A Conversation with a Facebook and YouTube Subscriber

asks

How Do I Reclaim My Life After Back Surgery

NOTE: Before I do anything, I want to apologize for my recent neglect when it comes to this blog. A funny thing happened on my way to building this blog…I got my life back!

In the process of regaining my strength and control of my life, I stopped doing some of the things I was advocating, the things that worked for me and for so many others.

Please understand, my advice has always been anecdotal and provided solely to help others, and my neck pain, back pain, and sciatica didn’t completely disappear, but my pain was significantly reduced and I was able to start rebuilding my life.

How great is that?! 

Why am I even mentioning this?

Because I feel responsible and because of all the Christmas (Happy Holidays) emails I sent out to the subscribers of my various blogs and websites? I had the biggest reaction from my back pain blog subscribers.

I have three back pain blogs, all dedicated to helping others overcome their acute and/or chronic neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica and reclaim their lives.

I honestly love making the videos, writing the articles and blog posts, and providing insight into how I achieved real and lasting pain relief.

I love it!

I just got away from it for a time.

So, the reaction I’m talking about, the one that came from those I tried to help?

It was entirely negative!

I sent out over 500 Christmas eCards/emails to my neck pain, back pain, and sciatica blog subscribers; and, I had the highest open rate I have ever had. I also had the highest unsubscribe numbers to date…all from my back pain websites!

Not one unsubscribe from any of the hundreds of subscribers at any of the other websites or blogs…not one!

I got the message!

I let you down and I am so very sorry! You were in pain and I apparently let some of you down!

My labor of love somehow let several people down to the point that they not only unsubscribed…they complained about spam!

They complained that a Christmas card, a Happy Holidays greeting, constituted spam!

Now understand this:

• They subscribed
• They went through a double opt-in system, confirming not once but twice
• They received a Holiday Greeting not a sales solicitation
• They unsubscribed (OK, I get it)
• And then, they complained!

That’s a message!

So, once again, I apologize!

I will do all I can to provide useful information on a regular basis. If I find I cannot? I will either take the blog down or sell it and donate the money to Providence House, a childrens’ shelter in Cleveland, Ohio. Providence House, and one other shelter for domestic violence, have received every penny generated from the sales of ebooks and ecourses specifically designed to help my readers, subscribers, and social media friends with their neck pain, back pain, and sciatica.

OK?

Now, on with an exchange that grew into something I thought might help others. This sort of thing happens quite often, either on Facebook, YouTube (where we have had almost 250,000 video views in less than 3 years), or here at Ultimate Bad Back Strategies.

I’d love to hear from you about what happened over Christmas or any insights into the conversation below.

Why?

Because you are important to me!

You see, I did all this to help. Somehow it backfired. Lesson learned, point taken.

I wish every one of you the best each and every day!

I also hope each one of you finds relief from whatever kind of pain you are suffering from:

• Neck Pain
• Back Pain
• Sciatica
• Fibromyalgia
• Depression as a consequence of chronic pain
• Failed Back Surgery Syndrome
• Or any of the other conditions I’ve attempted to cover here

Happy Holidays and the Happiest New Year!

John

The Facebook Exchange

Anita - FB/YT Friend: Hi John I was watching you tube. Are you the gentlemen who had back surgery?

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr: Yup! All 14 times! Hurts just thinking about it.

Anita - FB/YT Friend: I just had tlif 6 months ago. Cage l5 s1. I fell off ladder at work totally rupturing the disc. L5 resting on S1. So disc replacement, rods n the screws. Every day is agony. Just wondering if you are better and what helped. In physical therapy now and it’s hell!

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr: Use ice as often as possible! Heat with the metal will create more inflammation…and thus more pain.

Invest in a solid straight-back rocker and a recliner with an electric control. Invest in 1 or 2 great pillows.

When you can’t sleep or are in too much pain to move, put an ice wrap on your lower back, sit in the recliner, elevate the foot rest, have 1 or two pillows placed under the knees, and recline until comfortable. Put on a good movie, one you know and can follow with your eyes closed or a good audiobook or some peaceful, soothing music.

Then drift off!

