I think I've done something to my back that is not going away.  It has been bothering me the last few weeks and will not go away.  I used to pride myself on my strong back.  Well, you know what they say about pride.

Anyways, should I see a chiropractor or an accupuncture person.  I've never done either and quite frankly would rather see an MD and get pills LOL...but that isn't good .

It's almost like I have a pinched nerve right in the middle of my spine but I think it's a muscle.  Rest helps.

regards,
felix

Not to start a big war over this, but personally, I'd suggest visiting a chiropractor before visiting the MD for this particular situation.  Fortunately, I've not had any serious back problems, but my wife hurt her back a couple of years ago, and her chiropractor has done wonders for her.  Not only have her regular visits been beneficial, when she first had her problems he was able to suggest muscle relaxants to augment his chiropractic work.

The MDs she visited basically threw pills at her (figuratively speaking) - one doing so without even examining her back!  It has been my experience that MDs tend to reach for the meds a little too quickly, when other treatments could work just as well, if not better.  Too often, they treat the symptom rather than the root cause of a problem.

Neither I nor anyone else I know has any experience with acupuncture, so I can't comment on it.

As always, YMMV, IMHO, etc....

Well , to add to the controversery, both proponents of "Bone crackers" mention regular visits. i.e. if you go to a chiropractor be prepared to continue going (regular visits) for who knows how long !

food for thought

Again, IMHO YMMV caveat emptor...

 Bottom line: hope you feel better soon
  

My view is to do neither.

Give yourself a few days, and perhaps go see a Massage Therapist. Chances are it's a muscle related issue that could be worked out slowly. Going to a "bone cracker" scares me to death. Actually, anyone messing with my back scares me.

If the problem persists, I would get an X-ray done before I'd let anyone start cracking my back, giving me pills or poking me with little needles. For me, the massage is the least obtrusive and the least likely to make things worse. Get the X-ray if the massage doesn't help; this way you can rule out disc and vertibrae issues.

Also, drink lot's of water!  

It's getting a little better now that I am away from the dog.

Maybe I can bribe my wife into giving me a back rub this weekend?  I'll have to probably clean my tools out of our kitchen first.  You married guys can relate to that.

Time to practice.

Ciao

Well, speaking of back rub ... I'm on my way to get something better ....... a professional massage.

Ladies & Gentlemen, may I have your attention please!

If you've never had a massage therapist work you over, I HIGHLY recommend it. My wife and I have decided that we would each go once a month ... and it's heavenly. In fact, we view it as a health enhancer and the money spent keeps us from going to the doctor. I don't know about you, but I'd rather spend a little money each month, enjoy the entire massage experience ... rather than wind up at the doctor and pay big $$$.

The massage gets all the toxic junk out of my muscles, loosens me up, and feels GREAT!

any of you guys heard of the Anderson technique? kinda like chiro meets massage but it also concentrates on posture (sp?) and correcting bad habits. very popular with many orchestral types i've known, as its goals can include playing longer with better stamina due to less stress on the body.

my wife and i trade massages all the time, but then again we've only been married about a year...oh @$%#!, 1st anniversary!!!! man i gotta get me a present fast. isn't the 1st called the paper ann. or something?

hey, i thought the kiddy filter had been turned off around here...poop indeed...sheeeeiiiiit...

I used to date a massage therapist. That was nice. Thing is, that's also something you'd need to keep doing on a regular basis. The first few sessions kinda suck too, because the day after it actually hurts more. But if you keep doing it it's wonderful. Now I don't date her anymore, but I do yoga to keep my back in shape. Again... yoga's something you have to keep doing on a regular basis.

So my advice... stay away from the dog.

Felix, if all you did was pull a muscle, it probably doesn't matter who you see.  Muscles strains usually resolve regardless of what you do.  Medications won't help much though other than to help you sleep.  Massage may help.  Message relaxes muscles and increases blood flow to the tissue areas being massaged.  It's a temporary effect but can make you feel better.  Muscles guard when injured and message can decrease muscle guarding.

Chiropractic may help.  Many Chiropractors use modalities such as Ultrasound and High Voltage Galvanic Stimulation to fascilitate muscle relaxation.  The former is a deep heat at the bone muscle interface and the latter causes the muscles to tighten slightly and the relax.  Heat helps muscle relax.  Both can be provided by Physical Therapists too but you need a MD prescription to see a PT.  

Bone Setting is an ancient practice the techniques of which are used today by Osteopaths who are manually trained and Chiropractors as well as more and more PT's and a few MD's.  The crack you hear is called gapping and we don't understand what makes the sound.  The principle is that by mobilizing or manipulating the joint, physiologic motion is restored allowing muscles to relax.  It's muscle tension from guarding that usually causes the joint to tighten in the first place.

Very similar results can often be achieved by stretching your back muscles gently to allow them to relax.  This can be done easily by bending forward from a seated position until you feel the muscles tighten and then hold in that range until they relax, gradually taking up the slack until they relax completely.  Usually over about a minute or so.

If you have pain radiating into a leg, change in bladder function, numbness in a leg, weakness in the leg or other symptoms, you should probably see a physician.  Some Chiropractors will refer you to one.  A family physician may refer you to PT but if you have those symptoms, seeing a specialist in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation would be a good option.  

This is a very complex topic that is hard to do justice in a message forum like this.  But if your symptoms don't improve, e-mail me and I can see if I can give you more specific advice.

ok...if only my brain worked sometimes...

it's called the Alexander techinque, not Anderson as i misspoke before...

http://www.alexandertechnique.com/