Brother, Can You Spare a Spine? :)
Some people have been asking me when the photos of the new 2010 lambs are going to start showing up. Well... unfortunately there aren't going to be any new lambs this year. (Though I have plenty of photos from past years left to show.) We are taking a year off from baby lambs.
Last May, just after lambing, I started having pain in my right shoulder. I assumed that I must have injured it somehow. On the farm, it is really easy to bang your body around in the course of everyday activities and often I don't even notice until a day or two later when I am sore, or a bruise shows up. But this was like real searing pain right down in the shoulder joint. I propped up my arm when I was resting, I iced it, I took Advil when I had to... all the usual stuff. I went to the chiropractor for low-force adjustments which helped for a while and then stopped helping. By summer, I was also having shooting pains down my right arm and tingling in my hand. I talked to a friend who is an MD who suggested that I go see an orthopedist that dealt with neck and shoulder problems.
After much paperwork, screenings to see if I was deserving of an appointment and pre-approval by my health insurance company, I finally got in to have an MRI in early August. If you ever have to have a neck MRI, my only advice to you is ask for lots of Valium and take it all! While I am not normally claustrophobic, apparently I am very "MRI phobic" and the tube they pack you into is about half the size of the ones they show on the TV show "House". And the nice, modern, open MRIs that they advertise at clinics on TV do not offer good enough resolution to look at the small vertebrae and discs in the neck. It does not help that you are already in pain and then have to lie totally still in a position that may not be too comfortable.
But the good thing to come out of my very-much-not-fun MRI experience was finally figuring out that I had 2 herniated discs in my neck and that was the cause for all of my problems. As most people know, between each of your vertebra there is a disc that pads them and keeps them from crunching together. As we get older, these discs get shorter (somewhat dry out) causing us to get shorter and also get kind of beat up from all the abuse our bodies take in day-to-day life.
What I had never realized before is that these discs aren't just a consistent, solid thing. They are sort of like a filled donut with a firm shell and a soft, center. (Not as soft and gooey as a jelly filled bismark, but I will forge on with the analogy, nonetheless.) What happens is that often through trauma or just ordinary wear and tear, this gooey center oozes into the donut part and sometimes even busts out of the firm shell. Because it isn't really jelly, it just sits there. Though since it has a high water content, it can potentially fix itself by being reabsorbed by the body or it can oozing back into the disc where it came from.
Now that people get MRIs for lots of reason, they realize that disc herniation is actually quite common. And it doesn't harm you unless it causes you pain. But if there is something already in that space to push on or get pinched -- like a nerve -- then it does so, which causes pain. And nerve pain is BAD. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. (Not that I have a lot of enemies but...)
So... it turned out that the disc between my 4th and 5th cervical vertebrae in my mid-neck was pushing on the nerve that goes to my right shoulder. The disc beween my 6th and 7th cervical vertebrae was putting pressure on the nerve that went down my arm and into my thumb and index finger. According to the orthopedist, most disc hernitations are just caused by wear and tear on the body and not any one accident. They are common in people in their 30's and 40's with physically active lifestyles. (Though lumbar disc herniations are much more common than cervical disc hernations.)
The only options that the orthopedist had for me was to do nothing and see if it got better on its own or to have surgery to remove both of those discs and fuse the 2 vertebrae on either side of the removed disc together . . (Though he didn't hold out high hopes for getting better on its own since that usually happens within 4 to 6 weeks and I was already about 10 to 12 weeks out at that time.)
I was not a candidate for disc replacement as in the U.S. the only FDA approved devices / procedures can only be used when one disc is removed. (Not 2.) I decided that surgery would be my last resort.
I had used acupuncture to help my dogs and cats before and decided that I would try it myself to help control the pain and inflammation. I found Dr. Chi at Chi's Acupuncture and Tuina Center who has a satellite office in Janesville I started going twice a week for Acupuncture and also Tuina which is Chinese medical massage. She was licensed in both western medicine and acupuncture in China, but is only licensed for acupuncture in the U.S. Still I think that her knowledge of both types of medicine was really useful. Both of these things really helped. I have fairly strong muscles from all the farm work, but in this case they were working against me. The muscles in my neck and shoulders were almost in a constant state of being cramped from my body trying to protect itself from the pain. And it had turned into a vicious cycle that cramping led to more pain which led to more cramping.
My husband's boss had herniated discs in his lumbar spine (lower back) years ago and had used Iyengar yoga to help heal his body. This is a type of very slow, gentle yoga that uses props to help you get into the positions more perfectly. It also really concentrates on alignment of the spine. Now I go to yoga class twice a week "come hell or high water" because I suffer when I do not go. It is a really good type of yoga for almost anyone, including older people and those with physical problems. (I just don't do any shoulder or head stands -- ever.) I am trying to get more diligent about practicing daily at home as I know it would help me heal faster.
At this point, I am still really careful about what activities I do since I am trying not to backslide on any of the improvement I have made so far. I would say that at this point, I am 85 to 90% better. I usually just have pain on damp rainy days and can do most things. The one thing I really miss is doing dog agility with my dogs. I am not brave enough to do much running (even for short bursts) yet because of the jarring to the neck.
I also got a couple of books on disc / back problems. The one I found the most helpful was Overcoming Back and Neck Pain: A Proven Program for Recovery and Prevention by Lisa Morrone PT. I also did cervical traction as recommended by my acupuncturist. I first had a cheapie over-the-door unit which helped my neck but caused jaw pain. Later I got a better (but more expensive) unit that I lie down in which puts no pressure on my jaw. I still use the traction some days and should probably do it more as I think it does help.
Overall, I think I made the right decision to let my body heal as much as possible before taking on the physical work and sleep deprivation of lambing season. (If I don't get enough rest, I start to have pain again.) But, I hope to continue getting better and I am really looking forward to setting up breeding groups in fall 2010 and seeing new lambs again in spring 2011!
