Back pain!

[bierman]

My lower back has been giving me fits for the last couple of weeks. Just rolling over in bed is murder and if I have to sneeze, so help me, it feels like a molten hot electrified ice pick stabbing me in the lower back. I twisted wrong getting into the car yesterday and had to sit in the parking lot for about 5 minutes waiting for the pain to subside. For a while I did not think I would be able to drive as my car is a stick shift and the pain was streaming down my left leg. I finally went to the doctor today and he diagnosed sacroilliac joint dysfunction. Put me on flexoril and some BIG ole lortabs (both of which could be a What I Like topic). I have an appointment with a specialist next week to start some therapy. I have never had back pain of any consequence until just recently and it amazes me how much pain that area can generate. Once I get this healed up I am going to get off my lazy ass and get back into a gym. I never had back trouble when I was lifting.

[HSMITH]

WATCH the flexoril, will put you OUT cold asleep if you are like most people. Works great, but will knock you out when you don't expect it.

A physical therapist that knows what to do can be a great help. Chiropractic can also be a big help.

Been there, done that, and still deal with it on a daily basis. If your back still has the integrity to take it strengthen it to the max while also working the abdominals. Abs suck, but if your back isn't hosed up bad they will be the balance you need to stay healthy.

Good luck, I know just how bad these things can hurt.

[bierman]

Yeah, the doctor stressed that I only take the Flexoril is ONLY to be taken at bedtime. It seems to be working pretty good right now. I am having to re-type a whole bunch right now.

My wife works at a specialty hospital where PT is the biggest department. She is the assistant to the director of physical medicine and was talking to him about my diagnosis. He told her there are many options for treatment using excercise. Made me pretty happy cause I am not a huge fan of needles. My doctor was talking about steroid shots and such, but I would prefer not to take that road.

She also asked him if this thing really hurts as bad as I am letting on. I guess she thinks I have been faking it. Fortunately for me, he let her know that "Yes, it really does hurt that bad". I knew I liked her boss.

[get2now]

The best way to find out if the drugs will work well with you is to take them while you have to stay home. Don't drive.

I took Flexoril, Codine and Soma all at the same time but it didn't really matter what the side effects were as long as they worked. And they did work but I wasn't drowsy either.

A chiropractor was the worst thing I did for it. And I tried just about everything. Accupuncture, physical therapy and some kind of stretching machine along with my inversion machine at home.

Drugs worked the best though.

You just have to allow your back enough time to heal. Then exercise.

Good luck,

Gary

[John Dunn]

Pain streaming down the leg doesn't sound like sacroiliitis to me, what kind of doc did you see?

[Flatland Shooter]

Pain streaming down the leg doesn't sound like sacroiliitis to me, what kind of doc did you see?

Sounds like a herniated disk, doesn't it?

Bill

p.s. Last time I took Flexoril (and the only time) I sat down in a comfy recliner with a good book and a large tumbler full of iced diet Coke. Before I finished reading the Table of Contents I noticed that all my ice had melted and the sun was no longer shining in a window on the west side of the house. It was now shining from the east.

Good stuff but scared the daylights out of me.

[bountyhunter]

My lower back has been giving me fits for the last couple of weeks. Just rolling over in bed is murder and if I have to sneeze, so help me, it feels like a molten hot electrified ice pick stabbing me in the lower back.

I have had major back problems for about 20 years now. God help us both, hope yours gets better.

I twisted wrong getting into the car yesterday and had to sit in the parking lot for about 5 minutes waiting for the pain to subside. For a while I did not think I would be able to drive as my car is a stick shift and the pain was streaming down my left leg. I finally went to the doctor today and he diagnosed sacroilliac joint dysfunction.

Maybe, but radiating pain down the leg means a nerve was injured (pinched or stretched). Hope you are applying cold packs to it.

Put me on flexoril and some BIG ole lortabs (both of which could be a What I Like topic). I have an appointment with a specialist next week to start some therapy.

Be VERY careful as most medical plans don't do a good job of diagnosing the root cause, they just asume it's a strain. The "therapy" that the kaiser PT's had me on kept re-injuring me and making it worse. I would recommend a sports medicine specialist.

Once I get this healed up I am going to get off my lazy ass and get back into a gym. I never had back trouble when I was lifting.

maybe you had no pain, but you could have done some of the damage to the discs that set you up for the ineviatble injury. Be VERY careful what kind of lifting or stretching you do from now on. I'll wager dollars to donuts the discs in your lower back have now become thin enough from age wear and tear that bones, nerves, and assorted things are in close enough proximity to get hurt when you turn the wrong way.

[bountyhunter]

Pain streaming down the leg doesn't sound like sacroiliitis to me, what kind of doc did you see?

