Back pain: suggets a Chiropractor/ doctor.

[Russ Jerome]

My back has been hurting so bad for 5 days I finaly went to a "walk in" clinic fri, took exrays and sent me off with pain pills that are not doing anything. All he told me was my back is'nt broken in half, I in fact do not have a sharp knife sticking out of my spine....rememberd why I never go to doctors offices unless a bone is sticking out of me.

Im looking for a real chiroprator who you trust, im in Stallis but will travel anywhere to try and figure out cause of pain.

[03CVLX]

My whole family goes to see Dr. Jack Masche. They are located on 110th and Edgerton. Rates seem decent to me, and he has helped me many times. I highly recommend him.

414-529-5370

[OxmanWI]

Wow that's so funny, I had just messed up my back on tuesday and went to the local clinic to get muscle relaxers. I was thinking the same thing for the past couple days, I've never been to a chiropractor, so I'm wondering what they can do for me.

[95 TA - The Beast]

Price Chiropractic on Hwy 100 & Cleveland. 414-763-4673

Dr. Ken Price is a great doctor, very thorough, definitely knows how to deal with pain. I first went to Zastrow Chiropractic on 76th and they lied about taking my insurance (I had to pay out of pocket after the fact) and after 3 visits my back still hurt like hell. I ended up going to Price Chiropractic and I was fixed up within a couple of visits. Night and day difference between the two, as at Zastrow the attitude was about making money (idiot there quoted me 12+ visits to deal with my back pain and tried to get me to buy all of them upfront for a discount), where-as Price was definitely more concerned with getting me healthy quickly.

His wife Becky also gives one hell of a great massage (and she is a licensed massage therapist not only in Wisconsin, but also a number of others states as well as nationally). Just don't blame me if you are damn near passed out and drooing after an hour+ massage once your back is feeling better. ;)

[spooln30]

Well I will give you some advice. I have four Herniated discs and a pinched Sciatica L4&L5 also T6&T7 I was told by two back specialists that going to a chIropractor in cases like mine is a very bad idea. If I were you I would see a specialists if your pain gets worse or doesn't get better soon. You may have other issues and getting your back "adjusted" could be bad.
The only way to see what's really going on with ones back is a MRI. I've had four done. Really would've sucked if I had to pay for them. Cuz they were between $1200-$2000. My last MRI I had to get I thought I was going to pay for so I went to Smart Choice on Miller Parkway. They charge a flat rate for all MRI's for $600. With the results of my final MRI Work Comp covered that one as well. Good luck man.

[Russ Jerome]

Apreciate all the inf, please keep it coming. Reading all I can online issues are often misdiagnosed. Its pretty scarry when pain meds suggested by freinds work great next to what the doctor perscribed.

The pain is so sharp and repeatable during certain movements I think a good doctor will have some ideas right away, the doctor I saw said "yes you have some serious issue"....no way sherlock!

[Yooformula]

another vote for Masche Chirpractors! 3rd generation chiropractors and they too have a very good pt setup in their office as well as massage. my entire family has been going there for almost 10 years.

[03CVLX]

Well, I know that the initial appt with my doctor consists of back xrays and I think they also do a scan of the vertebrae to see how far out of line it is from normal. I remember back in 2004 when I was in a car crash they did the scan on me and it was shocking to see the percentage numbers on how out of line my back was. Some ridiculous number like one part of my back was twisted 3800% and it shows a bar graph thats red and green to the right or left depending on which way its twisted. But after a few adjustments my pain was almost completely gone and they rescanned my back and my back was almost in perfect line.

I think my Doc charges around $209 for the inital xrays etc. then its around $30 per visit for an adjustment.

Like the other place they do have a massage therapist onsite also. Not sure on the rates for that offhand.

[spooln30]

Curious. What did the Doctor prescribe for pain and what did your friends suggest for you? I've been through many different prescriptions. Most of them don't do anything. A couple didn't totally take away my pain, just lessened it. I am now on my second epidural injection with the third next week. So far they only have made my L4&5 less painful. Not by much. As far as my T6&7 I haven't noticed much of anything. I really hate to say this but for me it may boil down to back surgery. Which I don't even want to think of getting. I just turned 30 in Oct. If it does come down to that, I think I'll have to change my career.

[Slow5oh]

my back has been screwed since nov 11th. going to a dr monday. Most my family goes to haack or something like that.

[Russ Jerome]

Nucynta 50mg (lowest dose) was perscribed, it's described as a heavy duty pain med but a coworkers simple pecoset stops the pain quickly. The Nucynta (Tapentadol ) just makes me tired, laying around thinking about how bad it hurts. Simple old Percoset actual numbs the pain without changing my mental state. I've taken Vicoden in past for my shoulder and elbow pains, think they would actualy be better than this Tapedol.

