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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• 

Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica Do NOT  Have to Be a Death Sentence…or a Life Sentence!

I have been thinking a lot about why people seem to lash out and cast aspersions when someone is sincerely trying to help, when someone is offering a better way to deal with some aspect of one’s life, and I finally got it!

I have been writing on a myriad of topics for a little over a year now, not only on subjects related to neck pain, back pain, and sciatica…but subjects pertaining to business, marketing, success, persistence, determination, and life, in general.

All the things I earned an honorary doctorate in while fighting for my life!

A little background.

A while back I wrote an article and did a video about how Tony Robbins had offered support at just the right time, in just the right way, and it made a huge difference in my life.

I was attacked for it!

I called him the “Crazed Canuck!”

The Crazed Canuck called me a scammer and attacked my personal and professional integrity. He also made mention of my background and questioned my success in life as related to my office furnishings.

Interesting, a bit amusing, and…

Incredible!

I have never made it a secret that I am rebuilding my life after a catastrophic illness(es) and that we are basically starting from scratch.

Had it not been for incredible friends and community support at just the right moment, we would have been homeless. Even after surviving the worst of it, getting a handle on my incredibly complex neck pain, back pain, and sciatica related issues, and beating a decade long addiction to Oxycontin and Fentanyl, legally prescribed, life, and my recovery, were tenuous for a time.

We were the poster family for Dire Straits!

Since that awful time, I have reclaimed and rebuilt my life, getting a handle on my neck pain, back pain, sciatica, and the underlying diseases that were are the root of my acute and chronic pain.

Anyway, back to The Bad Back Guy!

I started writing about neck pain, back pain, and sciatica to help others.

Then, I started chronicling my efforts using video, so people could see for themselves that I was really doing what I said they should do.

Seeing is believing and all of that!

Then, I started promoting a neck pain, back pain, and sciatica relief program I have used (see the postscript), and works, because people need an alternative to conventional and institutionalized treatment for their neck, back, and sciatic nerve pain, especially when the medical community has written, and ripped, you off…

As they had me!

But I kept getting attacked!

Tony Robbins said it is part of what makes some people tick. He and I follow each other on Twitter and I direct messaged (DM) him after I was attacked by The Crazed Canuck. Tony Robbins is no stranger to personal and professional attacks, and yet I know him to be an awesome guy with an amazingly big heart!

If Tony Robbins gets attacked, I figured I was in good company!

When I first started online and started trying to make a difference in the lives of people suffering from neck pain, back pain, and sciatica, I was taken aback by the venom in some of the attacks.

I would love to tell you I am used to them…but I think I understand them better.

I have continued to grapple with the reasons for the attacks.

Why anyone would attack someone who is simply trying to help others deal with neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica?

Then it hit me!

You see, I have been wrestling with this for a while now.

First, from a personal point of view as someone reacting to the personal nature of the attacks; and later, as an academic, one interested in what makes some people lash out like that.

Well, I was reading, I say reading but I was actually listening to an unabridged audiobook but Seth Godin, Linchpin: Are You Indispensible? A great book, by the way, and it came to me.

Eureka!

The reason people get angry, the reason they lash out, is because they are afraid!

Well, not wanting to go purely on my gut, I started thinking about it more, started researching the issue, and talking to others who have been faced with the same terrible backlash.

To a person, everyone agreed!

It’s fear!

Now, when I talk about being afraid and fear, I am getting very deep into it and I am not a psychologist or a psychiatrist, I am a physical anthropologist. And, while I am very good with people and can get most people in an instant, the whole fear and self-image thing is not my specialty.

However, as noted above, I do understand people and I am a black-belt at what drives, affects, and motivates someone in pain, whether it is neck pain, back pain, sciatica or some other manifestation.

I have been there, done that…as they say!

Interestingly, as I talked to others, read more on the topic (and I read a lot!), and thought my way through the question, it all became clear.

Let me explain.

When we are in pain, and again it really doesn’t matter what sort of pain we are talking about, and when that pain has altered our lives significantly, in other words, when we are disabled as a result of the pain, either temporarily or permanently, we get stuck.

By stuck I mean inertia takes hold.

The question is then a common one, a complex question with a very simple answer.

How can inertia be a factor when someone is in pain? Wouldn’t anyone suffering from acute and/or chronic neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica do just about anything to eliminate the pain, permanently?

The answer is actually surprising…because the answer is:

NO!

It was like a bomb went off, a moment of crystal clarity, the moment when every attack, and every attacker, came into focus and I got it!

You see, I had the same thing go on in my head, the same fear, the same reservations, and I reacted in much the same way….

Angrily!

Neck pain, back pain, and sciatica are terrible, horrible, life-altering, pick an adjective or a descriptive phrase!

And yet, we are familiar with the pain, with the life and the lifestyle it imposes upon us. We become accustomed to the pain, we get used to the routine, it is predictable and we know from day-to-day what will happen in our lives.

The fact is, there are very few surprises in life when one deals with chronic pain day in and day out.

We simply deal with the pain!

Enter The Bad Back Guy!

