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)

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!

How to Pick a Strength and Fitness Coach with Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica Experience: Empathy is Crucial!

I think I have said it all about neck pain, back pain, and sciatic nerve pain (sciatica), as well as how to choose a qualified strength and fitness trainer, in the video below!

Choosing the right strength and fitness coach can make or break your neck pain, back pain, and sciatica relief exercise program; and, empathy has got to be one of his or her best qualities.

Make sure you check out the video below, it will explain quite a bit about my perspective and background as a strength and fitness coach…in addition to being a “bone guy,” also known as a physical anthropologist! I believe this is also crucial, as it is important for you have a sense of who I am and what experience I bring to the table before you take anything I say seriously.

Be careful online, as there is far too much bad information and far too many people simply out for a buck spreading really bad advice!

So, once again, beware of the fast buck charlatans and the misinformation they offer! Take the time to get to know about your condition and who you are taking advice from!

I wish you all the best and I hope this blog and these videos help!

Check out the video about how to choose a gym at Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica Relief Strategies of The Bad Back Guy.

Once again, choosing the right trainer can make or break any neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica relief exercise program whether you have chosen the proper gym or not! So choose wisely grasshopper!

The video is long but I believe it will be worth it for you! Please let me know by leaving a comment. Thanks!

Contact me anytime for assistance!

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

PS, As you consider your options, take a look at the video at http://TheBadBackGuy.net as it will provide additional, quality information.

The Recumbent Bike for Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica Exercise

or

Low-Impact Exercise and Treatment: Offsets Loss of Muscle Tone and Weakness!

The recumbent bike, as I have said many times before is one of the best overall neck pain, back pain, and sciatica relief exercises! If there is a problem with the recumbent bike, it is sometimes with people experiencing severe sciatica. However, even with most cases of sciatica, the recumbent bike is very useful if used properly.

The low-impact nature of the bike, plus its all-around, all-weather usage makes it ideal for year round application. Not only that, the gains made on the recumbent bike are lasting. Even with time off, I still went right back to my old fitness level in a short amount of time!

Overall, the recumbent bike can’t be beaten as a neck pain, back pain, and sciatica relief aerobic-based activity…unless of course you compare walking. And interestingly, walking falls a bit short for those just beginning an exercise program because with the recumbent bike you are always a few steps from your car, your home, and from help…if you need any of them.

Check out my previous videos on the recumbent bike at:

The Bad Back Guy’s Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica Relief Blog

Or simply take the first steps to permanent neck pain, back pain, and sciatica relief here!

Best wishes for a pain free life! Contact me anytime!

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

The Beginning: The 30 Day Walk Away from Back Pain and Sciatica…A Challenge and a Huge Success!

Now We Continue: How to Overcome Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica: The 30 Day Challenge Part II!

Start the Holidays and the New Year Out Neck Pain, Back Pain and Sciatica Free!

Over the past 108 days, since June 28, 2009, I have been on something of a quest to help others overcome their neck pain, back pain, and sciatica through a very simple and straightforward set of pain relief strategies. The response has been amazing, people all over the world have sent me emails, called me on the phone, and added me to their Skype contact lists in order to tell me they had started to walk again, were once again beginning to take control of their lives…any achieving real neck pain, back pain, and sciatica relief for the first time in years! Still other people, some suffering with chronic neck pain, back pain and/or sciatica for decades were contacting me via YouTube, on Facebook, and even on Twitter. The feedback has been extremely gratifying and has kept me going with this much longer than I had originally intended…at least in any sort of a public manner.

Millions are Affected by Chronic Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica!

The fact is, millions of people around the world are affected by neck pain, back pain, and sciatica; and yet, most of them have no idea how to deal effectively with their pain. Back pain is the number 6 reason in the entire world why people see a medical practitioner, with millions visiting medical practitioners daily, seeking pain relief! Most people suffering from chronic pain, and as I mentioned above, some for decades, have simply resigned themselves to the fact that neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica is part of their life.

This does not have to be the case!

I actually get angry, infuriated, when I think about how many years, decades, I threw away because of this false notion. Unfortunately, there are millions of people living their lives under the assumption that they are doomed to a life of chronic neck pain, back pain and/or sciatica!

Nothing is further from the truth! You don’t have to live in chronic pain!

But you must take control of your life, and of your destiny, or you are doomed to a life of chronic, debilitating, and ultimately disabling pain!

So, how do you take control when you have had surgery, been through every “alternative” pain relief method under the sun, and have been living with your neck, back or sciatic nerve pain for years?

The Primary Causes of Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica!

Well, there are 5 contributory factors involved in either the onset of neck pain, back pain and/or sciatica, its continuation, or its exacerbation. I have spoken of these 5 factors in previous articles, videos, and blog posts and we will touch on them briefly here.