Last May, just after lambing, I started having pain in my right shoulder. I assumed that I must have injured it somehow. On the farm, it is really easy to bang your body around in the course of everyday activities and often I don't even notice until a day or two later when I am sore, or a bruise shows up. But this was like real searing pain right down in the shoulder joint. I propped up my arm when I was resting, I iced it, I took Advil when I had to... all the usual stuff. I went to the chiropractor for low-force adjustments which helped for a while and then stopped helping. By summer, I was also having shooting pains down my right arm and tingling in my hand. I talked to a friend who is an MD who suggested that I go see an orthopedist that dealt with neck and shoulder problems.
After much paperwork, screenings to see if I was deserving of an appointment and pre-approval by my health insurance company, I finally got in to have an MRI in early August. If you ever have to have a neck MRI, my only advice to you is ask for lots of Valium and take it all! While I am not normally claustrophobic, apparently I am very "MRI phobic" and the tube they pack you into is about half the size of the ones they show on the TV show "House". And the nice, modern, open MRIs that they advertise at clinics on TV do not offer good enough resolution to look at the small vertebrae and discs in the neck. It does not help that you are already in pain and then have to lie totally still in a position that may not be too comfortable.
But the good thing to come out of my very-much-not-fun MRI experience was finally figuring out that I had 2 herniated discs in my neck and that was the cause for all of my problems. As most people know, between each of your vertebra there is a disc that pads them and keeps them from crunching together. As we get older, these discs get shorter (somewhat dry out) causing us to get shorter and also get kind of beat up from all the abuse our bodies take in day-to-day life.
What I had never realized before is that these discs aren't just a consistent, solid thing. They are sort of like a filled donut with a firm shell and a soft, center. (Not as soft and gooey as a jelly filled bismark, but I will forge on with the analogy, nonetheless.) What happens is that often through trauma or just ordinary wear and tear, this gooey center oozes into the donut part and sometimes even busts out of the firm shell. Because it isn't really jelly, it just sits there. Though since it has a high water content, it can potentially fix itself by being reabsorbed by the body or it can oozing back into the disc where it came from.
Now that people get MRIs for lots of reason, they realize that disc herniation is actually quite common. And it doesn't harm you unless it causes you pain. But if there is something already in that space to push on or get pinched -- like a nerve -- then it does so, which causes pain. And nerve pain is BAD. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. (Not that I have a lot of enemies but...)
So... it turned out that the disc between my 4th and 5th cervical vertebrae in my mid-neck was pushing on the nerve that goes to my right shoulder. The disc beween my 6th and 7th cervical vertebrae was putting pressure on the nerve that went down my arm and into my thumb and index finger. According to the orthopedist, most disc hernitations are just caused by wear and tear on the body and not any one accident. They are common in people in their 30's and 40's with physically active lifestyles. (Though lumbar disc herniations are much more common than cervical disc hernations.)
The only options that the orthopedist had for me was to do nothing and see if it got better on its own or to have surgery to remove both of those discs and fuse the 2 vertebrae on either side of the removed disc together . . (Though he didn't hold out high hopes for getting better on its own since that usually happens within 4 to 6 weeks and I was already about 10 to 12 weeks out at that time.)
I was not a candidate for disc replacement as in the U.S. the only FDA approved devices / procedures can only be used when one disc is removed. (Not 2.) I decided that surgery would be my last resort.
I had used acupuncture to help my dogs and cats before and decided that I would try it myself to help control the pain and inflammation. I found Dr. Chi at Chi's Acupuncture and Tuina Center who has a satellite office in Janesville I started going twice a week for Acupuncture and also Tuina which is Chinese medical massage. She was licensed in both western medicine and acupuncture in China, but is only licensed for acupuncture in the U.S. Still I think that her knowledge of both types of medicine was really useful. Both of these things really helped. I have fairly strong muscles from all the farm work, but in this case they were working against me. The muscles in my neck and shoulders were almost in a constant state of being cramped from my body trying to protect itself from the pain. And it had turned into a vicious cycle that cramping led to more pain which led to more cramping.
My husband's boss had herniated discs in his lumbar spine (lower back) years ago and had used Iyengar yoga to help heal his body. This is a type of very slow, gentle yoga that uses props to help you get into the positions more perfectly. It also really concentrates on alignment of the spine. Now I go to yoga class twice a week "come hell or high water" because I suffer when I do not go. It is a really good type of yoga for almost anyone, including older people and those with physical problems. (I just don't do any shoulder or head stands -- ever.) I am trying to get more diligent about practicing daily at home as I know it would help me heal faster.
At this point, I am still really careful about what activities I do since I am trying not to backslide on any of the improvement I have made so far. I would say that at this point, I am 85 to 90% better. I usually just have pain on damp rainy days and can do most things. The one thing I really miss is doing dog agility with my dogs. I am not brave enough to do much running (even for short bursts) yet because of the jarring to the neck.
I also got a couple of books on disc / back problems. The one I found the most helpful was Overcoming Back and Neck Pain: A Proven Program for Recovery and Prevention by Lisa Morrone PT. I also did cervical traction as recommended by my acupuncturist. I first had a cheapie over-the-door unit which helped my neck but caused jaw pain. Later I got a better (but more expensive) unit that I lie down in which puts no pressure on my jaw. I still use the traction some days and should probably do it more as I think it does help.
Overall, I think I made the right decision to let my body heal as much as possible before taking on the physical work and sleep deprivation of lambing season. (If I don't get enough rest, I start to have pain again.) But, I hope to continue getting better and I am really looking forward to setting up breeding groups in fall 2010 and seeing new lambs again in spring 2011!
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