It will help with the pain, a lot. Get off the narcotics immediately!

Narcotics will cause rebound pain and you will end up dependent and in pain. A terrible scenario!

Get active! Walk as far as you can each day. Try to walk a little farther on each walk. You will be in more pain if you are inactive, so get active and don’t stop!

Walk to the end of the driveway if that’s all you can do…but start right away.

There are 5 factors that contribute to back pain. You can find them at http://UltimateBadBackStrategies.com/

Good luck Anita! Let me know if I can help in any way!

Anita - FB/YT Friend: I am still taking 3 Percocet Aday. Do you take anything else instead. I live by ice. It freezes my brain lol. I don’t use heat. I had a bad bout of inflammation month 3. I guess the active part is what I really need to work on. I do walk but not far. I am sure my weight don’t help. Many nights I can’t sleep. We had just bought a new sofa and chair right before injury. So I Need to look at that. I just came across your videos and something told me I really needed to reach out to you. Physical therapy had me squatting lifting 40lbs before I even could just do squats. That set me back That happened 3 weeks ago.

So how are you doing now? How long has it been?

Anita - FB/YT Friend: John I pulled up sight but on fb I can’t get but part. I will try to google it. If still can’t maybe I can have you email it. XXXXXXXX@gmail.com

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr: I almost lost my life to osteomyelitis, a staph infection introduced along with the plates, screws, etc. Over the years, I have had 15 major surgeries, 14 on my spine, a total shoulder reconstruction, and a broken neck.

The worst thing was the pain. It wasn’t until I got off the pain meds and started doing a little more each & every day that my life started to turn around.

I not only have the experience as a patient, I have the education as a physical anthropologist. So, while not a medical doctor, I understand the spine and SI joint as well as anyone alive.

The more active you get, the more weight you will drop and the stronger your muscles will become. Deal with the muscle strength, the activity level, and the meds and you will do well. Be careful with PT. They often have no idea what they are doing, particularly when it comes to spine surgery and chronically acute pain.

Great about the ice!

When sleeping, I sleep on my side with a decent pillow between my legs, one at my belly (to keep me from rolling onto my stomach), and one or two under my head. The idea is to keep your spine straight from the cervical region to the sacrum. If someone looked at you while you’re resting on your side, they could draw a straight line. That’s how your spine should line up! It will help with sleep too.

Here are the first steps I took:

• Buy comfortable shoes
• Use ice often
• Walk a bit farther each day
• Integrate a stretching program (twice daily – morning and bedtime)
• Buy a comfortable chair and follow the instructions I gave you
• Count your steps (plan your days to provide for special activities late in the day and to reduce pain)
• Get a Handicap card or sticker for your car (1 fall on the ice will undo everything – and it helps with counting steps)

By counting steps I mean, you only have so much energy and pain tolerance on any one day, particularly when starting out post-op. So, make sure you have enough in reserve to make it through the entire day!

That should do it. At least it will help!

BTW, don’t swim!

Everyone wants to get you into the pool. People think swimming is the be-all to end-all! It’s not true. If you want to get in the water, fine. Just make sure you walk in the water. Do not swim!

Eventually, you will be able to do more:

• Swim
• Ride a bike (recumbent)
• Go for long walks
• And much more

However, when you begin remember to count your steps and to use baby steps!

Best wishes to you in the new year. Contact me anytime and take care Anita!

John

Postscript from Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr: Would you mind if I use our conversation on my blog? I will of course change your name if you want me to but I think it will help a lot of people!

Anita - FB/YT Friend: No don’t mind. For now you can just change or use last name. Icing  Lol

Don’t understand the blog thing.

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr: NO worries! Thank you!

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• 

Overcoming Neck, Back, and Sciatic Nerve Pain: You Too Can Reclaim Your Life!

After some time off, building a life and a business, TuffGuy and I, both a few pounds heavier than last fall, are now back on the road again!

Overcoming neck pain, back pain, and sciatica once seemed an impossibility!

Now?

I am living a miracle, a life I once considered over has been reclaimed…and it is wonderful!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. What does that say about a video?

This video is long but I hope you will find it interesting and informative.

