Mentally breaking down

HelloMyNameIsSean · Apr 12, 2012

RoyFokker said:
Back pain is not a normal aspect of aging as modern allopathic medicine leads us to believe or structurally related to your spinal discs in most cases.

It is usually a myofascial and posture issue that builds over time, from chronic bad posture, poor kinesthetic use of your body or from trauma like impacts, falls which stress the soft tissue into knots. Those knots are often what actually pull the discs. I would advise looking into trigger point therapy(to deal with myofascial knots in your muscle fibers)) and the Gokhale method(to improve posture and your use of your body). You can find info and books on these modalities(you often don't even have to pay your local library will likely carry it):
Trigger Point Therapy Workbook; Your Self-Treatment Guide for Pain Relief
Gokhale Method Institute |
Another aspect is often related to decreased flexibility in other areas like the hip which end up being compensated for by the back. This can be improved with various yoga postures(asanas).

Likely you will think what I wrote is bs, but ask yourself this, maybe a few months back you were not 100% fine, but you were coping somehow and still physically active. What, did your discs just expired in a few months time? Try not to believe in conventional doctors and their conventional orthodoxy. I don't see them helping people around me. I just see them allowing people to live with back pain for decades until they die, to cope with diabetes by pills or insulin shots till they die, etc. They don't have the answers, don't let the lack of solutions they offer demoralize or close your mind to other options that are far more promising and less drastic.

I've been trying to approach this with the most open mind I can, nothing anybody has written here has went unread, and I really do appreciate the advice and support from everyone. My P.T at the moment has been doing trigger point releases, I've been getting massages, it's helped, but not a lot.

Yesterday I went to Columbia Pres in NYC, to see one of the Top 10 or 20 nuero surgeons in the country. I've had tunnel vision up until yesterday. I've been complaining about the herniations at L3-L4 and L4-L5, and I'm sure they still play a role. But the doc I saw yesterday said that he thinks the pain is more likely coming from the S1-L5, and L4-L5 degenerations. He was pretty much amazed how they were virtually gone at my young age, and all the other disc spacing kept fully intact.

He's ruled out surgery for now because he couldn't guarantee a positive outcome, but his opinion is I'll definitely be under the knife at some point in my life. I nearly cried in the office.

At the moment, I feel pretty good. The last epidural helped a lot, today was the first day I didn't have to take aleve in the morning. I started running again as well. I'm just going to live with it for the time being. I put on 20-25 pounds over the winter, I was lifting hard, it was intentional. It sucks but I'm going to drop 15 and see how my back feels at 180 pounds. Other than that, I don't know what the future holds, I'll just have to take it day by day.

Again many thanks for support and wishes, it really does help.

RoyFokker · Apr 12, 2012

HelloMyNameIsSean said:
... My P.T at the moment has been doing trigger point releases, I've been getting massages, it's helped, but not a lot.

...

How did the trigger point massage go? Physical therapists are a mixed bag... In the book The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook: Your Self-Treatment Guide for Pain Relief, the author, Clair Davies, who developed the technique says you should use supported fingers to probe them. When you find a trigger point that is serious, it should hurt intensely to just put sufficient pressure on it with your finger and you should aim for a seven in terms of pain out of a ten scale and keep constant pressure on it for a while to release the tense and knotted muscle fiber, and un-shorten it. If an area that is probed does not hurt, then it is not a trigger point.

I have known about trigger points for years but in early 2011, I had serious lower back pain and trigger points did not seem to help for a long time, but that was only because I could not find the trigger point area causing the "referred pain" in my lower back. Trigger points usually refer pain to somewhere else, since the whole skeletal-muscular system is interconnected, a shortened muscle somewhere could have a painful effect in a seemingly unconnected area of the body. I had to take a day off since the pain was so bad, I could not even sit, walk, sh1t or even sleep without huge discomfort, wincing or pain. Eventually I came to believe that the problem was in my psoas, which is actually not even located in my back, but in the front closer to the abdomen:

but I had trouble reaching the muscle till I read that it was an inch out from the belly button, and two inches down and to try to get at it for massage by placing a softball at that nexus and trying to lay all your weight on it like that. After I read and applied that info, I was able to relieve most the low back pain and return to work the next day.

