The Back Pain Manifesto

If you have back pain, I can make you feel better.  You can walk out my door with less pain than you arrived with.  I can virtually guarantee it.

But that relief is temporary.

I'm more in the business of lasting, effective treatment programs.  And that means that under my care, your program is going to be based on exercise, body mechanics, nutrition, and fitness.

Do those things and you will be better.  And if you continue to do your exercises, use good body mechanics, eat right, and stay fit, you will stay better.

You might be surprised to know that most folks don't choose that route.  They want something passive--something where they lay down, get some kind of treatment, and are cured.  In 2-3 visits.

It doesn't work that way.  It takes effort.  And dedication. 

In a discussion about what it takes to stay healthy, a friend argued that I had a job that gave me the time to exercise and an income level that let me do healthy things.

That has very little to do with it. 

Check in with my alarm clock.  It says 4:30 AM.  That's because I've always exercised early.   Get it done before the day gets started.

Right now, it's 6 AM and I'm looking across the gym at a room full of mostly women who are doing a CrossFit class at Cherokee.  Many of them have young children at home so this is the only time they can exercise. 

Check with my boss.  This time of year, I'm working 60+ hours a week (it is football season after all).  During my slow period, I'm still working about 50 hours a week.  So no, my job doesn't give me the time to exercise.  I make it a priority.  I make that choice.

I don't watch television.  When people talk about their new favorite TV show, I have no idea what they're talking about because I don't have a favorite TV show. 

The way I see that equation is that you can either have back pain or favorite TV shows.  Your choice. 

If you would rather watch one of the dozen or more CSI shows, the nighttime soap operas, or something about drug addicts or zombies than feel good, so be it.  My brain doesn't have room for all that.

Sometimes I don't sleep enough but that too is my choice.  I've got too much going on and am perfectly willing to give up an hour of sleep to paint, play with grandkids, ride my bike, paddle, spend time with my wife, do things around my farm, watch a sunset...get the picture?

Again, it's all about choices.  If a little more sleep in the morning is more important than whether or not your back hurts, that's your choice.

There are plenty of people getting rich off of you because you want a quick fix.  You want to walk in and maybe get "adjusted" and that's all it takes.   Or get a prescription for one of those -codone drugs. 

It is never that simple.

And by the way, saying that your pelvis is "misaligned" or that your hips are "out of alignment" is one of the biggest farces perpetuated on the public that history has ever known. I keep a cartoon of two guys laughing hysterically with the caption "my reaction when someone tells me they got their pelvis realigned."

And pain medication relieves pain.  It doesn't correct the problem. 

You want that magic pill that once you take it everything is fine and you go on with your life.  If only life were really that simple.

Somebody told me this week about her daughter  (a teacher) who was allowing a chiropractor to inject her muscles with sugar-water.  First of all, if that chiropractor is doing that, it is highly illegal.  Second, how can a college educated person allow this to be done to their body?  Is there any part of that which even approaches sanity?

You want your back pain to go away? 

#1  Lose weight.  You're overweight.  Probably.

#2  Get good core strength, admittedly hard until you get #1 under control.  Start by walking.

#3  Exercise daily. Daily.  I've got another cartoon that says "if you don't have time to exercise an hour a day do you have time to be dead 24 hours a day?"

#4  Eat better.  If it contains white flour or white sugar, stay away from it.  Dietary fat is not the culprit--carbohydrates are.

#5  Turn off the TV.  Do you really need to sit around any more than you do already?

That's it.

It really isn't that hard but it takes persistence.  You must diligently do all those things.  You must consistently do that which will make you healthy.

The choice is simple.  Either take care of yourself, taking ownership of your health, or keep having back pain. 

One of my frustrations as a physical therapist is that I can work someone through all this, teaching them how to take care of their back and emphasizing a set of exercises that they can do at home.  

Maybe even get them on the road to better fitness and weight control. 

They leave me essentially pain-free with a concrete plan to stay that way. 

And then 2 years later they show up with the same problem. "Are you still doing the exercises I taught you?"  Uh....no.

They had the tools to stay healthy and pain free but for a million different reasons (excuses) they didn't follow through.

So they keep returning with the same problem.  Or get frustrated and start trying things to which there is no scientific basis. 

And about that...before you start some treatment out of the mainstream, check it out.  Get online and look it up.  If there is no scientific basis for it, why would you consider it?

If all it has going for it are testimonials and no research to back it up, smart people would stop right there.  Sure, we don't know everything, but if there is proof positive that it doesn't work or even that it might cause long term negative effects, why go there?

Ask the tough questions.  Expect tough answers. 

It's all on you.  

Football Mom Again!

I am an unabashed, unapologetic fan of football.  Especially high school football. 

