Living with illness

Im a T2 Parapeligic, meaning I have a partially severed spinal cord at the T2 vertebrae. Happened during a murder attempt when I was around 4ish. Life has had its ups and downs but more ups than downs. Im natually an cheerful and find I dont have too many things that bother me that I cant do. Being a nerd type person I spend all my time on a computer so hey, im used to sitting for long hours, lol. I dont get sick much either except for the occasional bronchitis each winter. Did have to go through quite a bit of surgery on my back when I was younger which sucked greatly.

Wow that sucks Danny!
I know what ya mean though.

FYI i'm actually an EMT
and i've heard/seen many cases like this.
In fact, i'm at risk of this kind of injury all the time with heavy lifting of patients or other stuff.

Only think i can really do now is precautionary, like lift with my legs keeping back straight.

what i can recommend though, is doing Tai Chi, Which i'm totally serious.
i've been doing chinese wushu all my life, and tai chi also incorporates into it. i've only started tai chi for a couple years now, but i can tell you when u do tai chi, it'll help increase blood flow, which will help in the healing process. for example when u walk, walk with your heal touching the floor first. but yeah thats all i can really suggest for now,

if ya got any more questions let me know!

I'm a T2 parapeligic meaning I have a partially severed spinal cord at the T2 vertebrae. Caused by a gun shot wound I recieved when I was 4. Life has its ups and downs, more ups than downs. Not too many things I can't do that I would like to do except traveling is difficult, which puts a dampener on my dream of going to Japan or any country overseas. Being a nerd type person I spend most of my time around a computer so hey!, i'm used to sitting for long hours, lol. Don't get sick much either except for the occasional bronchitis each winter.

~~ Get well soon DANNY!!! ~~

P/S: Sori i dont have knowledge regardin Herniated disc dats useful to u, but i realli do hope u'll gt well again! Take care ^^

sorry for the double post, had a browser crash on me. Danny can go ahead and delete the second one.

Deeply sorry for the triple post, dont know what happened, go ahead and delete the second and third one.

Danny, dude take care of yourself. Your health should one of the most important things to you. Sorry to hear about your back. I'm amazed your still dancing around with a herniated disc. Take a easy there.

Push ups? What kinda advice is that? Sheesh. What I would recommend for you Danny is some low impact exercises with a inflatable exercise ball. Some face forward abdominal lifts and twists, side lifts, and balance exercises will help strengthen your back. I don't know the severity of your pain, so you can adjust to what you are capable of. It will help you balance your core and posture. You can even sit on it while working to keep your back straight and balance your weight. Take care bud.

My family has had a history of cancer.

My father, my uncle and my baby-nephew had been diagnosed with cancer one after another (after my father got cured, my uncle got cancer and then after he got cured, my baby-nephew got cancer. They were all healed fortunately, although my baby-nephew lost one of her kidneys...)

Judging from the unusually frequent cancer occurrence in my family, there seems to be a flaw in genetic markups of my family that causes cancer to occur, so I also have my chance of contracting cancer.. I do hope that I'm mistaken ^^

Well, about your illness, I'm sure someone like you will be strong enough to endure this trial, Danny, and it seems you do! Seeing that you still can get some goodies! ^^

Yeah I'd have huge jolts of pain in my arms/chest here and there sometimes... The doctor prescribed some medicine for me, which I think it's probably useless.
Anyway I don't think pushups help strengthening the back... ~_~

You'll be alright Danny, all it takes is will and a positive attitude. You gotta stay in shape for all those Stormtrooper appearances yet to come.

Luckily I've yet to have a major sickness in my life. The only time I have ever been in a hospital was for stitches when I cut my finger making a sandwich.

I quit smoking 4 months ago, drinking 2 years ago and I haven't had a blunt in 5 years. My only real guilty pleasure is red meat, can't lay off the stuff. There was a time when I'd eat steak almost daily and I would go outta my way for a t-bone even at 2 in the morning. My family has a history of hypertension though so I know I'll eventually have to give my carnivorous tendencies soon.

Take care yourself Danny, hope you can recovery fast.

thx for share this to us :).

Where's the Used to have an illness for the poll LOL, used to have asthma... And Myopia which most Singaporean kids nowadays have...
Hey Danny, hope your condition gets better! The Dynesys implants looks really... erm... scary, like from some mad scientist movie or something...
Japanese doctors sure are helpful... As helpful as a cup full of fish bag of soldiers...

Take care, Danny, and get well soon.

Take good care of yourself Danny, I'm sure you will get through it :)

Very interesting post, doesen't seem like the doctor you talked to wanted to help much?

Hey danny, sorry to hear that, but its a common illness to people who sit around alot... us nerds... heh.
Anyways, as a personal fitness instructor, I can recommend some exercises for you. Well, push ups do exercise the lower back slightly, since you have to keep your body straight the whole time. But by the time you feel your lower back worked you have already got a chest and arm the size of rambo. So the simplest/lightest work out for the lower back is the plank position: first you lie flat on your stomach, then push yourself off the floor with your elbow directly below your shoulder, make sure you body is straight. You should now in a position where you support yourself on your toes and your elbows. Stay in this position until you cant keep your body straight any longer, then rest for a couple of minutes and repeat. This exercise works the core muscles of the body.

Here's more.
The other exercise which is just as light involves a gym ball. First you knee on the floor with the gym ball infront of your body. Lay on the gym ball and roll forward so that the gym ball is directly below your stomach. Now, place your hands on the floor like you would when doing push-ups, lift both legs off the floor until its inline with your body, keeping both legs straight, hold this position for a while, rest and repeat for a few times. This exercise is more directed to the lower back muscles.
I would recommend a gym ball size of 65cm, its the size for people around the height of 5'7.
Send me an email if you want to talk about the exercises more danny.

Wow, that really sucks :(
I used to have asthma as a kid too, but I didn't really have any more attacks after a serious one many, many years ago when I had to be hospitalized for a week because I couldn't breathe ^^;

Danny, hopefully you find a right method to cure your illness and so there won't be anymore pain.

I should take a lesson from this and try to take care of my body before anything bad happens. I've been lazy as of late and I can feel my body is effected by that...

hey danny, I suggest you go to a Physical Therapist for rehabilitation.."muscle strengthening" is just one part of treating something as serious as this..if you do it wrong..we're talking about possible paraplegia..

I'm only a PT intern so I can't tell you much..better let the professionals do the assessment for you.

I hope everything works out for you..

Danny, I feel for you, and from your post and stuff I heard about before, it seems that the Japanese medical system isn't all that "user friendly". Most country's doctors and nurses are more forthcoming in terms of information and recommendations, but the Japanese system seems to be much more "hands off".

Had asthma as a kid too, I still remember vividly the fresh smell of pure oxygen and that mask I have to put on in the hospital; those days even climbing a flight of stairs was a big challenge.

