Question
I had my 3rd grand mal seizure on June 5th.  After cracking my head open (10 staples), I fell straight back onto my spine on concrete.  When I woke up in the ER, I had severe back pain.  The hard board the ambulance puts you on didn't help.  They did X-rays, which read as normal.  In the first 3-5 days following the seizure, my back was sore, but felt okay.  After about 5 days, the pain was so severe, it hurt to breathe, turn over in bed, sit up, turn to look behind me, etc.  I was diagnosed with a thorasic strain/sprain.  I have been receiving physical therapy 2-3 times a week for 3 weeks.  Now it's July 4th, & the pain is not improving.  I have been moderately exercising, lifting some low weights, because I am not the type to stop my life because of pain.  Ibuprofen, naproxen, nothing helps.  I was prescribed Vicodan, but it only knocks me out, so I rarely take it, & only at bed.  I am not sleeping well at night, because laying on my back hurts, turning over hurts, laying on my side hurts.  If I turn suddenly, the pain is shocking.  If I take a deep breath, it hurts.  If you press on my spin in the mid-back area, it's extremely tender.  I am to the point of demanding an MRI, but they keep telling me an MRI won't show anything if the X-rays didn't.  I have tried to have my back cracked, that just hurt worse.  I have to keep up & even increase my physical training (applying with a law enforcement office), whether the pain is there or not, but it's getting really exasperating.  Any advice?  Thank you!

Answer
Cassie:

Thanks for writing!

This is indeed a serious condition. Since you are having Grand Mal (Big and Bad) seizures, there is a problem with the drainage from the brain. The brain juice and blood is backing up in your skull.

The MRI will show things that the x-rays don't. That is the reason they invented MRI. What is seen on an xray or an MRI depends on who is doing the looking. You might ask for a second opinion on the xray interpetation.

You are correct, cracking your back will back it worse, since the tension in your back is very severe.

There are chiropractors out there who can take the tension off without cracking your back or neck. Go to www.sorsi.com, www.icak.com or www.soto-usa.com and look for a good chiropractor near you. They can help with this.

I would immediately get some water soluble magnesium, Natural Calm is a good brand and take that particularly at night to sleep. It will relax your body, magnesium citrate is the only kind to get and it has to be water soluble.

Also, get a firm pillow, like a couch pillow, rather small and try laying back across it in the middle of your back. This will stretch the spine upright. It might hurt at first, but lift your arms over your head, slowly and breathe into it. This will take a lot of the pain out.

Does this anwer your question?

Dr. Rozeboom