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Get an MRI. Mine revealed dehydrated bulging L4 and L5 disks and some stenosis. You may need surgery and it may be duty related.
My girl is suggesting stretching/yoga, but I'd like to get some insight from those of yall with some first hand experience.
Yoga/stretching/physical therapy is definitely helpful (developing core strength in your spine to strengthen the disks) as well as drinking lots of water and keeping hydrated.
Yoga and core strength can help a ton of back problems(they have for me).
Do you sit down most days, for long periods of time? Or are you out moving a lot? For me, my low back pain came from too much sitting, and not enough stretching of the right muscles. The hamstring(as suggested earlier)was actually the opposite of what I needed to stretch and worsened the problem for me. People who sit a lot usually have tight/shortened psoas muscles, which then pull on the spine, and cause low back pain. Once I found that out, stretched them out, and did core work, I haven't had a single issue since then.
All that being said, if it is bad, go to the doctor, as numerous different things can hurt the back.
my girl found me some stuff. particularly yoga. I took a look at some of the poses. I am surely going to feel like a nerd but I am going to give them an honest try. and yes, to answer you, rural-ish county. most of the shift (12's) is spent sitting besides traffic and calls. some days, you pray for a few minutes to sit (mostly day shift), some, you pray for a good call/dog track/perimeter (nights). but I can safely say, most of the days are usually sitting and driving. Thats the usual, now I have had days where I can't even find the time to put a dip in, let alone type, and I've had nights where I had one alarm call in 12 hrs.physical therapy helped my lower back pain. still do my exercises daily and they keep it at bay. at 73 I think I am way too young for pain. stretching hamstrings, psoas, straight leg and bent leg lifts, bridges, pelvic tilts and lat pulldowns can be done in about 12 minutes once you get a daily routine down. seeing a doc is a great idea but beware of anyone who starts sharpening knives w/out giving physical therapy a chance first...........they may mean well but surgery is the LAST option IMHO. good luck with it and perhaps google "exercises for core and lower back" or something like that. Lots of info on the net and this is not an uncommon problem. best,
I do my best. in the back area, I have, from left to right, radio, flashlight, glove pouch, cuffs, and baton.Get that gear off the back of your gunbelt. You need to keep it clear. Sitting on cuffs, glove pouch, ASP, Taser pushing radio back around, keepers...I learned all this the hard way. Keep the back area clear of gear. Departments will HAVE to recognize the need for this or lose some cops on disability. If you expect a cop to last 30 years you gotta stop loading him down like a friggin' pack mule.
most surrounding (more rural) agencies have gone to the vests, not us. Popular consensus on shift is we'd kill for them. unfortunately, not in the works for the foreseeable future. IDK what it is but this agency cares too much about appearance... everyones belt even has to have the same gear order.I see a chiropractor regularly. The adjustments keep me in line and makes for my back being alot more comfortable.
Will your agency allow suspenders at all? Some of our guys use them and swear by them. We just approved load bearing vests so some are trying those as well
I would start filing for work injuries based on them not allowing you to take stuff off your belt. Get your doc to state it is because of their requirementsI do my best. in the back area, I have, from left to right, radio, flashlight, glove pouch, cuffs, and baton.
I keep my radio riding on the tazer, to make distance. I do not carry gloves in the pouch as it presses really hard on my spine when sitting. similarly, cuffs and ASP are as far over to the right as possible. too skinny to have a second set on the belt. the flashlight Ive added, it was not supplied. but I like having it on the belt too much to give up, otherwise, I'm sitting on it in my cargo pocket.
I do run a level 3+ steel plate on the front of my vest as well. she's about 8-10# and probably aint helping. I had one on the back too but it was just too much weight. again, not something I'm willing to give up either given our current standing in society.
most surrounding (more rural) agencies have gone to the vests, not us. Popular consensus on shift is we'd kill for them. unfortunately, not in the works for the foreseeable future. IDK what it is but this agency cares too much about appearance... everyones belt even has to have the same gear order.
Is there any place I can file for all the moose and elk quarters I had to pack out?I would start filing for work injuries based on them not allowing you to take stuff off your belt. Get your doc to state it is because of their requirements
Your bossIs there any place I can file for all the moose and elk quarters I had to pack out?