sciatica??

[EmmaP]

missdiane said:

Oh, I can't lie on back either, hurts more to get up from being on back, have to lie on side.

To say it's frustrating is an understatement, night before last I was literally banging my head against the bedroom wall in frustration.

Arrgghh!!

Do not lie on a bean bag. You need support your lower back. It hurts when you get up because you are using your lower back muscles to raise your body and they are going into spasm. When I hurt my back very badly I found that lying straight was good to start with then woke up every hour and moved to my side. Then every hour I would have to move back to lying on my back, repeating the cycle. Make sure you roll onto your side to raise yourself up and out of bed.

Try to avoid sitting or standing for more than fifteen minute periods at a time. Stand up and stretch regularly, or sit down to relieve pressure.

Have you seen a specialist yet? A physio? Had a massage? Applied heat? Stretched lower back every two hours? If not yes to all these you are in my bad books. Acupuncture may also help, but I'd go for heat and massage first. A good masseur will realign your body too.

[missdiane]

EmmaP said:

missdiane said:

Oh, I can't lie on back either, hurts more to get up from being on back, have to lie on side.

To say it's frustrating is an understatement, night before last I was literally banging my head against the bedroom wall in frustration.

Arrgghh!!

Do not lie on a bean bag. You need support your lower back. It hurts when you get up because you are using your lower back muscles to raise your body and they are going into spasm. When I hurt my back very badly I found that lying straight was good to start with then woke up every hour and moved to my side. Then every hour I would have to move back to lying on my back, repeating the cycle. Make sure you roll onto your side to raise yourself up and out of bed.

Try to avoid sitting or standing for more than fifteen minute periods at a time. Stand up and stretch regularly, or sit down to relieve pressure.

Have you seen a specialist yet? A physio? Had a massage? Applied heat? Stretched lower back every two hours? If not yes to all these you are in my bad books. Acupuncture may also help, but I'd go for heat and massage first. A good masseur will realign your body too.

Thanks Emma,
Moving from back to side to back every hour is worth me trying, it's remembering to wake up.
always roll onto side to get up, as it's the only way I can get out.
seen doctor- check
seen osteopath- check, he has tried to stretch me and releive it- another appt at 6 tonight.
applied heat- check
stretched lower back- check- most of the time i am doing the excersizes, I am never still, being still hurts

Not sure where to sleep tonight now, hoping the osteopath can perform miracles tonight

[EmmaP]

Great stuff Di! It sounds like you are doing everything you can do. I only moved every hour because the pain woke me up. It may have been every two hours but it was more than I'd have liked. I hope you feel better soon as I really missed you on Saturday

Once you get well, try doing pilates and building up core stability and strength. It took me over a year to do so but it has paid dividends.

[parapaul]

The_Doc said:

parapaul said:

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, it's amazing what you find in the PH archives

And then I fell in love with my new Osteopath who, in the space of an hour, identified and explained the problem with my back, and with some pretty impressive manipulation popped and cracked my sacrum and coccyx back into position. After a day of initial soreness, the pain is noticeably better. It's not gone completely, and she doesn't expect it to quickly because the muscles and joints have been misaligned for so long, but now my lower back is straight, everything else should fall into line naturally.

I know osteoptathy and chiropractic aren't always approved of by doctors, and I fully understand why, but in my case, it's worked a treat and I'll keep going back as long as my back keeps improving. Well worth the £30 an hour

Please see the highlighted areas above that the osteopath has told you as an explanation.

What the medical profession, ie the doctors with medical degrees , hates so much about these pseudoscientists is not that they make people better, which is good for everyone; but more the utter piles of steaming lies they tell you.

You cannot 'pop' or 'crack' a sacrum, coccyx, intervertebral disc, spondylolithetic vertebral section etc 'back into position.'

To move these anatomical segments in or out of position either requires a long time with a deforming force applied, or a combination of scalpel and power tools (my domain)

Pay the man your money if he helps you, and smile to yourself when his lips move and the dirty, dirty lies come out.

Please remember though, the natural history of most back pain is for spontaneous resolution with no such treatment, you handing him money to beat you up may just be road decoration on the way...

Only just revisited this thread - and realised I didn't explain properly in my first post. The pops and cracks from my pelvis and spine were locked facet joints, nothing more.

Anyway, several months later, and I'm waiting to see the consultant for the second time to review my MRI scan results. He thinks it's a prolapsed disc which is giving me this sciatica, and the scan will hopefully confirm this. I say hopefully, because if it is a prolapsed disc, surgery should see me pain free. If it's not a disc problem, god only knows what I'll do

I haven't had a full night's sleep since last year, I can barely walk, and the prescription painkillers aren't helping much. I'm also on Gabapentin, which is primarily an epilepsy drug, but the hope was that it would interfere with the nerve signals and reduce the pain. No joy yet

[jules_s]

I was told I had sciatica 20 years ago.

