Lower Back Issues
Discussion
Afternoon All,
Looking for some advice really, on where to go from here.
I've had lower back problems for a number of years now, i would say the last time i had it quite badly was about 6 years or so ago, mainly lower back.
It resulted in me going to see a physio (who was next to useless), i then referred myself to a Chiropractor who was great & sorted it in a matter of weeks, for it not to come back again. I was told it was due to weak muscles & being overweight & unfit.
I didn't have any trouble until summer of last year, when it came back (whatever it is with avengence).
I went from being anle to deadlift 160KG's one week, to not even being able to pick the bar up a week later, something which i relayed to the GP.
The GP referred me to a Physio, who in turn told me that what i had was a musclar issue & nothing more, she told me that my issue was having weak core muscles, she gave me various exercises to try & said i should see some improvement within 4-6 weeks. (Almost 10 months later it was no better, despite doing all the exercises up to 5x a day).
I didn't, so as before i went to see a Chiropractor again for some manipulation, this was great short term (24-48 hours). However, after that time it would come back again just as bad.
Due to cost & not actually finding a proper sollution i went back to the Physio, who if i'm quite frank & honest, was an absolute waste of time, i saw her fornightly for around 9-10 months, which culminated in her telling me that 'i think that you think the pain is worse than it is' & that i should just go back to the GP for pain relief. (She outright refused to refer me for any test or scans or to a specialist).
I then booked myself in again to see a GP a month or so back, the GP gave me some pain-relief, booked some blood tests & an X-Ray, she did say that they probably wouldn't show anything up but it was best to do them to rule anything out.
The tests have come back clear & don't show anything (i have to phone later in the week to see the GP to discuss further).
As i've had this for almost 12 months now i'm beginning to lose my rag a bit, it's affecting my work, (can't sit for more than 20mins or so without being in severe pain).
It's waking me up at night now & i find lieing down doesn't actually relive anything!
I also find it painful to put a pair of socks on, or bend down to tie shoe laces up.
I'm fit, otherwise healthy apart from this, train at the gym / go running regularly & walk a mile or 2 a day.
I'm also not even 30 yet.
Has anyone else experienced anything similar, stories to share / treatment etc?
Looking for some advice really, on where to go from here.
I've had lower back problems for a number of years now, i would say the last time i had it quite badly was about 6 years or so ago, mainly lower back.
It resulted in me going to see a physio (who was next to useless), i then referred myself to a Chiropractor who was great & sorted it in a matter of weeks, for it not to come back again. I was told it was due to weak muscles & being overweight & unfit.
I didn't have any trouble until summer of last year, when it came back (whatever it is with avengence).
I went from being anle to deadlift 160KG's one week, to not even being able to pick the bar up a week later, something which i relayed to the GP.
The GP referred me to a Physio, who in turn told me that what i had was a musclar issue & nothing more, she told me that my issue was having weak core muscles, she gave me various exercises to try & said i should see some improvement within 4-6 weeks. (Almost 10 months later it was no better, despite doing all the exercises up to 5x a day).
I didn't, so as before i went to see a Chiropractor again for some manipulation, this was great short term (24-48 hours). However, after that time it would come back again just as bad.
Due to cost & not actually finding a proper sollution i went back to the Physio, who if i'm quite frank & honest, was an absolute waste of time, i saw her fornightly for around 9-10 months, which culminated in her telling me that 'i think that you think the pain is worse than it is' & that i should just go back to the GP for pain relief. (She outright refused to refer me for any test or scans or to a specialist).
I then booked myself in again to see a GP a month or so back, the GP gave me some pain-relief, booked some blood tests & an X-Ray, she did say that they probably wouldn't show anything up but it was best to do them to rule anything out.
The tests have come back clear & don't show anything (i have to phone later in the week to see the GP to discuss further).
As i've had this for almost 12 months now i'm beginning to lose my rag a bit, it's affecting my work, (can't sit for more than 20mins or so without being in severe pain).
