Back Pain | Sciatica | Bulging Disc

As the weather warms up most of us are pulling out our flip-flops and sandals. A bad pair of flat flip-flops can lead to back pain symptoms and can throw your whole balance off. Sandals and flip-flops offer little protection.

It’s gardening season! Is your back pain stopping you from gardening? In this clip Dr. Jeff sits down with Jeanne Sparrow and Melissa Forman to discuss what you can do to avoid back pain while gardening this summer. 

At the Illinois Back Institute we start off your visit with a free consultation. Then after that it is important that you have some imaging tests. Once we get your MRI we are able to pin point the problem area. From there we find out the answer to four important questions. 

Elyse Mills-Fletcher was suffering from constant back pain and multiple back spasms. Some of the spasms were so severe she would drop to her knees. The pain started in 1990 when Elyse was in a 6-vehicle collision. The accident was so bad that she was lucky to get out alive but ever since then her back has not been the same. After the accident her MRI showed she was suffering from arthritis throughout her whole spine, bulging discs, herniated discs, stenosis and a congenital deformity. Elyse was in constant pain. She was having trouble sitting, reaching for things, washing the dishes, doing laundry, pretty much anything that involved reaching and bending. 

About 5 years ago Candelario Rey started feeling back pain. The pain continued to increase over the years. He figured the pain was due to working at UPS over the past 5 years. He wanted to do something about the pain before it worsened. Candelario started going to different chiropractors and getting treatment. “Everything was basically the same where they would crack or manipulate the back and it would feel better for a while but this treatment here is…it’s something different which I like more cause it actually goes to the source of the problem,” said Candelario Rey.

Dr. Jeff makes a visit to WCIU You and Me This Morning discussing back pain and what you can do to avoid the pain. The main reason for back pain is usually due to repetitive stress as a result of repetitive bending. Some of the variables that you do during the day are going to add more pressure to your discs. Hip Hinges is the right way that you bend that will avoid loading pressure on the discs. Too much pressure on the disc causes many different back issues.

Dominick Cannata suffered from back pain caused by a weight lifting injury. After lifting weights Dominick noticed his back was feeling tight. Later that night it worsened and then the next morning he could barely even get up and walk. Right away he looked into different options to treating his back. “I had a good friend recommend it and I just took that recommendation and ran with it and I’m glad I did!” said Dominick

Hockey player Gaetano Moirano has been suffering with back pain since he was 11-years-old. Gaetano has been playing hockey for pretty much all his life. Hockey being a very physical sport he was not surprised when he started feeling back pain. Being only 23 years old Gaetano did not want to risk having surgery. He also didn’t want to miss hockey season trying to recover. 

Tanya Heard started feeling pain in her feet going up through her legs to her back. She went to two different doctors who did different tests on her legs. Then she went to a third doctor that suggested an MRI because the pain could be occurring due to a spine issue. Tanya’s MRI showed that she had a protruding disc and spinal stenosis. Stenosis is often characterized as developing slowly over time. Tanya has worked in the school system for 15 years so it did not surprise her when the back pain occurred. She continued to push through until she could no longer stand the pain.

Mark Meyers came into the Illinois Back Institute suffering from lower back pain. About 7-8 years about Mark lower back pain started. He started to treat it with chiropractic care but the pain continued. Mark went into an orthopedic surgeon who took an MRI that showed he was suffering from 2 degenerated discs and 3 herniated discs in his lower back.