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.