How to Stop Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica…Forever!

A funny thing happened on the way to my demise…I reclaimed my life!

Am I being melodramatic? Not at all! In fact, at the time I was trying to figure out just how my family was going to make it in my absence. I was in really bad shape! I had lost 10 years of my life to health issues, some I don’t even want to think about any more, most centered around chronic and acute neck pain, back pain, and sciatica.

Suffice it to say, I was getting ready to call it quits, one way or the other.

You see, I had reached the point where I had to decide what would be next, whether I would give life one last try or punt. I had to decide whether I was going to let hopelessness and ill health take my life or fight back. I was battling chronic neck pain, back pain, sciatica (most of my spine was involved); Type II Diabetes (insulin dependent and oral medication four times a day); high blood pressure; congestive heart failure; and the real killers, a combination of depression and addiction to the pain medication, pain meds that had been my life for over ten years. I was a legal addict dealing with a “controlled addiction!”

Pain medication for the chronic and acute neck pain, back pain, and sciatica was prescribed each and every month in massive quantities (e.g., Oxycontin, Fentanyl, and a number of others); and, there was nothing controlled about the addiction…nothing!

Like I said, a funny thing happened on the way to my demise!

Not so funny really, not when you think about it. Perhaps ironic? Perhaps it was just sad? Yes, sad! Sad in the sense that I had wasted so much of my life. Sad because I had believed the doctors, nurses, hospitals, physical and occupational therapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists who told me there wasn’t as lot they could do for me, that the situation was too complex, that there was little hope of any sort of a recovery.

Fooled them!

One doctor said: “If you had no arms or legs, you would accept the fact that you are never going to walk again, that you would be forever disabled. Well, you are actually in the same situation. So, accept the cards you have been dealt and make the best of it!” He walked out of the examination room and I walked out of his practice…for good!

Another doctor said: “Your case is just too complex. Frankly, I wouldn’t know where to begin. Honestly, I would rather not take you on as a client.”

That one took a while to get over!

Still another specialist, the guy who ended up saving my life, called me “salvagable!” My wife cried.

“Salvagable!”

I will never forget that word. I felt like human refuse! But at least he was offering something approaching hope.

The interestingly part of it all? That conversation actually presaged the most difficult part of my journey back because it was in that instant I learned I still had a chance. It’s a funny thing about hope, it cuts both ways. Sometimes it’s easier to resign yourself to your fate than it is to fight back.

Well, after several back surgeries, a myriad of treatments, and days, weeks, months, even years in the hospital, I triumphed!

The road took many turns and it was a terrible journey. At times, the road back was so difficult I wanted to quit, really wanted to just quit! I ended up stuck in a dead end or two along the way and the biggest hurdles, mentioned above, were depression and addiction. The combination of depression and addiction was more difficult to overcome than any of the physical ailments. Combined with osteomyelitis and cancer, the depression and addiction meant that every day was a gauntlet, pummeled from all sides simultaneously. Interestingly, the psychological pain, and the ordeal of fighting with and through a terrible addiction, was every bit as horrible as the physical pain. At times, the psychic pain would take me to the depths of despair; and, at other times, it was the chronic and chronically acute neck, back, and sciatic nerve pain that would do it. When all guns were firing simultaneously? It was as if I were in hell on Earth!

Ultimately, I triumphed over the pain, psychic and physical. In retrospect, I don’t know how I did it, how I made it through, but I did! I learned a great many things about myself and a number of things about others, particularly about those closest to me. Significantly, I also learned many things about the medical community; and, many were not very complimentary.

What I learned about myself? I can take more pain and go through more hardship than I would ever have imagined. Of those close to me? That they love me and that without them I would have been doomed. About the medical community? They do not like to admit it when they don’t have the answers; and, they are unwilling to acknowledge that fact to patients, even if it may cost the patient his or her life. Additionally, there are good doctors and bad, just like there are good mechanics and bad, good accountants and bad, good dog groomers and bad. The difference? An incompetent physician, one unwilling and/or unable to admit his or her shortcomings may cost you your life!

The moral of the story? If you can call it that? If you are suffering from chronic and/or acute pain, get a second opinion. If you don’t agree with your physician, get a second opinion. If the quality of your life has been affected, get a second opinion. And, if a physician wants to put you on narcotics for chronic neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica treatment, run screaming from the office and, get a second opinion!

More to follow!

John

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr., The “Healthy” (used to be “Bad”) Back Guy
216-712-7004 (bus)
440-821-6526 (cell)
johnz@ultimatebadback strategies.com

PS, My secret? Take a look at this video and then go to TheBadBackGuy.net and watch the 8 minute video. Then, follow the directions and check out the trial offer. It will change you life. Taking action saved mine! Don’t forget to confirm your email address!

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Look Ma, No Back Pain…and an Apology!

