I'm hoping for the best for you, Jingleman:

Not sure but I may be joining your "club" after seeing a specialist soon.

Gary, (our resident expert) is there any truth to the "Inversion Therapy" claims? I would have to take baby steps to prevent passing out in an upside-down suspension... but if it can decompress any of my lower spine it might get rid of the terrible pain I often feel in my right leg when I try to walk. (That is a condition which seems to come and go but seems to be intensifying lately.)

Dang, sounds like we are all falling apart. Exercise is not an option for me. Turning at the waist, bending, stooping are all painful. Had to give up golf and that alone nearly killed me.

----Dave

I have not had back surgery, but have had problems over the years. At one point I met a Chiropractor. Even though I had heard good and bad about them, I went to see him.
He adjusted my back and it was better. But then, he gave me a metal bar that fits between a door jam, and told me if I would hang from by my hands I would probably never need to see him again.
He was right. Every time I felt a twinge I would hand on that, or a tree branch or whatever for a few seconds, and it helped a lot. The doctor told me that it was just about the same as the inversion board.
I can't hang on anything now because my weight would probably pull my arms off.
I still grab on to something now and then and let it pull, but without totally lifting me off the ground,.
For those that aren't in real trouble yet, it might be worth doing. Can't hurt.

Dave, inversion therapy is very effective and used by a number of physical therapy centers in my part of the nation. It has the same effect as traction therapy, which was used for many years until inversion therapy came along. Essentially, this is for someone with disc compression and can be somewhat beneficial with disc herniation. The weight of your body pulls the vertebra apart, separating the spaces and relieving the pressure on the discs.

The effect is short term, lasting from a few hours to a few days. Unfortunately, I have one that is brand, spanking new here that I cannot use because when you are inverted, your gut pushes against your diaphragm, which makes breathing somewhat difficult. My lung volume is only 20 percent of normal at this stage of my pulmonary fibrosis, therefore, any decrease in my ability to breathe is brutal. I am giving my inversion table away, but only locally as the shipping cost is nearly $100.

All the best,

Gary

Best wishes for a full recovery!

Guys...thanks for all your thoughts and concern. As Gary stated, the aging process has caused bone spurs and arthritis along with stenosis. I had a great Chiropractor who provides his services without any out of pocket expense.

I’ve tried his electronic table decompression machine. Actually hurt me more than helped.
Unfortunately, the opioid epedemic has doctors afraid to prescribe much pain medication.
The only thing that seems help is 600 mg of ibuprofen.

The problem with that is I have a bad stomach. Gives me stomach ache, bruising and bleeding. Hopefully, the surgery will provide enough relief to get me to retirement.
Thanks again everyone. Getting old is not for the feint of heart!

jingleman

Dang, Gary:

Wish I lived closer to the "People's Republic" so I could hire a kid to drive my old Pickup Truck over and haul that thing away for you. Despite the pain, life is worth living, music is worth writing and recording and I'm so appreciative of all the great folks who "hang out" here and offer great advice, share "war stories" and explain stuff I'd never even find in the manual for my Arranger.

Jingleman... you are facing a situation I'm going to resist as long as humanly possible... but it sounds like one of the few good options for you. My prayers and hopes are with you.

----Dave

Thanks Dave. You guys are a great resource and support network!

jingleman

WOW ... is this because we are all getting old(er) or because we are KB players?!?

I've suffered with Spinal Stenosis and Spondylolisthesis (L4 - L5) off and on (lately more ON than OFF ) for a number of years ... PT and exercise have helped - if only I would be diligent enough to do it ...

Tony: The funny thing is (not funny ha..ha) my back isn’t where the pain is. It’s my legs. I get home from work and can barely walk. The sciatica is terrible. Shooting pains down the back of both legs is killing me.

jingleman

jingleman ... No surprise about the pain in your legs ... shifting discs can put pressure on the nerves shooting that pain down your legs ...