Ultimate Neck Pain, Back Pain & Sciatica Relief Strategies

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!

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!

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!

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!

How to Choose the Right Neck, Back, and Sciatic Nerve Pain Exercise Program and Gym, Health and Fitness Facility or Wellness Center

As we progress through our neck pain, back pain, and sciatica relief exercise program, the way we deal our condition in terms of stretching and exercise will evolve and grow more targeted and intense. As our program changes, the need for the proper program and workout facility will change, as well!

The weather is changing here in the Midwest, it is growing cold and wet! However, even for folks Downunder and in other regions of the World south of the equator, facing the prospect of Summer, the next step in a complete neck pain, back pain, and sciatica relief exercise program is choosing the right gym. Choosing a gym is second only in importance to chosing your medical practitioner; and, followed closely by choosing a personal trainer, to be covered in a subsequent article.

Choosing a medical practitioner is the single most important decision you will make as you deal with your chronic neck, back, and/or sciatic nerve pain issues. I would argue that choosing the right gym is even more important than selecting a physical therapist whom, after all, is usually someone you are referred to and see only as long as the insurance stays in effect.

Once your medical practitioner has cleared you for a stretching and exercise program, and you have finished the generally short stint with your physical therapist, it is time to chose a gym.

As a neck pain, back pain, and sciatica sufferer, you will require certain considerations a “normal” gym members will not and it is crucial you interview the gym thoroughly and that you make certain your personality and that of the gym are in sync. Gyms, like people, have very distinct personalities and it is crucial to the success of your long term neck pain, back pain, and sciatic nerve pain (sciatica) relief exercise program’s success that they match is a good one.

The factors to consider as you consider various gyms and health and fitness centers, those conducive to your neck, back, and sciatic nerve pain issues, are:

1) Location
2) Cleanliness
3) Staff, including the availability of a qualified and competent instructor familiar with neck pain, back pain, and sciatica exercises and, if possible, someone who has first hand experience dealing with the effects of chronic neck pain, back pain, and sciatica
4) The right balance of equipment (i.e., machines, bikes, other types of cardio machines, free weights, etc.)
5) Music and overall socio-cultural personality
6) Locker rooms
7) Shower and restroom facilities (and their cleanliness-a key consideration)
Membership levels and facility size
9) Access to staff and equipment during peak periods
10) Length of contract
11) Trial period availability
12) Availability of personal trainers and/or the option to bring in your own qualified personal trainer familiar with your particular neck pain, back pain, and sciatica issues (selection to be covered in a subsequent article)
13) Price
14) Cancellation policy with refund provision for unused portion of membership, if prepaid
15) Rapport with management, empathy based on experience dealing with clients with neck pain, back pain, and sciatica

The above 15 factors are crucial to your long term success and their importance cannot be overstated!

I will cover many of these in depth in subsequent articles. The match in choosing the right gym for your neck pain, back pain, and sciatic nerve pain (sciatica) exercise must be a good one and the comfort level you feel, validated during your initial workout appointment and the trial period, will assure your long term success and ensure you achieve your neck pain, back pain, and sciatica relief exercise program goals!

To your neck pain, back pain, and sciatica relief!

John

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

P.S., For more information on neck pain, back pain, and sciatica issues go to The Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica Relief Strategies of The Bad Back Guy!

P.P.S., For an amazing first step, a program designed to help you deal effectively with your neck pain, back pain, and sciatica, just click here!