Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica Relief Strategies of The Bad Back Guy

Understanding neck pain, back pain, and sciatica is a crucial as our treatment is often dependent on the ability to describe both the location of the pain and what kind of pain…and its intensity. In order to fully comprehend, treat, and recover from neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica, we need to seek medical treatment early enough after the first expression of neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica and we need to take an active and involved role in the treatment strategy before, during, and after formal medical intervention and treatment.

The Types of Spine Pain (also referred to the general types of back pain)

Back pain is known by a variety of technical terms depending on the location and severity. Neck pain is also known in medical terms as cervicalgia. Neck pain or cervicalgia may vary from dull and aching to chronic and acute and is often associated with pain in the shoulder and tingling and numbness in the arms and hands. Upper back pain, also known as thoracic pain, is also referred to as middle back pain depending on the location. Thoracic pain, like to neck pain, may range from dull to acute and chronic. Lower back pain, also known as lumbago, affects the lower back, as the name indicates, and ranges from dull, localized pain to acute, chronic, and widespread. Lower back pain or lumbago may also be associated with the final classification of back pain, known as sciatic nerve pain or simply sciatica. Sciatica, also known as sciatic neuritis, is often classified as a lumbar radiculopathy (the distinction is beyond the scope of this article). Sciatica, as with the other expressions of spine pain mentioned above, may range from a dull and aching pain, to acute and chronic, many times associated with pain across the buttocks and into the legs. Sciatica may also present with weakness, tingling, and numbness in the legs, feet, and toes.

Describing and Quantifying Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica

One of the most difficult tasks when it comes to back pain, in any of its expressions, is to describe the type and intensity of the pain. Because neck pain, back pain, and sciatica vary from patient to patient and incident to incident, and because pain is an abstract concept, not easily identifiable or quantifiable, ranking neck pain, back pain, and sciatica on any sort of a scale is at most minimally helpful and, in many instances, totally ineffective in treating the condition. Because pain is the ultimate symptom of an underlying condition, it is crucial that a medical practitioner be consulted as soon as possible after pain presents itself.

The Etiology and Treatment of Spine Pain

The etiology (cause) of spine pain may be difficult or even impossible to properly identify, particularly if medical treatment isn’t sought immediately. Several studies indicate that the sooner an individual seeks medical attention for their neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica, the better the prognosis. Significantly, one of the biggest challenges facing the medical community, particularly when it comes to spine pain complaints, and I am referring to neck pain, back pain, and sciatica when I refer to an overall category like spine-related pain, is that patients do not seek medical attention early enough, leading to an exacerbation of the underlying condition.

Treatment and Relief of Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica

There is encouraging data from several studies that would seem to indicate that approximately 3.5 to 4 in 10 chronic back pain patients, that’s pain lasting more than 90 days, recovered within a year. However, that still leaves a sizable number affected by chronic pain long term. The numbers seem to improve with exercise and there are many studies that seem to indicate that low-impact, supervised exercise is the best overall strategy for chronic neck pain, back pain, and sciatica relief. Treatment for acute spine-related pain, meaning pain lasting more than 24 hours but less and 2 weeks, generally requires a different but linked strategy. Overall, early treatment focusing on proper diagnoses and neck pain, back pain, and sciatica relief includes ice, use of anti-inflammatories (sparingly), and physical therapy. Bed rest is almost always counter-indicated and may exacerbate the problem.

Pain is Difficult If Not Impossible to Describe and Quantify!

Acute and/or chronic neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica are even more difficult to describe and diagnose because the spine is such a complex system. Only through immediate consultation with a medical practitioner, combined with a comprehensive and individualized neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica relief strategy can one hope to achieve a pain free life once again.

The answer?

1) Get a proper medical diagnoses.
2) Get active as quickly as possible.
3) Follow up with your medical practitioner at regular intervals until pain free.
4) And, most important of all, get involved in a comprehensive neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica relief program.

How to Overcome Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica: Finding Lasting Relief

Ultimately, make sure any neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica treatment and relief program includes stretching, walking, and low-impact exercise (particularly at first) to strengthen the musculoskeletal system as a whole, and the spine in particular. Focus on the 5 factors and you will be on your way to a pain free life: lose weight; strengthen your core muscles, specifically, and your musculoskeletal system, generally; work on any muscle imbalances you may have; get adequate nutrition, through proper diet, to ensure your body has the nutrients to rebuild; and finally, take in plenty of fluid to ensure intervertebral disc health (IVDs are 85% water).

If you follow the above mentioned pain treatment and relief strategies you will be on your way to neck pain, back pain, and sciatic nerve pain (sciatica) relief in no time!