Hope your herniated disc condition improves soon. :]

Holy shiat.
Bone rupture/damage is serious business :o
I was a brongkitis (sp?) patient when i was a kid. But early detection and treatment saves me from athma.

Take care Danny !

You should take good care on your health since you already reach 30+. At these kind of age, anything might come up with surprise. So take more exercise and better choice of foods. ^^

Hi Danny,

Sorry to hear of your back pain.

There could be a psychological element to your problems. Try reading Dr Sarno's books (find "The Mind/Body Prescription" and "Healing Back Pain" on Amazon), he has cured thousands of people of backpain and other long term illnesses.

I had chronic RSI from using a computer way too much. I read his books. Now I don't have it anymore - a $10 book saved my career!

My Dad lived with this injury for many years, had many operations and even some steel rods inserted, the disc removed and replaced with a silicon prosthetic and a whole bunch of traction (the old school method which just makes it worse!).

I hope you find a physical therapist who can assist you.

As for me, yep - I have a couple of niggling illnesses - one of which I have to take meds for every day for the rest of my life - but I'm not in pain, so it's all good!

Don't lay down Danny, do exercise to reinforce your back with muscles, it's the best way for these types of back problems, my father has the same thing but with two discs instead of one due to an accident. If you lay down it'll only be worse and more pain you'll feel later on. Believe me cause I've watching my father do this for the past ten years. So make exercise

hey my mum just had this recently, they also found out one of her disks was cracked or something and she was off work for about 2 months

Hey Danny, sorry to hear that. I would suggest you avoid getting into strenuous work or exercises. I wouldn't want to see the world's coolest stormtrooper getting haunted by illness. Hope you get well soon.

Take good care of yourself man!

ouch.... disks are really THE most annoying thing of all humanity. you should get some rest. hope you feel ok soon my friend

Bicycling is really helpfull against such a disaster. My english is realy bad, so cant tell much about this, sorry for this. You should try to dig more about bicycling, its a very efficient way to overcome your illnes.

Being a physician myself, i must advice that most of time backpains do not involve damages on intervertebral discs, and MRI are only justifed (they do have a huge cost) when there's more symptoms than just the pain in the back (like the pain going to the legs, lost of motricity or certain leg parts, or a pain that would not receed under well taken painkillers). Most of time X-rays themselves are not really usefull (if we really need to see something, we should go straight to MRI or TDM).

As of the treatment, just remember that each patient is a case in itself, and something that worked well for a friend would not necessarily either suit you, or improve your condition. Surgery is imo a last resort, or an emergency resort, but should be use carefully, as somehow young people who have been treated might not be improved, but even worsened after the surgery, or the initial lesion might concern one of the upper or lower intervertebral discs (if you stuck the problematic disc, the others disc will have to absorb the damages in its place...).

Backpain is a very common illness, and all treatments are not that satisfactory...

anybody would like to translate herniate disc to indonesia/melayu? cause i'm pretty confuse now @_@ , thanks

good luck if u going to get a surgery, danny

never living with an illness, i only had a doctor to pluck my feet thumb nail cause it got cranked by car bumper ^^;
nearly shortened my finger when i was 5 Y old,
and some scar in my finger due to cutting gundam's ^^

Hey Danny, I hope your condition improves. And don't push yourself too hard =)

personally i would go for physiotherapy
or back muscles strengthening excerise. Is a lot cheaper but time consuming. But the benefits are good in the long run.

going for operation would probably be my last resort.

Always busy with work ain't a good reason to keep yourself healthy ^^

According to Wiki...

"The majority of herniated discs will heal themselves in about six weeks and do not require surgery. One study found that "After 12 weeks, 73% of patients showed reasonable to major improvement without surgery."

However, you can't heal if you don't stay off your back, Danny. Set aside some time. You really do need some rest for this. Best wishes to feel better, Danny. T_T

oh just to add on, i too had asthma as a kid and i also had the chance to use some pump machine too. It was a nasty feeling to not breathe properly and not play sports well/

After that incident, my mum decided that i should take up swimming to combat asthma, which i did and not only my condition improved. Now i dont have any more asthma and running is no longer a issue for me.

Staying healthy and excerise regularly has alot of health benefits. I use to take in coffe or energy drink to keep myself awake and put on alot of weight, now i've traded that for jogs and run. Is way more effective and instead of feeling slugish from the run, you feel more alive ^^

is not about whether you have illness to live with. Rather is about how you deal with it and making sure illness isn't burdening your life. Whether or not you want to make changes in your life to improve your health is entirely up to you. The path to a healthy body is tough but once that phrase is over, you'll enjoying its benefits for very very long.

may the force be with you. get well.

I've got mild case of asthma, but got a puffer anyway. Allergies to fur, so dogs and cats aren't my friends lol Also slightly colour deficient, hereditary from my mother. So when if you gave me one of those circles with plenty of dots, its likely I won't be able to see the number or symbol.

i have a the same problem like u. had a slipped disc about 3 years ago when i was 19 due to a rock climbing accident. fell 10 metres down. still recovering. exercising and some physio theraphy.

would suggest you get a gym ball to use. i do get the weakness in legs and occasional back pains. almost died as my legs gave way while crossing the road last year.

use hot packs on your back for 15 mins 2-3 times a day it works. occasional pain killers if you cant bear the pain. if you can go swimming go swimming but dont over exert your back.

my slipped disc is back in place but the nerves are not aligned properly.
hope u get well soon man

get well and take care of yourself Danny ^^

Danny, if you never told us that, we would never know. I always would have believed you'd be the type to be unaffected by such physical affections.

The only problem I live with is myopia... Been an integral part of my life since I was born.
But I won't even call it a real disability, since I lead a rather normal life (Say, what's "normal" anyway?). Nothing major here in summary.

However, many members of my family are now facing cancer, for many reasons. My Great aunt is gone because of it (Died the 1st of this month... I miss her dearly) and my aunt is currently fighting against it, among others.

Why do I say that all of a sudden? Well, I believe that certain disabilities and illnesses can't be prevented or avoided, but many can... Healthy life habits, exercising, etc. can easily be forgotten but can be determinant later in life.
Don't waste your life, you only got one. And if you fight for it everyday, make efforts to improve or maintain a healthy lifestyle, that is the right way to do things.

Hope for you to get well soon!

I've had asthma since I was young, but the air around here isn't that bad so I haven't had much trouble with it for a few months now.

I'm hoping that you get better. Get better, Danny.

Wish I could be more useful, not just a Red Cross member that only knows First Aid...

Anyway, take care!

(oOo)/"Long live Danny"(oOo)/

That sucks Danny. I hope you get well soon. And you shouldn't push yourself like that, you can damage your body even more!