First and foremost, I would like to apologize for my absence over the last couple of weeks or so! I have been out and about, rebuilding and living my life for the first time in decades!

The title pretty much says it all, I have had an amazing holiday season and a wonderful neck pain, back pain, and sciatica free New Year…the first in decades!

Ultimate Bad Back Strategies and The Bad Back Guy were created over a year ago in order to tell my story, to share my knowledge, and to inspire others to take the first step towards a neck pain, back pain, and sciatica free life, as I have. It was my hope that in helping all of you, I would also put myself on the spot…and it worked!

The journey I started over a year ago, a journey towards a life free of neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica has been incredible!

The benefits I have received have been nothing short of miraculous!

My life from 1997 through most of 2008 was consumed by chronic and acute neck pain, back pain, and sciatica. My life long battle with neck, back, and sciatic nerve pain started in 1971!

In fact, by the year 1999 I spent all day, every day in a recliner we bought because it met my needs as someone who would live the rest of his life in it, 24/7. It was even electric because my legs were too weak to push down the leg/foot rest. I was about as close to an invalid as you can get, my wife afraid to leave me to go to work because I often passed out on the way to the bathroom, a combination of pain and blood pressure issues. I was also a type II insulin dependent diabetic, taking insulin 4 times a day and checking my blood sugar at least 5 times a day.

I had two diseases attacking my body simultaneously and both, separately and in concert, were quite possibly going to end my life!

In other words, I was a wreck!

I had thrown in the towel and felt doomed to a result heading towards me like a Mack Truck!

On top of it all, I was on massive amounts of prescription pain medication, enough to kill a large horse I was told repeatedly, medication that had eliminated my ability to concentrate, to read (one of my true loves), to learn, and to enjoy even the simplest pleasures of life (and we all know what that means!).

I was a Zombie!

Then “It” happened! I really can’t tell you what “It” is or was, other than to tell you one day everything changed!

I guess I got sick and tired of being sick and tired.

It was about that time I talked to a friend of mine who had discovered a product online that had put him on the road to a back pain free life. Granted, his problems weren’t as complex as mine, and he wasn’t fighting the diseases I was, but I thought to myself:

“If he can do it, maybe I can too!”

So, I borrowed it and quietly started applying the principles, along with the things I already knew about physical training and age-progressive phenomena that affect the spine and sacroiliac joint.

At first I didn’t even tell my wife what I was doing in case it didn’t work, I just didn’t want to disappoint her again!

Well, to make a long story short, I started seeing results and I started to experience something I hadn’t experienced in a long time…hope!

The hope and the results provided the impetus to keep going and to slowly but surely reclaim my life!

It has been a little over a year now and in that time I have gone from 265 pounds, and quite literally waiting to die, to 205 pounds and walking between 5 and 8 miles a day.

I have also started several online businesses, for a variety of reasons but mainly because as I started getting better I couldn’t find a job. With the huge gap in my “overqualified” resume, no one wanted to touch me!

Here I was a college professor, the winner of one of the most prestigious doctoral fellowships in the country, and I couldn’t get a job…I mean nothing, nohow, nowhere! Not even delivering pizza! It was the most humiliating part about getting better…I couldn’t find work!

So, I applied my education, started a tutoring business, online at first, at least until I could get my strength back, and then in the home…it was a way back, a way to apply my education and work with kids (another of my loves), and it worked!

When I look back to August and September of 2009, and those first tentative steps, I can’t believe I am the same person; it just doesn’t seem possible.

And yet here I am, quite literally a new man!

It is kind of ironic because now, as I tell my story and create videos and articles to inspire others, I am often attacked as a spammer and even as a scam artist!

Incredible!

If they only knew, if they could have seen me just a short while ago, I wonder if they would still be so quick to cast aspersions!

Well, I know one thing…there is nothing anyone can say or do that can be any worse than what I have already had to live through…and have overcome.

That being said, and I have said this before, if I can inspire just one person to triumph over their pain as I have, and reclaim their life, then I will have paid the kindness of so many wonderful people who helped me, and my family, get through the most trying time of our lives!

I will introduce more of my story over the coming months but for now I can tell you this, had it not been for my friend and that program, a program I recommend to this day, I would either be gone or still seated in that recliner…no future in sight but the ultimate future we all must face.

The difference?

I was ready, willing, and yearning for it…but no more! I simply took a chance on life. After all, what did I have to lose? Just the pain!

I have my life back and you can too! Because, if I came back from where I was at, anyone can!

Neck pain, back pain, and sciatica are in the past and I will help anyone who asks how to reclaim their life and live pain free! Once again, if I can, you can!

More to follow!