Now(very recently) I have come to believe that the problem is not just my psoas, but my crappy hip flexibility, which creates patterns of compensation so I need to do yoga asanas to deal with that.

I am just telling you what worked for me since you are open to it, and since I don't know much of your specific situation and can only tell my story. If I did not know about trigger points or look elsewhere, maybe eventually I would have gotten progressively worse and worse and a doctor would have tried to pimp out pills or surgery to me.

HelloMyNameIsSean · Apr 12, 2012

Ironically enough, The trigger points that he released where right where yours where. I also had a MRI done of my left hip at the same time of my back which revealed a strain in my Iliacus. I've been stretching those every day, whenever I get the change to. I was also diagnosed with snapping hip syndrome in both of my hips, which is the IT band snapping over the femur up towards the hip.

I just started adding these into my stretching routine as well, I can definitly feel my left hip is more 'locked up' than my right.

Hip Circles (prone) Exercise Guide and Video

slomo · Apr 12, 2012

Here's my experience, just in case something in here can help.

Today I am 12 weeks post-op from a L5-S1 fusion and foraminotomy at L4.

The pain I had before surgery is gone. I have other pain now that I'm told is normal post-op but could last for months. So I'm not "pain free."

Yesterday was my 2nd bike ride since surgery, about 5 miles on the road. The doc said it might take a year until I have enough bone growth to hit the trails - but I will be able to again.

Surgery doesn't work for everyone. But then again surgery may be the answer for you. And it may not be the end of riding for you. Everyone is different. For me, after 12 years of pain and many different types of treatments, I was ready.

I sincerely hope you find the right answer for you. Stay strong and try to practice patience. It can get better.

Trail Wizard · Apr 12, 2012

HelloMyNameIsSean said:
Ironically enough, The trigger points that he released where right where yours where. I also had a MRI done of my left hip at the same time of my back which revealed a strain in my Iliacus. I've been stretching those every day, whenever I get the change to. I was also diagnosed with snapping hip syndrome in both of my hips, which is the IT band snapping over the femur up towards the hip.

I just started adding these into my stretching routine as well, I can definitly feel my left hip is more 'locked up' than my right.

Delaminating the adductors can do wonders as well. My left hamstring felt tight for a long time, then I went to town on trigger points in my left pectinius (especially) and the others. It wasn't my hamstring after all. Always work both sides for symmetry. The way I describe deactivating trigger points (or delaminating the tissues) to people, is imagine taking a fistful of dry spaghetti and dropping it in hot water briefly, pulling it out and tying that bundle together. In time, it all binds together, and is still together even after untying the bundle. To get the spaghetti to move freely, you have to grab and pinch the bundle and manually separate them until they're all moving freely and independently. If a muscle is dysfunctional, it's typically because there's fascia that's turning multiple muscle fibers and turning it into a singular mass that just doesn't operate well, and is certainly not supple. Now, I've never actually done the spaghetti drop to see if it binds together, but I'm just guessing it does. I'm sure it would bind if dipped in glue.

You can also have pain in your lower back if you have trigger points in your calf, soleus in particular. If you have tight calves, you might want to try addressing that as well. Not stretching, but trigger point release (or deep tissue massage).

Low Back Pain From Your Calf Muscle - Madrid Chiropractor explains how your calf could be the cause of your pain | JL Quiropráctico Madrid

Some tools that I've found to be handy, aside from my own hands, are the Footballer, block, and massage ball by TriggerPoint Therapy / TP Therapy:
Trigger Point Starter Set

The Tiger Tail:
Therapeutic Tools, Rolling Muscle Massagers, Trigger Point Therapy - Polar Fusion

The Stick (Sprinter model is stiffer and more effective IMO)
https://www.thestick.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=SG-1900

Also, a really great tool is the Thera Cane, which I prop my calves on while the cane is standing on the two 4" legs, then rotate my calves in and out. Similar concept as the TP Therapy Footballer, but deeper.
Thera Cane

For myofascial and trigger point work on the thighs, the Quadroller by TP Therapy is great. It's like a foam roller, but more compact and more intense. Those are sold separately, but here's a kit that has a bunch of good stuff:
Hip and Lower Back Performance Kit
That kit might seem a bit pricey, but their products are very effective.

