The realities of life

[guitarmike]

I just came back from the neurosurgeon's office and life just gave me a slap in the face. My back is a huge mess, a previous fusion did not work, the disk above it is crushed, leaving 1 disk in decent shape below my rib cage. The surgery to repair this is very risky due to a pain pump I have implanted and the high level of pain meds I have in me. If I did have the operation the amount of improvement I would receive is unknown and the remaining good disk will most likely fail within 6-12 months from the stress of being the only disk that bends. The recommendation is to not have surgery and change my lifestyle to minimize pain and try to ride it out as long as possible.

I want to keep gigging so I bought a used Kemper and have to tell you, I am stunned at how good it sounds. It is an adjustment from my tube amps but through a pa in a band setting, it is impossible to tell the difference. This Saturday will be my first gig with it. I will go from bringing the BE-100 and 4x12, heavy suitcase full of extra stuff, pedalboard, and 2 guitars to the Kemper, a magnum 44 power amp, 1x12 guitar cab shaped like a wedge, a folding table, a duffle bag with the FCB1010 midi board and cables, and 1 guitar. I am going from 250 pounds of stuff to under 70 pounds if my scale is correct. It is weird, I have been a tube only guy since 1985, but being able to gig is more important than what I use to gig with.

If you are in good health, don't be stupid. Get help for anything over 30 pounds. Once you damage your back it will never get better, it will only get worse.

 

[Steinmetzify]

Sorry to hear it man. I am the only guy in my circle of friends, men AND women, that hasn't had a serious back issue, and the only one that has never had surgery on it, and I'm thankful as all hell about it. I'm 39, and most of my friends are around the same age. Can't imagine what you must be going through.

Glad for low weight gigging solutions for you...the Kemper must be a fuckin Godsend right about now...any way to leave the cab and power amp at home and just run FOH to cut down even more?

 

[The_Kid]

you could run like me, I dont have the kemper, but run the Fractal Ultra Gen 1 box. I have that in a 6 space rack with my guitar wireless, IEM wireless and a power strip. I have a pedal board, and two guitars and a nice toolbox that fits my cables and other accessories. I can almost make it in/out of a gig in one trip if I he-man it. but usually 2 trips and I'm done. takes about 5 minutes to setup...all tones are saved and i run direct to FOH so no need for an on stage cab...with the IEM's.

 

[The_Kid]

and also...very sorry to hear about your back issues.

 

[GuitarGuyLP]

Check out http://gokhalemethod.com/ and buy the book. There is so much good info in there for back health, and decompressing the spine. It is all about sitting, standing walking, and even laying down properly to elongate the spine, and remove pressure. My wife, and I just got the book a couple of months ago, it helped with my wife's hip pain from a car accident about 12 years ago, and with my occasional back pain from sitting at a computer too much at work.

 

[garey77]

Dude, I hope at some point you are able to find relief that is not in the form of meds. Truly a difficult way to live. But, so long as you are able to keep playing, that probably keeps you going in some cases. I'm glad you found a rig that sounds good to you, that makes you want to keep playing.

 

[BackCrack]

Two possible therapy suggestions: intermittent traction table (pull-hold-release cycles) and water therapy (non weight bearing motion). Using both therapies simultaneously has recently shown good published results over time in many similar cases.

 

[311boogieman]

Two possible therapy suggestions: intermittent traction table (pull-hold-release cycles) and water therapy (non weight bearing motion). Using both therapies simultaneously has recently shown good published results over time in many similar cases.

^ why do I find that amusing based on your user name and avatar




guitarmike - so sorry to hear this. It runs in my family too so I will def keep tabs on it. Hope everything works out for you and good luck at your gig with the new rig.

 

[crankyrayhanky]

Best wishes!
KPA rocks- if I were you I'd skip the power cab & just go 1guitar Kemper & FCB

 

[rlord1974]

.....possible therapy suggestion: water therapy

When a back crack is using water therapy, isn't that in fact a bidet?

 

[rlord1974]

Mike, sorry to hear about your back. What happened to it in the first place to put it on the downward slope?