Excess Weight, Obesity, Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica

The first of the 5 factors contributing to or exacerbating neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica is excess weight, meaning either excess weight or obesity. The excess weight and/or obesity issue is a problem throughout most of the modern world and is becoming an issue in developing areas of the world as well. Excess weight is particularly problematic for individuals susceptible to or experiencing spine-related pain of any kind…but particularly lower back pain and sciatica. We will discuss why excess weight and/or obesity is the number one issue affecting people with neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica in upcoming videos and articles over the next 30 days.

Muscle Weakness and Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica

The second issue affecting neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica is muscle weakness. Muscle weakness, like excess weight and/or obesity, is often an age-progressive phenomenon. By this I mean that as we age, we are more susceptible to the effects and the consequences of muscle weakness. Muscle weakness has a ripple effect throughout the entire body as we age, often affecting the connective tissue and the skeleton adversely. As muscles weaken, the stress is transferred to the intervertebral discs, the ligaments, and to the vertebrae themselves. As the body attempts to handle the stress once taken on by the muscles, there are a myriad of consequences and conditions that emerge. Again, we will address the area of muscle weakness and how it impacts neck pain, back pain, and sciatica in the coming days and weeks.

Muscle Imbalance and Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica

The third issue affecting and often exacerbating neck pain, back pain, and sciatica is muscle imbalance. Muscle imbalance is the least understood of the 5 factors affecting neck pain, back pain, and sciatica. Unfortunately, muscle imbalance is not addressed in medical school and only briefly covered during medical training for any of the other disciplines, sub-disciplines or alternative medical treatment strategies. Muscle imbalance often plays a significant role in neck pain, back pain, and sciatica…and its relief! We will cover this area in depth in upcoming videos and articles. Understanding muscle imbalance is central to any long-term pain relief strategy.

Diet and Nutrition and Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica

The fourth area of concern and one with as much misinformation, and just plain bad information, as any of the others, particularly when it comes to neck pain, back pain, and sciatica, are the linked and interconnected areas of diet and nutrition…really one in the same. However, diet and nutrition…or nutrition and diet…it’s really a chicken and egg thing, are crucial to neck pain, back pain, and sciatica relief. If the body can’t rebuild itself, you are in for a long haul when it comes to chronic pain. Additionally, if you body is in a weakened state due to inadequate diet and nutrition, you are more susceptible to stress-related injury and insult (i.e., trauma related neck and back injury).

Dehydration and Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica

The fifth area, dehydration or simply inadequate hydration, is one of the least understood of the five factors leading to neck pain, back pain and/or sciatica. Relief from chronic, intractable, and debilitating neck and back pain may be a drink of water away! Interestingly, inadequate hydration and/or dehydration is the one that is most easily remedied. The intervertebral discs, IVDs or discs are made up of approximately 90% water…some say 85% and some as high as the mid-90s. Regardless of the exact number, there can be little doubt that an inadequate amount of water means the IVDs cannot replenish the most important component in their makeup, and thus repair and rebuild themselves. Coffee, diet pop (or soda if you prefer), tea, energy drinks, and alcohol are all diuretic, meaning they promote the loss of fluid, water, and as a result lead to disc degeneration and the possibility of injury. The resulting neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica may be exacerbated by a lack of this most plentiful or all pain relief potions…H20!

Where do we go from here? Real and lasting neck pain, back pain, and sciatica relief!

Finally, over the next 30 days we will dig deep into the ultimate bad back strategies, the pain relief strategies you must engage in, and the habits to develop, if you are to lead a neck pain, back pain, and sciatica free life. In the last 108 days many have started down the path to real and lasting pain relief. I hope you will join me, and the others already engaged in the process of taking back their lives, pain free lives! Join us as we overcome neck pain, back pain, and sciatica once and for all, and just in time for the holidays and the New Year!

Start at:

The Bad Back Guy’s Program for Ultimate Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica Relief: The First Step!

Watch the video below and then take action! I will be there with you every step of the way!

John

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

The Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation recently reported, and John’s Hopkins Medical Center concurred, that a supervised program of exercise, particularly for chronic lower back pain sufferers who had experienced chronic lower back pain for 3 months or more, and as part of a total program, received greater back pain relief, faster, than a control group who just received exercise advice, without a supervised, long-term, and lasting exercise program to follow.

The results validate what I have been saying for the last few months, and what other researchers around the world have also discovered, that neck pain, back pain, and sciatica respond faster and the pain relief is far greater, for individuals in exercise programs, particularly supervised exercise programs.

For many years, it was considered gospel that the best way to treat neck pain, back pain, and sciatica was with bed rest. We have since demonstrated through research instituted, and followed up on, by some of the finest medical institutions in the world, among the authorities and institutions of note are the Cleveland Clinic, the Mayo Clinic, Duke University, and Johns Hopkins Medical Center, these institutions, and a myriad of others, have demonstrated that the worst bad back strategy, the way to increase neck pain, back pain, and sciatic nerve pain levels, is bed rest…the most effective pain relief strategy is exercise! Not just exercise, but low impact exercise conducted in a supervised environment and/or as part of a total neck pain, back pain, and sciatic nerve pain relief strategy.

