med question...disc and back problems HELP

[peterslovo]

I'm looking if anyone's had a condition similar to mine, or knows someone who has, and what they've done about it...

May 2002 I took a nasty digger riding a bridge section on my bike and landed on my head. Ended up cracking a vertebra in my thoracic back, and cracking something called 'end plates' at several thoracic and cervical vertebra, and slightly damaging some discs. Xray/bone scan confirmed a crack (which has now healed) and MRI showed disc degeneration and cracks in the plates ('end plate disruption', as its called) at several discs in my thoracic/cervical spine, but no blatant bulging. I've been dealing with this for some time now - pain and numbness in my upper back/neck and numbness down my left arm.

I've seen a specialist in Portland, then in Boston. They basically told me there is nothing to do for the diagnosis of 'end plate disruption' - just keep the area as strong as possible and signed me up for intense rehab. They also said to keep doing everything I normally do in terms of all my activities - just within pain limits.

So I've tried rest, went to intense structured rehab for 6 weeks (3x a week, 2-3 hours a x - I continue this on my own now), tried cranio-sacral therapy (did not work), and am now continueing rehab and am taking muscle relaxants a couple times a week to deal with the pain that comes with working the area - (damage to my nerves trigger spasming in the muscles). They're the only thing that helps.

I've continued to surf, bike and ski. Surfing bothers it most (the lying prone on the board) which triggers nasty pain/numbness after the activity. I've continued to work it out and things seemed to be getting beter - well, not better, but definitely not worse. But in the last couple months, I've kept pinching a nerve in my neck - same place, 3 times - which causes spasming in my back/neck that causes the left side of my neck to swell up huge, and numbness in my arm/hand several times - in fact just did it shoveling the driveway 2 days ago (joy)! This seems to be a new thing that is occurring, with just the slightest motions (i.e, shoveling) setting it off. I mean shit, just turning my head in the wrong direction might do it!

Anyway, I'm stuck as what to do/try next, and worried that things have gotten worse. I'm worried about skiing with this now that it seems like anything may set it off! I'm inclined to head back to the Dr. for an updated MRI to see if things have degraded in there which is causing the pinched nerve stuff.

Has anyone experienced 'end plate disruption' and herniated disks, etc. that has had to deal with these symptoms? What has worked for you? What hasn't?

[truth]

After years of chronic back issue this has worked for me (http://www.muscleactivation.com/)



In recent years, a revolutionary new process has evolved for correcting muscular imbalances in the body. It has dramatically improved functional capabilities in people of all age groups, providing a pain free lifestyle along with elevating sports performance and career longevity in several professional athletes. This process is a biomechanically-based therapy called Muscle Activation Techniques (MAT)™.

For a more simplistic approach to understanding muscle function, compare the body to a car. The initiation of a muscle contraction occurs similarly to the way a battery initiates the starting of a car. Both rely on connections that transfer electrical energy to produce a reaction. Our nerves that run from the spinal cord to the muscle are just like the cables that run from the ignition and connect to the battery. When the key is turned in the ignition, the impulses transfer through the cables to the battery allowing the car to start. Similarly, in the body, when a message is sent from the brain, the input is transferred through the nerves to the muscles creating muscle contraction. Each muscle is independently innervated, therefore it can be seen as having many batteries, each connected by its own independent cables. When the body is functioning properly, with all batteries connected, each muscle will contract on demand and the body will function very efficiently.

Many times, due to factors such as stress, trauma or overuse, the neurological connections may become altered creating a reaction in the body, similar to that of loose battery cables in your car. When the brain sends a message for a muscle to contract, the muscle does not respond immediately, creating increased demand on other muscles to perform the desired movement. The result becomes what we know as compensation. Over time, these compensation patterns create altered alignment in the joint, leading to joint instability and abnormal wear on the joint surfaces. The end result becomes pain and eventually osteoarthritis. This progressive degeneration has been correlated with aging. If identified and properly addressed, it does not have to occur.

MAT can slow down or even reverse the aging process. If it is recognized that muscles are designed to stabilize and support the joints naturally; it must be understood that arthritic conditions and joint instability can be helped or prevented when muscles are prepared to function properly. All that is needed is to create proper connections between the brain and the muscles. Muscle Activation Techniques does this. It provides the ability for the body to function the way it was designed to function. Just like with a dead battery, the muscles must be jumpstarted and the cables must be tightened before the muscle will function properly. In simplistic terms, through Muscle Activation Techniques, muscles that have improper neurological connections are identified, then jumpstarted; creating the ability for the muscles to stabilize the joints and reduce the joint stresses that lead to arthritic conditions. That is when the body becomes efficient and the related aches and pains are deterred.

[peterslovo]

hmmmm...this is interesting - the approach is somewhat similar to the intense specialized spine rehab program I did for 6 weeks - it focused on strengthening the entire core and offsetting imbalances in mucle strength and flexibility.

what problems did you have with your back and did they go away? How long was the therapy for?