Just got the results of my xray and heve been told that i have straightening of the lumbar spine, early stage arthritis and a bulging disc.
At 39, this isn't great news to be fair, but i knew there was something wrong as i have back pain every day. Nothing mad but if i drop something, its a "hand on the knee" job to pick it up. Awaiting an MRI now to see the extent of the nerve issues.
Anyhoo, who has it, how does it affect your life and what do you do about it?
Really hope you get it sorted out eddie!
Can't offer any specific advice but i think for things like back trouble regular gentle swimming can be very good. Also alot of these things can be exacerbated by bad posture... These habits can be addressed by various means, pilates, a good yoga teacher etc. Of course these are very general comments... Good luck. Dave
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
Slipped a disc last year and suffered horrendous sciatica all the way down as a result.
Best advice I had was to keep as active and moving as much as possible, that and doing the stretches and exercise prescribed.
The pain eased off eventually from the toe back to the root of the problem, and is now fine, though I suspect I will have this weakness in the L4/5 area for good.
Oh yeah and all the quacks want to do is prescribe pain killers - Tramadol early doors for me - avoid it. it's not good made me feel worse so quickly stopped!
Your problem sounds possibly a lot worse and potentially a chronic situation.
Fingers crossed for you.
Thanks for the advice gents.
I've been 4 days a week on the weights for the last 9 years but this past year my training has dwindled down to literally nothing as the pain and weakness in my back has gradually got worse. I cant actually say if its worse because i'm not lifting, or i'm not lifting because its got worse.
Don't get me wrong, i'm far from crippled with it, but its just constant nowadays and does my head in at times.
Tramadol etc are a big NO NO for me, as i've heard all the horror stories. I'm getting along with Methocarbamol at the minute and hope to keep it to that if i can.
Changing my office chair made a big difference for me. Hope it gets better Eddie.
Swimming is good for building up supporting back muscles too.
Do you have access to any private medical cover through your employer? It’s worthwhile if it speeds you along with the MRI, treatment or physio.
My wife had a herniated disc causing terrible sciatica and she was able to get an epidural steroid injection very quickly at the Ulster Independent Clinic. That is obviously not a panacea for all types of back pain, and is only a temporary fix to relieve pain & inflammation temporarily, but the idea is that it works for a few months (it helped my wife for up to a year the first time) so that you can do the physio etc. properly and lay a foundation for back support thereafter.
In the end, she did deteriorate and had to be rushed for emergency surgery, but the good news is that the surgery cleared the herniated disc issue completely and she is now pain free with a whole new lease of life, albeit she will always have a little weakness there & occasional discomfort if she pushes it.
Surgery might help with that, but arthritis and chronic issues are a different issue, unfortunately.
Lyrica/Pregabalin can be useful for nerve pain in the spinal area – it inhibits pain messages – and is not especially addictive.
Other than that, and as others have said, physio might help a bit, and all you can do is muscularly protect & support the area as best you can via posture, stretching, swimming, pilates, yoga etc.
Having recently tweaked my own back lifting during house repairs, it’s not much fun at all. I figure as we age all of us are slowly falling apart in various ways anyway.
Best of luck.
Lots of good advice on here.Common sense,careful how and what you lift,think about car and work seats,exercise to build up 'core ' strength.Aviod medication if at all possible.Mostly does settle in time.Good luck.
I slipped my L4/5 and L5/S1 discs while away on a work trip (to Mozambique no less). Six years later and I'm still aware of it most days. The L5/S1 issue has resolved but I have a bulge on my L4/5 disc which has stayed around. I'm pretty careful with my posture now, especially when lifting anything.
I still do regular exercise but have recently switched to kettlebells rather than the heavy barbell stuff I used to do. It's one of those things where it doesn't cause me regular problems, but I know it will be a problem again at some point.
I was riddled with pain for nearly four years
Injection via nhs
Several a and e episodes involving diazepam to relieve the spasms
I was due an operation this year to burn out the nerve
Then - when Ireland I was told of this guy....
http://www.daghda-ireland.ie
60 euros later - I kid you not as I’ve nrver been back
I’m cured
I literally couldnt bend or touch toes etc
Had to buy a 4x4 as couldn’t go low
Now (touch wood) there’s not even a twinge
That was nearly 12 months ago
Cheap Ryan air flight and either hire a car for a tenner and you’re there
The guy deals with lots of top Irish sports stars in the GAA etc
I was a non believer - now I’m a preacher
4 weeks ago today I was in a similar position and then woke in the night unable to move and ready to be shot as the pad was so bad. Long story short - A&E - radiographer called out for MRI and I was under the knife within 30 mins of scan for l4/5 discectomy and spinal decompression
Turns out I had caude equine syndrome (google it) - really scary stuff
Anyway today I had some rehab and was doing squats / balancing on a wobble board pretty much pain free ( other than a bit of wound soreness)
Totally echo others’ comments - ditch the tramadol asap it’s good but so dangerous and even after only taking it for 5 days in hospital I had 2 nights cold turkey with chronic sweats coming off them
Stay positive - see an osteopath - and get your back, glutes, and core strong
Originally Posted by Sweepinghand
I am listed for spinal surgery for a similar problem; stenosis. The sooner the better, I can't go fishing or walk to the local!
