Heist
No body else has suggested this which supprizes me -Swiming-
I damaged my back at 18. fusion was suggested I am now 49 ,swiming gives the body full support with out gravity sticking its nose in - swinming and general fitness has worked for me for all these years
Good luck
…sleeping in a good spring matress save my back… when I d purchase the matress, in the first morning I d wake up and feel no pain in the back…
I hear ya! My back bothers me too. I broke it in 3 places while racing Motocross in 1985. I also broke my Tibula, Fibula and wrist at the same time. Needless to say it caused some discomfort!
I had Harrington Rods hooked on and holding my spine ridgid then exactly 1 year later I got slammed at Jockos on a good sized day and popped them off my spine. In the emergency room the doctors decided to pull them out. Best damn thing they could of done!
I moved from Hawaii to CA just to race against the better guys and the coolest memory from this whole thing was all these doctors telling me I’d never surf or ride again. This was right after the initial crash in a CA hospital called Harbor General. Then this one young doctor who surfed came in and we talked about the reality of my situation. He told me I’d be surfing within 8 months and he was right! I cut my cast off and re-broke my leg at Pinballs but he was dead on!!! Surfing doctors are cool! It took me 2 years to finally heal because I couldn’t stop surfing and re-breaking my bones! Hahaha! I never said I was smart…
Hey doc!
Don’t want to ruin a good run of brown-nosing by disagreeing with you 
And this may be a whole different ballpark…
One of the reasons I got back into kung fu (fairly soft style) a number of years ago was serious knee and lower leg problems. Over the following 12 months these problems simply faded away as my body learnt it’s proper alignment and how to function without hyperextension and with minimal muscle use.
Prior to this I thought I was going to need shoe inserts to help reduce the pain. The podiatrists said the same.
But maybe the legs and knees are less serious than the back and spine.
-doug
cry babies !! i was nearly shot in half in Nam, vertically. From my a hole to my aorta and i don’t complain. oh ,my aching back !! where’s the wahhh mvbulance…
…was that before or after you lived in a shoebox ?
[here’s one for Kong’s beloved "soft cocks ! " ] …
Hi Doug,
I’m actually kinda in agreement with you. One thing I don’t cheap out on is good work boots and shoes in general. Good for the legs, good for the knees and ankles especially. Worked alongside a guy who was always wearing these ( big industry name) skateboarder shoes which were real stylish but worthless as shoes and he was always complaining about backaches, sciatica and so on while I was just working and the aches and pains I got were relatively minor.
'Course, he was and is a whiner anyhow. We started to refer to him as ‘Chardonnay’ : a basic white California whine. The standard phrase around him was “Could I have some cheese and crackers with that whine, please?”
In any event, yeah, if your shoes and such are second rate, you’ll be transferring shock loads and general bad news to ankles, knees, hips, back and so on. Which ain’t good. Likewise, learning how to move, lift and so on in ways that are kinder to your joints and back are the way to go if you have any long term plans for mobility. One of the things about tai chi and a number of others along those lines is you are thinking about the muscles and bones and what they do, which can lead to better ways of moving and using the body in general.
Coincidentally - http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/04/health/04brod.html from the New York Times today …
And on that note, I’m gonna go lift some heavy stuff… carefully…
doc…
When I got into surfing full on again a few months ago I was way over weight so that had a big strain on my back just having that belly. When I started paddling my back was really getting it. I saw an ad for this product and thought thats what I need!! Although I never tried it I was on the verge of getting it but I started to get in shape, lost the belly and didn’t need it yet. I’m gonna get one eventually for sure…
Go to http://www.paddleair.com/
Update… I just ordered it and should see it soon…
Kia Ora from Mud bay
I have the same condition as you psyondalolithesis(spelling)
I fell down a boat hatch and took a bad fall doing jujitsu and bang prolapsed disc fractured bone etc intense pain,numb in one leg and 3cm muscle loss.
They were lining me up for fusion surgery and then I talked to a couple of guys who had it and they reccommended not too if you possibly could help it.
I then did the rounds of every therapy going and none of it worked untill I found this lady in the city that does cranial osteopathy…its the most gentle thing out…At the time I thought there goes another 60 bucks,but 6 months later back surfing…
The other thing that also helped alot was swimming…
12 years later Im out surfing whenever theres surf …( riding a SABS balsa)
This condition is probably with you for life,I still have some pain and have a lockup once a year but the swimming really is great and keeps you fit for the west coast beatings…
Give me A ring if I can be of any help or if you want her number.
ANT 4117003
Hey Doc!