John

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr., The Bad Back Guy
216-712-6526 (home)
216-539-7412 (bus)
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@ultimatebadbackstrategies.com

PS, If you want to take the first step and reclaim your life you can go about it one of two ways: 1) You can go to the http://TheBadBackGuy.net and begin there, it is only a beginning; and/or 2) You can contact me and I will work with you personally. In either case, I will be happy to talk to you, to recommend strategies, and to provide encouragement.

PPS, I am not a medical doctor, I am a physical anthropologist with a specialization in age-progressive phenomena affecting the spine and sacroiliac….what goes on with the neck, back, and hips as we age. I am a bone guy! The show Bones is a glamorized depiction of what I did. But, I guess it’s about as close as you can get outside of TLC or Discovery. So, my advice is anecdotal and is not to be construed as medical advice. There, now the government is happy!

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• 

The Truth About Back Pain and Diagnosis Bias!

Are You a Victim of Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica Diagnosis Bias?

Diagnosis bias is a real issue in the medical community, one not often discussed, openly or in private. In fact, diagnosis bias is one of those ”dirty little secrets” only recently addressed; and then, only in closed door conferences and at a few of the more progressive medical schools in the country.

Chronic fatigue and chronic to chronically acute neck pain, back pain, and sciatica are among the most difficult conditions to diagnose and treat. A great deal of the reason, or reasons, for the difficulty in properly diagnosing and treating chronic pain and chronic fatigue, to include chronic neck pain, back pain, and sciatica is because while pain is a very real symptom of an underlying condition, and the underlying condition may be recognized and treatment initiated, it is also an abstract concept.

Pain as an Abstract Concept: Difficulties in Diagnosis and Treatment

When I state that pain is an abstract concept, I mean pain in any of its guises, in any and all of its manifestations, is as different from one person to the next as personality and/or fingerprints are. For this reason, and a myriad of others, neck pain, back pain, and sciatica create a number of challenges for medical practitioners, not only in the diagnosis phase but in subsequent treatment.

Value Attribution, Diagnosis Bias, Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatic Nerve Pain (or Sciatica)

When dealing with neck pain, back pain, and sciatic nerve pain (sciatica) complaints doctors, like most people, will often make an initial assessment based on value attribution. Value attribution, in this instance at least, is a first impression of the medical kind! Unfortunately for the individual suffering from chronic fatigue or chronic neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica the medical practitioner will often stick to that attribution when making even a critical diagnosis, even in the face of contradictory evidence.

Value attribution and diagnosis bias occur for a myriad of reasons, most of all because doctors are human. Medical practitioners are subject and susceptible to the same biases and prejudices the rest of us are. Interestingly, this bias, once set in place, will often shape the medical practitioner’s future perception of a patient’s complaints, once again, even when confronted with contradictory evidence, and will shape the treatment received…or not received.

Value attribution and diagnosis bias are covered extensively, and quite well, by Brafman and Brafman in their book Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior. I recommend it for anyone who would like to understand why we do the things we do and make the decisions me make…and are forced to live with. This book is particularly appropriate for anyone who feels he or she may have been a victim of diagnosis bias.

The Video, Chronically Acute Back Pain, and Diagnosis Bias

I have first hand knowledge of diagnosis bias as it applies to neck pain, back pain, and sciatica and I discuss the situation and its eventual outcome in the video below. It should be an eye-opener for many, for others living through it at this time, it may give you what you need to press on and fight back, fight against the diagnosis bias that nearly took my life and ultimately robs many neck pain, back pain, and sciatica sufferers every year of the life they could have if only someone took them seriously…or just took them differently!

Chronic Fatigue, Chronic Pain, Empathy, and Abstraction

In fighting chronic fatigue, and chronic pain, one very often goes through the same battles to be heard and taken seriously. Many times even friends and relatives just don’t understand. How could they, pain is such an abstraction and if they have never experienced it themselves? Again, how could they!

Given the above, one would still hope the medical community, and particularly specialists trained to deal with chronic fatigue and chronic neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica would be somewhat immune from value attribution and diagnosis bias. Yet we know that, in fact, some are and some aren’t!

The Good, The Bad, and The Misdiagnosis

Just as there are good physicians and bad ones, there are good chefs and terrible ones, there are good pilots and bad ones…and they all make mistakes. The trick here is to not allow others to lump you into a category before an adequate diagnosis has been made. Whether the condition is a chronic one, one that is chronic and acute or
is relatively new and still very much in the acute phase, do not allow your medical pracitioner to make an attribution, a diagnosis, based on a bias and without all the facts. As stated above, pain in any and all of its guises is a symptom and it is their task to uncover the cause and treat it effectively.

Do Not Take No for an Answer!

And do not take “I don’t know” for an answer! Press on until someone, somewhere provides you with a legitimate diagnosis and the quality care you deserve, care we all deserve. There is a life on the other side of any chronic fatigue and/or pain condition, do not allow anyone to rob you of even one day of your life…much less your life in total, as almost happened to me!

Best wishes in health!