Find a good physio who can help you through any acute periods of pain. Strengthen your core, which will help a huge amount. I have a prolapsed disc at L5/S1 which gave me a lot of pain. The sort of pain that was so severe it made me see stars and once I nearly fainted.
Learning to swim properly (not breast stroke, but proper crawl) helped as to swim properly means you have to engage your core. I've also lost 2 stone in weight which has helped immensely (2 stone to go).
Whatever you do, I wish you the very best of luck.
I suffer with a disc bulge , and have found that core strengthening in conjunction with taking amitrpytelene has massively eased my symptoms. At like by last I can bend over with my back, rather than the hand on the knee!
Try Pilates, but avoid moves combining flexion and rotation. Not being funny but what is your weight?
I have a similar story. A colleague at work fixed my back in 5 minutes. I swear it was like a miracle. Turns out he was doing this professionally in his country. It only costed me a bottle of brandy
https://www.physio-pedia.com/Mckenzie_Method
simple stretching exercises alleviated my herniated disc
I have had thoracic back pain for years, background of adolescent scoliosis exacerbated by two decades of nursing. Currently treated with a silly amount of tramadol, not looking forward to coming off it one day. Also take Duloxetine, an antidepressant which has pain relief properties. Tried Gabapentin and Pregabalin but felt like a zombie and couldn’t function.
I see a Chiropractor regularly, which I highly recommend. A deep tissue massage helps as well. A TENS machine can be useful.
I see a consultant at the Pain Management Clinic, had radio frequency denervation in 2016, a wonderful 3 months of little pain, except it was expected to last 18 months.
I get through my working week but have little energy for anything else. No active hobbies at present. Used to cycle and was in the Army Reserves. Dropped some hours last year to try improve my work/life balance. Although I have recently separated from my wife, so may need to pick those up again.
Sleep or lack of is the most crippling issue, I find myself having a lie in or an afternoon nap at the weekend to catch up.
Dave
Last edited by dforgrieve; 22nd July 2018 at 11:34.
I have had back pain as a part of my life full time for 16yrs now .
A combination if an accident, plus some congenital defect plus now arthritis.
I try and avoid pain relief as it would be never ending and only gives symptomatic relief.
When needed I now take a cox2 inhibitor celecoxib which works well for me.
Over the years I have tried osteopath, Pilates , yoga and more recently chiropractor. I have found all work , the osteo and chiro for treating acute episodes and the yoga and Pilates to increase core strength.
My advice- strengthen core and back , take anti-inflammatory if required, look at your working position. Do you sit or stand for the wood turning?
Oh and don’t roll a soft-top .
17stone 10lbs at present.. but I'm 6'5" so not really overweight.
The doc has told me that with someone of my height, lower back pain, to some degree, is almost a certainty in later life.
Some great real world advice there gents, thank you all for taking the time to post.
Seems to be that glute, core strength and plenty of stretches will be "soup of the day" from here on in. I've already started walking more so hopefully that's productive.
When I think of the weight I've been lifting over the last 9 years I feel like I'm absolutely useless now, but in a way hardly surprising.
I used to lift heavy, now light weights.
Ive actually had a small flare up this week just by bending down to pick up some jeans from the floor. Always little things like this but I believe walking on the beach last week probably did it (soft sand), I chased my little girl, larking around so prob weakened it
All my fault really - as soon as each time my back gets better I stop the stretching and core exercises. Ive been recommended Yoga / Pilates and swimming and to stop running - will start soon as cant keep going on like this!
I usually get flare ups 2-3 times a year but last Nov was really full on and and was in bed for a few weeks. Pain was at crazy levels!
Last edited by kultschar; 23rd July 2018 at 13:31.
I'm back home.
Hobbled in to Salford Royal yesterday 11am in agony as I had walked over 50ft.
4 hr operation yesterday 1.15pm.
Back home this evening having walked ¼mile fro the ward to the pickup point without a twinge.
Lumbar decompression surgery; basically they have hollowed out my spine so that my vertebrae no longer grab hold of my spinal cord. Stenosis.
Early days, and my back hurts like hell, but so far I am feeling like a walking miracle cure.
fell from a high place 20 years ago, smashed back, operated on, still the odd pain, kapake helps.
Glad to hear you are on the mend Alec. I’m sure the nursing staff miss you
Glad to here you’re doing OK Alec. My wife’s due to have a spinal op next week, she’s been struggling for over a year taking strong painkillers.
Worst mistake the human race ever made was getting up onto two legs.
Paul
Same for me on this... I switched to a new office chair and bought a G-plan sofa. Things are slowly improving. I feel your back pain OP it is horrid.
That's quite the story Alec. Im sure you feel like you've had a right kicking after 4 hours of hoking and poking!
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