Lower back pain. It's getting worse!
Discussion
Up to around 2 years ago now I was quite a gym goer, heavy lifting and all that. Until one day I did my back in from doing deadlifts. It was ok after a few weeks but it's always been iffy since then. Sometimes it clicks and feels as if the bones are moving around. I saw a physio 3 times in the month after I injured myself, but she was pretty crap and I didn't bother to see her again.
I had a MRI scan last year which showed that there was a thinning of the disc between L4 and L5 vertebrae, nothing to worry about the consultant assured me. He couldn't find a thing wrong with me otherwise and sent me on my way.
In July last year I started a new job, it was quite physical and the commute was a minimum of an hour, and 12 hour shifts. I began to notice my back would ache considerably from all the driving. I started seeing a chiropractor. It helped somewhat, but after a couple of months of this it wasn't really attacking the cause of the problem and I noticed no considerable change, it just helped to manage the pain and discomfort. Ultimately it led to me leaving my job because I was constantly in discomfort and wasn't enjoying working at all.
So 4 months after leaving i'm still having issues. I find that all this time off from physical activity hasn't been beneficial at all. I get a tightening of the muscles and pain in my lower back just from sitting. And any length of driving just makes it worse.
I went to see the doctor today and she said the MRI scan showed that there's nothing wrong with me and that it's normal for it to ache when sitting. I actually had to argue with her to refer me to a specialist. Eventually she's told me to go to a physiotherapist for a month and then rebook an appointment with her (with an an accompanying letter from the physio) so she can refer me to whoever it is.
Has anyone else experienced something similar? It feels like i'm doomed to have this issue for the rest of my life!
I had a MRI scan last year which showed that there was a thinning of the disc between L4 and L5 vertebrae, nothing to worry about the consultant assured me. He couldn't find a thing wrong with me otherwise and sent me on my way.
In July last year I started a new job, it was quite physical and the commute was a minimum of an hour, and 12 hour shifts. I began to notice my back would ache considerably from all the driving. I started seeing a chiropractor. It helped somewhat, but after a couple of months of this it wasn't really attacking the cause of the problem and I noticed no considerable change, it just helped to manage the pain and discomfort. Ultimately it led to me leaving my job because I was constantly in discomfort and wasn't enjoying working at all.
So 4 months after leaving i'm still having issues. I find that all this time off from physical activity hasn't been beneficial at all. I get a tightening of the muscles and pain in my lower back just from sitting. And any length of driving just makes it worse.
I went to see the doctor today and she said the MRI scan showed that there's nothing wrong with me and that it's normal for it to ache when sitting. I actually had to argue with her to refer me to a specialist. Eventually she's told me to go to a physiotherapist for a month and then rebook an appointment with her (with an an accompanying letter from the physio) so she can refer me to whoever it is.
Has anyone else experienced something similar? It feels like i'm doomed to have this issue for the rest of my life!
Long shot here...are you anywhere near Harlow in Essex? If so, go see Mike Varney's clinic based in the sports centre. He ex-forces/Tottenham physio and has some really brilliant methods for relieving/improving back pain. I did my L4/L5 jumping out of army planes when I was a teenager. Years, infact decades of niggles and downright pain later were sorted by him within 2 months. I manage it now, with limitations, but am thankful for what he achieved where so many others failed!
OP I did my lower back in doing deadlifts about 4 years ago. I had had a few months off the gym prior to the injury and instead of building up the weight again I went straight to the heaviest weight like an idiot without warming up properly.
My job definitely doesn’t help but I found the best solution was building the weight up again gradually and not going back to the original weight.
It’s much better now but the heaviest weight I’m doing is 50Kg
My job definitely doesn’t help but I found the best solution was building the weight up again gradually and not going back to the original weight.