So go lie down and play some Advance Wars. XP

take care danny. get well soon. we are behind you always. ^^,

I also had mild slip disc during my national service in the army which I kinda recovered with 3 months of physiotherapy.

Basically the doctor recommended me to do more swimming and some basic back exercise, and of course I also went for the therapy every 1 or 2 weeks.

By the way, be strong Danny and recover fast.
We'll look forward to your next shenanigans.

Damn, hope you are well. We share a similar back problem, mine is with the ciatic nerve. Even though doctors haven't found the exact reason in my case, I too get a very accute pain in my lower back, wich extends to my legs. We thought it was a disc problem too, but it seems it's not the case.

We do have to live with illnesses, I guess for us it's part of our daily lives, and we just have to keep pressing on.

Hope you are well, and take care of that back.

Sorry to hear about your illness Danny, I hope everything works out for the best and you don't have to go through to much in the way of surgery!
I can relate to this illness article as I have been living with AIDS for the last 17 years. I was diagnosed after receiving a blood transfusion after a bad car crash back in '91. I immediately thought it was a death sentence, but thanks to modern science, I've been kept alive and healthy. If you look at me you would never know I was sick at all. What is hard is the day to day living. The constant, I'll say "fear", though thats not the feeling, of getting close to anyone because you don't want to infect them. Sure they talk about "safe sex" but nothing is 100%. I've even had people who say they can handle it, but there is always that doubt. I have my close friends, family and dog. I'm not lonely. This is just a cross you bear for the rest of your life.

Hey Danny is the first time i ever write a comment in this website of your s :).

Illness is something that i only discovered about 3 years ago. I got an illness that weaken my body as i grow up. I;m currently at grade 10, but my strength, the ability to run is going down, i may not surpass myself when i was in grade 5, that's how weak i am now. I'm getting weaker and weaker everyday. I still can walk and run a little but i cannot run or reach the speed of my friends. This make me feeling terrible, feeling depressed.

Danny,

I too had a herniated disc about 3 years ago. The pain was so great I could not stand for more then 5 minutes at a time without bursting into tears. I was taking 5 to 6 Hydrocodon a day and it was barely touching my pain.

I was lucky enough to find an expert surgeon in my area that was able to cut out the offending part of my disc, and I have been relatively pain free ever since. I sometimes wish I could have found a different option then surgery, I can not lift more then 10 pounds and also have to be very careful to not over extend myself and damage the muscles the doctor had to cut to get to the disc.

I feel for you and hope that you can find a solution to your problem. Pain medication can work for some, but it can lead to a road you might not want to travel. I am sure that Japan is full of great doctors, but if you would like the name of my doctor please contact me.

Damn... That's one condition I really don't wanna think about, especially since I'm kinda obese and take martial arts... Wish you well on this, Sir Danny.

While you're there though, fancy a match of Advance Wars? Need to find my friend code first though, hahahah!

sorry to hear about that danny. i'll be looking forward to your recovery. I hadn't had any chronic illnesses myself(thank the people up there), but i've known some who do, relatives included. seeing them go for treatment only to suffer a relaspe and then slowly waste away is not a good memory. and to all those out there who are now suffering from some kind of illness; have faith. medical science never stands still.

On a lighter note, Advance Wars seems to have gone all Ace Combat all of a sudden. Whatever happened to the original armies or COs? Does it still take place on Wars WOrld? Or even in the same time period? Sorry to go so off-topic.

That does sound really crappy....

Alot worse than my medical condition anyways. I've got a thing called Crohns disease. 1/10000 have it in the UK apparantly... it's a kinda bowel condition. Mines not that severe. It could be ALOT worse. I just get pains occasionally... course I'm on some drugs now that are suppressing it.... Found out earlier last year after not being myself for about 4 months before/after xmas(I didnt want chocolate... and thats strange for me.... unfortunately I'm still not in a chocolatey mood, or any food really. My appatites shot.... I just eat cos I have to, not cos I'm hungry.... its weird.)

Good luck with your problem Danny!!

really sorry to read about this.. i hope you recover soon :( Health is really the ultimate most important thing.

Get well soon..!

I have the same problem,I was diagnosed when I was 15-16 with CTscan/MRI scan.The cause was most probably a bad fall when I was doing far jump.Pushups to strengthen the muscles around the spine and physiotherapy(I had to go twice a week for 6months then once per week for 6 months.Now I must attend short sessions once per year.) are the best counters I guess.You can do a surgery too,but it's not really recommended.

Forgot to mension that it can get really bad if you don't treat fast enough.Although I had pain,I didn't really care about it.Till the pain got so bad,I couldn't stand out of my bed for 5 days taking really bad tasting drugs and beeing fed by my mother >_

i also suffers from asthma, so i know your pain Danny, i haven't had any attack for the past 15 years though (thank God), and may you find the best solution for your conditions right now.

radical anime fan: As far as I can tell, it's an all new cast, not on the same world.

I am wondering if back injuries like this are something that mainly affects people whose work involves sitting down all the time. My job for many years has involved lifting and carrying heavy bags and I've never had back trouble.

Well, moustly i think its the lots of hours sitting, age, and weight. U see, theres a certain age that your body need you to have a certain weight. Got a lot of friends having back problems lately and all of them were tell by there doctors to lose weight. Recently i have begining to have this kind of problems, getting a lot of pain on my back if i sit for long periods of time. Reading about Danny´s illness have made me realize maybe it time for me to go to da Dr. Hope u get better Danny!

Odaiji ni, Danny.

Used to have asthma as well, but doctor told me that normally if you go beyond 12 yrs old and do see asthma anymore, it means you are completely cured of it - which i am.

I had 2 serious injuries before.
1) hit my head against a tap during taking my bath. *what an embarrassing thing* And my head bleed till i was on the edge of faithing. Got 8 stichtes for that.

2) another was while playing football. had a bad knock on my lap. swollen and the next time i know is i cant bend my legs. my muscle tore. hospitalize for 2 weeks with my legs hung up.

well danny. i do hope you get well soon. sorry i cant be of much help on slipped disc but get well soon k.

Sorry to hear it Danny, get well soon. :)
I've never had anything permanent, but I do suffer from very regular migraines, which is a pain, still it's nothing compared to what others face.

As for Days Of Ruin, I finished the campaign today, it was excellent, but I still prefer Dual Strike, Isabella's by far the only really cute character in this one, her theme song says it all. :P

GET BETTER!!!!
i myself suffer from several allergies and regular migraines. Actually, i am experiencing a migraine literally as i write. But yknow, one can get used to anything, so its easy to forget about any physical pain i think. For example, i badly hit my knee when i was a small kid, and ever since it regularly hurts. People keep saying i am limping but i dont notice any pain until someone mentions it. Haha, so learn to cope ^^

I had cancer...?