[spooln30]

^ Slow5oh I hope for you it's nothing serious. Cuz I def know how a back injury can really f up ones life. Good luck to you man.
OP. I get perscribed oxycodone 10/325. They don't work as good as when I first started using them. My body just got use to them. I wanted to try the epidual injections before they up the dose on my oxycodone. Last thing I want it to get hooked on pain meds.

[DRK]

I get perscribed oxycodone 10/325. They don't work as good as when I first started using them. My body just got use to them.


Last thing I want it to get hooked on pain meds.

too late, see above.

I speak from experience.

[Slow5oh]

^ Slow5oh I hope for you it's nothing serious. Cuz I def know how a back injury can really f up ones life. Good luck to you man.


Happened at work so I guess I'll find out. Thanks for the luck, work has been HELL

[spooln30]

Did you tell your job when and how it happened. Also did you file a work comp claim. I've been so lucky with my claim. The insurance company hasn't denied anything. They have covered EVERYTHING so far. I was told even by my back doctor that most people have to fight back injuries with a work comp case. The only people who have no issues are the ones that have had a serious accident at work. In my case I got my injuries just from the type of work I do. Being a auto mech does put tons of stress on a persons body.

[Slow5oh]

I told my supervisor. doing the paper work tomorrow. Didn't know if it would be an injury or just sore muscles. But it's only gotten worse. Only thing that sucks is it docks me points on my Eval.

[Prince Valiant]

How did you hurt it?

Back pain is certainly one of the more difficult medical conditions to work with...and for the most part, all forms of therapy, be it seeing your doctor, seeing an ortho, seeing a chiro, or PT all result in similar outcomes....why? Most back pain tends to spontaneously resolve. Not all, mind you...but most.

Most times pain meds/anti-inflammatories do a good job of getting people through the acute pain while their back recovers. However, if the pain doesn't seem to be resolving, sometimes more involved intervention is needed...including obtaining a more accurate diagnosis of the pain...and THAT's the hard part.

At a walk-in clinic, you generally see a general practicioner, or perhaps an internal med specialist...which is to say that while they are doctors, backs are NOT their specialty. But as stated before, by ruling out via x-ray some more distressing causes of low-back pain, giving meds to get them through the acute phase to spontaneous recovery usually is acceptable. The common Dx is usually back pain, or back strain, etc...and some 85% of people reporting LBP report little/no pain within 1 month, regardless of the treatment they received (whether it was chiro, pain meds, no meds, or whatever).

IF the LBP isn't resolving, then I recommend seeing a back specialist to get a more accurate Dx....oftentimes from there, it might be a recommendation for therapy, or even recommendations of spinal manipulation depending on the specialist.

One advantage of seeing such a specialist, especially as it pertains to other conservative approaches to treatment, is that they will know and work with some of the better therapist, or know some of whom they consider better chiro's around. As with doctors, not all PT's nor Chiro's are created equal...there are some excellent PT's I know of out there, as well, there are some weird chiro's I wouldn't want in the same room as me.

Very few people with LBP need surgery...and usually after all means of conservative treatment has been exhausted is surgery recommended. In those cases, it makes sense to see the best back guys...not only in terms of skill, but making sure they've got the true cause of your pain pinpointed. Many things that may look "abnormal" on an MRI might not be the actual cause of your pain; ie, you might see disc herniation or degeneration on the MRI, but lots of people without low back pain will have either on MRI's...probably as many as 20%. It wouldn't do you much good to go in and get a surgery for something that wasn't a problem.

My favorite guy in the local area is Clay Frank...he's an excellent back guy/surgeon. Very good diagnostician, which is what someone needs in cases of un-resolving/frequently recurring back pain. If he thinks therapy is best, he'll recommend it; if he thinks manipulation will do better, he'll recommend appropriate chiro's. If you need surgery, you're in no better hands.

If you want to just go to a chiro, myself personally would just make sure of a couple things:
1) That the chiro doesn't do anything like "applied kinesiology," contact reflex analysis, or cranial/sacral threapy. Likewise, that they don't want to do things like hair analysis, or sell you nutrition/vitamin packets, etc.
2) That the chiro isn't a cure-all for everything. Does s/he claim to treat bed-wetting and autism among other things? Might not be the best place to be. Ones that limit themselves to musculoskeletal issues are imo, the better chiro's.
3) And find a chiro who has a plan...that s/he will do this, we expect improvement by then, and if none, that you'll terminate tx, or continue for no longer than a specified period...so none of the "we want to see you 3x wk for 6 months" or something...nor one that has you come in for an intense period like 3x/wk for 1 month, followed by 1 every-other week for a year/life.