I finish up this video with a surprise, a related message from an amazing writer, a source of inspiration I discovered while looking for something else.

Isn’t that the way of things? We find messages and inspiration in the most interesting places, from the most unexpected messengers. I think this one ranks right up there at the top, one of the best books I’ve read…and I’ve read a lot!

Let me know what you think, leave your story, tell us all about your struggles, your life, the challenges you still face. I would love to hear from you. I am certain my other readers will too!

Thanks and remember, contact me anytime! If you need help or just need someone to share war stories with, contact me! Neck pain, back pain, and sciatica do not have to be a death sentence…you can reclaim your life!

John

Professor John P. J. Zajaros Sr. The Bad Back Guy
216-712-6526 (home office)
440-821-7018 (cell)
johnz@ultimatebadbackstrategies.com
excellencepaidforward@gmail.com (personal email)

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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 5 Factors, The 5 Effects, and The Second Effect: The Financial Effects and the Impact of Chronic Back Pain

The impact and effects of chronic levels of neck pain, back pain, and sciatica are myriad; and, the increase in pain is exponential as a result of one of the 5 factors feeding into another, and thus leading to certain effects we refer to as the 5 effects.

The 5 effects, impacting and affecting the chronic back pain sufferer, feed into one another and to the next…the pain level increases exponentially once again. In other words, with chronic neck, back, and sciatic nerve pain there is a compounding effect and before long there is no way out…or at least that’s what many would have you believe!

While seemingly without hope of a resolution to and relief from the pain, there is a solution!

The video below explains this far better than I can in print. I actually get a bit excited and start something of a rant (sorry!)…but it’s about time! And, it is necessary!

I also discuss a recently cited research study on exercise and back pain. I found the article in one of the more prestigious medical journals and it was also cited on Johns Hopkins website, so I trust it will be helpful for everyone.

Also, take the time to visit either my YouTube Channel or my other chronic neck pain, back pain, and sciatica blog, there is a ton of useful information on how to live a neck pain, back pain, and sciatica free life.

In other words, how to get your life back…a pain free life!

I believe it is crucial for you to understand what is happening to you and to your spine…and not just tell you anything in order to sell you something! It is imperative that you take an active role in your recovery so you can live a happy and healthy lifestyle.

It is possible to overcome chronic neck pain, back pain, and sciatic nerve pain (sciatica). It is possible to overcome failed back surgery syndrome, and it is also possible to win the battle against long term debilitating pain and disability.

The Second Effect: Financial

The 2nd of the five effects is financial and the impact on one’s life can be profound!

The impact of the second effect, financial, often means everything from hefty medical co-pays and credit issues to bankruptcy and foreclosure, everything from loss of time at work to loss of employment and long term disability. The impact of the financial effects, and they are all inter-related, are physical, mental, and spiritual.

Financial stress feeds into psychological stress and both exacerbate your chronic neck pain, back pain, and sciatica. The chronic pain level increases, then feeds back into the 5 effects and it starts all over again, a classic feedback loop. In short order, the entire organism, the entire system, our body is affected. The chronic pain sufferer then exhibits all of the consequences of the 5 effects of neck pain, back pain, sciatica.

The 5 factors and the 5 effects work against our recovery, so we must understand them and deal with them accordingly…one step at a time!

Contact me anytime. Watch the entire video, as it will give you a better sense of just how passionate I am about this topic and why you should be too! I know it went a bit long but there is a reason and I assure you it will be worth it!

Again, contact me anytime!

John

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

PS, If you want to get started today on a program that will result in real and lasting neck pain, back pain, and sciatica relief, simply click the link here and you will be on your way to a neck pain, back pain, and sciatic nerve pain free life!

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• 

The First Effect: The Psychological Effects and Overall Impact of Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatic Nerve Pain (Sciatica)

We have discussed the 5 and 5, the 5 factors and the 5 effects leading to, contributing to, and exacerbating neck pain, back pain, and sciatica and particularly chronic and/or chronically acute neck, back, and sciatic nerve pain.

The 5 factors have been dealt with in depth over the last few months. So,in the upcoming blog posts and videos, we will focus on the 5 effects and how they relate to and exacerbate your chronic pain condition.