Sounds like a herniated disk, doesn't it?

Almost a certainty that a disc is leaning on a nerve.

[bountyhunter]

A physical therapist that knows what to do can be a great help. Chiropractic can also be a big help.

+1000

The only relief I ever got was from a chiropractor.

[bountyhunter]

She also asked him if this thing really hurts as bad as I am letting on. I guess she thinks I have been faking it. Fortunately for me, he let her know that "Yes, it really does hurt that bad". I knew I liked her boss.

sadly, peiople with chronic back problem quickly learn that the world is filled with only two kinds of people:

People who don't believe you.

People who don't care.

I injured a major nerve doing just what you did (twisting around getting out of a car with deep seats) and the pain was so sever it was like being hit by lightning. The pain which can result from hitting a major nerve can not be described: it is so massive that it seems to be bigger than your whole body and coming from everywhere. I could only lay on the ground motionless and the only thing I could move without pain was my eyelids.

When I had to hoist myself up on the toilet, the pain was so severe I screamed loud enough to hurt my ears. It was summeritme, but we had to keep all the windows closed so the neighbors would not call the police thinking somebody was being murdered. Sleep was impossible for a few days because the slightest movement caused horrible pain. It took about two months before I could walk again mostly pain free.

I sure hope your pain is not that bad.

Edited January 16, 2008 by bountyhunter

[Alan Meek]

Bierman,

If the pain shoots down the back of your leg following the hamstring then it is more than likely Sciatica.

Sciatica can be caused by a lot of differnet things. Essentially you are pressing on the Scaitic Nerve, can be caused by a bulging/herniated disc.

I battled sciatics for the last 3 years, finally I got lucky on a trip to the ER last Feb when an Orthopedic was on duty. He discovered my left leg was out of alignment. While at the ankles it was 1" shorter, at the hips that same side was dropped 1". He performed some chiropractic alignments and the pain was gone by the end of the week.

The next time it flared up I finally went to see a Chiropractor, I have not had any issues since June and it has never felt better.

Good Luck,

Alan

[CenTX]

Bierman,

If the pain shoots down the back of your leg following the hamstring then it is more than likely Sciatica.

Sciatica can be caused by a lot of differnet things. Essentially you are pressing on the Scaitic Nerve, can be caused by a bulging/herniated disc.

I battled sciatics for the last 3 years, finally I got lucky on a trip to the ER last Feb when an Orthopedic was on duty. He discovered my left leg was out of alignment. While at the ankles it was 1" shorter, at the hips that same side was dropped 1". He performed some chiropractic alignments and the pain was gone by the end of the week.

The next time it flared up I finally went to see a Chiropractor, I have not had any issues since June and it has never felt better.

Good Luck,

Alan

I have problems with my sciatic nerve as well. A cat scan showed fused vertebrae and worn cartiledge in my back was allowing/causing the nerve to rub against the spine. This would start as lower back pain and then the pain would move down my right leg, which would then go numb. In the beginning the pain could be pretty severe sometimes rolling over in bed, getting out of car, and coughing was excruciating. Still have pain from time to time, but Physical therapy has allowed me to pretty much control it, just can't stand or walk for extended periods of time without sitting or squatting down.

In my particular case, I was warned not to get treatment by a chiropractor due to something about the alignment and damage. I was told that some of the things chiropractors do could cause additional damage. Your results may vary.

[bierman]

Pain streaming down the leg doesn't sound like sacroiliitis to me, what kind of doc did you see?

My doc is a family practitioner. He referred me to a sports medicine and pain mgmt specialist.

She also asked him if this thing really hurts as bad as I am letting on. I guess she thinks I have been faking it. Fortunately for me, he let her know that "Yes, it really does hurt that bad". I knew I liked her boss.

sadly, peiople with chronic back problem quickly learn that the world is filled with only two kinds of people:

People who don't believe you.

People who don't care.

I don't think my wife falls into either catagory. She was just concerned because she has seen me endure some fairly substantial pain in the 16 years we have been together, including a brown recluse bite, a gunshot wound and broken bones. None of those have hurt as bad as what I am going through right now, although the spider bite was pretty intense as well. She is not used to seeing me act like this when I am in pain.

This could very well be from a herniated disc. 8-9 years ago I was on a SWAT team and our team commander decided to have us run an obstacle course in full gear. At that time, when I was in full kit, I was about 375-400 lbs. One of the obstacles was a cargo net climb to a 20' platform with a fireman pole to descend on. I had never done a fireman pole before and went down it with my knees locked. On impact I felt all of the impact in my lower back. It did not put me down at the time, but I knew something was not right. I did not do anything about it (thinking "I'm a SWAT cop, I can't be hurt") and continued on. Started having problems about a year later and off and on since then. Although, I will say that the chiropractor I went to later did not say a thing about herniated disks a few years after my adventure on the fireman pole. Don't really know whats up. just want it to go away. At this point they could tell me the only cure is to drink goat urine and my response would be "Regular or diet?"