John

Professor John P. J. Zajaros., Sr., The Bad Back Guy
216-712-6526
216-539-7412 (bus)
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@ultimatebadbackstrategies.com

PS, If you would like to take matters into your own hands and grab control of your life? If you would like to achieve a neck pain, back pain, and sciatica free life? Simply click here and you will be on you way, one step closer to neck pain, back pain, and sciatica relief…once and for all!

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Stretching is a crucial part of any neck pain, back pain, and sciatica relief and treatment exercise program.

Begin your routine slowly and you will be amazed at the results!

I have made the video below with two stretches I do often, several times a day as a matter of fact. They help relieve tension and they help to alleviate stiff and tired neck and back muscles.

For those just beginning a neck pain, back pain, and sciatica relief and treatment exercise program, these stretches will be immensely helpful!

Contact me anytime!

John

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr., The Bad Back Guy
216-712-6526
866-835-2913 (toll free)
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@ultimatebadbackstrategies.com

PS, For a wonderful program that will get you started in the right way and lead to real and lasting neck pain, back pain, and sciatica relief…just click here!

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• 

Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica: Understanding and Dealing With Failed Back Surgery Syndrome

Spine surgeries are performed for a myriad of conditions and complaints every year here in the United States and around the world. Of the spine surgeries performed, an incredibly high number result in what is known as failed back surgery syndrome.

When referring to the terms spine surgery and back surgery, I will be applying them in their broadest sense, meaning neck, upper, middle, and lower back surgery.

Back surgery is generally the result of a number of complaints and conditions, usually all related in some way to acute and/or chronic neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica. Failed back surgery syndrome is generally a continuation of pain, known as chronic pain, and other symptoms affecting the patient.

The medical names for the various back pain expressions are as follows:

1) Back pain, also known as dorsalgia, is a generalized pain experienced, mild to acute, isolated to chronic, in the back and originating as the result of a number of conditions, affecting a variety of structures (e.g., nerves, vertebrae, joints, intervertebral discs, etc). Back pain is said to affect as many as 95% of all adults at some time in their lives.

2) Neck pain, also known as cervicalgia, affects as many as 66% of all adults at some time in their lives. Neck pain may also express as pain in the shoulder, arm, and hand, with associated numbness and tingling into the hands and fingers.

3) Upper back pain, also referred to as thoracic pain or middle back pain, is expressed along the spine from C7 to L1, or from the base of the neck to the base of the thoracic region of the spine. Upper or middle back pain is often but not always isolated to a specific location and has a lower incidence than neck or lower back pain.

4) Lower or low back pain, also known as lumbago, is pain in the lumbar region and may be localized or may radiate laterally. In its worst form, lower back pain will be accompanied by sciatica or leg pain radiating into one or both legs.

5) Sciatic nerve pain or sciatica, also referred to as sciatic neuritis, often associated with lumbar radiculopathy, and commonly referred to as “leg pain,” generally arises as a result of an irritation or compression of one of the five nerve roots that ultimately make up the sciatic nerve. The leg pain may extend into the feet and often ranges from acute to chronic and sensation from tingling to numbness of the legs, feet, and even the toes.

Stress and Trauma Induced Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica

The pain expressions listed above, neck pain, upper and middle back pain, lower back pain, and sciatica, are complex and often arise as the result of stress placed on the spine and the reaction of the spine and the supporting musculoskeletal system to a specific stressor or constellation of stressors, whether generalized or specific. The spine may also be traumatized as the result of an isolated event, thus resulting in pain to a specific location and ranging once again from acute to chronic, depending on a myriad of factors.

Failed Back Surgery Syndrome: Failure of Expectations

Often, particularly when the reason for the back pain is the result of a number of factors, back surgery may not yield the anticipated result. The failure of the back surgery thus leading to a continuation and, in many instances, increasing levels of neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica, and failed back surgery syndrome.

Failed Back Surgery Syndrome: Odds of Success and Behaviors

It is estimated that several million individuals see a medical practitioner daily for neck, back, and sciatic nerve pain and that between four hundred thousand and five hundred thousand individuals in the United States alone undergo back surgery in one form or another every year. Of the half a million neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica sufferers who submit to back surgery every year, between 20% and 40% continue to have significant issues, to include similar or increased levels of pain, overall muscle weakness, excess weight and/or obesity, sleep disorders, depression, numbness and tingling of the extremities, and disability…to list just a few.

Failed Backs and Frustration Across the Board!

There is a general sense of frustration, not only on the part of the surgical patients and their families, but also within the medical community, as failed back surgery syndrome is one of the most perplexing issues facing orthopedic medicine today. The condition is not an isolated syndrome, and in fact to call failed back surgery syndrome a “syndrome” is a misnomer, it is a condition resulting from a constellation of issues and a myriad of factors, many completely unrelated to the surgical procedure itself.

