"Back Mouse" treatment in UK?
Discussion
Does anyone know where to go to in the UK to get treatment for 'back mouse'?
I've had a tender lump the right hand side of my back for as long as I can remember. Most of the time it causes no great issue but once I start doing anything involving medium/heavy back movement it gets increasingly tender and causes me back pain.
I've always assumed the lump to be a torn muscle of some description as the shape of the area is different than the other side of the base of my spine which is smooth when probed, the right hand side has a lump which can be manipulated but is uncomfortable when this is done.
Anyways, I was talking about my sore back with my daughter this morning who is training to be a doctor, when she mentioned she has the exact same thing and had been to her GP who described it as 'back mouse', a herniated lump of fatty tissue. Googling this term certainly seems to describe EXACTLY what I have.
Unfortunately the advice from her GP was just to take Ibuprofen to relieve, however, after at least 15 years of this I'd like to see if anything more permanent can be 'fixed'. However, despite there being several references to it online from the USA, the NHS doesn't seem to have anything.
Any advice where to go to have a sensible conversation about it? Anyone else had this and had it treated?
I've had a tender lump the right hand side of my back for as long as I can remember. Most of the time it causes no great issue but once I start doing anything involving medium/heavy back movement it gets increasingly tender and causes me back pain.
I've always assumed the lump to be a torn muscle of some description as the shape of the area is different than the other side of the base of my spine which is smooth when probed, the right hand side has a lump which can be manipulated but is uncomfortable when this is done.
Anyways, I was talking about my sore back with my daughter this morning who is training to be a doctor, when she mentioned she has the exact same thing and had been to her GP who described it as 'back mouse', a herniated lump of fatty tissue. Googling this term certainly seems to describe EXACTLY what I have.
Unfortunately the advice from her GP was just to take Ibuprofen to relieve, however, after at least 15 years of this I'd like to see if anything more permanent can be 'fixed'. However, despite there being several references to it online from the USA, the NHS doesn't seem to have anything.
Any advice where to go to have a sensible conversation about it? Anyone else had this and had it treated?
Just doing some goolging - definitely not a knot!
Any use?
http://ehealthforum.com/health/treatment-for-back-...
Any use?
http://ehealthforum.com/health/treatment-for-back-...
Taita said:
Never heard of these but sounds quite interesting.
Definitely not a 'muscle knot' that a sports massage could help with?
No, quite the opposite. I actually went for a sports massage a few years ago and she manipulated it during that. I was in absolute agony for days/weeks afterwards, I triggered a real bout of hard core back trouble for weeks where I could hardly move for several days. Took a long time to get over it back to my 'normal'. Definitely not a 'muscle knot' that a sports massage could help with?
I've steered well clear of any massage since!
Taita said:
Just doing some goolging - definitely not a knot!
Any use?
http://ehealthforum.com/health/treatment-for-back-...
Yes thanks. I saw this page earlier but it seems to not be UK specific. There's several various sites around describing it but most relating to UK seems to advise caution as it doesn't seem to be recognised in the UK as an issue as elsewhere. Diagnosis seems sketchy in the UK at best, with treatment not being described.Any use?
http://ehealthforum.com/health/treatment-for-back-...
Bill said:
I've never heard of a back mouse, but it sounds like a lipoma.
Often mistaken for one as it feels like 'just a lump'. However the back mouse is actually a hernia of fatty tissue which can sometimes pull through nerve tissue which is what makes it different. Depending on what's been pulled through the symptons seem to go from nothing, to excruciating constant pain which often gets misdiagnosed as other back related issues. All this based on reading up on a variety of google links.
For me, it seems to be relatively minor until I do some back stretching, bending, lifting, then I feel this lump become increasingly tender and my back starts to ache if I don't let off.
Yep, I had a quick Google and found some references (including some mentioning "episacral lipoma" - so a lipoma near the sacrum) to it but I can't really see how that would happen. Where does it herniate from, and through? Subcutaneous fat is superficial and nerves are deep (obviously small branches come to the surface for sensation).
Pubmed is a huge biomedical database but has no hits if you search "back mouse".
Lipomas can be painful, and can be irritated by movement, and you may also have some underlying mechanisms issue. If it is painful and becoming an issue ask your GP to refer you because lipomas can be excised or injected.
Pubmed is a huge biomedical database but has no hits if you search "back mouse".
Lipomas can be painful, and can be irritated by movement, and you may also have some underlying mechanisms issue. If it is painful and becoming an issue ask your GP to refer you because lipomas can be excised or injected.
Hi
I know this is 3 years on, but did you find a UK doctor to treat you?
I visited the doctor to discuss today, and was generally met with "that lump is normal, it doesn't matter if when you press it it creats the symtoms, the NHS cannot help you". Very saddening.
backmice.info has some good information.
Steve.
I know this is 3 years on, but did you find a UK doctor to treat you?
I visited the doctor to discuss today, and was generally met with "that lump is normal, it doesn't matter if when you press it it creats the symtoms, the NHS cannot help you". Very saddening.
backmice.info has some good information.
Steve.
Hi,
I just saw this old thread pop on 'My Stuff', I'd forgotten I started it!
Anyways, no change for me. I've just kind of learnt to live with it. There's certain movements I avoid and I find when the lump gets a twinge to just stand up straight, stick my belly right so my back is bent to the max and then relax until it passes, about 15 seconds or so. That seems to help things enough and I'll take a couple of paracetamol to fend it off for the rest of the day. I do this maybe twice a week on average.
I'll do some reading up on episacral lipoma as ....
First google article said "Other terms for the episacral lipoma are the back mouse, iliac crest pain syndrome and multifidus triangle syndrome."
Thanks to Bill above the the information he posted back in 2015 that I seem to have missed in the intervening years.
Things may have moved on in 5 years, here's a page for 'back mice' that seems to actually recognise the issue and explains it quite well.
https://backmice.info/
I just saw this old thread pop on 'My Stuff', I'd forgotten I started it!
Anyways, no change for me. I've just kind of learnt to live with it. There's certain movements I avoid and I find when the lump gets a twinge to just stand up straight, stick my belly right so my back is bent to the max and then relax until it passes, about 15 seconds or so. That seems to help things enough and I'll take a couple of paracetamol to fend it off for the rest of the day. I do this maybe twice a week on average.
I'll do some reading up on episacral lipoma as ....
First google article said "Other terms for the episacral lipoma are the back mouse, iliac crest pain syndrome and multifidus triangle syndrome."
Thanks to Bill above the the information he posted back in 2015 that I seem to have missed in the intervening years.
Things may have moved on in 5 years, here's a page for 'back mice' that seems to actually recognise the issue and explains it quite well.
https://backmice.info/
Edited by Piersman2 on Thursday 27th February 15:07
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