Back pain

I found physios kinda helpful but ultimately your body will tell you which exercises suit you... I reckon it took about 12-18 months of trial and error for me, I was seeing physios during that whole time but had to drop certain exercises they recommended as they were making the pain worse...

Never had an MRI, prolly gonna have one soon here in Oz as they're free and you can just walk in... Amaze...

Doing quite a bit of strenuous stuff in my new job but my back's been holding up really well... Upped my daily exercise regime, more plank and added 60 secs of Superman... All good so far...

can you just walk in to have an MRI because you want to? Like not randomly, but you think something is wrong and you just want to know. Or does it still require a doc say so etc?

Gonna have my 7th, or is it 8th MRI soon... the NHS is still good for me...

Extra, that sounds like a cervical bulge/ herniated disc.

The MRI should tell the GP what it is- but if you have pain radiatimg down your arm and it's severe then it's probably that. I have C6/C7 one
The MRI should diagnose it. You should only need the one.
The good news is they should get better - Google the diagnosis , there's lots of good advice about this . Have you been given Mckenzie exercises yet
Oh and don't be afraid to take the tablets- What are you on at the moment?

Ha, the MRI did indeed give a clear enough diagnose, plus more, they have found something else could be far more serious, which now warrants another MRI. Oh joy of hospital visits.

Some MRIs were repeats just to keep taps on things, some were for my knee. The reason why I have had so many is because I was told MRI is only about 90% accurate and some of my MRIs show something that is totally way off the mark like everything is fine and dandy when it clearly isn't, maybe just the skills of the technicians, I dont know...

I can't remember the exact details of the problem of my back, but it's rouhgly damage between C3/C4 and C5/C6. Doctors have already said it's not gonna get better and will only get worst as I get older... I bloody hope they are wrong.

NHS physios have pretty much shown me where the door is as they are not interested in treating me any longer, private one I just go whenever I can afford.

Tablets wise, I should really be on every medical textbook and charge medical students to examine me - I am extremely intolerant to any neuropathic / nerve related meds. I have been drunk, high, angry, tearful, unable to get our of bed, having unlimted amount of energy etc. I always end up getting the worst side effects and need to come off meds...

I am waiting for another injection, which has been over 10 months wait and counting- they told me the way it works is 1st timers alwasy get the jump the queue, not who needs it the most or been on the list for too long...

If you don't mind me asking, do you get pain pretty much constantly? Or periodically? I am in pain periodically when complete pain free weeks, which makes it worse in some aspects, my mind finds it hard to get used to it...

I had steroid injections in my spine in august which have helped. Crucially they have given me relief to do more strengthening exercises. I have to take very low doses of amitryptiline and life is generally bearable.

There is a caveat, I have to do 20 mins of exercises at least every two days, if I have two days off I suffer for my laziness. Later this year I am also due to have more injections in the piriformis.

This time last year was unbearable, now I can basically function but I can't do sudden things like catch a ball and struggle when my dogs pull when on the lead and suffer for a day or so after uncontrolled exertions.

@tootalltim I hope this helps

Thanks, was just typing out in here but I accidentally deleted it all!

In short, I've had four months of pain in my sacrum which physio and various meds (naproxen, diclofenac, diazepam) have not helped with. I've not been offered any scans or blood tests yet as "they're only to rule out something more sinister" (no shit, maybe I need them then?! FFS.)

Anyway, today the pain has started twinging into my legs and I'm not able to sleep properly at night, so I've made another appointment to push for scans and potentially cortisone injections. I was wondering if anyone had had them, how had they helped, and how long they had been suffering for before getting them? I'm very aware that I may have to continue the physio (I used to stretch every day anyway before this all flared up) but I wanted to know if injections had helped anyone's inflammation 'reset' for long enough to get on top of it, and if they'd had any side effects?

Yours sincerely,
Mr. Most Doctors Don't Listen

To be honest you can't diagnose much without a scan. I ended up paying for my own in frustration.

For me stretching was actually totally the wrong thing to do. The injections helped me as it gave relief and allowed me to do more strengthening work.

Stretching is definitely not helping, and has been excruciating at times. "If it hurts then don't do it, but you need to stretch to make it better" was the reply from the physio. What I'm getting annoyed about is the blanket responses from doctors, without doing any scans to find out what's wrong first. I do understand that the majority of the time, rest and painkillers will help most people, but this time it hasn't and they've already twice dismissed the need for a scan.

I'm hoping that something as drastic as injections will help me a) get some decent rest, and b) relax everything so I can do this physio properly and stop it returning

Oddly for someone so tall, I've never had any serious back problems. This is the first time and it's manifested itself as a huge problem!

Also, cycling seems to actually improve it whilst on the bike and a day or so afterwards. If I don't do any exercise for a few days then it worsens, so I know I have to do exercise to make it better, I just can't because it's so inflamed and keeps returning to that inflamed state

Tim, I'll comment on stretching if it's ok, in case it's any help.

Background is I've been going through hell for the last 5-6 years since I injured myself lifting something awkwardly. Took 2 years jumping through hoops on the NHS to get an MRI scan to confirm what was up, which was a herniated disc on L5. They then referred me to an NHS physio who was no help. They set me some generic floor exercises which were no help at all. Throughout all that time, not one person had ever touched my back and I gave up because I'd wasted enough time. I suffered it out by myself for a couple of years with painkillers until it became too unbearable recently and so I paid to see an osteopath.

