big john

The doc got a 2nd in the 60-69 age group in a TT at that track a few months back. I used to live a few blocks from there and we would go to lots of the races.
They had a swapmeet there and I saw a friend sell her rainbow stripe jersey she won in Germany, a sad moment. I should have tried to buy it and give it back to her later. Maybe it didn't mean much to her at the time.

ridethecliche

That's just traction being called spinal decompression. Do the people that go there have to keep going back indefinitely like they do for chiropractors?

Ex, you can pm me if you want, but I remember you talking about a crash in your past where you fractured vertebrae. Not sure if they operated then, but I think that the usual treatment modality for that is bracing these days unless the spinal column is unstable. The fact that you're having leg symptoms means that it's probably a lumbar issue.

IF (IF IF IF IF IF) you have to have surgery, then know that patients that have leg symptoms associated with herniated discs are most likely to have resolution of symptoms vs patients that have only back pain. Have you tried things like epidural steroid injections? You're 'allowed' up to three in a year span. I would definitely try that before considering something more drastic.

Hope you get better. I've been there and it friggin sucks.

Cleave

I started having low back problems about 5 years ago. It got progressively worse through this past spring. Primary symptoms were persistent, but low intensity, back ache and numbness in the soles of my feet when I sat in a chair for more than 30 minutes. Considering I have a desk job, the numbness thing became a big issue. Why did I wait years? My back was fine while riding and racing.

Started with my Primary Care Physician who is not the greatest fan of cycling. He took a couple of x-rays and said I was pre-arthritic in my low back. I could:

1) Improve my posture
2) Do some exercises
3) Get some physical therapy
4) Take an Aleve every day

Basically he said I was getting old and that my cycling probably wasn't helping my back condition despite my saying that my back felt fine while riding. I asked about seeing a chiropractor and he said that would just make me feel better temporarily.

Decided to bite the financial bullet and went to see the chiropractor who is one of our club sponsors. He is also a cyclist and a once-in-a-while triathlete. He took more x-rays and said I am not pre-arthritic and that my hips were way out of whack and that was causing problems with my back and was probably causing my feet to go numb. Five months later, I have no problems sitting but my symptoms are a bit different. I still get some numbness when I stand in one place for say 5 minutes or longer. The numbness does not always happen when I stand like that and the numbness is not nearly as severe. No change in my ability to ride.

I am pretty happy so far with what he's done and it's certainly a better result and potential prognosis that what my PCP suggested.

Creakyknees

It's kind-of offseason and we are all a bunch of obsessed cyclists so please humour me as I plug the benefits of cross training for old dudes. I've been doing stuff like this for years, it works.*

https://lifehacker.com/fix-your-compu...@MelaniePinola

* yes I know it won't solve _your_ problem but it's still good for a lot of people.

ridethecliche

The only thing you should have asked your PCP for is a referral to a physiatry, sports med, or spine clinic. One of the reasons I was as effed as I was is because I followed my PCP's instructions even when I should have asked for a referral. PCP's are awesome, but they have to concentrate on so many things that you need to get an opinion from a more qualified doctor if you're having issues that physical therapy doesn't resolve.

I let my crap go on for a year and a half before straight up asking for it and my prognosis would have been much better if I had done it earlier.

I have a lot of respect for PCP's but they're overworked and have main concerns relating to diabetes/cholesterol medication management. I know some amazing ones, but they're amazing especially because they know how to admit when there might be something more to the picture that someone else is better equipped to decipher.

big john

The difference is that traction is a steady pull and the machine pulses the pull so the muscles don't react and fight it, or so I've heard.
The answer to the second part is no, they do not keep going back after treatment. 2 friends were treated there, one couldn't ride but was ok walking around. After treatment (8 weeks?) he is riding without pain, I rode with him yesterday.
The other guy was in much worse shape, as far as pain, and could hardly function. He is riding again but not back to his former self yet. He is quite pleased with the treatment and happy to avoid the knife.
Actually, a little chiropractic has helped me with my lower back, which was dinged by making an unplanned dismount from my motorcycle @45mph.

shovelhd

I freak out in those things.

Best of luck to you.

echappist

damn, sorry to hear that. Is this a flare up from the crash two years ago?

wens

I was taking a second pass through Reading the Race and noticed this:



I suppose that could just be a coincidence.

Apologies if this was already posted, I was out of the loop for a while around here and I'm not going back through this thread.

ridethecliche

Ahh, yes I see. And yeah. Honestly, I would do almost anything to avoid surgery. I'm not looking forward to what my life will be like when I'm 50-60. I have a feeling that I'll need a fusion in the next few years (if not sooner) and once that starts it's can turn into a revolving door for some people. I hope I'm not one of them. Sigh (/me crosses fingers).

After the second surgery, I'm actually doing amazing. I'm not taking 4 oxy's a day and on the couch all day every day tee-tottling on the edge of depression and unable to move without pain. I'm sometimes in pain sitting now and I can't stand in one spot for more than 30 minutes without it starting to hurt. It's definitely going to affect some of my professional choices in life, which sucks, but there are far worse things in life.

mollusk

Yeah.

Going for a physical tomorrow. I already know what they will say. "Your resting heart rate is too low and your blood pressure is a little above normal. And once we do your blood work we will see that your 'bad' cholesterol is normal and your 'good' is sky high. The total is just outside the acceptable range, though, and this is a concern."

So I will ask the Doc once again "Should I stop training? Will that make me healthier by the numbers?"