Wow. I guess even the most happy/loved/perfect people have their worries. I really hope you get better Choo-san. As for the illness that yo have; My mother has it. One day it got so bad, she couldn't get out of bed for a few days, and when she tried to walk she immediately fell down. As for me... I'm not sure what I have, but from the symptoms, it looks like depression; and it sucks!! Can't focus, don't do good at school although I don't miss a day, and just random mood swings out of nowhere.Well, just hope you get better really soon, and know that we are here , always supporting you. =)

Tis bad news indeed Danny. Hopefully you will get past it easily. After all. Is a slipped disc really gonah be what causes the great Danny Choo from working!!!! I think not!!!

I did have tubercolosis once. It's like having a really bad cough, but myabe that was because I was lucky enough to be treated in the early stages. I feel sorry for those who can't even afford basic medicine to tackle tubercolosis. The most damage it did to me was cause me to stop playing rugby.

As many have already suggested, getting therapy during the early stages and regularly doing back stretching exercises once the pain has considerably lessen help a lot. People usually feel much better in around a month. I have a bit of a spine related problem as well, which is scoliosis (spine is slightly twisted). I'm forever banned from playing tennis and bowling, which is a bummer coz all I do now is watch my friends while I sit at the side. I was encouraged to swim or play basketball, the latter which I do regularly (so my doctor was quite relieved to hear that).

Hope you get well soon, Mr. Danny! Stay strong! ^___^

Danny - hope you make a full recovery this year!

I also have my story of getting ill in Japan, back in Kyoto in 1999. It was a chilly November and I remember my knees and lower back starting to really ache. Over the course of a week I noticed my knees swelling to the size of softballs (for those you out there who dont know the size of a softball just imagine a fairly large grapefruit). At this point I started to et scared and insisted of seeing a doctor ASAP - only problem was I was illegally working in Japan so I didnt have any insurance. Then I thought of a pretty sneaky plan - I could use my good friends University insurance card and pretended I was an Austrian called James. This was the first time I took advantage of the "all foreigners look the same" mentality that goes on in Japan.

When I finally got to see the doctor
I was surprised to hear that he had NO IDEA what was wrong with me. Considering I had lived in the UK, Germany and the U.S. before that it was a shock. If you want to read more on the quality of Japanese doctors - check out the article written by Danny. At first he told me I had Rheumatism, which I thought was impossible as was only 23 at the time. Then he extracted a load of yellow liquid from both my knees (yes it was disgusting), and sent me home with NO real diagnosis or any medicine OR any references to other doctors! Sometimes medical professionals in Japan seem totally amateurish! Is it because Japanese people are inherently more healthy that their doctors can get away with know much less than their western counterparts??

Anyway, I had book a flight back to the UK (where my family lives) the next week to see some real quality doctors. I came through Kansai airport in a wheel-chair I remeber the JAL staff being really nice to me, and all the cute hostesses always checking up on me during the flight... that made me feel a little better. Back in London at the doctors I was diagnosed with Arthritis (which was a surprise at my age) and was put on some strong medication. The doctors I was seeing every week were the best Arthritis doctors in Europe. It felt good to finally be able to ask the doctor lots of questions in English and get good answers.

I still have Arthritis to this day, although it is very mild - the worst part is back pain in the early morning. I find Marijuana helps with the pain A LOT (luckily I dont have Asthma). Good thing weed is legal for medical conditions in San Francisco! Of course you can eat weed too - just as potent.

that's not so good news Danny i hope you get a recover soon you just rest the time is needed and don't over work please ...yup illneeses has been all over me since i was born because my mother has megative type of blood leading me to be not so "healthy" you know...getting the cold in a frequent way and not being so strong and those things but a sicknees i have ...dont know if to say "develop" or contract is, also don't know the correct form in english because it is not my language but i hve "hiperventilation sindrom" or whatever it is written it is about unbalance CO2 in my blood caused by strees,fear and other things of that kind ...you know that illnees that Nana Oosaki from Nana has, i always like you Danny carry not a inhalator but a paper bag just in case that happens ...guess it is part of my life, but i hope someday to be a healthy person ^^

HI Danny:

I actually work with herniated disc problems.
Both of your clients are correct, one can do rehab, or opt for surgery.
Procedure in the US is usually rehab 1st and if no improvement, then surgery. (Each patient is individually evaluated as everyone is different)
The disc problem is a very mechanical problem and exercise can usually resolve most of it.
However, it does depend on how big your bulge is. If you can provide me with the level(L2-L3 or L4-L5 etc), size in mm and the direction of the herniation.
What makes the pain worse and better. How often does the episode occur? Is it always after a certain thing you do or movement(such as getting up from chair)
This will give me more info on what exercises to do and what not to do.

Been looking at your blog for about a year and really appreciate your thoughts.

Anyway, you may email me at me registered email

@Danny,
My gf had a herniated disc, and the it ruptured, so I know all the ins and outs of what is recommended (as I was with her every time she went to the doctor). The best thing to do is get a Discogram (this is where they inject a dye into the offending disc, and also the discs above and below it to find out if there is a problem with these too. This will tell you if it ruptured, as they can CAT scan they dye and watch if it leaves the fatty sack of the disc. This will also tell them if other discs could be being affected with the strength of the one being compromised.
Sometimes the worst thing you can do is exercise (especially push-ups) as this might aggrevate the problem and cause a herniated disc to rupture (which hurts a LOT more). It got to the point where I had to carry my gf around because she could barely walk. Also, she was lucky because she was only 99lbs. If she was heavier, it might have been worse.
Since she had a ruptured disc, she only had a couple of options, we went to the top surgeon for this field in Arizona to talk to him about what she can do. Cortizone injections (steroidal base) to help keep the swelling down from the disc (this only works well if it isnt ruptured). If it is a small tear in the disc, a specialized physical therapy can help give you strength while it heals(if it does). If it doesnt heal, as in my gf case, they doctor recommended surgery. There are different options depending on the doctor, but basically the disc is replaced with twin cages of carbon fiber and titanium, and bone grafts are set inside so that there is a partial fusion without hindering a lot of mobility. According to this doctor, about 75% of people noticed great improvement and reduction in pain. But just as with any surgery, there are dangers. We are talking about spinal surgery, so please (if you have medical coverage) find someone who has a long history of this kind of surgery (the doctor we saw pioneered this type of surgery in the states). Also, go online and check the background and complaints against the doctor just in case.
She had the surgery, and after about a month of intense pain and weakness, they started her on physical therapy, and it took about three to four months for her to show improvement. It has been two years now, and she is riding motorcycles, and I would say she is at about 90% back to the strength and movement she had before she got hurt. This is NOT common though, as most back surgeries dont do this well.
My dad on the other hand has two DISINTEGRATED discs, and his bones are actually rubbing against each other... this is what happens if you have a problem like a herniation or rupture and dont take care of it. They can do nothing for him but give him painkiller injections into his back, and even then, it hurts a lot most of the time. If they tried surgery at this point, he might lose the ability to use his legs. So hes opting for the pain.
If you would like more info, or want to e-mail my gf and talk to her about it, you know where to get a hold of me. Hope you feel better Danny, I know how dibilitating this can be.