Failed Back Surgery Syndrome: Reinforcing Results and Behavior

Individuals with failed back surgery syndrome, also referred to as post-laminectomy syndrome and failed spine surgery, or simply failed backs, generally have chronic to chronically acute pain affecting the original area of concern. Neck pain, back pain, and sciatica may grow worse with time and the pain may become debilitating and disabling. The resulting pain often leads to guarding, decreased activity, loss of muscle tone and sensation, over all malaise, and often addiction to pain medication.

A Mixed Bag: Why FBBS?

Failed back surgery syndrome may result from an ill-advised surgery, an ill-prepared surgical patient, an improperly executed surgical procedure, an incomplete surgical procedure, an incomplete or inadequate post-operative experience to include under prescribed physical therapy or incomplete physical therapy regimen, and a myriad of other reasons and consequences. Failed back surgery syndrome may also be the result of a number of psycho-social and socio-economic factors, as has been suggested in the medical literature lately as orthopedic medicine attempts to come to grips with this complex and frustrating issue.

The Reality of Failed Back Surgery Syndrome: Get a Second Opinion!

The reality of the matter is, regardless of cause, failed back surgery syndrome is a fact of life for tens of thousands of neck pain, back pain, and sciatica sufferers every year…and there is little hope in sight that this complex issue will be resolved any time soon. Ultimately, before agreeing to any sort of surgical intervention for neck, back or sciatic nerve pain, an individual should get a second opinion and explore every avenue of relief possible first…because the risk of a failed back surgery is real.

More in the next article: How to Deal With Failed back Surgery Syndrome

You can also see several videos dealing with failed back surgery syndrome and neck pain, back pain, and sciatica at my blog covering The 30 Day Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica!

John

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr., The Bad Back Guy
216-712-6526
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@ultimatebadbackstrategies.com

PS, If you want to win back your life and live neck pain, back pain, and sciatica free? If you want to find real and lasting pain relief in a program of self-treatment with great individualized support? A free trial that is 100% guaranteed? Just click this link and begin your new life today!

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• 

The 5 Ds – Degenerative Disc Disease, Diet, and Dehydration
Degenerative Disc Disease Part III

As stated in the previous two articles in this series, degenerative disc disease is not a disease but a process, a condition. Or, better still, degenerative disc disease is an age-progressive phenomenon or set of phenomena working in concert, and against musculoskeletal health generally, and spine health in particular. Degenerative disc disease affects millions worldwide, one of the principal causes of neck, back, and the sciatic nerve pain as we age.

There are a number of reasons why musculoskeletal health generally, and spine health in particular, degenerates as we grow older. There are a myriad of factors and processes that come into play and affect the overall health of the spine as we age, to include:

• Many begin to carry excess weight, some becoming medically obese.

• Our muscles weaken as we age, particularly when living a sedentary lifestyle.

• Muscle imbalances are common and widely misunderstood.

• Inadequate diet and nutrition is a fact of life for many reasons, around the world.

• Inadequate hydration and/or dehydration is a reality for many of us.

We have touched upon the first three of the above factors contributing to degenerative disc disease in the first two parts in this series. In this article, we will deal with the fourth and fifth factors on this list:

• Inadequate diet and nutrition

• Inadequate hydration and/or dehydration

In many ways, the final two factors are the most important for reasons we will discuss below (note: the number of factors affecting spine health is by no means restricted to the five mentioned previously and above but they are the most important).

Degenerative disc disease generally leads to neck pain, back pain, and sciatica at one point or another in our lives, particularly as we age.

Degeneration of the intervertebral disc (IVDs or discs) may lead to a bulging or herniated (ruptured) disc. When the disc bulges or ruptures posteriorly (to the back), the disc material may affect (i.e., irritate or impinge) the nerve root and lead to neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica…depending on the level affected. Disc degeneration, depending on how severe and at what level, may lead to a cascading or ripple effect. Whereby, discs above and below the affected IVD begin to come under increasing levels of stress and may bulge or rupture, particularly if they have started to degenerate, as well. This sort of ripple effect can be very difficult to treat and neck or back surgery is generally ill advised, the likelihood of failed back surgery syndrome is a reality.

In an individual with advanced degenerative disc disease, the prognosis is generally not good and neck pain, back pain, and sciatica may be chronic and pervasive throughout the spine.

While the above scenario sounds dire, there is a way out!

We have discussed excess weight and/or obesity, muscle weakness, and muscle imbalance in the previous two parts in this series. Diet and nutrition and hydration are crucial to tying it all together and, without attention to these final two factors, the likelihood of a good outcome when dealing with degenerative disc disease is almost nonexistent.