And this is a serious question because if the numbers are good I can get a discounted rate on some life insurance. I need some as a hedge against my pension just in case something horrible happens to me. I am retiring in a couple of years and don't want to leave my wife and kids hanging out if there is an accident.

ridethecliche

There's a reason why PCP practices are moving towards Nurse Practitioners running the show. It's a much better use of resources and due to the differing reimbursement rates, they can actually spend time with you to have a real visit.

I've worked with PCP's that spend 15 minutes with a patient. Some are amazing and make the patient feel at home and are able to get all the concerns addressed. Sometimes, it's a sheetshow.

Fat Boy

If you care to bust his balls, tell him to show you the study that proves this. 150-200-250 on total cholesterol is all the same in terms of cardiovascular events. As it keeps going up the cardiovascular risk increase with a shallow slope, but the risk for cognitive problems (dementia, alzheimer's, ect.) decreases.

If you want to skew your BP down, then go in dehydrated.

gsteinb

So you're pinning it on the pizza?

topflightpro

I had major back issues when I was 19 and injured myself while working in a warehouse unloading trucks.

Given my age, I did not want surgery. I went to a non-surgical orthopedist who specialized in backs. I went through a couple rounds of traction (mine pulsed and they called it traction) and physical therapy. I also saw a chiropractor at the time and the orthopedist was OK with that.

But over the past 16 years, I have become more skeptical of chiropractic care and generally try to avoid it. I think that some of the work the chiropractor did actually made my back worse. I will occasionally see a chiropractor now, but only when I am unable to resolve the problem through stretching.

topflightpro

Also, the last time I went to the Primary Care doc, he sent me a follow up report saying my cholesterol looked high and that I needed to start exercising more. In the report, he suggested I start working up to 45 minutes of cardio, 2-3 times a week.

Funny thing is, I mentioned during the actual visit that due to my knee injury, I was only getting in about 8 hours a week on the bike.

I'm going to find a new primary care doc next time.

thechemist

I completely agree.

I also seek out a PCP through local athletes that come highly recommended.

ridethecliche

If you have any joint related stuff... EVER... you should ask for a referral to a good sports med/ortho doc. They're worth their weight in gold and they do this all day erryday.

grolby

I'm similarly skeptical of chiropractic. My understanding is that traditional chiropractic technique MAY relieve lower back pain. For other ailments, there's no evidence that it's better than a placebo. And spinal manipulation can be risky. Unfortunately, there's a lot of confusion and a lack of consistency around what chiropractors do, since many of them do a lot with evidence based physical therapy in additional to spinal manipulation. When you come right down to it, the core concept underlying chiropractic is pseudoscientific nonsense. I sure understand why people go to chiropractors, given how difficult and frustrating it can be to navigate PT and joint treatment in the mainstream health industry (been there, done that). And I wouldn't suggest for a minute that all chiropractors are frauds and quacks, plenty of them are responsible. But it's a minefield, and one that I would be pretty hesitant to navigate if I had a back that was already marginal. If a chiropractor says my hips are "misaligned," I would want to know exactly what that's supposed to mean.

I definitely agree with ridethecliche on getting a referral from your PCP. Your PCP's primary jobs are general preventative care and coordination of care. Coordination means helping you get the referrals and appointments you need with specialists.

furiousferret

My chiropractor has helped me out quite a bit. I had an issue with my spine out of whack which affected my running, and occasionally throw my neck out when I swim.

What he does mostly for me is ART and taping for soft tissue injuries. It did wonders for my achilles tear and other miscellaneous issues.

botto 

anyone here (gazza?) have any tips on a good pair of lightweight hiking boots?

think 105/rival quality.

mike868y

i was recently recommended these, no firsthand experience though.

https://www.amazon.com/Merrell-Mens-W...f+hiking+boots

misterwaterfall

Anyone have any tips on riding in the cold, like 20* cold? It rarely gets that low here for long, but both days this weekend look like they have highs in the high 20's. Other than bundling up, anything else I should do?

topflightpro

I think you raise a good point here. With a chiropractor, you go there, lay down on their table, and they manipulate you and hopefully you feel better.

But PT often requires a lot of hard work, including a lot of stretching and strengthening exercises, and I don't think many people are willing to put in the effort required to get the benefit of PT.

For example, with my knee, my PT was doing stuff to loosen the muscles and tendons that nearly put me in tears. And I had to adjust my schedule, waking up 30 minutes early, to be able to get in all the stretching that was prescribed. My physical therapist even commented one day that it was nice having a patient who had clearly done the stretching and strengthening work in between our weekly sessions.

And I'm not saying all chiropractors are quacks. I've had some good ones and some bad ones. I think the one I was seeing when I had my back issues was manipulating me in too violent of a fashion, causing additional problems. I went to him because my mother had gone to him for years and she dragged us there starting when I was 12 or 13. Once my mother stopped seeing him, her back problems went away too. (Of course that was at about the same time my younger sister went off to college.)

And as for hips being out of alignment, that is pretty common and easy to do. Usually it means that one hip is twisted up, while the other is twisted down. If you stand in front of a mirror and put your thumbs on your hip, you can tell when they are not level. There are some good stretches for pulling your hips back into alignment, though I don't think I could describe them well enough in text.

One time, I actually had one hip slid forward and the other back. That was really weird and uncomfortable. I was unable to get things straight on my own. That was the last time I went to a chiropractor.

rankin116

No matter what I wear on my feet, my toes get cold after an hour or so. Chemical warmers are all that work, I suggest carrying some.