[SSDude]

I told my supervisor. doing the paper work tomorrow. Didn't know if it would be an injury or just sore muscles. But it's only gotten worse. Only thing that sucks is it docks me points on my Eval.

Your injury will most certainly qualify for FMLA and according to FMLA regulations you can't be penalized/docked points as you suggested.
Time to do some reading.
http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/benefits-leave/fmla.htm
Read it all. Most people don't give a crap about it until they need it! It's the law.

[spooln30]

Prince. This Clay Frank he's at St Lukes right? Cuz I first saw his partner Dr Hollowell. Had that ASSHOLE tell me I had a TUMOR on my spine. All from one MRI and without contrast. Now with my mom being a RN she call my aunt who is on the board of directors for St Lukes. First my aunt had never heard of Dr Frank and Dr Hollowell. Then she did some digging and found out all sorts of really bad things about those two "Doctors". So I then went to Dr Ahuja and I really like him and his staff. Funny thing is when Dr Ahuja asked about my visits with Dr Hollowell and I told him about the tumor issue he got very mad and filed a complaint. He also filled me in on those two Dr's. Stay away from Dr Frank and Hollowell. Funny thing is my Dr I see now took a look at the very same MRI that had the supposed tumor and said there's nothing that even smells tumor. It did turn out I have a cyst. on my spine not a tumor. But when Dr Hollowell told me that of a tumor I was so freaked out and super worried. Dr's should never tell someone or say the word "Tumor" with only one test. I was so pissed from that and all the things I heard after about their office.

[JC70SS]

Hey spoolin can I talk to your Aunt and tell her what I think of St. Lukes Caridiac center....I would love to give her a piece of my mind!

[Prince Valiant]

Now with my mom being a RN she call my aunt who is on the board of directors for St Lukes. First my aunt had never heard of Dr Frank and Dr Hollowell. Then she did some digging and found out all sorts of really bad things about those two "Doctors".I can't speak for Dr. Hollowell; I do not know him or have had any professional experiences w/ him. Keep in mind though that though one may be in practice w/ another, this doesn't make their approach to medicine or their skills similar. Frank is used as the Spine guy for the Bucks, Hollowell is not.

I don't know what to think of your Aunt's information or lack thereof on Clay Frank. First, it'd strike me as weird if she investigated someone who was not your doctor. It would also be interesting to know what sort of "really bad things" as there are no malpratice claims against nor any disciplinary actions taken against Frank. Ever.


It did turn out I have a cyst. on my spine not a tumor.Medically speaking, a cyst (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox-a&hs=BlH&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&defl=en&q=define:cyst&sa=X&ei=srb7TJOmGIK8lQeo8OyfBQ&ved=0CBcQkAE) is a tumor (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox-a&hs=oGc&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&defl=en&q=define:tumor&sa=X&ei=WrT7TNGnB4aglAeHwLGRBQ&ved=0CBsQkAE). Hollowell's dx appears correct.


But when Dr Hollowell told me that of a tumor I was so freaked out and super worried. Dr's should never tell someone or say the word "Tumor" with only one test. I was so pissed from that and all the things I heard after about their office.Well, perhaps you were so "freaked out and super worried" that you didn't hear him say tumor doesn't mean "cancer"? Or maybe he didn't, I don't know...

...but I do know that if Ahuja really did say he was filing a complaint, that's bizarre. It doesn't appear that anyone performed egregious care, nor any negligence occurred. If Hollowell was guilty of anything, it was simply poor communication based on the one-sided information I have presented to me. Don't get me wrong, poor communication is plenty of reason to dislike and change doctors...for another doctor to file a complaint for getting a correct dx? I doubt.

Whatever the case, it appears you have a Doctor you know, like, and can trust. That's great. Stick w/ him and good luck w/ your back pain.

[Prince Valiant]

Dr's should never tell someone or say the word "Tumor" with only one test. For the record, I've told plenty of people they have tumors with only clinical examination and in just one glance, and I'm not a doctor. Yes, I explain that the word doesn't mean cancer and most often these are simply "fatty turmors," cyst, or ganglions that while annoying, are generally harmless.

[Russ Jerome]

How did you hurt it?



I associated it with age and profession, this has been an ongoing thing as the years go on with more frequencey and only now has it gone from one day to a full week.

Mine always flair up after long periods of inactivety (sleeping), otherwise known as early back pain. Athletic or people who move a lot during day dont get oxygen flow to all their muscles after laying still for hours. Simple arthritis(s) is another symtom of morning pain.