As for me, I dont have anything except that I am Photo-allergenic. This is neither dibilitating nor even an inconvenience. Its actually very common in people with Blue eyes and Blonde hair. I used to get sick a lot as a kid, strep throat and such... but now, People always give me crap because I dont get sick (even if Im around people who are a lot), I dont have allergies, and other than my back hurting (muscle, not spinal) Im fine. So I do regular workouts to help my back, and keep a healthy frame of mind.

Woah. That's some bad news you got there danny. I hope you'll find time to recover from it soon.

As for me, I was born asthmatic. My asthma used to always kick in when I was young but starting about 10 years ago it seems to have subsided. Found out the main reason why it sorta disappeared is because of me doing sports. Doctor (my mom) said it exercised and strengthened my respiratory system. It does appear rarely nowadays but only when I'm exposed to really dusty environments. Last attack I had was three years ago. ^^

I also recommend checking out the back pain book by Dr. Sarno.

While I haven't used it myself, I've heard great things about this book from other people.

You should really lie down and watch some anime or play DS, you absolutely deserve it imo.

I used to have a lot of headaches but it got a lot better in the last months even though I feel worse.. I need to stand straight to avoid back problems in the future since my posture isn't that good, but I'm working on it.

I hope you feel better soon Danny!

Woah that doesn't sound nice, I heard a slipped disc can bevery painful, gope you recover soon :)

I was also born asthmatic, although I have never had an asthma attack. I remember being told that I had fluid in my lungs when I was a kid and my dad had to hold me down while doctors stuck a tube up my nose to drain the fluid in my lungs. I don't get asthma anymore after I got into playing Badminton. I hardly ever get asthma anymore, except for those really dusty places.

I've been cursed with asthma since I can remember... I haven't been able to do any sports in schools because of it. Many people are able to overcome it at a young age but I for some reason could not. Life can't always be so fair ^^;

Sorry to hear about your condition Danny, things will be ok soon I'm sure.

Hey Danny, I've been reading this site for a while, but I decided to create an account in order to chime into this discussion.

First off, I'm sorry to hear about your herniated discs situation. My girlfriend has it as well and sometimes it can flare up really bad. Best wishes to you on learning to cope with it.

I unfortunately have been living with a disabilitating disease for the majority of my life. I was diagnosed with Chron's Disease back in 2000 (when I was 18) and it's been a real struggle trying to control it. I've been taking numerous medications, injections, surgeries and all I can say is that you have to take your illness day by day. You are going to have some bad days along with some good things. The thing about being disabled or sick is that you appreciate the good days that much more.

My best to you on your condition. I hope you learn to cope with it.

Take care Danny... My mom had herniated disc from a work related accident. The disc are now deteriorated. Sometime the pain can be very debilitating and last for days. In the past she did do exercises that helped to strength her back. Now she can't do them because of her condition.

You are taking the right course of action. Do your research and find a doctor that can help you. You are a fit and very active individual so if you take action now you can help keep your problems to a minimum. You know all this already. I wish I could be of more help.

As for me, I may have Macular Degeneration. Just the sort of thing a Photography and visual arts person like myself needs. Hopefully I will not lose my sight. Like you I do a lot of research and try to find ways to defeat the condition from getting worse.

Well, I won't be giving a long "take care get well Danny". Just don't let anything overcome you ^^, as long as I have read your blog, I think that you are a very strong person indeed and I know that no herniated disc will bring you down, as long as you fight it ^^

I have Bipolar Disorder (kind of ilness) and sometimes I have to walk with a staff because my joints suffer from some kind of friction (2 ilnesses in total), that causes a lot of pain and weakness to stand up, so I have to walk with a staff like an old dude (House M.D. style) ^^. Altought, I am generally ok and I'm able to run, dance DDR and do a lot of excercise. The will to carry on even trought the pain is one of the greatests strenghts ^^

Analgesics help a lot too, don't doubt to ask medication for a strong one if you feel the need to do so

Sorry to hear about your back, mate - i know that it can be pretty bad from experience. One of my mates had it for a few years, and on a night out once, he had pains in his back, and to this day, i dont think ive ever seen anyone in as much pain (in real life) as that. I think it eased its way back to normal thankfully. Lets hope that happens to you too!

As for disabilities? I dont think its technically a disability, but ive had to live with severe hearing loss since i caught the mumps at 3 years old and suffered irrepairable nerve damage in my ears. My left ear is totally deaf, whereas my right ear is about 70% deaf (especially in the high frequencies) and i have to wear a hearing aid.
I nearly had to go to a special school for the deaf when i was an infant, but due to my moms insistence that i got to a regular school, ive adapted to it over the years and have lived a normal life for as long as ive known.

I have partial hear loss since I was a kid. Been wearing hear aids since I was in 3rd grade. It's not a problem usually, but it does get annoying when miss something important and I have to ask people to repeat themselves.

Danny,

Sad to hear, but hope you get better.

I know what it's like living with pain on an never ending basis. Had a 120mm mortar mess up my right leg over 9 years ago.

Hope they find a way of treating you too. With me the doctors said I would either forget about it in 8 weeks or it would be with me for the rest of my life. Like a bad relative the pain decided it wasn't going to leave.

I've gotten used to the constant dull feeling in my leg. I just wish I could sleep without waking up eight times a night again.

Everybody just pray for BB in NJ, I don't even want to try an imagine dealing with Chron's disease.

Danny find out about alkaline water and drink lots of it, it may help out, who knows.

Sorry to hear that, hope you get better soon.

Oh man that sucks. :(
I have really bad acne that I combat with a lot of crap but that's about it - not really an illness per se.

Also, I picked up the new AW as well! Haven't had much time with it though.

sorry to hear that bro..my staff's son was also diagnosed with the same illness..he is a steward & fell onto a passenger's seat when the aircraft he was on hit a turbulance..he opted for the operation..doing well rite now..may be u should consider it too..

I hope you'd get better soon, Danny.

oh dear! :O hope you feel better soon Danny! don't over work yourself, health is more important if you want to continue doing what you love!

Well Danny, that's what you get for dancing so awesome-like in Tokyo!

I'm just playing, but seriously I have a case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) unlike the one everyone likes to assume they have (the cleanliness, organization, etc.).

ANyway, I hope the Choo-master gets his problem dealt with soon.

