Don't Ignore the Warning Signs: Listen to Your Lower Back

If you're not familiar with Movie-a-Minute, they basically boil down a movie into a few lines. It's actually pretty funny to read some of them... Here's the gist of what happened to me recently in Movie-a-Minute style:

My back feels great...Thank you Dr. Pagano.

I naively believe my back is better than it is....

I neglect warning signs that my back is angry.

I don't go for an adjustment.

It gets angry.

I'm in a lot of pain now.

Hello Dr. Pagano.

Whenever I speak with people about my lower back, I'm always asked for advice. This is based on my success with finding the right chiropractor and knowing that my back is much better than it was prior to my first chiropractic adjustment. Well I tell you, this is a constant a learning experience for me.

Here's a good piece of advice based on my latest experience:

Listen to your body. It typically won't lie to you. :)

For over 3 weeks, my back was giving me warning signs that it was getting dangerously close to going out on me. And...I still didn't go for an adjustment. What types of signs?

Here are a few:

1. Twinging back pains. Nothing bad, but my back was letting me know that something was wrong.

2. Having some discomfort after working out (or even when I started working out).

3. My back was a little sore in the morning after waking up.

4. Slight pain when picking up my kids.

Notice how I said "slight" or "a little" or "nothing bad". That's what gets you...

So, if you have lower back trouble and start to feel the warning signs of an angry back, don't ignore them. Go for an adjustment. I ignored the signs, and it didn't work out too well for me. I'm getting better, but I'm not there yet.

The Patient

2 Hilarious Medication Warnings : Ambien and Veramyst

OK, so this doesn't have much to do with lower back pain or chiropractors, but it's worth mentioning here since it's medical-related. I recently saw two advertisements for medications on TV (that's not the hilarious part). Once they started rolling into their warnings, which they are required to do, I couldn't believe what I heard.


1. Ambien- The voiceover says, "Sleepwalking and eating or driving with no memory of the event have been reported."

Uhh, what?? Are you kidding me? Ambien might result in someone sleepwalking and then eating and driving? Then they won't even remember they did that?? Who ends up finding you? I guess the McDonalds drive thru cashier! If you think that's bad, read the rest of the Ambien warnings on the official site.

2. Veramyst - In the commercial, there is a graphic that states, "The way this drug works is not completely understood."
Really? So, the drug has been tested, approved, and launched without being completely understood? So, if someone sprays this stuff up their nose and all of their hair falls out and they sneeze for 24 hours straight, there's nobody to blame?

"We really didn't know how the drug works, so we cannot confirm that your hair falling out is from Veramyst."

Whatever.

You can't make this stuff up! Makes me want to throw out any medications I have at home...

The Patient

Holding Children and Nerve Damage - Is Their a Connection?

In my last post, I mentioned how my wife needed to go see Dr. Pagano at Pagano Chiropractic since she was experiencing a lot of pain in her upper back. Even in the short time she has been going for adjustments, she is feeling much, much better. Actually, as of today, she has almost no pain in her upper back...

It ends up that she was holding our baby a certain way while feeding him over the past 6 months, and over that time, she irritated the nerves in her neck. Since it was over 6 months, it really started to cause some pain. So, a mixture of getting chiropractic adjustments over a two week period and starting to hold our son differently made a huge difference. She is now a believer in going to the chiropractor...

When it comes down to it, over years of exercising, walking, lifting your kids, bending over, sitting at your desk, etc., you are bound to throw something out of alignment. And if you do, and you don't get that corrected, then you could be in trouble down the line... If you are having back trouble or shoulder trouble, it's beyond worth it to go to a chiropractor...at least for an initial consultation. Just find a chiropractor that you are comfortable with and I'm confident you will agree with me! :)

The Patient

Getting to Your Chiropractor Quickly Can Lead to a Fast Recovery

During the entire summer, my back has been in great shape. I credit my chiropractor, Dr. Pagano for that... I've been golfing, running, working out, etc. without any major lower back pain. So, when I started to feel some pain on Saturday, I wanted to do something that I rarely had done in the past...move fast! In the past, I would let the pain get worse thinking to myself that it would go away on its own. Wrong! It would eventually go full blast and I wouldn't be able to walk...then I would go to my chiropractor...but it was too late.

Moving Fast - Getting to the Chiropractor in a Hurry!
So, on Monday I went to the chiropractor (only 2 days into this latest episode) and explained what's been going on. Basically, I worked out a lot last week (4 out of 5 days), which is a lot considering I have 2 kids. :) I also have a 6 month old so carrying him around, picking him up, and also picking up my 3.5 year old probably caused some alignment issues.

Pagano to the Rescue
Anyway, Dr. Pagano performed a chiropractic adjustment and I waited to see how my back would respond. Well, it responded extremely well. The next morning my back was about 50% better than the day before. I was able to work out that afternoon with little back pain. Then, by Wednesday, my back was at 95%...and I worked out again. Today is Thursday and my back feels very little pain. I'll probably go back for another adjustment on Monday, but I'm well on my way to feeling 100% again.

Learning from your mistakes:
This time I acted quickly...definitely a change from my previous behavior! :) By acting quickly, my chiropractor could align my back and get me back to near 100% in just a few days.

