How can I help my husband - back injury

My husband injured his back almost 3 months ago we found out he has a bulged disc (L4 - L5) which is pressing on his sciatic nerve.
He is in a huge amount of pain constantly and has been chewing pain killers like they are tic tacs. He has only just got in to see a physio who has strapped his back and showed him some stretches to do at home.
Has anyone had any experience with this kind of injury and do you know anything else we can try to help him get better quicker.
I just feel so sorry for him :(

Dh has a pretty major back injury. His was a workplace one so thankfully there was some help there for him. He had a lot of physio appointments and gym membership for the warm exercise pool. He went to the Austin centre for specialised rehabilitation where they taught him how to deal with the pain and also how to strengthen his core muscles to help take the load off his back. If you can ask about the rehab, it is really worth it.

Dp damaged his back from working in cauliflower paddocks from age of 16 for over 7 years. From being bent over so much it mean he has fused his 3 lowest discs (sorry don't know the technical lingo) Ever since I knew him he had always had back pain but when he was about 23 his back had enough and he couldn't walk and if he got into a certain position literally couldn't move at all.

Anyway the point of this for him he went to physio and has to do exercises, the dr's said for him to get an office job. The thing for him is the more active he is (ie, bushwalking etc...) the better his back is, when he doesn't do much then his back siezes and the pain is much worse.

Just be there for him, encourage him but ultimately he has to do what he has to do

:hug: it is difficult for both of you

Did he do it at work?

I've had a couple of back injuries, and we are FINALLY getting to the settlement stage of DH's workers comp back injury from 3 years ago. All I can suggest is regular physio - including the stretches that will be prescribed - and possibly chiro, although if it is a workers comp issue, don't get chiro until you get it signed off by the insurance company.

Another thing that we found is that we both gained weight after our injuries. Mine weren't too bad, only requiring a couple weeks off work, but DH had to be retrained. To date he has gained approximately 30kgs because he was in quite a physical job when he was injured, spent 8 months on painkillers and the couch, and then went into an office job. It's extremely difficult to lose weight with a back injury, because every time he tries to workout he hurts it again. I know its gonna be hard for your DH to control his weight with such a severe injury, but I would really recommend it, as his back will get better much quicker if he stays around the same weight, KWIM?

Please, I really don't mean offence with the above paragraph, but I know for DH that gaining weight made everything worse, and caused him to suffer depression because of how much he gained - I just wanna help, but if I've caused offence, please PM me :)

lol sunflowa its ok I dont get offended easy, I totally know where you are coming from, The Dr has also made an appointment for him to see a dietician which I am looking forward to going to as well. He also has hereditry (sp?) high cholesterol in his family so I have to be careful with the way I cook his food or what I give him to eat. It will be good to see the dietician to see if I am doing the right thing.

Thanks everyone for your stories, I guess we all hope for that miracle trick that will make things better - I guess it is going to be a time thing. I really appreciate all your replies.

:)

PILATES! :)
Once he's gotten a bit stronger from the physio work, get him started on pilates. It will help develop and strengthen his core and take the pressure of his back. It's the miracle cure :)

Hi Salad!

My DH suffered the exact same injury approx 4 months ago also - A bulging disc between L4 & L5... His job is very physical so he took a week off to rest it, dosed up on his prescribed anti inflammatories/pain killers and rested to no avail...

Then my darling Grandmother gave us a very popular book called "The Back Sufferers Bible" by Sarah Keys, it has exercises for very specific back injuries and after a week of doing these exercises, DH said it was those alone that made all the difference... It's well worth taking a look at! Nothing is a quick fix for them as much as we want it to be, it will be a long term healing process, wishing you all the best!!

Alicia xx

Oh, forgot the most important thing "look after yourself" during all of this. It is so easy for it all to become about him. My DH got counselling to deal with everything that was happening to him, but I got nothing. I had no understanding about the changes in him or how to support him. It was a real strain on the relationship. He would often drink whilst taking the pain killers and completely withdraw. Sex became an issue. He would be bright and bubbly around others, but grumpy and quiet around me. I was confused, upset and angry. Years later he finally fessed up to things about himself that he was taught in rehab, pity he did not keep me informed while all this was happening. I know understood that sometimes the pain got so much for him, that he needed the odd night where he drank as it was the only way the pain went away. So it was something I could keep an eye on to make sure he was not doing it to often and I also realised that is was not about him withdrawing from me. He is much better with his pain these days, he rarely takes any pain meds and he was on 200mg of Tramadol at a time.

In the end I found that it is best for me to ignore his injury. I left it up to him, as an adult, to decide when he needed rest, when he could or could not lift something. I found it stressful to constantly think about his injury.

my dp had the same injury from work he was a removalist and the tailgate on the truck dropped and he took the full weight of a piano he was off work for a couple of months and had physio and hydio and finally 2 yrs later had a op to get the disc of the nerve so he could move and 4 yrs later he is still having pain from it only 2 days ago he was ready to go to the hospita at 3am cause of the pain he couldnt get out of bed

Alicia - thanks for the information on the book I will check that out for sure

Thanks also to the other girls for the extra information. It has been hard sometimes I have felt like I have two babies because there are some things that DH cant do like put his socks on but we have been together a very long time and know each other very well and it is an important part of our relationship to communicate which helps heaps. As long as he talks about the pain I guess and ways to manage it then we will be able to help each other.

Really thanks heaps I do appreciate it. Sorry to hear about all your sore backs too :)