I played for many years.  My son played and was quite good (if I do say so myself).  Even though his college career was ended with a rather catastrophic injury, I believe he would do it again (without that last injury).

But the game I love is under attack.  Parents are keeping their kids away from the game for fear of the injuries.  It is seen in some quarters as being too violent.

I happen to believe it is the best sport that we have for teaching life lessons. 

Lessons like teamwork and dedication and commitment. Like leadership and work ethic. Things that inarguably benefit our growth and development. 

You may recall an article that I wrote a couple of years ago based on a letter I received from "Football Mom."  

Football Mom had never wanted her boys to play football.  She wanted to shield them from a sport that she had lots of history with but that had lost her love.

This week, I got another letter from Football Mom.  I'm copying it her pretty much verbatim but changing a few things simply to make it generic to the sport rather than to any one school.

So here it is.

Dear Joe:

"I (Football Mom) had lost my way since the last article.  I became frustrated about the lack of 'success' they (my sons) were having on the football field. 

Let me say that the systemic discipline that Coach and his staff impart on 7th and 8th grade young men is something that I can't repay him with bars of gold.  My son has drank the golden kool aid of the cornerstone of football programming.  Discipline on and off the field.   

My son talked to me two nights ago about career paths he was considering including medicine and constitutional law and my rumblings about the requirements with my son replying 'discipline always wins mom.'

Then Thursday night happened.  My oldest son went into the Junior High Game for an extended amount of time. The first play his hands were clenched with nervous anxiousness, his feet moved as tentatively as he cruised taking his first baby  steps. 

I was frustrated,  I had taken him to the Junior High all summer at an insane early hour day after day, done load after load of teenage boy football laundry, drove circles dropping, picking up, repeat.

Then I watched as every play transpired the nervousness that only a mother can spot from the stands dissipated.  

He continued to contribute to his team even making an unassisted fumble recovery. 

So if you think this is where the story would end because of success you and I are both wrong.  As he gets in the car he is overflowing with pride excitement and happiness. 

An analogy that I immediate thought of was a friend years ago took me to see a waterfall and as we approached he made me close my eyes and I laughed and asked him why?  He said I want to see your eyes when you see it for the first time. 

So here I was on a normal nondescript Thursday night looking directly into my sons eyes and seeing the feelings of pure accomplishment and joy that HE felt of being an athlete.   What a gift I was given."

Dear Football Mom:

Nuff said.

Take Care of Your Eyes

It's not so much that I run out of ideas for this space (although some might think so, seeing as how I really get off on some odd topics from time to time) but more like what things can I write about that are relevant, that are important to you.

For you see at the heart of my column is education.  I guess I'm a teacher at heart.

So I looked back at the list of the columns that I've written through the years and one topic that seems ignored is eye care.  Only one column in 30 years about eye protection.

And it's a pretty big problem.  Something we just don't think about often enough. 

Lots of pro basketball players are wearing protective eyewear these days.  It goes back to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who started wearing eye protection after too many scratches to the eye.  He sort of made it cool to do so.  Now lots of athletes do the same. 

It was really apparent last week when I was riding bicycles with a friend who didn't have any eye protection.  I started to say something but then figured that this was a responsible adult and he didn't need me preaching at him.

I should have said something.

Think about it....traveling at maybe 30 miles an hour and a bug hits you in the eye.  Ouch!

Or, worse yet, a piece of gravel gets flipped up out of the road and strikes you in the eye.  Serious damage can happen, not to mention that you will probably wreck.

Most of the time, people on personal watercraft don't think about it either.  Back when we owned a couple of those things, a near-injury was what it took to finally convince us to always wear eye protection. 

I guess the one I worry most about is the motorcycle rider.  Sixty miles-an-hour and no eye protection seems insane to me.

An insect propelled into your eye at sixty is going to do some damage.

What kind of damage?

Everything from mild irritation to blindness.  Corneal abrasions or lacerations are very painful and are probably the most common eye injury of any consequence.  If you suspect anything more than just a little irritation, see you ophthalmologist.  Lots can be done.

Even if the injury to the eye isn't substantial, if you're riding a two wheeled vehicle, something hitting you in the eye can easily cause you to wreck.

Industrial workers have long since adopted protective eyewear in the workplace.  In most jobs where there is the risk of a projectile  ending up in the eye, protective eyewear is required.  The military has discovered the necessity of protection.

But then I'll see one of my buddies on a bicycle or somebody on a motorcycle without proper eye protection and I just cringe.

A Down Day?

OK.  I know this is the Sports Section and all and maybe what follows isn't much about sports but my answer to that is that sports are life and life is sports or something like that (and if you're already confused about where this is going, well...sorry about that).