It's waking me up at night now & i find lieing down doesn't actually relive anything!
I also find it painful to put a pair of socks on, or bend down to tie shoe laces up.
I'm fit, otherwise healthy apart from this, train at the gym / go running regularly & walk a mile or 2 a day.
I'm also not even 30 yet.
Has anyone else experienced anything similar, stories to share / treatment etc?
Yes, I've experienced something similar, and I sympathise!
About eleven years ago (aged 28), after several years of intermittent lower back pain, occasionally excruciating, I was diagnosed by a chiropractor with two crushed discs.
On a few occasions when I was left unable to get out of bed (and once being picked up off the pavement by paramedics and taken to hospital) it was due to muscle contractions pulling my spine together, squashing the discs.
I'm 5' 10", was around 13.5 stone and not very fit.
Around 18 months ago I started eating healthier, exercising with walking, gym and then kickboxing - which I thought was a particular gamble with my back problems. It's worked brilliantly for me.
I've lost nearly 3 stone, have much stronger core muscles and since then, apart from the occasional twinge, no major problems at all!
The only thing that I still struggle with sometimes which brings on some pain is standing still for any length of time.
I'm not saying you have the same problem or that what worked for me will work for you, but that's my experience - I believe mostly thanks to weight loss and core muscle gain.
Good luck!
About eleven years ago (aged 28), after several years of intermittent lower back pain, occasionally excruciating, I was diagnosed by a chiropractor with two crushed discs.
On a few occasions when I was left unable to get out of bed (and once being picked up off the pavement by paramedics and taken to hospital) it was due to muscle contractions pulling my spine together, squashing the discs.
I'm 5' 10", was around 13.5 stone and not very fit.
Around 18 months ago I started eating healthier, exercising with walking, gym and then kickboxing - which I thought was a particular gamble with my back problems. It's worked brilliantly for me.
I've lost nearly 3 stone, have much stronger core muscles and since then, apart from the occasional twinge, no major problems at all!
The only thing that I still struggle with sometimes which brings on some pain is standing still for any length of time.
I'm not saying you have the same problem or that what worked for me will work for you, but that's my experience - I believe mostly thanks to weight loss and core muscle gain.
Good luck!
Yoga worked/works miracles for me! I’ve spent a small fortune over the years with chiropractors, physio and other experts, often with good results, but it’s always a temporary fix. I’m desk bound for most of the day and my hamstrings get really tight, so much so, that they pull my hip out of alignment, not a lot apparently, just enough to put pressure on certain nerves in my back and suddenly I’m a cripple who can hardly bend over, fears sneezing and takes ages to get out the car.
I was told to do either yoga, pilates or Thi-chi. I’ve not tried Thi-chi, and I regularly do pilates, but yoga is the one that seems to actually sort me out. I know when things are getting bad as I get pins and needles in one of my toes in my left foot.
Don’t think for a second that yoga is easy or just gentle stretching, I made that mistake! When you’re as stiff and inflexible as me is bloody tough, especially if you can get your breathing right.
Hope you find a solution, back paid is so bloody miserable.
I was told to do either yoga, pilates or Thi-chi. I’ve not tried Thi-chi, and I regularly do pilates, but yoga is the one that seems to actually sort me out. I know when things are getting bad as I get pins and needles in one of my toes in my left foot.
Don’t think for a second that yoga is easy or just gentle stretching, I made that mistake! When you’re as stiff and inflexible as me is bloody tough, especially if you can get your breathing right.
Hope you find a solution, back paid is so bloody miserable.
I'd agree with the post above. If you have really bad back pain (like i had for years) its likely down to a disk injury and poor flexibility & core strengh. I suffered for years and had (on two occasions) to be rescued by paramedics due to being physically unable to move as my back went into spasms causing excruciating pain.
I finally had an MRI scan which showed a slipped disk (L4/L5) and other degenerative disks.
I had a year long recover working with a well renowned physio in London who focussed my efforts on pilates and core exercises.
5 years on and I'm pretty much back to normal.