It’s much better now but the heaviest weight I’m doing is 50Kg
I've never done gym stuff but did a bit of woodcutting and a lot of building work in our garden, not to mention hauling bits of car around. I had lower back pain and went to the doctor. He was a friend as well as our usual doctor and explained cheerily that it was sadly normal for someone tallish and around fifty. I'm 63 now and still have a bit of pain now and again, but it's generally much better. I was a teacher for 32 years and I reckon that the worst thing was bending over kids' desks and not thinking of posture. A couple of discs showed up as compressed when I had an x-ray, but I think they've sprung back a bit since retiring - I used to hit my head on a low ceiling at my in-laws when I was younger, missed it when teaching and now have to watch again! I do try to stand straight and walk as upright as possible. I still do cars and so on and my back does make horrible noises now and then, but it's generally pretty good.
I had, and indeed have I suppose, similar problems to you, although exacerbated by three fractured vertebrae in the late '70s.
I paid a chiropractor to make it worse - £350 worth of experience. I tried three different physios, with varying results. There were a couple of good ones, both specific sports physios, but the relief they gave was temporary.
The well recommended, and well booked up, physio at my rugby club agreed to take me on but when I gave my symptoms she told me her insurance wouldn't cope, I went to a doctor.
I was MRIed and pounded. I was then sent to an NHS physio who gave little treatment but lots of exercises and instruction (not advice, I was told). I've followed what I was told (I'm not brave) and I have, some 30 months on, been out of permanent pain for a couple of years.
My problem is injuries brought on by years of cycling off-road and work related injuries in addition to the cracked vertebrae.
I still have the occasional periods of pain, about three or four days a month, but pills stop too much irritation. I take a low dosage of amitriptylene, or something spelt similarly, and the mild, but chronic, lower back pain is now a thing of the past.
I tried lots of different things, including exercising groups filled with people who didn't really try, and most gave relief for a while.
I now go to the gym 3 times a week, doing lots of mat work and some aero and weights. If, for any reason, I miss two, I tend to get some pain. A week off means the ibuprophen takes a hit.
There are lots of people who, like me, have had problems for years and then found what suited them. Most come through the NHS as it gives money off for three months. We chat afterwards sometimes and all report benefits from following the advice of the physios.
Driving is a problem but I use a weight lifting belt if I'm driving for over and hour or so.
I paid a chiropractor to make it worse - £350 worth of experience. I tried three different physios, with varying results. There were a couple of good ones, both specific sports physios, but the relief they gave was temporary.
The well recommended, and well booked up, physio at my rugby club agreed to take me on but when I gave my symptoms she told me her insurance wouldn't cope, I went to a doctor.
I was MRIed and pounded. I was then sent to an NHS physio who gave little treatment but lots of exercises and instruction (not advice, I was told). I've followed what I was told (I'm not brave) and I have, some 30 months on, been out of permanent pain for a couple of years.
My problem is injuries brought on by years of cycling off-road and work related injuries in addition to the cracked vertebrae.
I still have the occasional periods of pain, about three or four days a month, but pills stop too much irritation. I take a low dosage of amitriptylene, or something spelt similarly, and the mild, but chronic, lower back pain is now a thing of the past.
I tried lots of different things, including exercising groups filled with people who didn't really try, and most gave relief for a while.
I now go to the gym 3 times a week, doing lots of mat work and some aero and weights. If, for any reason, I miss two, I tend to get some pain. A week off means the ibuprophen takes a hit.
There are lots of people who, like me, have had problems for years and then found what suited them. Most come through the NHS as it gives money off for three months. We chat afterwards sometimes and all report benefits from following the advice of the physios.
Driving is a problem but I use a weight lifting belt if I'm driving for over and hour or so.
hooblah said:
I went to see the doctor today and she said the MRI scan showed that there's nothing wrong with me and that it's normal for it to ache when sitting. I actually had to argue with her to refer me to a specialist. Eventually she's told me to go to a physiotherapist for a month and then rebook an appointment with her (with an an accompanying letter from the physio) so she can refer me to whoever it is.
The NHS side of it is about procedures. If they referred everyone with back pain to a consultant the queues would go on forever and most of them would just need a physio anyway; like it or not resources have to be managed and there's more demand than supply. If you want to bypass some of the system then a private referral may be an option, at a cost obviously. In most cases if they find something they can do, you can be transferred back into the NHS system and you've saved a chunk of time for not huge cost.
hooblah said:
Has anyone else experienced something similar? It feels like i'm doomed to have this issue for the rest of my life!
