This year I've decided to fast during Lent. Kelly has been doing it for awhile and thought I should do it too. I'm fasting french fries and sweets this year. Kelly said he'll fast light beer...lol (I wouldn't put it past him either) He'll probably do french fries again, but who knows.
We're also giving up meat on Fridays. I guess we'll be going to lots of fish fry's again. This place is infested with them.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Friday, February 6, 2009
My Back-e-otomy
Like many people I have lower back pain. It comes from years of wearing issued boots and doing the physical labor that cannot be done by a machine. Loading cargo on airplanes is pretty demanding. You have to climb up on the plane, push pallets that can weigh up to 10,000 lbs, and contort your body to fit underneath vehicles and other cargo that needs to be chained down. Another part of my job is passenger service. We have to load the passengers onto aircraft and do the paperwork that comes with it. Baggage also comes with passengers. People like their stuff. Most bags are heavy, and when you're in the belly of a commercial plane throwing bags while bent over it can take a toll on your body.
I mentioned all of that because as a young Airman, you're expected to do more of the physical work. I now know that it's because once you've been doing this for a while, you cannot do as much of the grunt work. Now that I'm older I don't want to be the guy that makes the young'ns do the hard work exclusively. So, after years of back problems I started getting more proactive.
At Hurlburt Field I started traction. If you don't know what it is, I'll explain. It's where you're hooked up to a machine that stretches you. Your upper body is anchored to a table and your lower body is connected via a harness to a machine that pulls your spine in varying degrees of weight and time. My pulls were usually around 125 lbs and there was a 45 second pull with a 15 second let off to about 25% of the weight. It worked wonders at first, but eventually it was just a way to relieve discomfort.
I got to Sheppard and discontinued because I was in an office environment. It got better, but after four years of marching and running with Airmen, the pain started to come back. I went to get an x-ray and MRI done and got a call stating that I had degenerative disc disease and that the discs around two vertebrae were compressed and bulging. It caused pressure on my right sciatic nerve. They did a nerve test with electricity and determined that the signal is degraded. I had an epidural to inject steroids and pain meds into my spine but I hated it. I felt like I had to take a dump for about 4 weeks. Knowing that I had reached my last resort and that I don't want another needle in my back unless absolutely necessary I made an appointment once we moved to IL.
I told the new Doc that I didn't want pills and that I'd try anything short of surgery and the needle. He suggested chiropractic treatment and possibly acupuncture. Honestly when I think of acupuncture, I have visions of a witch doctor with a bone through his nose and chicken blood on his face dancing around me sticking flaming needles in my body. Chiropractors on the other hand actually wear clothes so I went that route.
I made the appointment and had the pre-interview. They said I was a great candidate for the treatment and I sat in the waiting room. I went in with the Doctor and he asked about my pain and had me sit on the table. He tested my reflexes and muscle resistance. He contorted me to see where I had problems with mobility. My neck was stiff as well as my upper back. This was from trying to keep my lower back from moving too much. He felt my lower back and touched a lump right above my butt. He asked if that was a problem and I told him it was the main problem. His tone got excited and he said "I'm going to help you today!". I was skeptical. For about nine years I've had that lump and no other doctor seemed to give a damn. I thought it was a deformity or something. It turns out that it was a muscle that got pinched in my sacroiliac joint (SI). This is the joint between your pelvis, tailbone and spine. I laid on my back and he said that I looked crooked. He put me on my left side and popped my left SI joint. Then he popped my right one, the one with the lump. I immediately felt relief. He put me on my back and adjusted my cervical vertebrae and almost all of my spine. I even felt my sternum pop. He stood the bed up and told me to bend at the waist. I felt 100% better. Then I reached back to feel the lump.
It was gone!
After nine years, the lump was gone. The lump that was a misplaced muscle, that was as hard as bone had disappeared. I looked at the Doc and he was grinning from ear to ear. I really was impressed. It's great to have someone treat you that truly loves what they do. I then went to have ultrasonic muscle stimulation. At first I couldn't feel anything. Then slowly I started to feel the "zapping" sensation. Apparently it contracts and relaxes your muscles faster than your body can on it's own. I wasn't feeling anything at first because the nerve and muscle hadn't been working for years. The joint was completely locked up.