On a somewhat different note, my wife started feeling some pain shooting down her arm recently. She went to visit Pagano Chiropractic today, based on how well Vito has helped me over the past 6-7 months! More on this developing story in my next post.

The Patient

2 Months Later...My Back is Still in Good Shape

OK, so I haven't written a post in a while...almost 2 months to be exact. Why, you ask? I haven't had any trouble with my back at all since Dr. Pagano fixed it in late May. This is truly amazing, given I'm golfing more this year and I have two young children that I pick up all the time. With all of that, I still feel great.

I will be going to Pagano Chiropractic either this week or next week for more of a maintenance check than anything else. I don't want to go too long without having an adjustment. If all goes well, I may actually keep the one visit every other month routine. It seems to be working fine for me.

More to come after next week's adjustment.

The Patient

Knowing Your Limitations Keeps the Chiropractor Away

Dr. Pagano fixed my back again...after the soccer episode I explain in a previous post. After that happened, I started to understand that knowing your limitations is critical, especially as you get older. I'm almost 35 so I can't move at the pace I used to. That's unfortunate, since I'm a highly competitive person, both professionally and personally. So, I've decided to list some things you can do to stay within your safe boundaries while performing physical activities.

Think Before You Act

Simply put, before you do something really physical, stop and ask yourself what the impact could be. Practical example: I was cutting some of the trees in my backyard recently and needed to jump to grab a branch. Before I jumped (which would have probably hurt my back), I thought about it for a second. Then I went and grabbed a ladder instead. In the old days, I would have just jumped!

Don't Overdo It

If you are going to run, don't run 10 miles, run 3 or 4. If you want to play golf, don't hit 36 holes, hit 18. If you want to play company softball, play once per week and not double headers after work. I think you get the point.

Take Care of Your Back

Visit your chiropractor on a regular basis, which is determined by you and your chiropractor. Now that my back is feeling better, I only go in once per 3 or 4 weeks versus a few times per week. Also, take hot baths, stretch, and be wary of things that can throw your back out. For me, it's alignment (whether that's running, sleeping, sitting, etc.)

Don't Be Baited Into Doing Something Stupid

When you get together with old friends or coworkers, don't be baited into doing stupid things. For example, don't bowl for 3 hours at a company event if it will kill your back! Don't golf 2 days in a row if an old friend is in town, and don't think that you are younger than you really are and go out all night only to find out the next morning that you did something stupid and threw out your back! ;-)

I hope these tips help you out...I'm learning as I'm going. I think the world of my chiropractor, but I'd rather not see him very often! :-)

The Patient

Steps I Take to Minimize Recurring Lower Back Pain

OK, so I threw my back out a month ago, and as you read in my last post, my back has bounced back very quickly. I feel great overall and I am even running again. I went for a 3 mile run yesterday through Pennington. When I woke up this morning, I did feel some pain again... nothing crazy, but my back was reminding me that it wasn't too long ago that I threw it out. So what is causing that slight, but annoying pain?

The Weight of 2 Quarters:
When I first visited Dr. Pagano at Pagano Chiropractic Center, he placed two quarters on my hand, which I could barely feel. He said that even the light weight of 2 quarters would cause the pain I was feeling (which was pretty bad at the time...) When your back goes out of alignment, nerves that are trying to fit into an already small space, might have pressure on them from the misalignment. That pressure, even if it's only the weight of 2 quarters, is enough to cause some serious discomfort. That's what I am feeling now...

Now that I've been going for chiropractic adjustments for the last 5 months and educating myself on what is going on with my back, I've come up with some things to do when I feel the first hint of pain in my sacrum (lower back):

1. Stop major exercise like running, lifting weights, etc. I might still walk and do some light weights, but I'm now wise enough to know when my back is telling me something...like STOP WHATEVER YOU DID TO MAKE IT ANGRY!

2. Watch how I lift things... even small and light items. As Dr. Pagano told me, when you are about to lift something significant, you stabilize yourself, which cuts down on injury. However, when you go to lift something light or small, you don't prepare yourself. This is when you can do some damage... So, I watch my alignment when picking things up (and I definitely try and use my legs as much as possible.)

3. Hot Baths - When I start to feel a hint of pain, I start taking hot baths each night. This loosens up my back muscles and really seems to help. Heck, it's also really relaxing!

4. Go for chiropractic adjustments - When there's a sign that my back is angry, I go to Dr. Pagano and get an adjustment. There's obviously something off...and getting everything aligned is a no-brainer. If my schedule allows me to do so, I try and get in there asap.

5. Keep a log of what I did to throw out my back. I try and jot down all of the activities I performed the day before I feel my back start to hurt, which typically lets me know which one activity in particular pissed my back off! Then, I can always reference the list to remind me what I shouldn't do...I know it sounds weird, but when you are as competitive as me, you tend to do things that normal people wouldn't try!! And especially now that I'm getting older... Ouch.

I hope this list helps you when your back starts sending signals that it's out of alignment or just angry at what you did! If there is anything you do to help your back pain, please comment on this post...I'd love to hear your thoughts.

The Patient