[loveyouhun]

I was in a car accident in '07. I have plates and screws in my right ankle and wrist. I was going to Physical Therapy. It's help but then I would start hurting again. I'm thinking of going to a chiropractor or go to pain management Dr. I went to a chiropractor once years ago and he did good job with my back.
The Physical Therapy Dr. said my hip, pelvic and back was off a little. That why I went to PT. Now I'm finding it hard to do things without my back and ankle hurting me. I don't know what to do? Any feedback is welcome.

[Skeezyks]

Hello loveyouhun: I'm sorry you are hurting. I don't have any useful suggestions I can offer. I just wanted to let you know I read your post & I wish you the best with your efforts to heal...

[Nammu]

I'd start off with the chiropractor first before pain management. I know it's still considered alternative but I benefited a lot from ancupunture. I say this because there is such strong opposition to pain meds right now and if you can show you've tried all the alternatives you'd get treated better by the medical establishment.

I tried everything before seeking meds and I was treated quite well by my doctors but I've heard horror stories from others seeking pain relief. Just my opinion

[Misterpain]

Nammu trying everything you possibly can before resorting to meds is a great idea, I completely agree however people with pain should not go to a chiropractic care setting without first having a complete set of x-rays to be sure that nothing is seriously out of whack.

And the OP is definitely out of whack if they have plates and screws, there "new normal" is accepting that normal for them has changed due to trauma.

Ultimately pain is your bodies way of saying hey look over here something is wrong! of course if you smash your thumb with a hammer it does not take Captain Obvious to know just what the problem is in the case of chronic pain the cause and answer is not always that simple.

I had a car accident many years ago with no major damage and years later I woke up unable to turn my head , so a friend said my chiropractor is awesome I'll take you to her , so I went and yep she hooked me right up got me functioning again and I liked it and stayed with it for about 6 years until.

I was forced to retire and relocated 15 years later I began having having bizarre episodes of pain & paralysis that would come and go in all different parts of the body which naturally concerned me and caused me to go to the Doctors, now this is not the cause of my now chronic pain or of the paralysis however after some X-rays and a couple good spins around the MRI they did tell me a scary thing they noticed which was my c5- c6 were bulging on my central cord and i am 1 bad fall or traffic accident away from Tetrapilegia and I am also therefore a minor chiropractic misalignment away from it also, and believe me they happen sometimes ( my own chiropractor years ago adjusted me and then said you can get, up and I couldn't because I was slightly misaligned and unable to move, she corrected it and everything was just fine ) and like I say none of this has anything to do with my chronic pain or being in a wheelchair now.

But people need to know the state of there body before chiropractic care so that they do not make what could be an irreversible error in an effort to do something good for their body, some might think it over caution but there are "walking" time bombs out there, and a one in million accident is still preventable.

So know your body and what your "normal" is before hand.

Ultimately if you do end up with medication as your only interventionable action, remember there is a pain pyramid just like the food pyramid and start at the bottom and work up to where you need to be.

Any Doctor who proposes you start with an opiod agent is not your friend or anyone you want to employ ( thankfully the bad ones are being weeded out) as with most things take it cautiously, if you wanted to take up running you would not buy new sneakers and go run the New York City Marathon, you would start by breaking in those sneakers and then running around the block a few times and easing into it, before you started running miles and so forth.

Medication is the same idea, you need to take only as much as you need to manage your pain, too much too quickly or too often is dangerous, and so is the idea many people have of zero pain, medicating all your pain away is wrong and potentially toxic if not straight out lethal ,pain is natural and one of your bodies defenses to keep you healthy.

Managing your pain is not medicating it into oblivion, it's taking what's prescribed when it's prescribed to get your pain to a tolerable level that you can cope with and not be overwhelmed, and at the same time working on your coping and life skills to develope even more effective strategies to help you go forward with your life.

Remembering that your pain does not stop and start your life it coexist's within all that is good about you and your life, will keep you healthy and safe.

Healthy, Wealthy and Wise is a good thing to strive for, but may not come all together or at all, I was never a Boy scout but they certainly where right about "be prepared", life is a series of Journeys, your doing something wrong or plain illegal if it is merely a Trip.

No I don't charge, advice is free, opinions are probably just that and wrong, and wisdom is acquired not taught or beat into any of us with a shoe.

This is just the ramblings of an insomniac and experienced pain patient, and in this current climate being an experienced pain patient are dirty words.

Dirty words used to be swearing in public or in front of women , now its accepted most places like Visa, and the women doing it are posting it on the internet. Things sure do change.

I take everything seriously, but try to talk humorously and with honesty so as to not alarm or overwhelm people.

Peace

Sent from my SM-T810 using Tapatalk

[Nammu]

Maybe I just lucked out? The chiropractor I went to had me get mires and X-rays before they ever touched me.

[PandorasAquarium]

Any reputable chiropractor will only adjust you with an X-ray. If they don't insist on x-rays, run and don't look back. I've gotten tremendous relief from chiropractic care. It doesn't fix everything, but reduces my back, leg, and shoulder pain, as well as migraines. So definitely a winner in my book.

Chiropractic in conjunction with massage, stretching and low-impact exercise are a great combination.

I don't have plates and screws, so not sure how to alleviate pain around that ... I do have arthritis and sacroiliac joint dysfunction which impacts most of my joints including spine, lower back, hips, etc ... Thankfully my PCP is quite open minded and all about least invasive to most invasive, so here's what I find helpful right now ... Hot soaks and warm compresses ... Eliminating most non-essential sugars and carbs from the diet ... A dose of Nyquil here, yonder and there to help with sleep (no more than 3 nights a week, though - gotta preserve the liver and kidneys) ... I'll also distract myself by taking a slow, relaxing stroll through the local botanical garden at least once a week, and I also use board and card games as a distraction ... Massage, Accupuncture and Chiropractic are next on my list ... I'm hoping to make it to retirement and then I'll look at medical marijuana before progressing on up to narcotics and/or surgery.

Being in constant and chronic physical pain does suck, and for those of us with mental health issues, it's kind of a double suck because I do believe one feeds off the other and leads to deeper depression than what we may already be struggling with in the first place.

At any rate, I hope you find at least one or two things in there helpful ... I especially love the hot soaks!

Sincerely,
Pfrog!

[ccrown25]

I am in pain management now for arthritis and two bulging discs. I take a biologic called Humira to keep my arthritis symptoms at bay and the doc has me on light pain meds for my disc pain. I benefited greatly through chiropractic therapy however, my insurance now does not have a chiropractic benefit and surgery at this time is not an option I am willing to do.

You might want to check into a Hand and/or Foot specialist first to see if there is anything he/she may be able to do. If you do decide to go to a pain management clinic, be sure you do all your homework so they see that you have made every attempt to fix the problem so they dont think youre just trying to get meds. Fortunately I had written documentation from my Rheumatologist and two different spine specialists before I went in so there was no question. Im not saying you shouldnt check out pain management... they do other things than just prescribe pain meds. They can give you steroid injections to help with the inflammation and pain.

[JustinDean]

Sorry for your back pain, there could be a lot of curative measures may it be natural remedies so wish you all the best. Get well soon.