Lastly, I had IT band syndrome a couple of years ago, and Graston Technique did wonders on breaking up a lot of scar tissue / adhesions in my quads, hamstrings, and hip muscles. One of the most effective treatments for musculoskeletal dysfunction and pain due to scar tissue in the muscles.
Graston Technique | Simple Technology Improving Injury Treatment and Rehabilitation.

Ridnparadise · Apr 12, 2012

RoyFokker said:
Ridnparadise, read more, ride less. So many times on mtb and cycling forums people say things like to get a full suspension or recumbent, a technical fix, when someone says their back, hip or whatever gets worse and worse, because of their beliefs created by medical orthodoxy, which state the body is supposed to break down when you get to 30+ years old. This young guy was only 23 when he was told his body inevitably broke down, and of course he is mentally exasperated at the prospect of a sedentary life! The medical system hardly gets at the root of chronic care problems. But it is very excellent for emergency care, I mean if I use a circular saw and chop off my fingers, provided I do things right on my part, they can sew it back. But for chronic care like this guy's back pain, I have never really seen a mainstream doctor really heal a person. People are taught to ignore that they never see their friends, family with bad backs, diabetes, high blood pressure ever get better under medical care, they just are helped to cope and adapt around it till death.

I know so many people that have had hip, arm, shoulder, knee, back surgeries and replacements that have failed and they still have the problems the surgery was supposed to correct.

Go back 2 weeks - I read. I also learn, study and practice. Notice I already recommended an alternate approach to this young man's pain. Good medicine and good doctors dismiss no management option. I recommend all variations of alternate therapy for my patients and dismiss none other than those that claim the one cure. That is based on 29 years of post-grad practice, 24 years active membership of our national sports medicine association, past national team medical officer status and more hacked off fingers and unexplained back pains than you could believe, plus heaps of self-experience.

When you dismiss recognised medicine and replace it with prejudice, then I smell someone with a vested interest, maybe profit to be gained. I stand by what I said about your anti-medical stance - it sucks.

I also stand by what I said to this poor guy 2 weeks ago - bulging discs and surgery are neither the explanation, nor the cure. What you have here are a bunch of conservative treatment options, all with merit and all better than chronic pain, disability, loss of lifestyle and maybe worse (prescription drug addiction included).

The summarised message is that the OP needs to take control of his pain and not let it rule his life. Sometimes when it hurts to do nothing then the best thing to do is everything.

When you have to pay to see therapists all the time to control your pain, then you don't have your life. Many chronic back pains reduce and disappear with time and physical activity. That costs nothing and gains more than any other therapy. Somehow everyone else seems to have forgotton that the single greatest goal of traditional medicine is to allow the body time to heal itself or reveal the answer. "We" don't need that replaced with some BS idea of doctors exploiting and manipulating patients. Doctors aren't the Virgin Mary, but seriously, wake up.

simpterfex · Apr 12, 2012

Meditation As Medicine: Activate the Power of Your Natural Healing Force [Book]

mlevinson · Apr 12, 2012

Excellent post Trail Wizard!

In my experience, I had some mild (undiagnosed) IT Band syndrome prior to my disk injury. I sometimes wonder if these two weren't somehow related... anyway, the symptoms from my disk injury was VERY similar to the symptoms of my ITBS.

After injuring my back I became very cautious regarding any twisting motion of my core in order to avoid pain and further injury. Fast forward 18 months to now and my ITBS is worse that it was prior to the injury. I have begun a fairly intensive stretching (ITBS rolling) regiment and I'm shocked at how deteriorated my core flexibility has become due to my lack of motion and babying of my back.

I also have become a big believer in trigger points and trying to find the root of the pain which rarely seems to be the same location as the pain. I have worked down the IT band starting from my hip to my knee for quite some time and the pain is much better. I now find that I have chased the pain down into the side of my upper calf. I began working on that area and now it has rolled into the rear center of my calf! It's really crazy.