[stipo]

Sounds terrible, I feel for ya. Makes my rotator cuff worries pale to insignificance. I can still function and I don't have anywhere NEAR that kinda pain. Brrr.

[Neomet]

Back pain tanks. As others have said I would be concerned about the possibility of a disc injury. I'm sure your doc has considered this as he has the 8 plus years of schooling and I'm not a doctor but only play one on forums.

That being said......... if pt/chiro doesn't resolve the issue I'd personally ask if he thought an MRI would be appropriate to rule out disc impingement on a nerve root.

edited because I was too lazy to hit spellcheck

Edited January 17, 2008 by Neomet

[bountyhunter]

Although, I will say that the chiropractor I went to later did not say a thing about herniated disks a few years after my adventure on the fireman pole. Don't really know whats up. just want it to go away. At this point they could tell me the only cure is to drink goat urine and my response would be "Regular or diet?"

It may be worse than that: wait until they tell you the "cure" is to do the PT every day and change your lifestyle so you never re-aggravate the area. If the discs are compromised, the life you used to lead is done and you have to adjust to the restrictions of the new you. If you are like me, the pain will be the coach to remind you why you have to get right....

[John Dunn]

My partner did his spine fellowship at the Texas Back Institute in Plano, world class and pioneering care(they developed some of the minimally invasive techniques, etc.). If I were in Texas and had a back problem, that's where I would go.

[chp5]

Bierman - I know how you feel. I bulged 2 discs in August. I'm better now, but still stiff and some pain.

Take care, get 2+ opinions and get well!

[bierman]

Have an appointment Monday morning with a specialist here in town. We'll see what he says. Fortunately, I have enough lortab to get me through the weekend.

[bountyhunter]

Have an appointment Monday morning with a specialist here in town. We'll see what he says. Fortunately, I have enough lortab to get me through the weekend.

You might want to start on Glucosomine and Chondroitin supplements just for joint health. That stuff worked a miracle for me, you can get it at Costco.

[Jim Norman]

Just my luck, My back has been pretty good for months, I read this thread and Saturday morning out goes my back. I had a small brief case in my hand, went to set it down and my knees hit the floor. Two days so far and the pain is subsiding a bit. I bought an inversion table today, I spent just 5 minutes on it after buying it as I had to go back to work. Felt good. I will be back on it for a couple 5 minute sessions tonite. Not going over all the way, just to the 60 degree mark if that. Still it really feels great.

Next time I read a thread that affects me so quickly, I hope it is a bout winning the lottery!

Jim

[tpcdvc]

I have had back problems for a while now. When it first started I went to the doctor and after seeing many doctors I found out that it was a ruptured disc. I spent a year and a half trying to beat it with therapy and epidural shots but finally had to give in to back surgery. The surgery got me back to about 85-90%. I was really into golfing and the back problems ended that for me. I fear permanently. Can't hit a small bucket of balls without felling it for the next three days. But on the bright side, this long journey brought me to the USPSA. When looking for a new hobby to replace golf, I foung practical shooting.

It' all about maintenance now. At the first hint of trouble with my back I make sure I hit the gym more.

[bierman]

Saw the specialist today and he concurred that this is most likely a bulged disc and not sacro illial joint dysfunction. Got a prescription for methylprednisolone and Lyrica. Go back to see the doc in 10-14 days. Supposed to call tomorrow and find out about the physical therapy schedule. I believe it will be 3 times a week for 6 weeks. We will see how things look then.

[turbocomp38s]

Have an MRI done and go from there. I may have missed it but this is the best way to go. The Docs can always second guess but MRI won't. Goodluck to you. IF it is an SI dysfxn, you need to build those muscles around that area.

[carinab]

So I don't have any back pain but I went to get a diagnosis on my left knee yesterday (in certain positions I get a sharp pain in the shape of a smile under the knee cap). They took xrays and the doc manipulated my left knee versus my right to feel the differences and declared nothing was wrong anatomically. He's a sports medicine doc with a specialty in knees. He then suggested the knee pain was possibly related to something else. He had me do a few more things and then told me I have SI disfunction. Okay, that I kinda knew that already (fractured my tail bone taking a fall in aikido - strained a hip flexor last fall). But how the heck does that impact only my left knee??!! He wants me to go get phys therapy for the SI disfunction. Been there, did that and I found the exercises didn't do much. Bikram yoga made more of a difference.

Okay, he's the specialist with the degree but has anyone heard of SI disfunction causing knee pain?