This has helped. He looked at my posture and the shape of my back, watched me walk around in bare feet, watched me bend down to touch my toes starting the top of the spine and rolling down etc etc. His approach was that the damage is done and it's not going to go away, but he could provide relief by working more flexibility and movement into the other parts of my back and straightening me up - which I couldn't do. So while the damage is at the bottom of the spine, he worked on making the mid and top more bendy so that it would do more of the work and stop the lower back from having to work as hard. I do a morning stretch on my mid/upper back and neck which maintains the flexibility and strength and allows me to stand up straight, which I wasn't previously able to do. It wasn't instant relief, I've done this over a 3 month period, but it's a LOT better than it was and I'm not taking anywhere near as many painkillers. I really seriously recommend seeing an osteo.

You're right about the cycling - it's what kept mine bearable for a very long time. But as soon as I injured my knee and couldn't run or ride, my spine came back to haunt me bigtime and it was REALLY bad. An osteo will get it good enough that you can then work on it yourself and keep it maintained. After a while you just need to go back and see them from time to time as maintenance.

Another thing that has helped me is changing beds. Don't underestimate this! My old bed was soft, I sank into it and it was making me wake up with killer back ache in the morning which just got worse during the day. I changed it for a really hard bed and now I don't wake up with much or any back ache.

Thanks Jonny, I've been seeing a chiropractor who has helped with my posture somewhat but he too is fairly baffled as to why I'm still experiencing the inflammation.

I've just come back from the GP who categorically said "no, you don't have any 'red flag' symptoms" when I asked for a scan, despite telling them I'm getting pain in my legs from it, insane. She did however agree that blood tests would be a good idea, and that if I wanted a scan I now had to ask the physio to refer me to the rheumatoid dept at the hospital.

I've tried changing beds, and actually slept on a yoga mat on the floor when it's been bad, but that's not helped either

@dancing james How much was your scan? I have some very basic private healthcare package that covers me, but usually only if the NHS have already referred me. Not sure they'd offer it free, but certainly might be able to get a reduced cost once Ive talked to the physio again

To be honest I'd expect an osteopath Physio or other practitioner to suggest an MRI as part of diagnosis. It was about £250 or so. You should get a Physio or similar to refer you - so they know which section of your back to check.

Yeah you'd think so eh? I asked the physio last time if it was worth having a scan and they said the same thing, I don't show the signs that it's something worse so there's no need for it. Great.

Anyone had experience with Vista in Waterloo? Gonna try and get a scan there asap.

My mate is having a similar thing at the moment. Nothing much came of NHS and private but his 3-month trip to far-east Asia had him diagnosed with scoliosis and slipped disc!

Better get yourself on Skyscanner...

I used a private place next to my gp. You need to know which bit needs scanning. Also sometimes the problem is not where the pain manifests. I was having pain at the back of my hamstring yet the problems for me are l2/l3 l3/l4 and piriformis. Get a good Physio to diagnose you, if your current one does not think you have a problem then find someone who does realise the pain you are in.

My osteo recommended Vista - it's who I'm going to use to get a scan done on my knee.

Last year I had a spinal epidural for my sciatica, which helped reduce the pain and allow me to do more rehab exercises. Yesterday I had another injection this time into the piriformis as it appears my sciatic nerve goes through the middle of the muscle.

Last night was the first time I have been able to touch my toes with no sciatic pain. Today however my buttock is not so happy about having taken a big prick and spurt of fluid. It fucking hurts, hoping this is a temporary state of affairs.

Long term I see that I'll have to continue with the Physio and rehab work a few days a week. Have taken some cues from the videos I posted on the fitness thread which feature core stability exercises as used by a world champ mountain biker. Lots of balance board, wobble cushion and swiss ball work.

@dancing james Hope you're coming good mate.

After a long absence of the forum, I re-enter this thread with a lot of mixed feelings. It was one of the biggest reasons for my hiatus from the forum itself. I received a few PMs and comments that basically meant well but put me into a mental downwards spiral, while I was trying to figure out how to make myself not be in pain all the time.

Everybody has something to say on the topic, yet even the pros have so much conflicting stuff to say, and it can become (and in my case) did become very overwhelming and negative in my mind, that I just had to stop listening to most people all together.

So I won't go into much detail of what my situation is and what works for me, as that seems so deeply personal . The one thing that I want to point out though is that pain perception and the way we're dealing with it has a lot to do with brain, not just the physical defect we all naturally seek to fix, and certain mindset changes have improved my situation drastically.

Interestingly, this also was the topic of something I saw on the ABC just a few days ago:
http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/4427851.htm

Glad it sounds like you have found some strategies that work for you. Back pain is fucking hideous, last year it really ground me down.

Well, they work in a sense that i do what i want to and i don't let it hold me back too much. I accepted that there's no total fix for my body and i have to put the work in to keep mobile.

I've been recently getting some back pack at work and now and again on the bike. Nothing too serious but it's there. I've been thinking of having a go at pilates for some time now as I understand it can help with flexibility and posture. Does anyone here do it and has it helped you?

It's been very very good for me. Make sure you get physio led pilates. The classes i took were reformer based, rather than mat based.

I think the place I was looking at offers 'clinical' pilataes so I would imagine that's the more physio version? Thanks, good to know.