Here is a likely scenario:

One day while surfing the net, you run across this blog and you watch some crazy guy calling himself The Bad Back Guy and his little dog, TuffGuy, run up a hill!

What else can you do when you suffer from acute and/or chronic neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica?

There are only so many reruns of Law and Order!

Then you watch as The Bad Back Guy gets caught in a downpour, same little dog, 3am in the morning!

Why does he call him TuffGuy?

Doesn’t he know how to spell? It’s tough not TUFF!

Geez!

But you keep coming back!

Now he’s riding a recumbent bike and telling me I can do what?

Take back my life?

This guy is nuts!

It makes me angry!

I can’t get any better!

The best medical minds in the world have said I will have to “adjust my lifestyle to my condition.” They also said I will “never be able to do the things I once took for granted.”

They said I was:

“DISABLED!”

AND…I BELIEVED THEM!

Now?

Now there is this crazy guy, The Bad Back Guy, who I don’t know from Adam who tells me I can live pain free?

This guy who isn’t even a doctor of medicine? He’s an anthropologist, an academic, an entrepreneur, a whatever!

The Bad Back Guy isn’t an MD, a DO or even a DC or a DPM!

Heck, he isn’t even a veterinarian!

He’s just a physical anthropologist…and not even a “practicing” one!

There’s anger because, not only have you been lied to, you believed it, and it cost you days, months, and even years of your life. You trusted the medical community to give you the best they had to offer and they relegated you to the bench for…

THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!

How uncool is that?

And you are angry at whom?

You are attacking some guy telling you that you can have a life?

You can get it all back?

You can get off the bench and get back in the game?

Why?

Because it’s easier…and it is natural!

You SHOULD get angry, I was!

Back to Inertia!

After the initial reaction, you begin to ponder what you have been offered, a life free of neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica and it frightens you.

It did me!

All of the sudden you begin to think of what is possible.

The next questions are:

After all this time, what will I do?

How will I make a living?

How can I take back my life…I have no life?!

The only life I know has been one consumed with neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica for the last ______ years (you fill in the blank).

Now?

Now this, this Bad Back Guy is telling me I might have to take a chance, thus altering my life once again?

What if….

WHAT IF!

The slogan for inertia is:

What if?

The anger returns, anger rooted in uncertainty!

If I do what this Bad Back Clown is saying I should do…and it works?

What the heck do I do next?

Yes, I suffer, I suffer every day, but this life is the one I know, at least I am certain of things, there are no surprises. If I listen to this guy and his little tough TuffGuy, I may end up…where?

I don’t know!

What if….

And so the anger returns again. It consumes you because you blame yourself, you blame the doctors, and…

You want to kill the messenger!

The messenger, The Bad Back Guy, is telling you you can have all the things “they” told you you couldn’t have, the things you would have to “get used to doing without!”

Now, The Bad Back Guy is saying take a chance, what do you have to lose but the pain?!

Well, I have a lot to lose if I take a gamble and believe this guy!

BTW, who the heck goes walking with their dog at 3 in the morning anyway…the guy is nuts!

And so on!

It was so clear, all the things you just read are emotions I have experienced in one way or another…and I am certain everyone reading this has too, friends and attackers.

I understand…and it is OK!

Just take a chance!

Life is amazing on the other side!

But you must take a chance, and that is not easy!

In fact, it darn right difficult. There will be days when you will want to send someone out to “whack” me! But if you stick with it I will promise you one thing:

Life can be amazing again!

And, if you take a chance, your neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica will diminish and it will become contagious; and, that sense of positive expectancy we all feel when we get caught up in something good, something exciting, something life altering is incredible!

Once again, life is amazing and I make you thins promise:

As long as I am on this planet if anyone ever contacts me and wants to talk about their neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica, or anything else for that matter, I will make myself available to you…for as long as it takes!

Finally, please do one thing for me?

Get angry! Get very angry!

Anger is the precursor to action, so let it run through your arteries and veins until you want to scream…and then SCREAM!

Then, get busy, take a walk, ride a recumbent bike, do something, anything, break through the inertia that binds you to this terrible condition and be free of your neck pain, back pain, and sciatica once and for all!

I wish for you nothing but the best! I wish you happiness, joy, and a pain free life…a life free of neck pain, back pain, and sciatica!

Contact me anytime!

John

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

PS, The program I recommend is at http://TheBadBackGuy.net and is one of the finest I have come across online and I use it myself!

*

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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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In previous articles, videos, and blog posts dealing with the ultimate neck pain, back pain, and sciatica relief strategies, we have discusssed the five factors and their contribution to and exacerbation of neck pain, back pain, and sciatic nerve pain, also reffered to as sciatica. In more recent articles and videos we have introduced the concept of the five effects, discussing how they relate to and impact the five factors, each other, and neck pain, back pain, and sciatica.

In this article and video we will discuss, at length, the first of the five effects, the psychological effect, and its relationship to chronic pain.