I have to gym about 3 times a week to stay mobile, flexible and work on my core but this is a small price to pay for being out of that terrible, constant pain.
I get the occasional twinge now and again when I do something silly but I now know when to rest up and how to recover.
Good luck !
I finally had an MRI scan which showed a slipped disk (L4/L5) and other degenerative disks.
I had a year long recover working with a well renowned physio in London who focussed my efforts on pilates and core exercises.
5 years on and I'm pretty much back to normal.
I have to gym about 3 times a week to stay mobile, flexible and work on my core but this is a small price to pay for being out of that terrible, constant pain.
I get the occasional twinge now and again when I do something silly but I now know when to rest up and how to recover.
Good luck !
natcot said:
Yoga worked/works miracles for me!
This is interesting.I visited my GP last week, as I've been having a lot of issues with my lower back over the last few months, which I believe is related to an incident about 8 years ago when I felt something "ping" at the gym and subsequently left me unable to move for a few days. About once a year my back would 'go', however recently it's happening at least once a week. My problem manifests as a lot of pain, the feeling that my legs are about to give way leaving me walking like a thunderbirds puppet, a general feeling of unstability in my lower back with sciatica thrown in for good measure.
My GP suggested yoga, I was unconvinced and thought "really?", however there may be some merit to his suggestion. He's referred me to a physio too.
Bandit said:
One more question - was it a sudden movement or something that started this pain off or was it something that gradually got worse?
I just sort of had a bad back one day & couldn't really bend over.Had it not almost happened over a space of days i would of said muscular, but as i said, one week i could deadlift a decent weight, the next week i could barely even get the bar off of the floor.
I'm not a back specliast but i refuse to believe i can just lose all core & lower back muscle strength over 5-7 days.
I've spoken with the GP again this morning who's said my X-Ray & blood tests show nothing abnormal, however she's going to refer me now to a specialist, so i guess i'll see where i end up with that, i will definitely try Yoga though, it sounds like it could be beneficial, i've done it briefly before & it was bloody hard!
theguvernor said:
I'm not a back specliast but i refuse to believe i can just lose all core & lower back muscle strength over 5-7 days.
But you can lose the ability to send the signals down the nerves to the muscles in that time.Speaking from experience, you need an MRI to investigate disc issues. Your GP may not be happy to refer for this but push for it or go private (medical insurance will cover this, if you have it).
Back problems are not always due to disc problems - the spine is a complex structure.
Diagnosis is often tricky. An x-ray will only shown bony deformities, etc. An MRI scan should show disc problems (disc bulging, etc).
Do you have any pain into your legs ?
If so, how far down your leg does it go ?
Diagnosis is often tricky. An x-ray will only shown bony deformities, etc. An MRI scan should show disc problems (disc bulging, etc).
Do you have any pain into your legs ?
If so, how far down your leg does it go ?
Following a coming together with the ground while out mountain biking I have a fair amount of back pain.
It is all in my lower back, so a few visits to the osteopath I used following a car accident years ago for general re alignment, and adjusting joints.
He has recommended Pilates classes, I have in the past and it does seem to help and without a doubt doesn't make it any worse.
It is all in my lower back, so a few visits to the osteopath I used following a car accident years ago for general re alignment, and adjusting joints.
He has recommended Pilates classes, I have in the past and it does seem to help and without a doubt doesn't make it any worse.
Nope no leg pains really to speak of, I
Believe this is the reason the physio discarded whatever I said as she claimed without the leg pain it 'must be muscular'.
I'm quite tolerant with pain but it's getting to a point where doing my job (office based) is a ball ache, I can't crawl around with my little boy or carry him for long periods etc.
I'm not even 28 yet!
Believe this is the reason the physio discarded whatever I said as she claimed without the leg pain it 'must be muscular'.
I'm quite tolerant with pain but it's getting to a point where doing my job (office based) is a ball ache, I can't crawl around with my little boy or carry him for long periods etc.
I'm not even 28 yet!
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