Now I'm officially a believer. This stuff works. I can turn my head all the way to each side and I don't have the small "hitch" in my step. My posture is better and I have new pain in other parts of my back because I'm not used to using it all. It's great though. It's way better than a needle in the back or surgery. I've been told that because of my age I'll probably need the surgery, but as long as I can get chiropractic treatment I'll put it off as long as possible. I can see how this can be addicting. Although today's treatment was more intense than last weeks and I am slightly sore, I can tell it worked. The Doc had the same proud smile. That's something that's missing with people today.
This Doctor really does this to help people. We talked about his practice and stuff and he said he made more money in private practice than on base but he does it for fun and really enjoys his work.
He's one of the few people in this world that "gets it". For that, I'm thankful.
I mentioned all of that because as a young Airman, you're expected to do more of the physical work. I now know that it's because once you've been doing this for a while, you cannot do as much of the grunt work. Now that I'm older I don't want to be the guy that makes the young'ns do the hard work exclusively. So, after years of back problems I started getting more proactive.
At Hurlburt Field I started traction. If you don't know what it is, I'll explain. It's where you're hooked up to a machine that stretches you. Your upper body is anchored to a table and your lower body is connected via a harness to a machine that pulls your spine in varying degrees of weight and time. My pulls were usually around 125 lbs and there was a 45 second pull with a 15 second let off to about 25% of the weight. It worked wonders at first, but eventually it was just a way to relieve discomfort.
I got to Sheppard and discontinued because I was in an office environment. It got better, but after four years of marching and running with Airmen, the pain started to come back. I went to get an x-ray and MRI done and got a call stating that I had degenerative disc disease and that the discs around two vertebrae were compressed and bulging. It caused pressure on my right sciatic nerve. They did a nerve test with electricity and determined that the signal is degraded. I had an epidural to inject steroids and pain meds into my spine but I hated it. I felt like I had to take a dump for about 4 weeks. Knowing that I had reached my last resort and that I don't want another needle in my back unless absolutely necessary I made an appointment once we moved to IL.
I told the new Doc that I didn't want pills and that I'd try anything short of surgery and the needle. He suggested chiropractic treatment and possibly acupuncture. Honestly when I think of acupuncture, I have visions of a witch doctor with a bone through his nose and chicken blood on his face dancing around me sticking flaming needles in my body. Chiropractors on the other hand actually wear clothes so I went that route.
I made the appointment and had the pre-interview. They said I was a great candidate for the treatment and I sat in the waiting room. I went in with the Doctor and he asked about my pain and had me sit on the table. He tested my reflexes and muscle resistance. He contorted me to see where I had problems with mobility. My neck was stiff as well as my upper back. This was from trying to keep my lower back from moving too much. He felt my lower back and touched a lump right above my butt. He asked if that was a problem and I told him it was the main problem. His tone got excited and he said "I'm going to help you today!". I was skeptical. For about nine years I've had that lump and no other doctor seemed to give a damn. I thought it was a deformity or something. It turns out that it was a muscle that got pinched in my sacroiliac joint (SI). This is the joint between your pelvis, tailbone and spine. I laid on my back and he said that I looked crooked. He put me on my left side and popped my left SI joint. Then he popped my right one, the one with the lump. I immediately felt relief. He put me on my back and adjusted my cervical vertebrae and almost all of my spine. I even felt my sternum pop. He stood the bed up and told me to bend at the waist. I felt 100% better. Then I reached back to feel the lump.
It was gone!
After nine years, the lump was gone. The lump that was a misplaced muscle, that was as hard as bone had disappeared. I looked at the Doc and he was grinning from ear to ear. I really was impressed. It's great to have someone treat you that truly loves what they do. I then went to have ultrasonic muscle stimulation. At first I couldn't feel anything. Then slowly I started to feel the "zapping" sensation. Apparently it contracts and relaxes your muscles faster than your body can on it's own. I wasn't feeling anything at first because the nerve and muscle hadn't been working for years. The joint was completely locked up.
Now I'm officially a believer. This stuff works. I can turn my head all the way to each side and I don't have the small "hitch" in my step. My posture is better and I have new pain in other parts of my back because I'm not used to using it all. It's great though. It's way better than a needle in the back or surgery. I've been told that because of my age I'll probably need the surgery, but as long as I can get chiropractic treatment I'll put it off as long as possible. I can see how this can be addicting. Although today's treatment was more intense than last weeks and I am slightly sore, I can tell it worked. The Doc had the same proud smile. That's something that's missing with people today.
This Doctor really does this to help people. We talked about his practice and stuff and he said he made more money in private practice than on base but he does it for fun and really enjoys his work.
He's one of the few people in this world that "gets it". For that, I'm thankful.
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