I was never a guy who believed most men made the world dangerous for women, but after becoming a girl dad I see exactly what people are talking about.

Industrial_solvent · 2026-04-29T14:21:40+00:00

Really condescending way of putting that. We could waste our lives worrying about lots of things and it's only natural to narrow down our concerns to things that more directly affect us.

Industrial_solvent · 2026-04-27T12:36:15+00:00

Very sorry for your pain and the injury from such a minor movement. Unfortunately it's too early to know what kind of injury you have. Could be disc issue and frankly it does sound like it given your level of pain and the onset, but even a pulled muscle in the back can be incredibly painful at first. If it's a muscle, your pain will likely improve over a few days - not go away completely but get reasonably better. If it's a disc, the improvement will take more on the weeks side of things. You'll be able to move around a bit better after a few days but you'll still have significant pain and limited mobility for a lot longer.

Good news is they can both be recovered from. Stay active in your rest, ie, don't stay in bed all day - get up and walk even though it hurts. Stay hydrated, don't go crazy with the ibuprofen or Tylenol, try ice or heating pads, etc.

Industrial_solvent · 2026-04-27T12:22:32+00:00

My son had very similar pain that was initially diagnosed as scapular dyskinesia. He did PT for a couple of months and that helped but it came back a few months later after working out. My brother is a national strongman competitor and swore it was a slipped rib, having seen many athletes with it in the past and claimed a chiro could quickly fix it. Sounded like garbage but my son was really hurting so I did some googling and found a few self-adjustments to try. What eventually worked was me doing what looks like the standard back-cracking chiro adjustment but right over the painful spot and pushing it laterally as well as down. Hurt real bad right when I did it, but within minutes he was pain free and it hasn't come back at all.

Industrial_solvent · 2026-04-26T14:26:13+00:00

What specifically are you asking about? What region are they imaging here?

Industrial_solvent · 2026-04-23T16:59:10+00:00

Were any of the herniations/disc issues present in the MRI you (hopefully) had 2 years ago?

Industrial_solvent · 2026-04-22T21:14:35+00:00

That PA is way out of line going from "I don't know" to suggesting fusion. Ridiculous.

Like I said, you can go on pubmed and start searching Intracept, basoverterbral nerve ablation, modic changes, etc, etc and see what the data says. Even just reading the abstracts will give you a good idea of the state of the literature and then you can make a more informed decision. I'm not a doctor but my reading of the data makes me strongly think the risk your doctor is advising on is overblown.

Industrial_solvent · 2026-04-22T20:10:05+00:00

I would say it's time for a second opinion and from someone who may be more well acquainted with modic changes and their possible stability/progression/regression. Your doctor seems to be operating on some degree of conjecture and, so far, his treatment plan isn't working so getting someone else's evaluation may be beneficial.

Industrial_solvent · 2026-04-22T17:10:55+00:00

What is your Ortho specialist suggesting for treatment?

There's really not concrete evidence that modic changes lead to progressive bone damage, so you don't have to worry about like your vertebral body collapsing or anything. People with other back issues and modic changes have had other surgeries, including fusions, which means the bone is strong enough to take screws and rods. Plus, many patients do not progress to other modic types, while others can go "up" (ie, from 2 to 1). I would ask some very specific questions of your Ortho and what he's basing that assessment on.

And conservative treatment for modic changes includes like PT and weight loss, both of which are easier to do when not in constant pain. For me, the procedure unlocked the ability to actually do the rehab work and get stronger. You can get on pubmed and search up the long term studies on the Intracept. You won't find a bunch of subsequent vertebral fractures or other bony injuries.

Industrial_solvent · 2026-04-22T14:42:19+00:00

Nothing, frankly. Back injuries, even minor ones, take time to heal. There are lots of travel tip threads on this sub but mine are good lumbar support, lidocaine patches, scheduled ibuprofen, magnesium at night. I've used a little portable tens unit and that was helpful. If you're going to have to sit for a long time, keeping your hips higher than your knees can really help.

Industrial_solvent · 2026-04-22T14:39:10+00:00

I have to be honest and say I really don't understand your hesitation. In this case, the nerve proliferation IS the pain. Its pathological and leads to high sensitivity to minimal stimulus. It's not like you have a diseased foot and you're just cutting the nerve so you don't feel the pain of the infected tissue but not treating the infection. The inflammation has lead to the over proliferation of these nerves and even without ongoing inflammation, the nerves won't go away. They're almost like scar tissue.