You may be, or possibly not. Unfortunately everyone else's experiences (including mine) are likely to be irrelevant as there are so many causes and varieties of back pain and so may different solutions and outcomes.Could it be pain that is unrelated to a back injury? A friend of mine had serious lower back pain for ages, had loads of physiotherapy which didn't fix the problem - was then found to be caused by pancreatic cancer. If your MRI scan hasn't shown a likely issue, ask for further tests re pancreas/liver/kidney type problems. Good idea to rule those organs out as a way forward.
Everyone who suffers has their own methods that work for themselves. Most of my issues were driving 40+ K miles a year in a company 3 series with crap seats. Find a car where you can angle the seat backrest at an obtuse angle and still feel comfortable. The Z4C I bought was a lifesaver along with
1. A Tempur mattress
2. Stay active. Do stretching exercises (loads of stuff on YouTube),or your physio should be advising you on some.
3. Do stuff - take your mind of it. Don't wallow in self pity and moan about it sat on your jacksee driving everyone else to distraction.
I was told in most instances it sorts itself in around 8 - 10 weeks,you might find your torso heating up in bed around that time - it's your body being remarkable and repairing itself. Do you know what they were bang on !
1. A Tempur mattress
2. Stay active. Do stretching exercises (loads of stuff on YouTube),or your physio should be advising you on some.
3. Do stuff - take your mind of it. Don't wallow in self pity and moan about it sat on your jacksee driving everyone else to distraction.
I was told in most instances it sorts itself in around 8 - 10 weeks,you might find your torso heating up in bed around that time - it's your body being remarkable and repairing itself. Do you know what they were bang on !
I've used a physio (one used by the local semi-pro rugby club) and lots of stretching exercises to keep my back in shape after a fall off my mountain bike about 12 years ago. I do lots of stretching to keep it supple and mobile, and when I can't quite get the knots out, I go back to the physio for a pounding 
Swimming helps, and I'll be doing more of that too. A friend of mine swears this has cured his chronic back problem. I also tried Pilates, which helped enormously, I just need to remember the exercises...
The best advice from all of this, for me, is it helps to keep it moving and stretched. Sitting and resting for days followed by lots of activity seems to aggravate. So I stretch every morning for about 10-15 mins, before the kids get up, and again most evenings for the same, and try to vary the exercise regime.
Swimming helps, and I'll be doing more of that too. A friend of mine swears this has cured his chronic back problem. I also tried Pilates, which helped enormously, I just need to remember the exercises...The best advice from all of this, for me, is it helps to keep it moving and stretched. Sitting and resting for days followed by lots of activity seems to aggravate. So I stretch every morning for about 10-15 mins, before the kids get up, and again most evenings for the same, and try to vary the exercise regime.
Two weeks ago whilst washing my hair something spasm'd between my shoulder blades and since I've been in quite a bit of discomfort.
I've had back and neck niggles before but nothing lasting this long.
Seems to be affecting looking down and up, pulling on the left side of my spine, moving around to my chest and down my left arm. Seems worse when I lean forward, arms out in front, really pulls and almost numbs my arm.
Some googling has hinted it might be T4 syndrome, symptoms certainly seem to match.
I've been stretching, chin tucks, shoulder squeezes, door stretches, using an ice pack and trying to rest but it's not really getting better.
Local clinic offers either Physio or chiro appointments but in unsure which to go for, I do a fair bit of cycling so thinking it might be linked to a riding position issue and therefore Physio maybe better?
I've had back and neck niggles before but nothing lasting this long.
Seems to be affecting looking down and up, pulling on the left side of my spine, moving around to my chest and down my left arm. Seems worse when I lean forward, arms out in front, really pulls and almost numbs my arm.
Some googling has hinted it might be T4 syndrome, symptoms certainly seem to match.
I've been stretching, chin tucks, shoulder squeezes, door stretches, using an ice pack and trying to rest but it's not really getting better.
Local clinic offers either Physio or chiro appointments but in unsure which to go for, I do a fair bit of cycling so thinking it might be linked to a riding position issue and therefore Physio maybe better?
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