The five factors are once again:

1) Excess weight and/or obesity

2) Muscle weakness

3) Muscle imbalance

4) Inadequate diet and nutrition

5) Dehydration or inadequate hydration

The five factors, examined individually or collectively affect and impact neck pain, back pain, and sciatica. In fact, unless you focus on and deal effectively with the five factors, it may be argued that regardless of the treatment modality, the prognosis cannot, and will not, be good.

It can be argued that the five effects work together, against us in much the same way the five factors do. Significantly, this ensures a poor outcome and little neck
pain, back pain, and sciatica relief, particularly if we do not deal with them effectively, both individually and collectively.

The five effects are:

1) Psychological effects

2) Financial effects

3) Physical effects

4) Functional effects

5) Systemic effects

It may be argued that a sixth effect should be added, the spiritual effect. However, spirituality, while an integral part of my life, and perhaps yours,is beyond the scope of this article and this series. That being said, the personal decision to integrate spirituality into one’s treatment plan cannot and should not be minimized. The benefits of such a focus have been demonstrated time and again, particularly in my own life!

We covered the five factors extensively in previous articles, as noted above; and, we have touched upon the five effects. In this article we will delve deeper into the psychological effect and how it is related to not only the other effects but to each of the 5 factors, as well.

The psychological effect is affected by each of the five factors, as well as by the remaining four effects.

Factor one, excess weight and/or obesity, affects the overall health of the individual and neck pain, back pain, and sciatica, particularly chronic and chronically acute pain, is the result. Significantly, chronic neck, back, and sciatic nerve pain related to excess weight and/or obesity often leads to a number of psychological effects; and these include:

1) Depression

2) Mood swings

3) Anxiety

4) Compulsive behavior

5) Irratic behavior

This list is by no means complete but it is remarkable.

Neck pain, back pain, and sciatica affects the psychological health and well being of an individual and, in many instances, leads to depression. Depression, and the other psychological effects, often lead to erratic eating and improper and irratic dietary habits lead to weight gain…the weight gain then contributes to more neck pain, back pain, and sciatica! So, not only does chronic pain lead to the effect, the effect exacerbates the pain. The feedback loop is significant and undeniable.

Accordingly, as our mood darkens, and as our weight increases, we tend to sink deeper into ourselves, thus becoming more inactive. The depressed mood, particularly when in concert with inactivity and improper and irractic dietary habits, contributes to muscle weakness. As our muscles weaken, as a result of the decreased activity due to the psychological consequences, the psychological effect, our neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica worsens. Once again, the system feeds upon itself, compounding the various factors and effects and thus leading to an exponential increase in the level of neck pain, back pain, and sciatic nerve pain (sciatica).

The third factor affecting neck pain, back pain, and sciatica is muscle imbalance. Muscle imbalance plays into this “bad back” or back pain complex in a number of ways. If certain muscle groups are out of balance, not only will there be immediate consequences in terms of neck pain, back pain, and sciatica, but the pain will then contribute to and exacerbate muscle weakness, and excess weight and/or obesity; and thus leading to a heightened depressive effect and an overall negative psychological effect and impact.

Inadequate diet and nutrition plays a significant role in neck pain, back pain, and sciatica. Interestingly, inadequate diet and nutrition is not only a crucial factor contributing to and exacerbating neck pain, back pain, and sciatica, it leads to a number of other health issues…in addition to the psychological effect or effects. With psychic pain comes physical pain and when we experience both our diet and overall nutrition suffers immeasurably. Once again, if we are suffering from the psychological effects of neck pain, back pain, and sciatica, we don’t watch what we eat and, when we do eat, we eat the wrong things; thus, leading to excess weight and/or obesity and heightened pain.

The ripple effect throughout the body is significant and difficult to reverse without a concerted effort on the part of a dedicated individual. The program must be focused and specific for the relief of the neck pain, back pain, and sciatica. Additionally, the pain relief program must deal with each of the five factors and each
of the five effects to be successful.

Finally, dehydration or inadequate hydration plays a contributory role in that water is an integral ingredient not only for overall health but for spine health, as well. Water makes up 80-85% of the intevertebral disc. When an individual is suffering from inadeqaute hydration, or full-blow dehydration, the the individual IVDs break down and neck pain, back pain, sciatic nerve pain result. Significantly, degenerative disc disease is often a direct consequence of dehydration.

The effects and impact of neck, back, and sciatic nerve pain are of course myriad. However, the psychological effects are significant and the feed back loop often results in a breakdown of the entire system. Consequently, this results in increasingly intense and chronic neck pain, back pain, and sciatic nerve pain (sciatica),
along with the other effects listed above.

In conclusion, we have only touched the surface of this incredibly complex topic. As the video companion to this article will cover in greater detail, the overall impact and the ripple effect throughout the body, resulting in ever increasing levels of neck pain, back pain, and sciatic nerve pain (sciatica), is profound. We will discuss the other four effects as we continue to progress towards the New Year, a New Year full of possibilities. A neck pain, back pain, and sciatic nerve pain free New Year!

If you have any questions contact me at any time.

John

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

PS, If you are ready for the most complete program on the Internet today, go to http://TheBadBackGuy.net for more information on a 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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