I now use the roller over my entire leg... front, back, sides... all of it. This really seems to be helping but now I also feel tightness in the love handle / front lower abdominal area. I now stretch that too.

I guess what I'm trying to get at is that I've found that all of these areas are far more interconnected to each than I ever imagined. As you work one problem area, and increase range of motion in that area, the non-treated areas can generate even more pain if not treated because they are still bound up and tight, while the area you just worked on is happy and ready to play.

An analogy is a team of cyclists who are say 80% through a long race and all equally fatigued. Now imagine that the lead rider is replaced by someone who is completely fresh. The rest of the team is going to fatigue MUCH faster trying to keep up with the new rider.

Where I use to focus only on say the source of the pain, I now consider the entire leg and lower core as one unit, and treat all of the areas together. It seems to be working so far...

Eric Z · Apr 12, 2012

op, i don't have any experience with back pain but can't imagine what you're going through in your early 20s. the only advice i can give is do whatever you can to not get into a funk depression-wise. spend time with friends/family, check out bike pron online, view mtbr and participate in discussions like this to keep your mind out of the gutter.

you are very young and you have a great chance to heal very quickly- just don't overdo it. if you're uncertain on your doc's abilities/approach, get a second opinion.

good luck- positive vibes your way.
ez

cncwhiz · Apr 12, 2012

I'm right there with you man. I was actually suprised to see a post about this on mtbr.

Back around 2004 after i got out of high school, I worked at UPS for about three months during the peak season. I never had back pain until then. Since then, I have had lower back pain, but it has not been anything to write home about. Even though they teach you the correct way to lift, as most everybody knows (with your legs), they are in such a hurry with everything, you never really have time to concentrate on lifting properly. All that goes out the window with the speed at which they do things.

Every now and then I can't lay on my back. I have to put a pillow behind myself when I sit down on soft furniture too. It's been this way since i worked there in 2004. I am now 27.

-Now to try and figure out an underlying cause for my back pain.

1. The first thing is my poor posture. I'm certain that it does not help anything, but It has got to be one of the hardest things to correct once you do it for so long. I do not stand with my shoulders back, I droop my shoulders forward. When I sit in a chair (which I do most of the day at work) I hunch over. It actually feels unatural for me to sit correctly.

2. Weight. I am positive that my weight does nothing to help my back. If I were not carrying 50 lbs of extra weight, when I bend over my back would not have the load of my stomach and upper body. Being thinner would have to help. I am 6'1", 255 lbs at the moment - what you would call a clyde. I would like to be around 195-200. Hopefully with continued exercise and a better diet I can reach that.

3. I had a bad motorcycle accident in 1998 at the age of 14, and caused major trauma to my lower right leg. My ankle is now fused at a 90 degree angle. fourteen operations later, I can walk but I do limp sometimes. Something I found here a few years ago when I first seriously started getting back into mountain biking was that my right leg is actually shorter than my left. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the injury, but I am not certain. The way I found it was when I measured myself to properly fit a bicycle. Only then did I see that my right knee was almost an inch shorter when sitting in a chair with my lower legs perpendicular to the floor, upper legs horizontal.

Obviously, this will, and probably already has caused some hip issues, and I need to see about it. I haven't really done anything about it because it hasn't hurt me pain wise.

I am a firefighter for the city I live in, and one night at the scene of a wreck I was putting on my gear. I stepped into my turnout pants, and went to pull them up. When I did, somehting got hung and I pulled harder. I was already hunched over like if you were to pick up something incorrectly. When I did, my back went out. I could hardly stand back up to get my gear up, and I had one of the most painful experiences I've ever had throughout the duration of that scene. Luckily, a few days later, it seemed to heal a little. It got a little better each day. Unfortunately, since then my back has been very tight, and it seems that any wrong movement sends it back towards the pain I experienced that night. It is so bad that I can't even bend over and put my socks and shoes on in the morning before work.

The other day I decided I better get it checked out. I set up an appointment with the doctor and I am having xrays done today. They said that an MRI can only be ordered after an xray fails to produce any information. Hopefully I will get somewhere.