If you ever have any questions, I would be happy to discuss them with you!

John

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr., The Bad Back Guy
216-712-6526
866-835-2913 (toll free)
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@ultimatebadbackstrategies.com

PS, There is another, more in depth article on the subject of the types of spine pain…to include neck pain, back pain, and sciatica at Ultimate Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica Relief Strategies! Just click here!

PPS, For a comprehensive program tailored for neck pain, back pain, and sciatic relief, begin your new life here!

As you know if you have been following along here for any length of time, this is our second 30 day challenge. The first 30 day challenge was called The 30 Day Walk Away from Back Pain and Sciatica and it began at the end of June.

The current 30 day challenge is about half over and it is my hope that by now you are walking, stretching, and becoming aware of the amazing possibilities life can offer you once you take hold of your neck pain, back pain, and sciatica and decide to implement a program of pain relief. It is not easy but it can be done, in fact people all over the world have emailed me, telephoned me and added me to their Skype accounts so they can tell me what they are doing and ask advice.

I think it is absolutely fantastic!

It is important for you to know that I am not a medical practitioner and any advice I offer is anecdotal, meaning it is based on personal experience and not meant to replace the advice of your medical practitioner.

Phew, now that that’s out of the way….On with the show!

Google Alerts and Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica

I subscribe to what is called Google Alerts. For those of you who aren’t initiated in the Ways of Google, Google Alerts tells me when certain words I am interested in come up on their radar. They then make a copy of those article or video links and send them to me so I can review them, either to further my own education or to see what is being said on the Internet about my area of interest, in this case, neck pain, back pain, and sciatica.

Well lately, every day I get at least two emails from Google and without fail my videos and articles are in the emails. But here is the really interesting thing about them, they are not on my blogs or websites, they are being posted on other people’s web properties!

Now, in the “real world” this would be considered plagiarism and a rip off. On the Internet, however, it is perfectly fine, in fact it is great! It means the video or article is “going viral.” Viral simply means other webmasters, Internet marketers, and medical providers think enough of the content to place it on their sites, complete with the links back to my blog or website…a really cool thing!

Significantly, what all this really says is that what I have been trying to convey for the past year, give or take a couple of months, is good information…and others think so too. I even got an email from a medical practitioner who is going to do a 30 Day Challenge to get people ready for the holidays!

Where have you heard that before?!

Interestingly, this same medical man’s emails seem to parrot the content in my articles and videos almost verbatim! Again, in any other realm this would be seen in a negative light, and don’t get me wrong, I have been ripped off on occasion. But the thing is, I don’t care. I am in it for you, in order to help as many people as possible take back their lives, as I have. So, the more the merrier!

The best part of this whole day was an email I received offering me membership in an Internet community exclusively for physicians. I am, of course, a physical anthropologist. My doctoral studies are along the lines of what Randy Pausch’s mother (The Last Lecture and one of the most amazing men of our times) said about his doctorate:

“He’s a doctor but not the kind that helps people!”

Too funny!

Well, it is my sincere wish that you will take what you learn here and via the programs I recommend and live a neck pain, back pain, and sciatica free life. I know it is possible! I have done it after 15 major surgeries, 14 on my spine. You can find real and lasting neck pain, back pain, and sciatica relief through the self-administered treatment and exercise program at:

http://TheBadBackGuy.net

Begin today and take back your life! Enter the holidays and the New Year pain free…you will never regret it and you will once again have your life before you…a neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica free life!

Yours in Health!

John

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr., The Bad Back Guy
216-712-6526
Skype : johnzajaros1
johnz@ultimatebadbackstrategies.com

PS, I added an article on failed back surgery syndrome and neck pain, back pain, and sciatica at my Ultimate Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica Relief Blog! Hope it helps you!

The Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica Relief 30 Day Challenge Continues

With a Look at Failed back Surgery Syndrome and Chronic Back Pain

We recently dispelled the notion that degenerative disc disease is a disease, in much the same we have discarded the notion that failed back surgery syndrome is a syndrome. Failed back surgery syndrome is a not a syndrome, it is a reaction to a myriad of factors, a set of behaviors and stresses placed on the body generally and the musculoskeletal system, and the spine, specifically.

Failed back surgery syndrome begins, necessarily, with spine surgery at some level. Back surgery, and I am speaking about neck and back surgery when I refer to back surgery, is the ultimate deadend. There is no coming back from it, pun accidental but I’ll take it. Once you open Pandora’s Box, your body is never the same. Many, myself included, have said time and time again that we will not submit to more back surgery, only to plead for our surgeon to do the deed one more time.

The neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica drives us to relent, to give in and give up, regardless of the incredible pain we know will be waiting for us upon awakening in the recovery room.

But this does not have to be the case! There is a solution, and it is not a painful one.

We simply have to change our habits and our behaviors in such a way that we deal effectively with the 5 factors I have spoken about at length:

1) Obesity or excess weight

2) Muscle weakness

3) Muscle imbalance

4) Inmproper diet and nutrition

5) Inadequate hydration leading to dehydration

If we deal with the 5 factors listed above and addressed previously, either before surgery or after, we may be able to:

a) Avoiding back surgery altogether by dealing with the 5 factors and thus alleviating and/or eliminating neck pain, back pain, and sciatica

Or

b) Assuring ourselves that we are in good shape going into the surgery, if there is no way out, and thus ensuring our recovery…and perhaps we will not have to repeat the same scenario time and time again!

Ultimately, failed back surgery is about behavior, or lack of behavior, and the failure on our part to deal with the 5 factors leading to the majority of neck pain, back pain, and sciatica. It is also about the failure of the medical community, reactive instead of proactive and preventative in nature. The combination of a lack of education, and a reactive mindset and method of treatment for neck pain, back pain, and sciatica, ensures a continuous
highway into the operating room…and a revolving door at its entrance.

I will deal with this in greater depth in a series of articles at:

Ultimate Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica Strategies of The Bad Back Guy

And we will continue The 30 Day Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica Relief Challenge here!

Don’t hesistate to contact me if you have questions, comments, or concerns.

John

Professor John P.J. Zajaros, Sr., The Bad Back Guy
216-712-6526
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@ultimatebadbackstrategies.com

PS, Don’t forget to get started and reclaim a pain free life, overcoming failed back surgery syndrome, if appropriate, at the single best neck pain, back pain, and sciatica relief and treatment program I have found!

Chronic Neck Pain, Back Pain, Sciatica, and Failed Back Surgery Syndrome

In order to properly understand failed back surgery syndrome, we must first define it. Unfortunately, failed back surgery syndrome is something of a misnomer. In fact, FBBS is no more a syndrome than degenerative disc disease is a disease, and yet, they both contribute to neck pain, back pain, and sciatica. FBBS is actually an expression of chronic neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica after one or more surgeries.

The etiology of chronic back pain associated with FBBS is usually attributed to one or more failed spine surgeries, along with a myriad of other contributing factors. The failure of the surgery, combined with an array of physical, psychological, cultural, and even socio-economic factors, results in what is commonly referred to as failed back surgery syndrome.

Failed back surgery syndrome is one of the most perplexing, and costly issues facing orthopedic medicine generally, and orthopedic surgeons specifically. The cost of FBBS is not only a reality in terms of the human cost, it has trememdous social and economic costs, as well.

Particularly problematic is the fact that the spine is an incredibly complex structure and there are as many reasons why people have neck and back surgery as there are reasons why that surgery fails. Researchers have generally divided back pain sufferers who have undergone surgery into one of two groups.

In the first instance, the first group, the neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica sufferer underwent surgery that was never really called for or, if it was called for, a positive outcome was doubtful from the start. Or, the patients had surgery, it was necessary, but the outcome was less than desirable. Interestingly, individuals with a sciatic nerve pain complaint, sciatica, were more likely to achieve a positive outcome. However, individuals complaining of the more general “back pain” did not.

The remaining group of neck pain, back pain, and sciatica patients underwent operations that were inadequate and/or incomplete. Patients in this category, particularly those affected by a bulging or herniated disc, often had other pathologies, such as stenoses, that were overlooked, missed or even ignored.

Failure in most of the medical literature to address things like patients returning to work and to a productive lifestyle, make it difficult to quantify with any confidence the long term success of most back surgeries. However, the data suggests that the overall outcome is not good, particularly when the area causing the pain cannot be clearly identified or when more than one level of the spine is affected, as in the case of an individual presenting with chronic and/or acute neck pain, back pain, and sciatica; and, showing signs of advanced degenerative disc disease.

Failed back surgery syndrome is a major problem for patient and surgeon, alike. Not only are there issues associated with continuing neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica but there are social, cultural and financial considerations as well.

In the next two articles we will explore in depth some of these factors and why an individual should do everything possible to avoid spine surgery if at all possible. The best strategy for neck pain, back pain, and sciatica treatment and relief is not back surgery, in fact it should be the last alternative, one that should be avoided if at all possible. Failed back surgery syndrome is one of the most complex and least understood issues facing orthopedic medicine, we will discuss the reasons for this next.

