Back pain and dry needling

[BrandonK]

I'm 32. I moved to N.C. for this job back in July 2013. This job consists of lots of driving and lots of flying. And of course I took up kayak fishing. So LOTS of sitting, in general. About 2.5-3 years ago I started having lower back pain. It got worse over several months and turned into a constant ache that I couldn't shake. Standing, I'm ok. Sitting, im ok. But anything in between, like the transition between sitting and standing or vice versa, very painful. I went to my doctor, chiropractor, physical therapy, personal training, and ortho specialist. No one had an answer for me or was able to give any relief that lasted more than a couple hours.

It's been about 6 months since I've tried anything and thought I was out of options. I decided to go back to my doctor for suggestions as I thought it may be an inflammatory back muscle issue. Nothing odd shows on xrays as far as bone structure.

My doctor recommended a physical therapist next door to them to try something called dry needling. I went in on Thursday morning and did some talking and some stretching, etc. I went back on Friday morning and after a few minutes more of talking she mentioned I would be a good candidate for dry needling. I had done some research on it so I said ok let's go for it. Didn't take long at all. It's basically taking an acupuncture needle but going all the way into these deep muscles that can't be reached any other way. I could feel the muscles grab the needle and release. I can't describe the feeling. Not painful but uncomfortable for sure. This was done to 6 of my multifidus muscles, tiny muscles on the vertebrae. Then she stuck 4 in, in a square pattern, and ran electrical current through them for 20 seconds. My face went flush, I had cold sweats, and was nauseous. I had some water and laid down with ice packs for a minute and was fine.

However, since Saturday morning this is the least back pain I've had in 3 years. All these avenues pursued and it came down to some frozen up trigger points in my multifidus muscles. I'm still stiff and have pain, but it's from other parts of my back that likely also need to be stretched or released. Amazing what a tiny needle and 30 minutes can do in the right hands

I'm going back twice this week to see if I can make further progress

[Lipripper]

Good for you Brandon and glad this procedure is helping your with them pains. 

[Donald Garner]

Brandon, glad to hear the acupuncture treatment helped with your pain.

I've gone through acupuncture treatments myself for lower back pain.  My doctor while treating my lower back also told me that neck pain can cause lower back pain also.  I had 14 appointment schedule for 1 day a week.  Each session lasted 30 minutes.  I had 14 needles across my lower back and 6 around the base of my neck. 

I haven't had the lower back pain since then.  I'm a big believer of acupuncture treatments after this.
Good luck with the rest of your treatments.

[WTodd]

The VA just referred me for acupuncture; haven't done it yet, hopefully it will help


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[Bassinkorea]

I go in for accupuncture everytime my sciatica plays up. It works great for me.

Here's a thread I started related to it.

[Deadeye]

Acupuncture is the one thing I haven't tried yet.
My youngest is in the Veterinary Field and was trained tp do it on animals, says it works wonders on them. She also goes to see a lady that does it on her. She swears but that and massage.

One thing my Pain Dr does for me is what they call Muscle Point Injections. Hits specific muscles with something and it really works when my muscle pain gets real bad.

[SteelHorseCowboy]

The VA just referred me for acupuncture; haven't done it yet, hopefully it will help


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Really!? I just decided I'm gonna have to rely on the VA for healthcare, something I swore I'd never do again after my experiences at the Memphis VA. But health insurance is just too damn high.
Guess I'll end up asking them about it when I get around to it.

[Lipripper]

Really!? I just decided I'm gonna have to rely on the VA for healthcare, something I swore I'd never do again after my experiences at the Memphis VA. But health insurance is just too damn high.
Guess I'll end up asking them about it when I get around to it.

I still have never registered with the VA cause of all the hassle and bad things I've heard about the VA around here in Illinois.

[Donald Garner]

Guys, I'm going to knock on wood here.  All of my medical services I've had since I've retired have been with the VA here in Central Texas.  I've had outstanding service from very department I've had dealings with.   

Any way it was my VA doctor that had ordered my acupuncture treatments.  She connected me to a doctor in Killeen that preformed the services.   Like I mentioned in an earlier posting I'm a big believer in this type of treatment.

WT, SHC I hope the service y 'all get from the VA is as good as mine's been.

[SteelHorseCowboy]

Jackson MS and Memphis TN VA hospitals.

Had a hernia repair done in Jackson, then moved to N. MS and the Memphis one was closer. About six months or so after the surgery, it was obvious that it wasn't healing right for some reason. Took a total of almost 2 years to get someone with the VA to look at it. Discovered the self dissolving stitches in my abdominal wall weren't self dissolving, a mistake made by the surgeon in Jackson. Who also started performing the surgery before the anasthesiologist even started doping me. Was told to make an appointment to get them removed.

Over the course of the next two years, appointments were changed and/or canceled with no notice given. At one point I even called the hospital before I left the house to make the 45 minute drive to the Memphis hospital, only to find out upon my arrival that my appointment had been canceled while I was en route.

They had the audacity to chastise me for not knowing.

Meanwhile, I was dealing with a festering wound in my navel that would randomly rupture, bleed, and release puss. I'd gotten accustomed to just putting on a bandage any time I went out and about.

Finally got to see a doctor. Very old man, ancient. He made me lay down and he cut the wound open with a pair of scissors. No anasthetic. Examines it, cleans it out, and tells me he's going to get something.

An hour later he came back from his lunch break, handed me a damn band aid and shooed me out the door so he could make his next appointment.

That was enough for me. I was dead broke, my ex wife wouldn't let me go to another doctor because we couldn't afford any medical bills (one of many reasons she's an ex) and I was extremely pissed off. So I got smashed one night, cut myself open with a straight razor and rooted around in there until I found those stitches and pulled them out. They looked about like 60# Power Pro Super Slick fishing line.

I swore I'd never go back to the VA. But these days I have other health concerns, can't afford health insurance, and the VA has allegedly gotten a LOT better about how they treat people. Back when I was having my problems with them was in their heyday of mismanaging patients to the extent that vets were committing suicide at some hospitals, including a friend of mine.
I'm willing to give them another chance I reckon. Not like I have a whole hell of a lot of choices.

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[BrandonK]

Holy cow. Sounds like I have it pretty good and should quit my b*#chin