20 years of back pain later and now (after insisting my GP requested an x-ray in Feb 2009) I've been diagnosed with extensive Ankylosing Spondylitis.

My advice would be if you suffer back problems for months on end (1-3 months on and off) then go to your GP and ask/insist on seeing a rheumatologist sp because you think you have AS.

Oh to be able to wind the clock back and take some anti inflammatories back in the days when it first started.

AS is NOT a nice thing to have to live with, believe me

[dreamer75]

To help you sleep you could try putting a pillow/cushion between your needs if you lie on your side (or under your knees if you lie on your back).

I've had back problems for a while (I'm only 33) initially caused by a car crash a few years ago, but exascerbated by hypermobility. After a few years of osteo (which helped the pain but didn't "cure" me), I had an MRI scan which showed some bulging discs (neck and lower back), and I was referred to a sports physio.

They use a combination of manipulation (my SI joints tend to "lock up" among other things), stretches, strengthening exercises and Pilates. The idea is that due to being hypermobile some of the muslces/tendons/ligaments are too short and pull my pelvis in the wrong direction (tend to pop my tummy out when tensing to pick anythin up etc.) so I'm re-learning how to hold myself, and to strengthen all my core muscles.

I would say Internet diagnoses are difficult and try to get referred to a specialist - after a few months of treatment (initially manipulation to try and get things mnoving again, then some basic exercises to help me identify and move my core muscles, now moving up a pace with gym ball, gym and pilates and other exercises to stretch and strengthen) I have had one or two pain free days in the last few weeks.

I may have misunderstood some of the physio's explanations, but if I can get myself pain free without regular appts (we're down to 1 every 3 weeks or so) then life would be good !

[jules_s]

dreamer75 said:

To help you sleep you could try putting a pillow/cushion between your needs if you lie on your side (or under your knees if you lie on your back).

I've had back problems for a while (I'm only 33) initially caused by a car crash a few years ago, but exascerbated by hypermobility. After a few years of osteo (which helped the pain but didn't "cure" me), I had an MRI scan which showed some bulging discs (neck and lower back), and I was referred to a sports physio.

They use a combination of manipulation (my SI joints tend to "lock up" among other things), stretches, strengthening exercises and Pilates. The idea is that due to being hypermobile some of the muslces/tendons/ligaments are too short and pull my pelvis in the wrong direction (tend to pop my tummy out when tensing to pick anythin up etc.) so I'm re-learning how to hold myself, and to strengthen all my core muscles.

I would say Internet diagnoses are difficult and try to get referred to a specialist - after a few months of treatment (initially manipulation to try and get things mnoving again, then some basic exercises to help me identify and move my core muscles, now moving up a pace with gym ball, gym and pilates and other exercises to stretch and strengthen) I have had one or two pain free days in the last few weeks.

I may have misunderstood some of the physio's explanations, but if I can get myself pain free without regular appts (we're down to 1 every 3 weeks or so) then life would be good !

Read my post above.

Being Hypermobile brings on AS...you may have it, but core training is the treatment with anti inflammitories

[kenny Chim 4]

The_Doc said:

kenny Chim 4 said:

After MRI scans, he explained that his treatment was effective if somewhat radical.

In short, he administered a massive epidural of steroids. When I say massive, I mean compared to the epidural a woman would be given during labour, designed to be effective for some hours. The one I was given was effective for three months!

Childbirth epidural = anaesthetic alone, wears off in 6-12 hours, can be topped-up.
Therapeutic/your epidural = Steriod + anaesthetic, acts for months/years

Nothing massive about your dose I'm afraid, I put that into people's knees, wrists, etc

Farly standard tool used by surgeons and anaesthetists, the only thing massive about his treatment I fear, was the bill.

The bill was picked up by the then company medical scheme and of little relevance as it sorted that slipped disc for good- not even a twinge now- and it meant that I was back at work, virtually, the next day.

I firmly believe that the epidural procedure is the sensible, non operational approach to a prolapsed disc. It is/was, however, disheartening to see a medical expert almost suggest that the cost incurred of a cure in this approach renders it unjustified.

[dreamer75]

Jules thank you for that - the physio has told me that certain parts of my back stop moving and she frequently has to manipulate them to get them moving again. Whether that is an early onset of AS or not I dont know, but if the treatment is the same as I'm having (manipulation, anti-inflammatories, and core strengthening) then perhaps I am better not knowing!

But thank you for the link, certainly motivation to do my exercises!!