I'm not living with any illness thankfully, i can sympathise with you on the medical assistance and everything associated with it in Japan though. From past experiences and stories from friends it's less than ideal medical care here.

Hope you are able to recover against the herniated disc (if it be possible). If you choose to take the surgery, then I also wish you a speedy recovery in advance!

hey Danny, I'm sorry to hear about your condition, I talked to doctor friend of mine and he tells me exercise and therapy would be best. stay aways from activities that might aggrevate your slipped disc, like heavy lifting etc. if the pain bothers you, you can take tylenol or any substitute brand you might have there. and save surgery as a last resort. hope that helps.
hope you get well soon.

My heart almost skipped a beat when I saw this on the front page. Thank god it was not as serious as I thought. Take care and hope your back recover as soon as possible.

Get well real soon Danny! May your recovery go fast and far from painfull.

I'm glad that I don't have any illness. The only thing I'm suffering from is a skin allergy.

Hey Danny,
Be careful with any sort of slipped disk. I hate to compare you to a dog but my bulldog slipped a disk this past October and was paralized in her back legs. No movement at all. She gained use a few days later after being confined to a cage and now hopefuly has fully recovered. In total she had to stay caged for 8 weeks. The vet told me that the disk was pressing up into her spinal cord so was not allowing any signals from her brain to travel down to her back legs. Very scary moment.

Sorry to hear about your recent conditions. At least you are getting a lot of mental support from a lot of readers, which is good. Take care and hope you will get well soon.

I am sorry to hear about this Danny, on Monday I was diagnosed with exercise induced asthma. the funniest part is the most exercise I do is flipping the channel or playing with my son's Lego toys ^_^

Danny,

I also had asthma growing up and still need to use my puffer every once in a while.

I hope you find relief from your pain soon.

Best wishes,

xaky

Yes I have a condition known as hypothyroidism. Relax gentlemen: 9 out of 10 cases are in women but I am that rare statistic.

Basically everything, and I mean EVERYTHING from your breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, consciousness, thoughts, they all slow down. In fact it got so bad that I had insomnia 24/7, I was diagnosed with clinical depression, I was overeating and when it got real bad I couldn't get out of bed- even to go to the bathroom or go get a bite to eat.

I went to the doctor after I was sick of being depressed for three months. Funny that my doc checked my thyroid and noticed a goiter was developing. I was put on levothyroxine and zyrtec (allergies) and after a month I was getting out of bed and enjoying myself and life. I actually felt better and was doing better. The reason for the long wait is because the doc was slipping me a placebo and then gave me the real stuff after about two weeks.

My bout with depression pretty much ended and for no real good reason I felt good about myself and continued on with the rest of my high school year. I still get bad side effects for not taking my medicine- namely insomnia and I can tell if my body is in overdrive or in a slump.... this is weird... but I can tell by the speed of music. Songs that I know will either slow down or speed up... isn't hypothyroidism creepy?

i hope you get better.

@bandit35:

Thanks for the prayer. I really appreciate it. Living with Chron's really isn't fun. This past spring I had a relapse which required me to have surgery and I basically had no summer whatsoever. I stayed indoors majority of the time recovering from the surgery and trying to get better. I was also taking prednisone (steroids) to help me feel better, but the medication makes me gain a lot of weight (I was 170, now I'm 196), break out all over the place, and also makes my bones weaker the longer I'm on it (I take Calcium pills to help combat it, but it can only do so much).

Another huge negative about having this disease is that it's hard for me to have a "normal" job. Normal in the sense of getting up in the morning, driving to an office, and working in an office setting. The job I have currently thankfully allows me to work from home which is what I need because not only can I focus on my work more, but if I have days that I don't feel well, I don't have to worry so much because I can just take it easy while I work.

Back on Danny though, I'm sure a lot of people offered their shoulder, but if you ever need anything or some helpful advice on how to cope, I'm at your service. One thing I've learned to do very well is to cope and to look on the brighter side of things.

All,
Thanks for all the exercise tips and other background info. And also thanks for the words of encouragement.
Read through all the comments and some of the illnesses that you have to live with. Sometimes I feel selfish for complaining about my back when compared to the illnesses that some folks have to live with.

Makes me wonder sometimes though. If governments spent the same amount of money that they spend on arms and spend it on medical research instead, I think that there will be a lot less people suffering from illnesses.
Its also ironic that governments actually spend money building biological weapons that intentionally make humans ill :-(

Oh btw. There is a really good manga about living with illness, it's called Ai-ren, by Tanaka Yukata.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ai-ren

If anyone want to give this a try, it's available for download in http://mangaworld.org/ (just click at the projects page link on the right, and search for Ai-ren in the completed projects section)

I honestly cried after I finished reading this manga.

takeyo-san
need help to really know the problem here, what's herniated disc in indonesian? i need help on translating it -_-U
sorry, lack of medical vocab here

Hendrik,

I don't know the exact medical term for it, but I can describe it from what it seems to be, a ruptured vertebral disc with gel leaking out, pressuring the spinal cord.

Well a direct translation may be: bantalan tulang vertebra sobek yang mengakibatkan kebocoran gel yang akhirnya menekan benang saraf tulang belakang.

Sorry if that's not helpful. ^^

Danny,

I've wondered the same thing too (about governments using money for medicine rather than war). I am one the lucky few who are able to get medicaid/medicare due to my illness. My illness is at the point that if I don't have my medication, I can get seriously ill. I've gotten used to taking my medicine and working my way around the regular routine of taking care of myself. I've told some of my friends what I need to do everyday and they are amazed by how much I have to do daily and how I'm able to do it every day.

And don't feel selfish for having back problems, everyone should be able to vent if something is bother them. My mother has been living with a rod in her back ever since she was 18 and she lives with pain on a daily basis. There isn't a day that she doesn't have pain and she can't take pain killers or else her liver gets enlarged and she's gotten used to Tylenol & Advil, so right now, all she can do is get through the day with the pain. Just recently she was able to obtain a handicap parking license plate for her car, so that helps a little bit for when she goes to the supermarket or anywhere else.

once you get the metal spine replacement what next, arms, legs, head...when does the madness stop.

It'll be on the news one day that a monster calling himself "dannybot" is stomping around tokyo destroying monorails and tall buildings EEK!

On a more serious note, i had some pain in my lower back not so long ago. It never went as far as going to the doctor however i ended up buying a massive exercise ball and rolling around on it stretching my back and building up muscles. Id definiatly give exercise a go :) Good luck.

I don't have any (known) illnesses, so I can't make any claims to that fact. (Unless a chronic obsession with collecting Transformers toys can be called an illness. Plastic Crack Addiction? Diecast-osis?) A couple friends of mine however do have problems with their backs. Similar to you, one friend has a slipped disc and deals with pain almost daily.