Anyway, this is my favorite time of year.  Football in full swing.  Cooler mornings.  Crisp nights.  Time slows down a bit and life is full.

Yet I found myself fighting something last week.  Those around me kept asking me what was wrong.  

I guess I was more quiet than usual.  One friend suggested that my chemistry was off.  That's possible but how do you know?

Most people ask if anything had changed. 

Not really.  No major life events. My health is good.   I've still got most of my hair.  I can't quite stay up with Steve Bright on the bicycle but I'm still pretty decent. 

My six grandkids are the smartest, funniest, best kids around.  My kids have grown up into really great adults, making their own way in the world but letting us be a part of it.  I look forward eagerly to getting home to my wife each night and I'm not sure I can ask for anything much better than that.

My right knee is pretty much wore out (people ask me about my limp on a regular basis) but it really doesn't hurt me much so that knee replacement is still well off in the future.

So I got off by myself for a bit.  That's not something that my schedule allows very often (like never).  And I thought about some of the things that I've written about in this space.

And I remembered what a wonderful place that we live in.  Most people visit the Smokies (the most visited national park in the country).  We get to live here.  I mean, the Appalachian Trail forms the eastern border of our county!

Many people dream of a life on the lake.  We're surrounded by them.

I consider the climate around here just about perfect.  Go north and you get cold weather and snow that lingers so long that some of it was still around in July.  Go south and you get heat and humidity, bugs and sand. 

If you're into golf, we have golf courses all over the county.  Good ones.

We're blessed to have an outstanding college in the middle of town (Maryville College) which brings culture, sports, and academics to us.  Not been to the Clayton Center yet?  Big mistake.

And then there's Pellissippi State's Blount County campus--state of the art and giving us great educational diversity and opportunities.

Medical care?  Top-notch (even if I do say so myself).  A region with diversity and people that will give you the shirt off their backs. 

Lots of folks love the fall for college football.  It's a big deal around here.  At this point, everybody has a chance at a good season.  UT looks to be better but I'm hoping for a great season for my beloved Clemson Tigers (or at least another win over South Carolina).

I still prefer high school football.   On Friday nights, I get to walk the sidelines and be a part of something pretty special.  I'm living the dream with good friends, great family, and a job that I look forward to going to.

So today you're going to find a smile on my face and a song in my heart (or in my earbuds).  Have a blessed day.

Dr. Ken Bell

Today, I'm going to tell a story of the extraordinary things that the human body can do.

One of the constants of my adult life has been my friendship and professional relationship with Dr. Ken Bell.  We arrived in Maryville about the same time over 33 years ago.

Through the years we have played tennis, climbed rocks, rode bikes, hiked, been snow skiing, and done all manner of physical pursuits together.  We've driven across the country twice together, hauling bicycles to Utah and Colorado.

He and I (and a couple of others) have taken several "mancations" together, usually having something to do with mountain biking.

But today, I am in awe of Ken Bell.

For the better part of a year, Dr. Bell has been training to compete in the Ironman Triathlon in Chattanooga at the end of this month. 

In May, he competed in a half-Ironman Triathlon in Chattanooga more as a training activity than anything else.

Let me back up a bit.  In 2005, Dr. Bell finally relented and had Dr. Eric Morgan, his colleague at Maryville Orthopedic Clinic, perform a Total Hip Replacement on him.

For years, I had watched Dr. Bell agonize as he tried to straddle a bicycle or rise from bed or chair.  

When it finally started to interfere with his work as a surgeon, he got it fixed.

It was not longer afterwards that he was back on the bicycle.  Swimming always came easy for Dr. Bell (but then so did most other athletic pursuits--a story for another day) but running seemed out of the question.

One day not much later, he was participating in a sprint (shorter) triathlon and was experiencing some hip pain while walking during the running portion of the competition.  So he broke into a trot.

And he found that the hip pain went away.  He hasn't stopped since. 

Zoom forward to today.  An Ironman Triathlon is not just an ordinary race.  It is a grueling test of physical capacity.

Swim  2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, and then run a marathon (26.2 miles). Definitely not for the faint of heart and definitely not for unfit.

So at this half-Ironman in May, Dr. Bell somewhat casually (he wasn't there to win) finished third and qualified for the Half-Ironman Triathlon World Championship.

Yeah...you heard me right.  The world championship.  In Zell Am See-Kaprun, SalzburgerLand, Austria.

So on August 20th, Dr. Bell headed for Austria to compete against 44 others in the 65-69 category.  He went early to get acclimated to the venues and the weather.

Alas, a serious family medical problem forced Dr. Bell and his wife Patty to return home 2 days before the competition started.

But rising from our small community is one of the best athletes in the world and that's a pretty big deal.

Oh, and he still plans on doing that full Ironman at the end of the month.