The first effect we will explore will be the psychological effect.

Once we have discovered how the psychological effect relates to neck pain, back pain, and sciatica generally, we will explore in depth how it affects and impacts the overall pain level…and how chronic pain impacts and affects our lives, specifically.

Once we have explored the 5 effects, and have also examined their relationship to the 5 factors…and to chronic pain, we will be ready to build a comprehensive program for you to finally overcome your neck pain, back pain, and sciatica; and thus achieving real and lasting pain relief.

We will begin tomorrow!

Watch for related videos and articles at the Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatitca Strategies of The Bad Back Guy!

John

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

PS, If you are ready to begin a new life, a neck pain, back pain, and sciatica free life today, just click here!

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The 5 Effects and the 5 Contributory Factors Exacerbating Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica

The 5 factors contributing to neck pain, back pain, and sciatic nerve pain or sciatica have been discussed at length, and yet bear repeating.

The 5 factors are:

Excess weight and/or obesity

Muscle weakness

Muscle imbalance

Inadequate diet and nutrition

Dehydration or inadequate hydration

The 5 factors lead to and exacerbate neck pain, back pain, and sciatica in most adults at some point in their lives; and, many children, as well.

The 5 effects are a bit different in nature but they are affected by the 5 factors in a myriad of ways and the 5 factors may in fact lead to many more than 5 consequences, as they have a compounding effect on an individual.

The 5 effects are:

1) Psychic or Psychological Effects. The psychological effects result in a myriad of consequences and/or affects. In many individuals, chronic and chronically acute neck pain, back pain, and sciatic nerve pain (sciatica) are responsible for a myriad of psychological consequences and diagnoses, to include depression and anxiety disorder.

2) Financial Effects. The financial effect and impact of chronic neck pain, back pain, and sciatica cannot be overstated. Not only is permanent disability a real consideration but the debilitating pain can also lead to a myriad of financial consequences. Additionally, financial effects include possible bankruptcy, as a consequence of long term medical care and the costs associated with such care. The costs associated with medical bills, lost income, and many other “hidden” costs cannot be hidden from and include doctor, hospital, and pharmacy co-pays, lost wages, and other associated and related expenses.

3) Physical Effects. The physical effects go hand-in-hand with the 5 factors. Significantly, the affect or effect of chronic pain, combined with the 5 factors and the other 4 principle effects, lead to an over physical deterioration of the neck pain, back pain, and sciatica patient. Such effects as ulcers, migraine headaches, colitis, and increased levels of neck pain, back pain, and sciatica have been reported. There seems to be a compounding effect on long term neck, back, and sciatic nerve pain sufferers. There is also a lot of data that suggests the neck pain, back pain, and sciatica may have a combined psycho-social affect.

4) Functional Effects. The body does not perform well under severe stress and when an individual is in chronic and/or acute levels of pain. Not only is bodily function impaired, the resulting functional affect may be devastating on the overall health of the individual neck pain, back pain, and sciatic nerve pain sufferers.

5) Systemic Effects. An individual’s entire body may be affected. Meaning, an individual suffering from neck pain, back pain, and sciatica may undergo a system-wide breakdown of the body. In such cases, many and often every aspect of an individual’s life is affected, long term.

How does an individual suffering from chronic to acutely chronic neck pain, back pain, and sciatica overcome such obstacles?

The neck pain, back pain, and sciatica patient must first deal with the 5 factors, while at the same time focusing on the overall impact of the 5 affects. This is by no means an easy task and the long term prognosis for chronic neck pain, back pain, and sciatica sufferers is yet unclear. Yet, one thing is clear, doing nothing will only contribute to the problem and lead to a more significant effects.

Ultimately, the choice is yours, the decision to take the first step is yours to make. But the alternative? Neck pain, back pain, and sciatica exacerbated by the 5 factors and leading to greater overall breakdown the entire system, in this case the human body.

Yours in health!

John

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

PS, To take the first step, to make the decision to deal effectively with the 5 factors and the 5 effects, eliminating neck pain, back pain, and sciatica is yours to make. Contact me if you need help any time, for any thing!

