Sounds familiar to me! I have degenerative disk disease and a condition called spondylosis and spinal stenosis in three areas of my spine. The most messed up section was in my neck, and I had that surgically fixed this past summer, but before it was fixed I had lots of pain and some numbness. All sorts of things can cause back pain and numbness, but often car wrecks or other hard physical stresses on the body can cause disks to bulge and put pressure on the spinal cord and the spinal nerves that extend out the little intervertebral foraminae, the little bony tunnels through which those spinal nerves travel. I spent 7 years lifting heavy stretchers as a fire-rescue medic and have probably also over-done my weight training over the years, which didn't help.

Here's what you can do:

- Go see a neurologist or an orthopedist and explain your pain and have him take the necessary pictures, probably MRI images. I can't remember whether you have insurance or not, Mark, but I hope you do. That'll give you an accurate diagnosis of what's causing the pain.
- See what that physician recommends once the pics are in. Often there are injections patients can take for swelling that'll reduce the inflammation. There are also pain injections that help. Let's keep our fingers crossed that you won't be referred to a neurosurgeon.
- Get some physical therapy. Your doctor can write you a script for an evaluation and course of PT treatment. Often with injured backs, you're offloading stress from the injured area of your spine to another, which aggravates or causes pain in both areas. For me, strengthening the muscles that support the areas above and below the areas of spondylosis makes a huge difference in relieving my pain. It's important to get a qualified evaluation, though, before you begin therapy or attempt PT exercises on your own, however, because you don't want to worsen your problem.
- Avoid chiropractors until you know what's up in there. If you have bulging disks or injured vertebrae, the last thing you need is someone manipulating or adjusting your spine until you know what's causing your discomfort. Some types of chiropractic treatment could worsen a pain/numbness situation into paralysis, and that's the last thing you want to do. Once you've got a diagnosis, it might be that some hands-on manipulation and heat/massage could be beneficial. Just make sure you get clearance from someone other than a chiropractor first.
- Take non-narcotic meds like NSAIDs for your pain. They'll help alleviate pain and inflammation and won't make you a junkie.
- Be resourceful with your cannabis connections and look for something in a nice Indica or Indica-dominant hybrid.
- Let us all know how you're doing. We want you comfortable and pain free so you can continue to fight the noble cannabis fight!

As usual, I've written too much, and for that I apologize. I sure hope you can find some help, babe. I know that's not pleasant.