For now, I can still ride and it doesn't really bother my back at all. Just for extra measure though, I just upgraded from a hartail 29er to a full susp 29er. I think this will help alot.

Trail Wizard · Apr 13, 2012

mlevinson said:
In my experience, I had some mild (undiagnosed) IT Band syndrome prior to my disk injury. I sometimes wonder if these two weren't somehow related... anyway, the symptoms from my disk injury was VERY similar to the symptoms of my ITBS.

After injuring my back I became very cautious regarding any twisting motion of my core in order to avoid pain and further injury. Fast forward 18 months to now and my ITBS is worse that it was prior to the injury.

Here is a pretty good explanation of ITB syndrome:

ITB Syndrome: Natural Treatment for Knee Pain - Sock Doc - YouTube

Also, ITB syndrome can develop as a result of dropping the opposite hip while riding. That hip could be dropping because of a tight calf, leg length discrepancy, the saddle is too high, or other reasons.

Steve Hogg, who contributes to the fitness forum on CyclingNews, has a great site with a lot of helpful info about bike fit, much of which is found in his blog. The Popular Posts column on the right lists the basics.
Welcome » Steve Hogg's Bike Fitting Website

Here's a great entry that discusses right side bias:
THE RIGHT SIDE BIAS » Bike Fit » Featured » Pelvic » Steve Hogg's Bike Fitting Website

mlevinson · Apr 14, 2012

As noted previously in this thread, I've been fighting some IT band issues and since it's time for me to get back on a bike after a 2 year hiatus due to a back injury... I decided to get serious about getting a handle on it.

After reading lots of info on the web, much of which referenced in this thread, I've been doing a daily regiment of stretching and rolling the offending areas. Yes, it's hurt like hell at times but it is getting better each day. I ALSO bought Andy Pruitt's Complete Medical Guide for Cyclists and decided to check my bike fitment. Needless to say it was off, and my seat has been almost 1.5 inches low, and too far forward.

Today I went for a ride after about 2 weeks since my last ride which really sucked, and todays ride went REALLY well. I don't want to jinx myself, and I may be bent over in pain tomorrow... but the difference was nothing short of dramatic. The pain I use to feel in my knee was essentially gone, and here I type almost 3 hours after and it still feels good. It use to really get bad after an hour or so after the ride. I did not push myself and was really happy to just be able to be on the bike and not hurting.

So... what I've learned so far:

Do NOT trust your LBS's setup. Andy makes it really simple to get 95% of the way to ideal fitment. There is nothing magical about it and proper setup is a huge deal.

Do your own research and listen to your body! Also, I am REALLY starting to distrust modern medicine. I have a Dr. appt next week to get some help with my IT issues, but I know full and well his first recommendation is to inject some crap into my knee. I will be declining it of course, and am only going to him in order to get some PT. I'm tempted to cancel it but I think I'll go through with it just to see if his PT can give me more info on ITBS treatment.

Healing takes time. Nothing has taught me this more clearly than my back injury. I have also learned not to take feeling good for granted!

Enough rambling. Good luck to everyone out there struggling with pain and injuries!

Nubster · Apr 14, 2012

I have a ruptured disc in my low back, bulging discs mid-back, separated shoulder, shoulder surgery for torn labrum, carpal tunnel in both wrists...so yeah, I feel your pain, everyday. I just suck it up and deal with it. Lucky for me, riding is actually one activity that doesn't cause me more pain.

bigdog100 · Apr 15, 2012

You may also consider an anti-inflammatory diet for 2 weeks or even a raw plant based diet to reduce systemic inflammation. Even better you should should look into Metagenics meal replacement drinks like ultra inflammex or do the Ultra clear program and see if that helps with your chronic inflammatory state. IVD's are avascular and require time to scar down. You may also be leaking disc material creating a process called arachidonic pain cascade along with the physical disc material compressing nerves in IVF's and/or canal. If that diet helps go get an ALCAT test to determine what is contributing to your inflammation.

Trail Wizard · Apr 15, 2012

mlevinson said:
As noted previously in this thread, I've been fighting some IT band issues and since it's time for me to get back on a bike after a 2 year hiatus due to a back injury... I decided to get serious about getting a handle on it.

