Comradeship // Freechat

Lidocane patches or gel are always good,

Muscle spasms a tense unit could maybe help with

I am not a person who has delt with that kind of issue but I know some basic stuff

You can get strong lidocane patches and some other meds, if you could get it it is possible to buy numbing meds that can be injected into the affected area for stronger temporary relief but I dont know your comfort level with diy-ing light medical procedures

In nc either Baptist or preferably atrium would be where to take them but idk anything about Virginia hospitals

I'm sorry to hear about your brother's pain. I have a herniated disk in my neck that is from an injury I got in my 30s. If it's the disk, he might end up needing an MRI as well. Sometimes they want physical therapy tried before doing an MRI. To me the herniated disk feels different from something like muscle pain because it has like electrical pulses, it's very distinct feeling.

My treatment started out with prednisone, then about 8 years ago I was able to get physical therapy. Since then, any time I have a flare up, I consume large amounts of cherries, fresh or frozen are best, like 1-2 cups a day. Sweet cherries work as a natural COX-2 inhibitor similar to ibuprofen. This is why cherries are used to treat gout and arthritis. I generally feel relief at day 2 but I eat them for a full 10 days just like I would with prednisone. I do not know of any negative side effects, it's something he could try while waiting for the Dr.

It might be a pulled muscle instead of a herniated disk. With a herniated disk ice can help reduce inflammation, but for muscle spasms heat is often more relieving and ice can actually trigger a spasm. Hot baths with epsom salt can help relieve muscle pain. Aspercreme has an OTC lidocaine cream that can help muscle pain as well

I hope your brother feels better soon!

Ouch. He could try some light spine decompression moves to ease the spasms.

There are simple ones on YouTube he can do in bed.

Inova is the best hospital system in the area. Try to stay away from Novant, so many horror stories coming out of that place. Prince William Hospital also isn't good.

They might give him a muscle relaxer to ease the pain and run some scans to see what the problem could be.

My mother is going through something similar right now, multiple spinal injections and still no relief

I also injured my back very young doing Italian tile installation, and suffer that and related consequences. Hot packs, Voltaren Gel, Lidocain patches help. I took cox inhibitor drugs as well as Diclofenac for decades, but no longer do (when the cure is as bad as the ailment, right). Now I very seldom will take one 325 mg aspirin or one 500 mg acetaminophen, but if I can get my hands on it, devil's claw or white willow bark tea is ace (but tastes like dung). These are natural sources of salicylic acid and should not be taken on an empty stomach or if aspirin is contraindicated. Slippery Elm bark tea may offer some relief, again, check for contraindications.

I had back problems since I was a teen. Worked construction in my 20s and hurt my back moving concrete slabs one day. It fucked me up for life, tbh. Sometimes I nearly collapse just from walking. Worst pain I've ever known. Lots of people here have chronic work injuries; many are far, far worse off. Doesn't seem there's much I can do beyond stretching, so I accept that I will just live with it.

I herniated my disc from deadlifting but it never got so bad that I had to scream. In the end I never fully recovered from it but stretching exercises help a ton in retaining lower back mobility. Did something happen to your brother which let to this herniated disc?

I also messed up my back quite young. It was in my early twenties. It sucks.

The priority should be getting checked out. It’s likely at some point he’ll be doing physical therapy. The exercises by Williams and the ones by McKenzie have helped me greatly. Much later I started doing calisthenics, including Gold Medal Bodies.

As for you, there are some things that help people in general, levers that improve wellbeing. One of them is mindfulness. There are many ways of practicing it. You can do it with the Healthy Minds app.

Another one is defusion exercises. They can help with your triggers. You can find the exercises online. I tend to like ones from Steven C. Hayes.

There’s also acceptance exercises you could do, which can help with coming to terms with the current reality while being aware of who you want to be. I suggest the same source (Hayes).

Finally, you can do values exercises to know what you want out of this tough situation. Values clarification can make people more resilient.

As I always say, Hayes is not the only option. It’s just the one I like.

I wish the best for you. Let me know if you have questions :)