John

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr., The Bad Back Guy
216-712-6526
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@ultimatebadbackstrategies.com

PS, Considering back surgery but want to take steps to avoid it and overcome your neck pain, back pain, and sciatica at the same time? Just click this link and take the next step to a pain free life!

The 30 Day Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica Relief Challenge: Walking and Pain Relief Part II

As you begin to plan your neck pain, back pain, and sciatica treatment relief program, whether as part of the 30 day challenge or simply as a way to overcome acute and/or chronic pain, stretching and exercise will come into the picture almost at once.

Stretching and low-impact exercises are generally the pain relief strategies most medical practitioners start you out on. This is mainly because these medically supervised pain relief strategies are conducted in a controlled environment, one they have you visit in order to undergo some sort of physical and/or exercise therapy, sometimes one in the same.

However, if you are beyond the physical therapy stage, either because your insurance has run out or because you have given up on traditional medicine (actually quite common with chronic pain sufferers), you can still walk out your front door and have access to one of the best exercise strategies for your neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica; and that’s walking!

Walking is a great overall exercise, offering aerobic benefit, core muscle development, and overall muscle tone and strengthening!

The combination of benefits offered by walking, including real and lasting neck pain, back pain, and sciatica relief, if instituted and integrated properly, will have a spill-over effect into virtually every area of your life.

The video below addresses some of the finer points you need to know as you begin a walking program designed for neck pain, back pain, and sciatica relief.

As noted in the previous video, your shoes and socks are crucial, along with basic foot care. There is an article and a video on footwear and care of the feet, focusing on some of the issues you may face when beginning your neck pain, back pain, and sciatica relief program, as well. In addition to footwear, the surface you walk on is crucial and if you must walk on concrete, as many in urban and suburban areas must, then footwear becomes all the more important.

I hope this video helps, I put it in as an add-on because this is such an important topic.

If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to contact me, I am always available for people suffering from neck pain, back pain, and sciatica because I know where you have been. If you have any other questions or concerns, you may find the answers in articles at:

Ultimate Neck Pain, Back Pain & Sciatica Relief Strategies

Or follow along and join in The 30 Day Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica Relief Challenge by reviewing the videos here on this blog!

John

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr., The Bad Back Guy
216-712-6526
866-835-2913 (toll free)
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@ultimatebadbackstrategies.com

PS, If you are ready to begin your neck pain, back pain, and sciatica treatment and relief program, I recommend you click this link and begin today! I will help you along for the first 30 days and be available to you 24/7 via email and Skype IM for any questions or concerns you may have.

Walking is said to be one of the best overall exercises you can do. I would extend that by stating that walking is the best neck pain, back pain, and sciatica relief exercise you can do. Not only is walking great for leg strength, it helps improve core muscle strength and aerobic fitness, as well.

Walking allows you to start slow and build each and every day until you have acheived real and lasting neck pain, back pain, and sciatica relief.

Walking, if only to the end of the driveway or to the end of the block and back is an excellent way to begin introducing activity back into a sedentary lifestyle. Often, when plagued by chronic pain, particularly spine-related neck, back or sciatic nerve pain, we cease all activity; and this is normal! We tend to avoid things that cause us pain. However, inactivity actually exacerbates pain. So, unbeknownst to us, we actually end up making the problem worse.

Walking helps to develop overall muscle tone, obviously improving leg muscle strength and tone but it also helps with core muscle strength. The core muscles, particularly the lower back, abdominal and oblique muscles, are central to the issue of back pain relief. The more we do to develop the core muscles, the more relief we achieve.

The muscles of the neck are also affected my a sedentary lifestyle, the many small muscles of the neck are equally responsive to activity and develop strength and tone quickly with increased activity.

Aerobic fitness has a spill-over effect, meaning the more fit you are, the more energy you have, the better your attitude becomes, the more you are able to do. The more you are able to do, the more neck pain, back pain, and sciatica relief you will be able to achieve through walking and other forms of physical activity. One activity builds upon the next until you have real and lasting neck pain, back pain, and sciatica relief.

Ultimately, it takes the first step. That’s it! Beginning with a decision, followed by the first step, and building one day upon the next until you are a new and different person.

I can tell you from experience, and you will see first hand when you watch the video for Day 8 of The 30 Day Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica Relief Challenge that taking the first step will lead to an amazing new future, one you can’t possibly comprehend at present but one that will lead you to real and lasting neck pain, back pain, and sciatica relief.

Check out additional articles on neck pain, back pain, and sciatica at my other blog!

John

John Zajaros, The Bad Back Guy
216-712-6526
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@ultimatebadbackstrategies.com
TheBadBackGuy@gmail.com

PS, Begin a new and exciting neck pain, back pain, and sciatica free life today! Just click this link for real and lasting pain relief!