Diet, Nutrition, and Dehydration

Without proper diet and nutrition, and without adequate hydration, meaning an adequate intake of water on a daily basis, our body cannot ward off the effects of age nor can it replenish and rebuild itself, as is required for overall spine health. There are a number of reasons why diet and nutrition, or rather inadequate diet and inadequate nutrition come into play, particularly as we age. Many of the reasons for inadequate diet and nutrition are cultural, some are biological, and many more are economic. For many throughout the world, it is a combination of all three. However, for the majority of us in the western world it is a matter of lifestyle. In very much the same way a sedentary lifestyle often affects disc degeneration, leading to degenerative disc disease and neck pain, back pain, and sciatica, a busy lifestyle, one where meals a gulped down and little attention is paid to nutrition and balanced meals, the outcome may be the same.

Rebuild and Replenish: The Consequences of Aging

When little attention is paid to diet and nutrition, the body simply cannot ward off the effects of aging and cannot repair and rebuild itself. As we live our lives, the body generally, and spine in particular is placed under severe stress and often must deal with traumatic events on a daily basis. If the spine is healthy and has plenty of material to rebuild itself, the stress and even isolated trauma is generally handled quite nicely. However, as spine health begins to deteriorate and the process of disc degeneration is initiated, combined with an inadequate diet lacking the proper nutrients, the breakdown in overall spine health is exponential and neck pain, back pain, and sciatica becomes a reality. This is easily offset, if caught early enough, and may be arrested even in more advanced cases, provided proper attention is paid to nutrition and diet…meaning what and when we eat.

Dehydration: A Fact of Life for Millions

The final component to be dealt with in this article, the last of the five factors contributing to degenerative disc disease; and, neck pain, back pain, and sciatica is dehydration or simply inadequate hydration. The intervertebral discs are made up of approximately 85% water. During the course of the day we lose a great deal of water through a variety of processes and functions. By the end of the day, providing we do not take in adequate amounts of water, we go into water debt. The debt is difficult to repay and the damage done, if this debt is ongoing, is substantial. Water is crucial to bodily function and is necessary for cell health, for rebuilding and repairing various anatomical structures, and for overall physiology. Meaning, without water the structure and the function of the body is negatively affected.

When it comes to spine health, dehydration leads to intervertebral disc degeneration because the main component of the IVDs, water, is lacking.

In today’s world, we take in large amounts:

• Soft drinks, many with caffeine and sodium.

• Coffee and tea, both with high levels of caffeine and/or related substances.

• Alcohol, more destructive and in more ways than we can address here.

• Sports drinks, perhaps the worst when it comes to sodium.

• Energy Drinks, perhaps the worst of all for sodium, caffeine, and a number of other substances (chemicals)!

In every instance, in every drink listed above, there is one common factor, they are all diuretic. Consequently, they all negatively impact the body’s overall ability to hold water. As a result, and because they are the staff of life for millions of people around the world, almost all of us drink them, many of us are in a constant state of dehydration…and don’t even know it.

The constant state of dehydration leads to inadequate amounts of the necessary component for proper spine health, water.

Dehydration also leads to significant problems at the cellular level. If there is not enough water for the body to properly conduct the business of life, it will rob the resources it needs from other areas, in this case the body will find the water necessary for day-to-day existence and the overall health of the spine will suffer. The constellation of behaviors and consequences above leads to disc degeneration.

The IVD degeneration leading to degenerative disc disease and, you guessed it:

• Neck Pain

• Back Pain

• Sciatic Nerve Pain or Sciatica

So, what is the answer?

Actually, the solution is not as complex or as overwhelming as it may appear. In order to offset the consequences of aging, particularly the consequences with a behavioral component, we need to adjust our behavior. If we adjust our behavior by addressing the negative impact of the 5 factors on the body generally, and the musculoskeletal system and spine specifically, we may be well on the way to our very own Fountain of Youth.

By addressing the factors leading to a breakdown at the cellular level (i.e., diet and nutrition, dehydration), addressing the behaviors affecting the musculoskeletal system (i.e., the 5 factors), and integrating a plan to focus on the body as a whole (i.e., diet, exercise, and education), we will insure proper spine health and may be able to alleviate and/or eliminate the consequences of degenerative disc disease and neck pain, back pain, and sciatica.

John

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr., The Bad Back Guy
216-712-6526
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@ultimatebadbackstrategies.com

PS, If you are ready to begin the process of changing your behavior and dealing with your neck pain, back pain, and sciatica, as well as your degenerative disc disease, simply click here and take the next step! If you make the decision and take the first step, you will never regret it. And, you may discover your very own Fountain of Youth!

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Degenerative Disc Disease and Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica Treatment and Relief: Part II

Contrary to what many in the medical community would have you believe, degenerative disc disease is not a disease at all, it is a condition. In fact, degenerative disc disease is a symptom of a breakdown in the overall health of the musculoskeletal system, generally. And, it is a symptom of deterioration in the health of the spine, specifically. Significantly, degenerative disc disease is an age-progressive phenomenon affecting millions worldwide, one of the primary causes of neck pain, back pain, and sciatica, primarily as we age.

