Ask A Medic

So a few years ago, I got in a four-wheeling accident and shattered my whole lower back vertebrae (tire landed on it rolling down the hill), my tailbone getting it the worst. Spent one day in the hospital, 2-3 in bed or on a couch nursing it, and 3-4 months in a back brace. since I'm young they said I'd be fine. It's just now starting to affect how long I can sit comfortably on the ground where I start to get fidgety. Should I be doing something about it?

 

Also I slept on a ice pack for a while.. and took like 800mg ibuprofen every morning.. the ice helped tremendously

 

Melbourne, FL Firefighter/Paramedic checking in.....

sup, homos?

 

just pounding brews on the first day off ... Work/ Party/ recoup

 

Heading back to work tomorrow morning.

 

Wednesday for me

 

First AM tomorrow. Yet again ranked top ten busiest medic unit in the nation so far this year. Yay me lol

 

Have you ever tried an inversion table? It really helps my lower back.

 

how many runs do you average?

 

Last month was around 550 for just my unit

 

In 2015, st.9 was ranked.. which is just across Broadway.. maybe 2 miles away from my hall.

 

Yes your reading that right. Almost 23,000 runs out of one hall.

 

So I'm ok?

 

I have looked into getting one but I wasn't sure how effective they were. I have read reviews both pro and con, they aren't too expensive so I may give them a shot. I appreciate the advice though, ill do just about anything to get some relief.

 

nice, i did all my rides for medic school at FTL station 2 ... so i felt your pain lol .

 

The effectiveness varies with the problems' location. With your lower back, gravity has all your upper body weight to work with. For that it's great for me. On the other hand, I'm recovering from two herniated disks in my neck which it did nothing for. Your head doesn't weigh enough for gravity to pull it down and relieve pressure.

 

Look for a gym that has a Reverse Hyper machine. It will strengthen and decompress the spine at the same time. Its awkward at first but works wonders.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MthYct8yxQ

 

Do I need to see a Dr? I'm 46 yrs old, just recently I noticed that I have a Hernia & I've been loosing weight, about 20lbs in 2 months. My friends have all been scarring me about some of the problems associated with Hernias & I'm scarred to go under the knife. Do you have to have surgery for Hernia's? Could the weight lose be from the Hernia???

 

Well as a medic , and not a doctor I can tell you this, which is usually what I tell my friends , if you're having anything funky happening, minor pain, loss of appetite , etc. go see your primary . If it's something that needs to be handled asap and it's fairly minor, go to an urgent care. If it's borderline really bad, go to the ER. If it's life or death, call 911...

My 2 cents .

 

Agree. So there's my 2 cents. Now that's 4 cents to help you with a decision