitar either is a double whammy! Hope you get the medical care you need...

bunbun, one thing I forgot to mention is for you to get out of that recliner. That's the worst place you can sit when you have back pain. A regular straight back chair (as uncomfortable as they are) is a better place to sit than a recliner. Try laying on the floor with a pillow under your knees - even sleeping  laying on your back with a pillow under your knees helps to take the pressure off your lower back. Another thing that helped me was to just get out and walk. Nice and slow on a good flat area. This helps get the blood flowing to the injured area. If your are married have your wife give you a hot oil massage - if your not married, then your girl friend. Just be careful as this can lead to other thoughts that could increase your back pain. Never accept the excuse from your spouse that she does not have any good massage oil - in a pinch you can use regular cooking oil. This will also get the blood flowing although it may not all go to the injured area. Certain foods can also help with back pains. I have found out that if I have my wife grill a nice rib eye steak, baked 'tater and other trimings, it helps the back pain. A nice after dinner desert will help as well. Getting into the correct position to watch your favorite TV shows will help with your spouse working the remote is  good for a sore back. Drinking plenty of fluids, that is brought to you by your spouse is very helpful. Since you are drinking more fluids you will need to keep the toilet seat up, so make sure your spouse knows she has to pitch in and help. In other words - MILK THIS FOR ALL THAT ITS WORTH!

Nela

In the lower back pain problem physical therapy really helped i have personally noticed this therapy of my bro it is quite painful in the start but overall its a good treatment....

Here is the latest prognosis post MRI:

NO disc between L5-S1. ( It is gone, gone, gone...). Deteriorating L3-L4, L4-L5 with the L4-L5 disc worse than the L4-L3 due to the stresses. L4 vertebrae displaced anterior (toward the front) by a few millimeters. Surgery means I retire NOW. Back in July the Doc told me my back looks like that of a man much older. 

I finally got permission by WC to have a Facet Block performed (after three tries and two docs). This will help the doc determine if I have any hope of being able to work again but it looks bleak no matter what.

I am currently planning my future post-medical retirement as that looks like the most likely outcome.

I am going to miss the job, especially being a practicing medic.

I can actually get a job teaching at a community college with my education (2 Associates Degrees and many, many fire classes, many of which are upper division type courses) yet I cannot teach at a high school because I do not have a Bachelor's.

I have been teaching for about 20 years (training newbs) in all of my jobs and the last ten years taking paramedic students, during their six-week field internship, from the local college.

Update:

I had a facet block done on 12-12-11. Prior to surgery the nurse asked what my pain level was. I told her about 2-3 on a scale of ten. When the procedure was done and I woke I realized that I had become so used to the pain that I was very conservative in my estimate of what my level of pain was.

It was wonderful to not have any pain at all and I had forgotten how that felt. The absence of pain lasted about two weeks and made Christmas a joy. Unfortunately it came back as the facet block was only temporary, but it was not as intense. I was able to start working out on a strider machine so I could get some cardio in. the strider machine is "no impact" so it worked well.

About two weeks ago I realized there were DAYS that I would feel little or no pain and when I did it was an annoyance rather than anything else.

Until Tuesday...It came roaring back with a vengeance and my back spasm-ed so bad that I was barely able to walk. Wednesday I picked up my daughter from school and when I got home i could barely get out of the car. It took me three minutes to walk 50 feet as I could only take tiny steps. My children saw me cry for the first time. The back is still spasming and I have pain from my waist down to both of my knees. The back feels real unstable.

I am waiting for an appointment for a procedure called "Radio-Frequency Ablation" or rhizotomy. It will burn the parts of the facet nerves that are causing the pain. The nerves will regenerate but the procedure can be repeated. I keep asking the pain doc how this will help me and if I can go back to working as a firefighter. My concern is my quality of life in ten years or so. He just says, "Mother Nature will tell your back that you have gone to far..." I keep thinking that, while the rhizotomy  will eliminate the pain (so to speak) the damage is still there. If I go back without fixing the damage it will only get worse. I am seriously contemplating a medical retirement at this point and I think Mother Nature has given me her thoughts on the matter with this latest round of spasming.

Again, I cannot play the guitar and I have reached the point where I am experiencing many "Ah Ha!" moments. This truly sucks! Lol.

Anyone wanna trade for a slightly used spine?

County fire commissioner, fire inspector, arson investigator...

There's a lot out there you can still do that doesn't require you to hump hoses up and down the stairs all day.