Be Good to Your Spine to Keep it Healthy as You Get Older

We all take our health for granted until something happens to us. This is especially true with the spine. As we age, the cushions between our vertebrae begin to wear out, making our spines less flexible and more prone to aches and pains. This doesn't usually affect us until our thirties and forties. At middle age, we continue carrying too heavy items, or sleeping in a pretzel formation; not worrying about spinal problems until one actually occurs. In my thirties, I started having minor problems with my back here and there, from carrying heavy boxes the wrong way. It was no big deal in my mind. Going to the doctor wasn't something I cared to do.

In time, this caught up with me, when the pain became more sharpened, and wouldn't go away in a few days like it did before. First, my left leg felt numb, and it carried on like that for six months. I thought it was a pinched nerve and blew it off. Then, one morning, when trying to get up, my body ground to a screeching halt. At 43, I was totally unable to move, due to sharp, shooting pains going up and down my left leg! These pains were of a stronger magnitude of any I'd ever felt anywhere in my body in the past. This was different, and extremely frightening. This kind of pain could not be ignored.

At the orthopedic specialist's office, an MRI was taken along with a bunch of X-rays. The diagnosis was sciatica and a herniated lumbar disk. Every move I made was excruciatingly painful. It took me two weeks to even be able to walk enough to go to the doctor. Now, every attempt to lift my leg, bend, twist or move was accented with bolts of throbbing pain. The doctor gave me steroids, painkillers and ordered me to take physical therapy.

Physical therapy is helpful, but what they don't necessarily tell you about are the muscle spasms that can result from having your back manipulated or put in traction. Traction (which feels good when they do it) is lying on a table and being "stretched" to take the pressure off of your compressed spine. The next day, though, I was unable to move again. The pain was back, with a vengeance. It was back to square one, all over again.

Reluctantly, I took all the medicines, which did end up being extremely helpful. And, to help myself further, I bought a lumbar spine cushion (a wedge-shaped, semi-firm pillow to lean against), and a seat cushion, with the lumbar spine area cut out (to take the pressure off the lower spine when sitting.) Another item that helped me was a TENS machine, which is used in physical therapy to fool the body into being distracted from the spinal pain, with a series of electrical sensations that feel like a massage. With help from these items, a small amount of walking and resting flat on my back, the pain gradually went away. It took three months to get rid of the pain, and forever more, I have a new respect for every single vertebra in my spine. The nerves run up and down them, and control nearly every feeling sensation in our bodies. Pretty powerful stuff.

If you find yourself suffering from serious pains in your spine, go to the doctor as soon as possible. Let them look it over and help you. Don't tough it out and forget about it. My doctor and physical therapist taught me a lot about how to be good to my spine in the few trips I had to them. Strong pain will teach you to stop and pay attention to the problem. Be careful to take your healing period slowly, without straining your back at all, to risk re-injury. Healing from sciatica or a herniated disk is a slow and frustrating process. The best you can do is to try to make yourself as comfortable as you possibly can, with your doctor's guidance. By nipping the problems in the bud, so to speak, you will save yourself more difficult problems later. Be good to your spine, because you want it to be good to you for the rest of your life.