Let me restate my main points:

• Degenerative disc disease is not a disease, it is a condition!

• Degenerative disc disease is an age-progressive phenomenon. Or, more accurately, it is an age-progressive constellation of phenomena.

• Degenerative disc disease is actually several phenomena, meaning there are several age-related factors working against us, and our spines, in concert as we age.

• Degenerative disc disease is age-progressive, behavioral, and preventable!

There are many factors that come into play, affecting the musculoskeletal system generally, and the spine specifically. Consequently, some of the factors affecting spine health contribute to degeneration of the spine generally and the intervertebral discs (IVDs or discs), specifically; and, there is a ripple effect as the breakdown in one system impacts and affects the next, and so on.

The degeneration of the spine leads to specific and often serious consequences. Some of the consequences associated with spinal degeneration include structural changes, as in the case of degenerative disc disease.

Some of the structural changes include:

• Bony spurs, also known as osteophytes. Osteophytes generally appear in direct response to stress or a traumatic event. The overall appearance of osteophytes,
and the associated bridging (a fusion or near-fusion of osteophytes across the intervertebral space), mimics the curvatures of the spine in frequency, with the secondary curvatures being more commonly affected. The secondary curvatures being those of the cervical (neck) and lumbar (lower back) regions. The presence of osteophytes may be asymptomatic, meaning no pain or other symptoms are apparent, or they may lead to neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica, depending on the level and severity.

• Stenosis. Stenosis is a narrowing of various spinal openings, known as foramen, by the deposition of bone. Bony deposition may also be a consequence of ossification and/or calcification of connective tissue adjacent to the foramen. The intervertebral foramen allow the spinal nerve roots to exit the spinal canal. Pressure, stress and/or trauma on and of the nerve roots, either as a consequence of stenosis or as a result of bulging or herniated discs, will often lead to neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica, depending on the severity and the level of the spine affected.

• Osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis may cause abnormal bone deposition, often leading to stenosis, osteophytosis (the creation of osteophytes), and neck pain, back pain, and sciatica. Osteoarthritis generally affects the secondary curvatures with greater frequency and intensity, particularly as we age. In our 60s, 70s, and 80s osteoarthritis may be every bit as common a factor in neck pain, back pain, and sciatica as degenerative disc disease. In fact, the often co-present in the same individual and are interrelated.

• Changes to the intervertebral discs. Changes to the IVDs occur as a consequence of the five factors mentioned above, all five contributing to degenerative disc disease, and other age-progressive phenomena, such as osteoarthritis and osteophytosis, also affected by the five factors. Changes in the intervertebral discs is one of the primary causes of neck pain, back pain, and sciatica.

• Connective tissue damage, including ossification and calcification. The reasons for a breakdown in the connective tissue associated with the spine can in large measure be traced back to the five factors. However, factors such as ankylosing spondylitis, rheumatoid arthritis, and several other conditions, diseases, and traumatic events may contribute to a breakdown of the connective tissue, particularly the spinal ligaments. The breakdown of the spinal ligaments is one of the principle factors contributing to degenerative disc disease and neck pain, back pain, and sciatica.

• The vertebrae (vertebral bodies). As stress transfers from the muscles to the connective tissue and on to the intervertebral discs, the stress and associated trauma adversely affects and impacts the vertebrae. When the vertebrae are adversely affected by stress and trauma meant to be handled by other components of the musculoskeletal system generally, and the spine specifically, the vertebrae undergo structural changes. Often when the vertebrae are stressed, osteophytes and osteophyte bridges occur. The osteophytes may be an adaptive response on the part of the spine to stress normally handled by the musculature, connective tissue, and intervertebral discs.

The structural changes listed above, incomplete as the list may be, provides a window into how interconnected and interrelated the spine is as a living system and how one component’s health directly affects the overall spine health.

As noted above and in part one, some of the factors contributing to a breakdown of spine health include:

• Excess weight and/or obesity

• Muscle weakness

• Muscle imbalance

• Inadequate diet and nutrition

• Dehydration

The five principle factors listed above, along with other contributory factors, negatively impact the musculoskeletal system and place stress on the spine generally, and its components individually. Consequently, stress on the spine often creates a breakdown in the overall health of the system and degeneration of the individual components, including the intervertebral discs or IVDs (or more simply, the discs), thus leading to a myriad of consequences…including degenerative disc disease and neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica.

As stated in part one, stress placed on the spine as we age may be traced, in part, back to excess weight and/or obesity. Excess weight sets in place a ripple effect throughout the spine. The excess weight often leads to exaggerated spinal curvatures. The exaggerated curvatures of the spine stress the musculature, particularly the core muscles of the lower back and abdomen. Muscle weakness leads to back strain and back sprains. Muscle weakness may also lead to muscle imbalance, although muscle imbalances may also occur in otherwise healthy individuals, something we will address in an upcoming article. Muscle weakness and muscle imbalance may also exacerbate neck pain, back pain, and sciatica.