I have a Dr. appt next week to get some help with my IT issues, but I know full and well his first recommendation is to inject some crap into my knee. I will be declining it of course, and am only going to him in order to get some PT. I'm tempted to cancel it but I think I'll go through with it just to see if his PT can give me more info on ITBS treatment.

Hold off on getting the injection. Correcting your bike position is a step in the right direction, and rolling is beneficial, but if you still experience a nagging pain from the ITBS, I highly recommend a session of Graston Technique. One session was all I needed. It's a rather uncomfortable sensation... the practitioner passes a specially shaped stainless steel instrument over the affected muscles, but it does a fantastic noninvasive job of breaking up scar tissue that's causing the dysfunction and pain. It's been referred to as brushing the muscles, as it get's the fibers all going in the right direction and moving supplely.
You can ask your doctor about it at your appointment, but the doc is likely to have never heard of it. Practitioners are typically chiros, although a lot of sports therapy and regular physical therapy clinics also have persons trained in the method. A lot of pro and amateur sports teams also have practitioners in their lineup for injury recovery.

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jetboy23 · Apr 15, 2012

Nubster said:
I feel your pain, everyday. I just suck it up and deal with it. Lucky for me, riding is actually one activity that doesn't cause me more pain.

+1. I have more pain laying flat in the bed than i do riding my rigid bike on the dirt. I am lucky for that. Time to get a shot though to help the wife around the house. When i help more in the home, i get more time in the dirt :thumbsup:.

Trail Wizard · Apr 19, 2012

The Sock Doc has posted an excellent article on trigger points:

Trigger Point Therapy: A Powerful Tool to Treat & Prevent Injuries

Sean, thinking about the types of work you've done, such as auto detailing, bent over with a buffer in hand, it's possible you have trigger points in your shoulder, chest, and upper back, which could cause problems further down the chain. Stooping down may have set up trigger points on one side of your glutes as well.
Mr. Miyagi taught Daniel-san the importance of wax-on, wax-off, but if you don't do both equally, I think it sets the body up for asymmetrical stress, which can certainly show up in areas far from the shoulder, such as the hip, pelvis, ankle, foot, back, etc.

Karate Kid Lesson 1 (Wax on Wax off) - YouTube

I don't know what type of work you've done in a deli, but what comes to mind is a lot of slicing of meats and cheeses, typically utilizing one arm repetitively, as well as reaching into the case to retrieve and replace food items. There could also be trigger points in your glutes, if you tend to favor one side over and over to stoop and reach in. Again, I'm just guessing here.

I would search for trigger points in the upper part of latissimus dorsi (behind the arm pit), teres minor and major, triceps, deltoids, trapezius, and pectoralis major. Your piriformis and other glutes might also be tight. One way to check upper lats and teres is to place your hand on your head, then with the other hand, grab the meaty section on the back side of your arm. Apply pressure by pinching the muscles with your thumb and fingers. You can also move you elbow laterally and medially while you're doing this. Feel around for painful bundles of spaghetti (or rope) that need to be separated into individual fibers. Another test to check for shoulder asymmetry is to reach one hand up your back, as if trying to scratch an itch. With the other, reach over your traps and see how close your hand can get to the other hand that's already behind your back. If you can clasp your fingers, that's pretty good for the shoulder of the itch-scratching arm. Then, switch arms and do the test on the other shoulder. If one hand is unable to reach up high enough on the back, this can indicate a lot of muscular and fascial tension in that shoulder, which can affect one's gait and skeletal alignment. The culprits are typically infraspinatus, supraspinatus, and teres minor. Or, if the hand reaching down can't reach the one going up the back, there could be trigger points in your triceps brachii or subscapularis.

If there was dysfunction in any of these muscles before you started weight lifting this past winter, it's quite possible for the lower back pain you're going through is a result of the original dysfunction. It might not seem obvious, but over the years, your body might not be able to sense dysfunction because it was a gradual change.