Now with the pain being so sharp and lasting so long Im guessing its something far worse than I originaly thought, nerve or disc problem. Feels like a sharp/ hot knife stuck in quickly and pulled out, no amount of hitting or pushing on my baclk hurts, pain is deeper. Laying here on couch I feel great, getting up for the first time and will know if its better or worse, never hurts laying down.

[spooln30]

Listen, all I ever wanted was help with my back issues. As far as what I heard I can't say, there are things in motion and it's deeper than you may think. I guess everyone has different experiences doctors.

[Nix]

Do whatever the Dr. tells you to do. Always get a second,third,fourth opnion. Having back issues is no joke and if not taken care of promptley and carefully then these issues could haunt you for the rest of your life.

I had a spinal fusion in 2003 and obviously my back has never been the same. Atleast I dont need a cane to walk anymore. Its been 7 long years and I still have daily pain. Sadly I have degenerative disk disease and my spin and joints have mild arhritus and Im only 30. I dont want to know how I will feel when Im 50.

I never considered a chiropractor because they "adjust" your back and you typically have to see them on a regular basis. Ive heard too many horror stories.

Pain meds will creep up on you and you can get addicted even before you realize it. Some of thos pain meds work so good and get you hooked that all of a sudden you think you are in pain but it literally is all in your head. I'd say ask my brother but he is in prison becuase of just this.

I wish you the best of luck and keep your head up. If a dr rubs you the wrong way then move on to another one. Some just want a quick but to cut you open and others want to adjust your back to keep you coming in to make their paycheck bigger and others just prescribe meds when they shouldnt be.

[Irish]

Dr Donaparthy (sp?) get yourself a couple of cortisone epiderals (sp?) Worked for me.

[kirks5oh]

back pain that radiates down the leg, and/or lasts for more than 3-4 days despite muscle relaxors, or alleve/ibuprofen/low grade narcotic pain meds should be treated by a doctor, not a chiropracter. its a bit of a drive, but we have an office in sheboygan right by st. nick's hospital----lakeshore orthopedics. 920-320-5241. my partner, dr. jacoby is a fellowship trained spine surgeon. each doc in our group is fellowship trained in a specific field of orthopedic surgery--you won't find another group short of madison that has the same.

[Ricky Bobby]

Dr Donaparthy (sp?) get yourself a couple of cortisone epiderals (sp?) Worked for me.had 3 of these back in 2000 get some muscle soreness once and awhile but no more pain and i still crash cars for a hobby :goof

[spooln30]

^ I've had two already and haven't noticed a difference. So they don't work for everybody. The big thing about the shots is you get hunger cravings like you would if you smoke pot. I knew something was up cuz I am always hungry and my friend told me about it so I looked it up. Weird. I have one more injection next week and I really hope I get some relif from the pain. My pain is everyday all day and get so bad when I'm at work or working on my car at home. I wish this injury on no one.

[Ricky Bobby]

yea i know its not for everyone, i didnt have full relief for almost 2wks after the 3rd shot along with PT

[spooln30]

Cool thx for the Info. At least I know there's still a chance for me to get rid of some of my pain.

[spooln30]

Did you notice the hunger thing?

[Irish]

yea i know its not for everyone, i didnt have full relief for almost 2wks after the 3rd shot along with PT

It took one year after my first shot (had 3 total) to be completely pain free.

[Prince Valiant]

So they don't work for everybody. The big thing about the shots is you get hunger cravings like you would if you smoke pot.
Whelp, this is news to me :confused

[Russ Jerome]

As usualy my back is coming around, monday is my day off and I wont be able to explain to the doctor how I feel. Finaly commit to seeing a real doctor and I'm gonna be healed, should be happy I guess!

Now all I need is a doctor who will perscribe perc's for the bad days when I cant even get out of bed to go see a doctor :(

[Prince Valiant]

As usualy my back is coming around, monday is my day off and I wont be able to explain to the doctor how I feel. Finaly commit to seeing a real doctor and I'm gonna be healed, should be happy I guess!

Now all I need is a doctor who will perscribe perc's for the bad days when I cant even get out of bed to go see a doctor :(Well, that might not be reason to not be seen or to not seek treatment...make an appt, go in get it checked out, describe what goes on as best you can, how long it last, etc...you still might benefit from a good dx, possible treatment plans presented to you, etc.

but glad you're feeling better, bud!

[Russ Jerome]

I know your right, I always think about it like myself being a mechanic, if its not acting up I cant fix it correctly by verifying the complaint.

[-stew-]

My doctor told me I need a backiottamee!!!

[Ricky Bobby]

Did you notice the hunger thing?

no nothing that i noticed where i was eating twice as much or weird cravings took a yr off from demos kept up with PT and next yr went back and been good since