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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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The Ultimate Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica Relief and Treatment Strategies for a New You in the New Year!

Over the course of the Summer and Fall we have explored many of the ultimate in neck pain, back pain, and sciatica relief and treatment strategies, in terms of self-administered treatment and focusing on:

1) The personal assessment, to include the visual assessment, measures with the tape and a scale, and chronicling the observations made in a journal and on a spreadsheet. By doing a proper personal assessment and then keeping track of the course of treatment, both in terms of results and setbacks, you will be able to pinpoint the areas needing attention and those areas responding to your neck pain, back pain, and sciatica relief and treatment strategy.

2) The proper equipment to implement your program. This not only includes the proper gear but the best exercise facility and a trainer suited for someone with neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica. Also get proper shoes, socks, ice-compression braces for the cervical and/or lumbar regions, and related materials and equipment for your walks, workouts, and for your day-to-day life. DO NOT SKIMP! You will pay the price if you do. Just think about how much you have spent on medical bills, co-pays, prescriptions, and lost wages! Also carry with you an emergency kit for your walks and workouts, so if something should come up, you are prepared.

3) This also includes the best medical practitioner, one sensitive to your needs as a patient and as a person attempting to reclaim their life. I feel this is crucial! Do not accept someone with a fatalistic approach! You are not doomed to have neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica for the remainder of your life. If you have a medical practitioner who tries to get you to go along with that mindset…fire him or her at once! Keep in mind another thing, the best available at the present time, does not mean it will be the best available 6 months, a year or 5 years later. So never give up…and never give in!

4) The proper program! This is crucial. I’m afraid there are gaps in almost every program out there. Not only does each and every program have gaps, they all have their particular biases. Remember, what works for one may not work for the next, so if something doesn’t match up well and workout to your satisfaction, after a proper trial, of course, then move on. But never give up or give in! There is a program for you…or another coming down the pike in the next few months! (Guaranteed!)

5) Get active! Make sure you begin with stretching and walking, then build up to exercises designed to make the most of your time and situation…while still dealing with you neck pain, back pain, and sciatica. Make sure you don’t over do it at first but make sure you maintain an active lifestyle, and do more each and every day.

6) Remember CANI! Tony Robbins’s “constant and never-ending improvement!” Only through consistent and constant action, building one day upon the day before, can we ever hope to achieve our goal…in this case neck pain, back pain, and sciatica relief long term.

For the remainder of the steps we have taken, just look back over the past 5 months, here and at The Bad Back Guy’s Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica Relief Blog!

The video below includes a description of the next 40 days, in very broad strokes. I hope you will stay with me for the next 40 days, as we enter the New Year…a neck pain, back pain, and sciatica free New Year!

Take a look back to June 30, 2009, by then I was well on the way to a new life, a neck pain, back pain, and sciatica free life. However, you will see a different person than the one looking back at you from the video below. I did that in less than 5 months! I can help you do the same…if you will allow me into your life just long enough to help you change it, to get it back, to find real and lasting neck pain, back pain, and sciatica relief!

I look forward to serving you, if you will let me! Neck pain, back pain, and sciatica do not have to be a reality…and neither do any of the 5 factors:

1) Excess weight and/or obesity.

2) Muscle weakness.

3) Muscle imbalance.

4) Inadequate diet and nutrition.

5) Dehydration.

After 14 spine operations, a complete shoulder reconstruction, and a number of other injuries and medical issues, including 2 crushed vertebrae in my neck, I am no stranger to pain, to surgery, or to rehab. My military background, my background training top-level amateur and professional athletes, and my education as a physical anthropologist, winning one of the most prestigious doctoral fellowships in the country at the time, and focusing on age-progressive phenomena affecting the spine and sacroiliac joint, put me in a unique position to not only help myself…but to offer my assistance to those who need it, if you want it!

Once again…neck pain, back pain, and sciatica do not have to be a death sentence…or a lost-life sentence! There is a way out and I can help!

Contact me anytime!

John

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

PS, For the best program online at the moment, and a great first step to neck pain, back pain, and sciatica relief…click here!

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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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