Once again, the data is conclusive! If you want to reclaim your life, a neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica free life, exercise must be an integral component of a supervised, and if possible individualized, program of pain relief…a bad back strategy that works!

For the best individualized program available today, one that can be integrated into a supervised program (call me for details), go to:

TheBadBackGuy.net will change your life!

Wishing you a pain free life!

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

How to Overcome Neck Pain, Back Pain, and Sciatica: A 3am Walk and What Difference a Year Makes!

Imagine it is 3:15am and you have 45 minutes before your next pain meds for neck pain, back pain or sciatica! Now imagine you are able to go for a walk with your dog instead!

At the end of June I started a 30 day challenge to overcome my neck pain, back pain, and sciatica, to finally get real and lasting pain relief. Well, this morning, on my usual midnight walk with TuffGuy, I was struck by the fact that I was just minutes away from the time for my usual pain medication dosage…a dosage no longer necessary.

Real and lasting pain relief is possible, I no longer experience the sort of neck pain, back pain or sciatica that had once debilitated and disabled me, leading to depression and a loss of hope and complete despair.

Now? I walk my dog at 3am and love every minute of it. I don’t have the neck pain, back pain, and sciatica that used to make me so dependent on narcotics for relief that I literally counted the minutes between dosages.

No more!

You can have that sort of reality too!

http://TheBadBackGuy.net

John

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

3 Major Myths Concerning Exercise and Back Pain: Neck Pain, Back Pain and Sciatica Relief Strategies!

3 myths relating to neck pain, back pain and/or sciatica and exercise may actually be exacerbate pain, hurting rather than helping the patient, they are pervasive, and wrong!

There are many myths when it comes to neck pain, back pain, and sciatica; and, particularly the exercises that are “good for” people with a bad
back.

There are three myths relating to neck pain, back pain, and sciatica which are particularly problematic. The three most pervasive, and
damaging, are:

1) Swimming is a great exercise for people with a bad back
2) That situps are also good for strengthening the back muscles
3) That abdominal crunches are great for developing adominal muscles and for strengthening the back

Swimming, as an exercise strategy for those suffering from a bad back, and particularly from neck pain, back pain, and sciatica has been around for a long time. President John F Kennedy may have had an impact on the pervasiveness of this myth, as it was said that he swam daily, part propaganda and part true…more propaganda. The fact is, swimming, especially early in the exercise process, may actually exacerbate not only back pain but neck and sciatic nerve pain, as well.

Sit-ups were thought to be a great abdominal exercise for years, one also thought to help people suffering from back pain too. Sit-ups have now been relegated to the obsolete exercise category, although the myth that they are a good abdominal exercise persists, particularly among the uninformed. As with swimming, sit-ups may actually exacerbate neck pain, back pain, and sciatica.

The third kind of exercise that falls neatly into this category is the abdominal crunch. The abdominal crunch, or just crunches, came along and replaced the sit-up as the next-best thing for abdominal development, the King of Ab Development. Crunches are also supposed to help with core muscle development; and, neck pain, back pain, and sciatica relief through increased and directed muscle development. The fact is, like the two above, the crunch may exacerbate neck pain, back pain, and sciatica! The crunch should never be used early in a neck pain, back pain or sciatica relief exercise program. Perhaps after an individual has progressed a bit, but never early on.

Overall, the 3 exercise strategies above may do more harm than good, mainly because so many, even among the medical community, still believe in their efficacy. However, these strategies, and their ability to help a person suffering from neck pain, back pain, and/or sciatica, must be viewed as nothing more than uninformed anecdotal gossip…or as outright myths with very little basis in scientific or medical fact.

When commencing a neck pain, back pain and/or sciatica program, start slow, begin with low impact exercises, and above all begin with a program that is designed specifically for neck pain, back pain, and sciatica sufferers…if possible by neck pain, back apin, and/or sciatica sufferers.

http://TheBadBackGuy.net is just such a program for neck pain, back pain, and sciatica relief!

John

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

Everyone has their Mt. Everest, everyone!

My Everest is a hill at the entrance to the Rocky River Reservation, part of the Metroparks system that wraps around the periphery of Cleveland.

A little while ago I did a video at night, mainly because that is usually when I walk and also because I didn’t want to be seen going up that hill in the shape I was in!

Well, I made it…but just barely!

So, today’s climb was a test to see just how far I have come during The 30 Day Walk Away from Back Pain, a quest I started back at the end of June 2009.

I now have as close to complete neck pain, back pain, and sciatica relief as one can achieve.

Go with me as we climb my Mt. Everest!

Find your own Everest and conquer it. You will never be sorry! Begin at the link above and build one day upon the next as you embark upon your own quest to stop neck pain, back pain, and sciatica!

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

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