Back pain update!

Back pain update!

Some of my more diligent readers may remember this post from last February when I wrote about my back pain. In April, I began to have more constant pain in my low back (after lying on my front for a while, which I have since learned is bad!) I tried ice, heat, and took lots of ibuprofen, but my pain was pretty continuous throughout the summer. In July, at my yearly check-up with my Dr., we discussed it. She asked me to try a few things and come back in the end of July. I went back in the end of the month, and she adjusted my back. She then sent me in to physical therapist.

After three months of physical therapy, there was little to no change in my pain. I did my back exercises each day too! My therapist finally told me that I had to get an MRI. Ugh, not cheap! So I did that, and made an appointment with an orthopedic doctor. He reviewed my MRI with me, and told me that it was arthritis. I cried a little out of relief, and also out of disappointment at the results. If I could have had back surgery, my pain would have gone away sooner. But back surgery would not have been easy either!

In December, my back doctor gave me a cortisone injection in my lower back, which helped my back pain lessen quite a bit. It never totally went away. After a few weeks, he gave me some anti-inflammatory medicine, but I don't take it very often, since it makes me sleepy.

After the new year, my hubby hurt his back. He was doing a workout and hurt for over a week. He tried ice, heat and ibuprofen but the pain didn't go away. Friends recommended a Christian chiropractor in town, and my hubby saw him several times with great results. I've not wanted to go to a chiropractor in many years, since I had a bad experience with one in college.

But I did go to this same chiropractor. The first thing he did was send me to get back x-rays. He would then be able to see what he was dealing with and a good course of action. I appreciated this, and feel he is very thorough and prepared. He reviewed the x-rays with me, looked at my scoliosis and kyphosis and planned three sessions a week for the first phase. So far my pain has lessened each week, which is awesome! I find that my hips tend to pop out of joint, and this causes pain in between chiro sessions. I look forward to getting more back in line over the next few months and feeling pain free soon!

God can use pain in our lives for good, we don't know why He causes events to happen at the time. But I can't help but think that this chiropractor (who is a Christian!) was put into my life to help my pain. So for now, I am quite thankful for the pain relief that I do get from my sessions. If you are a local friend and need a good chiropractor, let me know and I can give you a card for a free first session! I am very happy each week for my time in the back massage chairs-- they're wonderful!

I also learned some back health techniques which I am working on, including not crossing my legs, which is a hard habit to break!

How about you-- do you see a chiropractor? Do you think it helps your back pain?


Psalm 38:6-8
I am bowed down and brought very low;
all day long I go about mourning.
My back is filled with searing pain;
there is no health in my body.
I am feeble and utterly crushed;
I groan in anguish of heart.

Psalm 69:29
But as for me, afflicted and in pain— may your salvation, God, protect me.

Isaiah 53:3
He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

Revelation 21:4
‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”