These pages show the layers of muscles on the front and back:

Back:
Teres Major Muscle

Front:
Pectoralis Major Muscle

Lower body / backside:
Piriformis muscle

HelloMyNameIsSean · Apr 25, 2012

Thank you for that post. A lot of good insight. You mentioning favoring one side, made me think about this event again. I think I've mentioned it, but either way. Last November, I had been training for a 5 Mile race, running, not bike. I had two hours to kill in-between classes about 10 days before the race, so I went to the track and ran about 9-10 miles and a decent pace. Anyways, long story short, I ended up pinching a nerve in my right foot, It felt like a stress fracture. I stayed off of it, got a cortisone injection. It was feeling good the morning of the race, but half way in it started to really hurt, I finished instead of backing off. I got a really good time for the run, but it was a few days after that run that my back pain started hurting. Possibly I was over compensating with my left side for the right foot pain. I really don't know, even if that was the exact cause of my pain, what that'll do for me.

Past 2 weeks I've been on a traction table, and got homeopathic injections. It's not working. I don't feel terrible, but it's not anywhere near 100%.

camarosam · Apr 26, 2012

OMM Doctor; google this doctor in your area and go see one. I have heard amazing stories from a few people about how they have stopped pain and can falsify what the nerve is sending. Its a mix of chiro and physical nerve replacement.

They can mess with nerves in your neck and make you feel like someone pinched you in the butt, I'm going to be looking into one of these doctors soon. I'm up for anything at this moment.

Trail Wizard · Apr 26, 2012

HelloMyNameIsSean said:
Thank you for that post. A lot of good insight. You mentioning favoring one side, made me think about this event again. I think I've mentioned it, but either way. Last November, I had been training for a 5 Mile race, running, not bike. I had two hours to kill in-between classes about 10 days before the race, so I went to the track and ran about 9-10 miles and a decent pace. Anyways, long story short, I ended up pinching a nerve in my right foot, It felt like a stress fracture. I stayed off of it, got a cortisone injection. It was feeling good the morning of the race, but half way in it started to really hurt, I finished instead of backing off. I got a really good time for the run, but it was a few days after that run that my back pain started hurting. Possibly I was over compensating with my left side for the right foot pain. I really don't know, even if that was the exact cause of my pain, what that'll do for me.

Past 2 weeks I've been on a traction table, and got homeopathic injections. It's not working. I don't feel terrible, but it's not anywhere near 100%.

Out of curiosity, are your first metatarsals shorter than your second metatarsals?

There's a foot condition called Morton's toe that can predispose someone to develop trigger points and back pain. It was named after Dr. Dudley Morton, who found a pattern between those with the condition, and the musculoskeletal ailments that coincided with it. There was also a previous foot doctor, Thomas Morton (no relation to Dudley) that did research on neuromas, thus the name for Morton's neuroma, which occurs between the third and fourth metatarsals (big toe being number one). Drs. Janet Travel and David Simons, who pioneered much of the research on trigger points and referred pain from them, saw the connection between Morton's toe and myofascial pain and dysfunction. They attribute Morton's toe as being a cause for trigger points in gluteus medius (which can cause lower back pain / lumbago, pain at the back and side of the buttock and into the upper thigh, gluteus medius, gluteus minimus, vastus medialis, peroneus longus in the calf, tibialis posterior in the calf, and flexor digitorum longus in the foot. Morton's toe can also cause Morton's neuroma because of the abnormal stress place on certain joints in the foot.

A lot of people think the only way to tell if one has Morton's toe is to see if the big toe is shorter than the one next to it. The problem with that method is there can be a short first metatarsal with long phalanges that make the big toe as long as the second. What you need to look for is the position of the joint or ball of the big toe in relation to the joint of the second toe. If it's noticeably further back, this can cause a lot of instability, compensation, and dysfunction elsewhere.

You mentioned you pinched a nerve in your foot. Was the pain between the third and fourth toes?

Lastly, what brand and model shoes were you running in, and what shoes do you regularly wear now on a regular basis? (non-cycling)

To get an idea of what a severe case of Morton's toe looks like, here's the cover of the book about the subject:

Amazon.com: Why You Really Hurt: It All Starts in the Foot (9780942664027): Dr. Burton S. Schuler: Books

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