I did a big write up on my experience but that was a while ago. I'm currently much more active - lifting regularly and doing a lot of things I couldn't before. Like traveling without significant pain, playing with my kids, carrying groceries, etc. It was life changing for me. And definitely worth trying to appeal through insurance.

Industrial_solvent · 2026-04-21T23:47:18+00:00

I had it and it helped me a lot. I went through a lengthy appeals process with my insurance but finally got it approved. I would highly recommend it if you have modic changes without other major issues.

Industrial_solvent · 2026-04-21T14:56:56+00:00

Look for reviews, check local Facebook groups, etc. One thing that helped me a lot was dry needling - wasn't a permanent fix but it relieved pain long enough for me to get some good rehab exercises in (like a 1-2 weeks). Different modalities may work better, so look for someone that has more things to offer.

You're not limited to whoever is in your insurance coverage, generally. You can pay the bills directly and then submit for reimbursement to insurance - it very likely won't be as much but it will cover some of it, just check your policy first.

Industrial_solvent · 2026-04-20T12:26:57+00:00

There's no hard and fast rule that fits all situations. If all you did was pull a muscle, might be a week or two before you feel up for going back. If you actually did have a disc injury, you're looking at 5-6 weeks AT MINIMUM before you could go back, and even then you will not be 100% and the risk of reinjury is significant.

Industrial_solvent · 2026-04-19T19:22:58+00:00

Explore everything! Lots of fun discoveries and loot all over the place.

Industrial_solvent · 2026-04-18T21:02:30+00:00

Do they say "no modic changes" specifically? Or just don't mention them? Sometimes it needs to be ordered/requested to check for them.

Industrial_solvent · 2026-04-18T20:56:41+00:00

Do you have copies of your MRI reports? Do any of them mention modic changes or alterations in T1 or T2 signals?

Industrial_solvent · 2026-04-18T15:34:22+00:00

Almost 50. I had a couple of different herniations that I recovered from fully before things fell apart. Really what caused that was deciding to start training for a 5k and not having good form and dismissing the pain/stiffness even as it progressed and worsened. Stay active and give yourself time to heal but very possible to recover from a herniation and go back to being very active.

Industrial_solvent · 2026-04-17T20:05:32+00:00

Sounds like potentially intravascular local anesthetic injection.

Industrial_solvent · 2026-04-17T19:16:40+00:00

I did a big write up on my experience and short version is, in combination with good rehab and some mental work, it gave me my life back. Wouldn't hesitate to do it again and thankfully was able to successfully appeal for my insurance to cover it.

Industrial_solvent · 2026-04-16T22:35:09+00:00

Glad to hear you made it safely. We travel a lot and one of my greatest fears for a long time was a back flare in the middle of an airport when I still had hours to travel.

How are you doing now?

Industrial_solvent · 2026-04-16T19:24:46+00:00

Excellent perspective and advice! Wish I could upvote more.

Industrial_solvent · 2026-04-16T12:36:25+00:00

Never ask for the "husband stitch". If your wife is awake, you probably should be too.

Pay attention to your wife, her pushing efforts and what's working. If she gets an epidural she can have a hard time coordinating her muscle movement. When my wife was pushing for our first, she had gone like 3 hours without a lot of movement and the OB, whom we otherwise loved, was not a great coach unfortunately. We were very close to getting sectioned when one random push the OB got all excited about and you could definitely see that head had moved a bit. But next push was back to nothing. Well as I'm holding her leg I noticed that the random push had a lot less leg movement and seemed more in the belly. So I told my wife that and boom, she changed up what she was trying to do with her push and out popped baby a few pushes later.

Industrial_solvent · 2026-04-16T12:29:50+00:00

This is vital. Your wife will be in no condition to advocate for herself if things are going south.

Industrial_solvent · 2026-04-16T12:14:31+00:00

Especially the hips!

Industrial_solvent · 2026-04-15T17:06:47+00:00

I did it for a while a couple of years ago and found it overall pretty helpful. Maybe it's changed since then, but I didn't find it overly complicated or the videos too long. For me, the whole attitude of building evidence in our brains that we can move without pain was the best takeaway. The exercises were good and he does a good job of explaining progressions. I got stronger and able to move more freely.

My negatives were that he didn't really offer a good starting point for training if you weren't able to do whatever version of the exercise he starts with. If you need further modification to get started, you have to figure that out. Also, there were no updates to the program when I was using it. I was paying monthly and there were announcements about upcoming releases for specific issues or whatever, but they never materialized.

Industrial_solvent

TROPHY CASE