Yeah - I was always really, really careful with the shoes I bought and wore. But that only helped a little. And, of course, over the years the leg problems spread out. It all started in the knees and radiated out over years. In the end it was almost constant pain from the tips of my toes to just above my knees. With occasional, increasing pain in one hip and a lower back that was… sensitive to injury.
I think your comment about the right kind of kung fu making you think about your body is probably 50% of why it helps, along with a lot of practice. I believe that most of the remainder is dealt with by being taught how your body should move and fit togethor, so that you know what to think about (and apply this with a good deal of practice). Regardless of your shoes, if you are hyperextending your knee and spasming your leg muscles you will experience pain. Oh, did I mention that one of the better translations of “kung fu” is “hard work over time”, aka practice
The NYT article was interesting.
Anyway, just my 1/50th of $1.
-doug
CarveNalu,
I’m sure such a thing would be useful in a number of ways. But I think the general health, fitness and weight thing is probably more critical and will positively impact other areas of your life.
-doug
I have the same problem, comes up a couple times a year for the past few, same age as you too.
I wouldn’t get the fusion thing done you can never un fuse it. the truth is that it probably took a long time to screw up your back and it will take a long time to fix it. Western medical science and society is always focused on the quick fix, a pill, day surgery, couple sessions of chiro. it just doesn’t work. you need to build a strong core to have a strong back, you said you tried a lot of different things (pilates, yoga etc) but for how long? it will most likely take at least a year of daily exercise to correct a back problem like this and then you have to maintain it, 2 or 3 days a week for 20 mins just isn’t enough. I know because i’ve learned the hard way. good luck
shoelesspat,
I have come to believe that, as a good rule of thumb, to fix something with the body using the eastern/wholistic approaches takes as long as it took to cause the original condition, plus something like ten percent. More relief is evident in the earlier stages of, but then more pain was evident in the later stages of the condition 
Obviously I am not talking about sudden injury here
And I am not medically qualified (except for an expired first-aid certificate).
-doug
yo ant… and big thank you to everyone who posted…
bugger the surgery! looks like too many other good options.
i feel like a professor in backpainology now that im armed with all that info,
i hope everyone else is still in a good way, thanks again!!!
ps. ant, how rude is the surf now, after me bragging about how we had no winter!!! i bet muddy bay looks like the huge soupy mess that im staring at at south p-land right now…
got some bros your way… pilchard, sam j, jason scurry etc… its a small land here eh cuz, i might even know you!!
pray for that wind to go easterly again!!!
its quite hard to deal with the 4/5 problem and trust me, it can get a lot worse when you get older. the hips and the knees will make you suffer too as a consequence and when I got the big checkup in hospital, the doctors told me that it looks not good but that my upper back looks even worse…
so, after decades of ups and downs and trying everything there is, by accident I found something that helps me a lot. during a camping trip and after a few sleepless nights I went in desperation to a camp store and bought a cheap air mattress as it was the only thing they had to sleep on. the following night was very bad and things got even worse as the airmattress prooved to be just the wrong thing. but I had nothing else so I kept trying with more air and less air and when I woke up in the morning I felt quite good. I learned to blow up the mattress just the right amount (when I lay on my side, my hips just touch the ground) and I learned that the matress should be not much wider than 3’ and that the thicker mattress is the better one (8" plus).
when I lay on the mattress it feels very wobbly but it totally supports my whole body and the muscles get a chance to loosen up and things can move back in place where they should be.
as said, it works for me and it took me about three nights to learn how to sleep on it (yes, you will fall off in the beginning) but it saved me from the fusion. needless to say that I never went back to my expensive latex matress but I did spend some dollars in a 2" low memory foam top for my air matress.
Along the same line, we have had a waterbed for the last five years or so and it sure feels good.
hey the prayers worked forecast 4 days easterly
my body is hurting already…had 5 hour surf at rags thursday …took down a few of SABS new boards for some tests …they ride real well…
back to the mud bay and now offshore yeeeha…
yep ive known pilly and sam since they were knee high whitewash riders and now look at them …
micheal has got to be my favorite stylemaster from out here real powerful…
ka kite
CarveNalu,
I’m sure such a thing would be useful in a number of ways. But I think the general health, fitness and weight thing is probably more critical and will positively impact other areas of your life.
-doug
I agree. I just ordered the Paddle Air because my back still gets it even after I lost 40 lbs. I’m in the best shape I’ve been in 20 years but the Paddle Air could keep my back healthier longer… We’ll see…
Well, keep us posted and I hope it is just the trick. Anything that keeps us going for longer is a good thing.
-doug