Interestingly, muscle weakness and muscle imbalance may lead to exaggerated spinal curvatures. Exaggerated spinal curvatures may lead to muscle weakness and muscle imbalance. All four factors, excess weight and/or obesity, exaggerated spinal curvatures, muscle weakness, and muscle imbalance will lead to a breakdown in the connective tissue, particularly the spinal ligaments, and the intervertebral discs (IVDs), thus leading to degenerative disc disease. The vertebrae themselves are affected by the stress being transferred from muscle, to ligament, to IVD, to vertebral body, leading to osteophytosis and other bony changes.

All of the above related factors will result in neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica, depending on the level of the spine affected. In later life, the health of the spine becomes adversely affected and debilitating pain and disability may result. The entire process is often accelerated by decades when the five factors work in concert and against the musculoskeletal system and the spine, leading to early onset degenerative disc disease and neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica.

As the spinal system begins to break down, as demonstrated above, the impact is often across the board, meaning as one component breaks down they all do, one affecting the next. Degeneration of the intervertebral discs may and often does occur, thus leading to degenerative disc disease and neck pain, back pain, and sciatica.

In part three we will examine the final two factors, inadequate diet and nutrition, and inadequate hydration or dehydration. The final two factors to be examined are as important, if not more-so, depending on the individual. Diet, nutrition, and hydration may affect and impact not only the overall spine health but the body’s ability to heal and rebuild itself when stressed and during and after a traumatic event.

Ultimately, the five factors contribute to degenerative disc disease and neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica, they must be dealt with in the context of an entire system and not as singular entities if neck pain, back pain, and sciatica treatment is to be effective and pain relief lasting.

To your health!

John

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr., The Bad Back Guy
216-712-6526
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@ultimatebadbackstrategies.com

PS, Do you want to start right away? Are you ready to be rid of your neck pain, back pain or sciatica? Do you want to find real and lasting neck pain, back pain, and sciatica relief? Just click this link and start today!

PPS, Or go to my other neck pain, back pain, and sciatica blog and follow us, join us, as we create a new future in time for the New year…one without pain, one with real and lasting pain relief!

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I subscribe to Google Alerts, and a few other services, for terms like neck pain, back pain, sciatica, sciatic nerve pain, arthritis, and a few others. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Google Alerts, it is a service that allows me to keep track of certain subjects I am interested in. I subscribe to certain words and phrases in order to keep track of what is going on in my area of specialization and so I can advise you when something really useful comes across my monitor.

The “information” below is absolute garbage (spelled cr#p)! It routinely circulates around the Internet and the sole purpose is to sell stuff, lost of stuff, and they don’t care how they do it…or at whose expense!
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“Sciatica is single of the top results of pinched nerve agony and without favoritism nothing special. The sciatic nerve leaving the spine through a herniated disc gets pinched resulting in pain that travels down the back of your leg towards the feet. The anguish can come to pass felt anywhere from the back to buttocks to hips and can come to pass soft to unbearable. This sorrow and results in the field of a scratchy feeling before shocking sorrow the whole time the strut and every now and then numbness in the field of the leg. Even though the pinching happens in the sphere of lone place the ensuing agony can be located anywhere and different from lone person to one more.”

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The fact that someone would post something like this is even more reprehensible when you think about when and why people come to the Internet with this sort of a search. People searching for these terms, neck pain, back pain, and sciatica, are usually in acute and/or chronic pain and are desperate to find help. Unfortunately, if an individual runs across one or two sites like this, they may abandon their search and never find the help they need.

When searching for information on the Internet, make sure the person or company offering information is available and they are reputable. The contact information for the person or company should be readily available, easy to access. The site should be informative and the articles well-written.

There are millions of blogs and websites on the Internet, so take care and make sure you follow someone who not only has your interests at heart but is available to confer and consult with…either as a client or as a fellow traveler dealing with a specific issue.

If a person can’t string two sentences together (everyone makes a typo now and then) and doesn’t take the time to proofread their articles and blog posts, how much attention do you think they gave to the subject matter? And how much attention do you think you will receive if you should want to contact them? You are dealing with one of your greatest assets, your health, make sure you are entrusting it to someone who not only empathizes with you but is compassionate and caring enough to provide useful and accurate information.

Ultimately, neck pain, back pain, and sciatic nerve pain are among the most debilitating and disabling forms of acute and chronic pain, make sure you are referencing someone who has your best interests at heart…or go elsewhere.

Yours in health!

John

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr., The Bad Back Guy
216-712-6526
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@ultimatebadbackstrategies.com

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