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

I'm 36 and my back is f_cked from a deadlift injury in my early 20's... thought it got better for a few years but i've always been weak. LAst two years it has gone on me twice (lifting a well cover and shoveling snow) I couldn't walk and was in so much damn pain i've never felt anything like it when it hits you. For me it was a disc. I've never needed surgery but I know at least a fraction of the pain and frustration you have. I've had to change everything..i no longer workout like I used to and even bending over to brush my dog causes bad flexion and compression. It sucks. I'm now dedicating time to stretching and just core work. All I want back is my "back". The day i don't feel my back the morning after men's league hockey, is the day I know i'm getting better! All I can say is flexibility, decompression clinics, core. Also know what triggers it. For me it is twisting.

FYI- back injuries and knee injuries are top of the list for most men 30+. If you were active in sports growing up, it usually comes back to kick you in the nuts later. As your doc said, if you can avoid the surgery, do it. They are right, it is a pancake effect and everything will start to go. In a lot of cases, surgery causes more pain after. My coworker had surgery and he's on a ton of meds to this day 8 years later.

 

[guitarmike]

Mike, sorry to hear about your back. What happened to it in the first place to put it on the downward slope?

I drove a semi for 14 years, 7 of them in a truck I was too big for and had to slouch to fit in so I wouldn't bang my head into the roof with every bump. I crushed 2 disks doing that and it just kept going downhill.

Check out http://gokhalemethod.com/ and buy the book. There is so much good info in there for back health, and decompressing the spine. It is all about sitting, standing walking, and even laying down properly to elongate the spine, and remove pressure. My wife, and I just got the book a couple of months ago, it helped with my wife's hip pain from a car accident about 12 years ago, and with my occasional back pain from sitting at a computer too much at work.

I ordered the book, thank you!

Thanks everyone else, I am very fortunate to be able to keep gigging albeit now the way I really want to. I sincerely hope that anyone with a good back that reads this starts to think about it before lifting heavy stuff and ends up hurt.

 

[Anonymous]

Also messed my back doing stupid deadlifts when I was young, thank you bodybuilding!
Now every time I lift something heavy, I have to pop ibuprofen to prevent inflammation

My advice would be to seek a good physiotherapist and kinesiologist
Stay away from gym clowns (aka "personal trainers") and miracle therapies

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

Also messed my back doing stupid deadlifts when I was young, thank you bodybuilding!
Now every time I lift something heavy, I have to pop ibuprofen to prevent inflammation

My advice would be to seek a good physiotherapist and kinesiologist
Stay away from gym clowns (aka "personal trainers") and miracle therapies

and don't do chiro (that made me WORSE after my last blow out).. too forceful. That's the last thing inflammation needs..

 

[mystixboi]

wow... sorry to hear about your back... that must be rough.... mojo!!!

ever think about just running the Kemper direct into the box and using a stage monitor to hear yourself?

 

[Jdguitar]

After 2 years of debating about surgery for my back and trying physio/chiro, I finally found a chiro that is fixing me up. He told me to stop all physio/physio exercises, sleep with a body pillow (knee pillow alone isn't good enough), lay on the floor and put my feet on the couch whenever I can and allow him to crack my whole back once a week. It's been 4 months now and I'm feeling better all the time and slowly getting my life back. His solution seemed so simple, but it's working and he claims he's helped a lot of people this way who were headed for surgery. He was trained in Michigan were the chiros are apparently having better long term results than than the surgeons.

 

[BackCrack]

...don't do chiro...

Absolutely not. Manipulation in the region of a failed fusion and adjacent disc failure...any chiropractor/osteopath/physiatrist/physical-therapist that even tries to attempt this deserves to lose their license.

 

[Red_Label]

Had a microdiscectomy on L5/S1 a couple of years ago. Much better than before, but still never been the same as since before I ruptured the disc. Have to do daily lower back stretches and use my inversion table. REALLY try not to lift heavy objects alone any more. Though I end-up lifting servers at work and heads/cabs at home from time to time -- and always pay for it afterwards. I keep an emergency prednisone pack in the safe for really bad setbacks.

 

[Red_Label]

Check out http://gokhalemethod.com/ and buy the book. There is so much good info in there for back health, and decompressing the spine. It is all about sitting, standing walking, and even laying down properly to elongate the spine, and remove pressure. My wife, and I just got the book a couple of months ago, it helped with my wife's hip pain from a car accident about 12 years ago, and with my occasional back pain from sitting at a computer too much at work.

I need to check that out! Thanks!

I've been sitting at this damn desk for the past 18 years! Worst thing I've ever done to my back...