My eldest sister has lived with disability since she was a baby. She was born with severe hearing loss, and Cerebral Palsy, which causes a weakness in her motor functions, and can cause secondary physical problems such as Scoliosis (Severe curvature of the spine). She's very stubborn however, and she doesn't let that hold her back. She is married now and living in California with her husband, who is also deaf. She is my sister, though, and as her younger sibling, we fought and got on each other's nerves, but I love her and have the highest respect for her. She deals with this every day, and there is no hope of her living a normal life like I do (if you can define any life as "normal".)

I liked this title the most, because you used a term I find to have more power than "suffering from" or "Putting up with"...Living with Illness puts the emphasis on LIVING. :) Thanks for sharing Danny. I hope the rehab does the trick, but if you decide you have to go under the knife, I hope that route includes a speedy recovery and a life free from discomfort and pain.

If my daughter and I make it to Tokyo next year, I'd be honored to meet you.

hmm, i might jusk ask if i go to hospital or ask some1 ^^
thanks anyway, takeyo-san

That's not great news Danny, I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say get better soon

Danny,

I had the same thing happen to me a few years ago. My S1-L5 disc collapsed and bulged into the sciatic nerve, causing pain down both legs that had me completely incapacitated. I also had times where I felt some kind of pain in my back and legs, that would go away after a day or so. This time, it didn't stop. After various treatments, medications, and physical therapies, I ended up getting a lumbar fusion, where they removed the disc and replaced it with an ivory graft filled with a growth protein that causes the adjacent vertebrae to grow together to fill the space. I also have the dynesys hardware in my back, which was used so I didn't have to wear a full body brace for a year after the surgery. Even after everything is healed, the screws stay unless they cause some kind of problem.

You can see a few x-rays of them at http://gallery.mom-is-a-terrorist.com/spine

If you have any questions, just let me know.

well about 2 years ago when i was playing soccer i fell really hard on me knees and the doctor told me that my right patella was misplaced and he told me that i needed to go to rehab but even though i went, it still hurts i'm always trying to avoid running and jumping and i'm thinkin i need to go to the doctor again i hope i don't need a surgery or anything like but if it's necessary i guess i have to get it done

ダニーさん大丈夫？

人生の中でダニーさんにあってみたいです。

Sorry about your injury danny, that's too bad.

Don't overwork yourself, take it easy and may you be on a path to a speedy recovery.

well, my case is a bit worse than yours. I broke my entire back a couple of years ago (i met Dak Roland around that time :P.. hey Dak!) and well... it was an excruciating and looooooooooong rehab till i was able to walk again. take a year or so. my recommendations? try not to lift heavy things, ride a bike (better than jogging for you support yourself with the handlebars). keeping a good posture while you sit and a soft bed is good too.

take good care of yourself!

It is not good news indeed, but it could be worst...

体を大事に!　頑張れ!　負けるな!

I have had several years experience in the medical field and hate it when I hear that you need to strengthen the back muscles only. Your doctors advice although not complete was a good start. You need to not only increase the strength of the muscles in your lower back but you need to strengthen your entire core. Push-ups are a great start because you can start doing them now while not aggravating the condition further. Depending on your conditions severity sit-ups or crunches from the floor (not a ball) may be too much for you right now. But my guess is that you aren't sporting a 6-pack belly. Ask me how I know... I have lower back problems and they stem from sitting in a chair or car too long without doing much else. Whenever I get into a regular routine of sit-ups and push-ups and low impact cardio (like an elliptical trainer) 30 minutes a day 3 times a week... I am fine. When I stop for a few weeks, I start to suffer again. I realize this may not work for everyone as our bodies are all different. My advice to you Danny - I recommend acupuncture treatment NOW. If you catch it soon enough, this is an excellent way to avoid surgery. It is very effective for early stages of your condition. If you end up needing surgery I wish you the best. Lastly, if you are taking FLEXERIL or similar muscle relaxers... do not do anything physical like lifting or twisting or even trying to open a jar. You may feel great and capable of these actions, but there is a very high risk of further damage being done. I wish you well, and hope this was helpful... ^_^

i'v also been diagnose with sleep disk at the age 16, it took long and hard full years to recover from it, u need to watch everything that u do, now i'm 23 the pain is almost gone, danny choo, good luck on the recovery ... XD

I hope you get better fast. Being slightly overweight since childhood and get these regular back pain until I started to exercise regularly and lost 20 lbs. I feel a hell of a lot better and stronger.

Also I have a problem on recognizing human voices. Talking to people is hard and it took a dedicated speech therapist 2 years to crack the wall at my school and the teachers thought it was ADD. English is harder for me to understand vocally and Japanese is so much clearer for me to make out. I could not pick out words from songs until I was like 12 years old and talk to people normally till I was like 7 years old. I still confuse my sounds that I say from the ones I should say. Living in your own world that you can hear yourself is no fun.

Also my experience is just remain flexible, do what your therapist says and there is no amount of pills that can cure pain effectively.
My two cents.

お元気で!!!

I used to be bone skinny, then close to 300 pounds and now I'm back to a very fit 200 pounds. I used to have eating problems and lack of exercise problems, but not anymore.

I had asthma (and still do) but I can do intense exercise as long as I am in a clean place (like a gym compared to smog filled road-side areas).

My back tends to give out like I'm an elderly person though. That and a few painful joints at rare times.

Other than that, I can mostly say that would qualify me as not living with ailments.

Hard, painful exercise, ironically, have made me much more fit.

I used to be very under weight and short. People would mistaken me for a 10 year old back at 8th grade but now I ve upgraded to a 14-15 year old since HS.

Seems like I can't get away from athsma. I had athsma when I was little but some males can "overcome" this through puberty I think, I did, must have heard it in the news or from someone.Life seems somewhat limited do to this.

=( I was born fine and normal, well fit and average weight. Now I'm under weight, skinny, and boney. My friends describe me as the skin and bones boy =/. I am 15 Years old, 5"6. I weigh 105 lbs and am very very skinny. When I sit on people (just for jokes) they say "get your skinny butt off me!! It hurts!!!"

Ouch, sorry to hear that. I hope that you'll get better and you don't have to perform that expensive spinal disc replacement.

And for my condition, my left eye is currently non functional due to silicone oil implant which was overdue (I have to perform a surgery to remove it but can't do it due to budget issues ^^;;;), the silicone oil was put in to my left eyes to keep the retina section which was sealed back from retinal detachment condition. The problem is if the silicone oil implant is overdue, it will become cloudy and cause cataract the eye lens and that is my condition so you can say, I saw the world using one eye ^^;;;

Danny, you poor guy. Hope you get a chance to relax and don't have to undertake that surgery. Sounds like a lot of trouble in more ways than one.

I know this is a late response, but I hope someone can read this and relate in some form.
I'm glad to see that more than half of you do not have any illnesses or disabilities.
I'm actually hearing-impaired (about 50% loss in both ears) and it still surprises people when they find out!
I was diagnosed when I was about 5 and have worn hearing-aids since. I look normal (at least I think so, lol), but I do have trouble socialising as I've missed out on learning basic social skills. This is mostly because I used to attend a specialised hearing school in the morning and then I would attend my normal school in the afternoon.
This basically meant that while everyone was in a group for activities since the morning, I had to try twice as hard to fit in and catch up on lessons. So in a way all my mental capacities were focused on learning the school stuff, that I missed out on the social skills I needed.
I do have 2 great guy friends now from yr 11 and 12 (high school was separated for boys and girls yrs 7-10), that's about 7yrs? And 2 great girlfriends from church.
I thank God that even though I can't hear properly without my hearing-aids, I've become more dependant on skills of observation and I'm pretty good at hearing tones (words sound like mumbling half the time) and I now sing at church and have no trouble harmonising and filling in the gaps for the choir (it's small, only female 3 singers, 1 male leader and 1 female percussionist).

I hope everything works out for you Danny, light and regular exercises can work wonders for anyone with physical disabilities, on the other hand there's not much I can do about my hearing impairment.

I'm lucky so far.
Specially lucky because I decided to go to an eye doctor not long ago (after years not consulting one) and discovered I had high pressure on my eyes.

"If you don't treat it with a daily eye drop (for the rest of your life), you'll eventually go blind".

About Herniated Disc... sorry to hear about that and I hope you can recover from it Danny. We want more Storm Trooper dances! :D

My uncle had this also... and though he is still not completely recovered from it, he has done some progress through RPG (not the game genre) and Pillates.

You know those? They are specific sets of exercises mainly used for medicinal recovery purposes.

And my uncle tried a bit of everything.. from accupunture to several types of massages and stuff.

I heard it's recurring though. That's what makes it so bad.
Also, even if you don't know what I'm talking about, it seems specific recovery exercises for your condition is the best way to go.

Of course, you have to spend some time just resting before... so you don't make your condition even worse.

Hey Danny,

Sorry to hear about your back, hope you feel and get better very soon.

Take care,

G

oh my, just read this article.
I truly hope you recover from this and plz remember that health comes first.

All the other things (which aren't vital) should be paused.

best wishes.

I'm going through the same thing, I have a slip disc in my lower lumbar. And it's quite painful, it feels like my right leg is broken from the foot to my butt. This happened to me before, when I was playing football. I went to a doctor and they told me I had a slipped disc and suggested that I see a chiropractor. I eventually did, though I only went twice it helped alot. My slipped disc has been acting up for almost two months. I read on webmd in time it'll go away, it can take a couple of weeks or months. I have no health insurance right now and can't pay for any medical assistance. So I'm stuck with this pain. I hope you get better, cause I know how it feels. It's a terrible pain. Get better.

Ive had people in my family go through disc problems because they've had jobs that require heavy lifting most of their life. Good luck danny.

hey Danny, just read this today(27/6/08). I sprained a disc somehow a number of years ago which used to recur periodically just like your herniated disc - not sure if it's the same thing. Anyway, I never really took it seriously either as it would always go away with a day or two of rest - until the last major episode when it totally debilitated me. For a day I was basically immobile, and was wondering how on earth I was going to get up when I needed to go to the toilet. I stayed on liquids so that I could pee in a dish while lying down. At the worst point it would take me 20 minutes to roll over in bed from one side to another, with a lot of silent screaming in between.

I have now learnt my lesson, and am very aware of how i am using my back and how it's feeling. The exercise I find helps best, aside from stretching, is strengthening your core abdominal muscles - situps will not help. If you can find a good Pilates instructor, then they will be a great help as the basic premise of Pilates is to maintain good posture. Maybe an instructional DVD on Pilates would do the job too. Hope you are staying pain free ^^.

i hope you get better Danny!

I'm hope I don't get any illnesses like that. I hope it recedes and you get better Danny.

Man I have something like this in my lower back! it happened when i was working with autistic children. i had to lift them from the ground whenever they decided they wanted to sit in the middle of the road. anyway doctors put it down to bad posture and gave me crap loads of pills. it dissapears only to return again several months later... I might need to take up swimming to uber up the muscles. :) hope your back is better (considering im commenting on a year old post)

To keep in line with late responses I thought I'd share a bit of experience here.
I had Asthma during my when I was a baby/toddler and chronic ear infections, I was even deaf for a long time which was discovered because I didn't start speaking when expected. All that is behind me though.

When I was 10 years old however (14 years ago) I had a tumor in my throat and right cheek (the one on your face, not down below). It turned out to be an aggressive form of cancer. Spent the better part of a year in and out of hospital getting chemo. I've had 2 operations, one to biopsy the cheek and one to remove nearly all of my lymph-nodes and saliva glands on the right side of my throat. To top it all off I got an aggressive series of radiotherapy which almost finished me off, it burned part of my face on the right side and my mouth on the inside.
I couldn't eat during the last treatments and I got a tube up my nose to get food straight into my stomach.

I recovered well, but still have a few yearly check-ups including a whole bunch of blood/urine tests and scans. The radiotherapy fried my thyroid which means I have to take medicine every day to make up for the loss of hormones produced by the thyroid. Also my jaw and teeth on the right side are affected, the teeth deteriorate faster there, they get extra attention from the dentists (I have 2 of them XD).
Visually you can see the jaw (upper and lower) haven't grown as much as on the left side causing the right side of my face to be slightly smaller. Also the scar from my biggest operation (from under my chin to my ear) is very notable.

That's a whole lot of misery in a few lines, but it doesn't bother me at all these days.
Of course I have to get check-ups every now and then but it's normal to me. I really learned to live life for myself, doing things I like and doing work I like. I started my company to make sure I stay in control of what I do with my time.
Anyone with or without illness in his/her life should realize that a healthy care-free life isn't a given, and everyone should make an effort of living life the way they want, not what others want or expect from you. It isn't bad to be selfish in this respect, it's your life and you only get one go at it!

Even though it's been a long time ago Danny, I hope you still take good care of your back. Such a problem can reoccur which I've seen happen in my family.
I do have to say I respect the way you live your life, coming from a well provided family but choosing your own way and making you own success. You're an example for all!

Thanks for sharing!

This sounds exactly what I had a few weeks ago. Had it 2-3 times before (once in Japan), and all the times it lasted for about a week. I felt most pain when getting up after sitting down. This time I got to try a shiatsu massage pad with heating that a friend recently got, and I think it helped abit.

Rather than staying in bed you should be doing light exercises (like walking), as the site you're linking to suggests. I'm going to try work on my abdominal muscles to help balance the spine.