Back Pain

Fatloss08

have back pain for a few months now

i went to chiropractor and he took an x-ray and said it was just a normal thing people do , and that i needed to be re-adjusted so to speak

so seen him a while with some effect but im of the opinion now that i dont want chiroptactors anymore , maybe physio ???

so 2 questions

1. would a physio work ???????

2. is it possible to feel nerve pain in ur arm ( right arm ) like a trobbing pain ????

i think there might be a trapped nerve

anybody else felt this pain , similar to a toothache throbbing

Caoimhín

Wow, just wow.

I was about to start a thread about back pain. Fatloss08, i injured my lower back playing rugby in university about 7 years ago. The pain in my lower back simply got worse over time until one day at work it finally gave up. This left me in agony and the doctor referred me to a surgeon.

5 operations and thousands of euros later i am still in pain. I am writing this from my bed.

The only advice i can offer you is to go to physio, they are all fully qualified (find a chartered physio) and know as much about anatomy as any MD. In my opinion, chiropractors are a waste of time and you would be better off going to a witchdoctor. However many people swear by them so i guess it really depends on what works for you.

Go and see your doctor to make sure there is nothing too seriously wrong and most importantly, follow the doctors advice. I am pretty sure that if i had rested fully and taken a few weeks off work when the doctor told me to i would not have ended up where i am.

In general, i would be grateful if anyone can offer me advice about where i go from here? I think the doctor is sick of looking at me at this stage and i am living on Difene and paracetamol? Anyone get any relief from acupuncture?

Mr Magnolia

I had a great experience with a chiro. I tried a couple of phisios, when one didn't sort it I tried another. The phisio's did give me some temporary relief, I was still in trouble though. I actually told the second that he wasn't resolving the problem that I was going to go to a chiro. He asked me to let him know how i got on.

I was with a chiro twice a week for about 5/6weeks and went to him regularly for about a year after that. It takes time to heal. I'm sure there are plenty of chiro's out there that are useless same as any profession. Try and find one that's recommended, maybe try the regional forums here for recommendations.

Johnnyjump

Whereabouts in the country is this chiropractor?

Mr Magnolia

Louth.

old boy

been there done all that, now 12 years later to qoute the late frank hall i am bowlaxed, the bed is the last place to be in, sitting standing some relief, the best relief from pain i have got is from a healer now retired, i have the m.r.i.s to prove it, if you can find a healer that does not manipulate you 2 much chance it, i have been refused surgery by a mr ml molloy in cork and a mr o farrell in limerick, they say an op will reduce my mobility which is pretty restricted as it is, then again a guy in dublin says i am ok, he refused to sanction a pension of 26 euros a week saying i could work. also ones back starts to respond to atmospiric pressure, this i am told is a chemicial reaction in the ligimants and tendons, which is untreatable, bar for pain relief, also with some docs unless you fit in to a certain critera they do not (want to) understand you. as time goes by you will realise what will or wll not you can do, and what excercises work suits you, when i have to go to my gp for a course of jabs to get relief he always asks why do you misbehave,

Mr Magnolia

Sorry to hear that old boy.

You remind me though, what works for one may not work for another. The spine is a complicated thing, I am certainly not qualified to advise on it outside of my own very limited experiences. Be very wary of letting anyone near your back.

squeky

it might be worth thinking about a Spinal Cord stimulator as i have one fitted and it dosent grt rid of my pain fully but by god it is alot better now than what it was before as i have nerve damage in my arm, leg, neck shoulder and back due to a car accident. So google it and see if it will help, if you need any other advise just let me no

kipple

I only have time for a quick response.

Two things you really should consider:
1. Look into Rolfing http://rolfing.org

2. There is good evidence that acupuncture helps with low back pain. See this abstract from a study done in Germany. http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/167/17/1892

mary70

I second the acupuncture theory for lower back pain.

Caoimhín

mary70 wrote: »

I second the acupuncture theory for lower back pain.

I would seriously think about giving it a go, but before i spend money on any treatment i like to research it a little. Is there any scientific proof that it works or is it simply anecdotal?
Im not denying that people get relief from it, but is that more of a psychological placebo?
Surely there has been some research into it by now, do you know of any?

Harris

I think with backs, everyone will have their own way of dealing with them.
Everyone has the name of someone who fixed their own back or their uncle's back or their cousin's chronic back.
I slipped a disc at L5/S1 over 20 years ago playing water polo. Got it sorted eventually (too long to go into but tried everything and ended up having a surgical procedure)

2 years ago the disc at L4/L5 went, ruptured and sitting on the nerve.

The path I chose to go down was conventional..GP,Physio and neuro surgery eventually.

I am so happy and grateful to say that I am 95% better and was told by the surgeon to go out there and enjoy my life and not to live as a semi-invalid. He said if something happened we would deal with it. (I am big into horses)

Anyway my main point is to pick a route that you have 100% faith in, and stick with that person/treatment to at least give it a good chance and see if it works. If not, strike it off after a decent length of time and try the next route.

My only worry about chiropractors is that some physios will not (as far as I know) treat you if have been seen by a chiro. I could be wrong on this but that's what I think. I was lucky enough to have an amazing GP and a truly brilliant physio. They would be my first choice.

Also my last piece of advice and the most important one is to STAY ACTIVE as much as you can. Swimming, gently exercises in the water, your daily exercises for your back from your physio, stomach strengthening exercises (Pilates) and walking as much as you can. I also try and keep the weight off (easier said than done when you are in too mich pain to be active) but I think it really helps.

Hope you feel better soon.

old boy

quite a few people in the medical world have advised me to steer clear of cirocraptcors, eventually each and every one has their own way to overcome this, but what got me was the guys that said they would not operate, it was hard to deal with that.

Caoimhín

old boy wrote: »

but what got me was the guys that said they would not operate, it was hard to deal with that.

Well if it is any consolation to you, I have had 5 operations and i am still not right, indeed im worse if anything.

NUTLEY BOY

Have a look at the YAHOO discussion group http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/spinedisorderssupportgroup/?yguid=166229367

There are a good few people there who have had spinal surgery which has failed and left them worse. The same seems to apply to some people in the USA who have had mechanical replacements for the damaged discs ! Some describe a ghastly concept known as "failed back syndrome" !!

I have ongoing problems with the L4/L5 disc. Orthopaedic and neurosurgical opinions were that any surgical approach is a serious business only to be undertaken if absolutely necessary and as something of a last resort.

Mobility is the key.The safest mobilisation exercise is a warm swimming pool !!

Watch yourself with NSAIDs like Difene and the like as they are hard on the digestive tract if not taken properly.

As far as "alternative" medical practitioners go I have a prejudice against them and would go nowhere near them with a back problem. As one experienced doctor reminded me - "you only have one back !"

Be patient with it.

P.S. They are not guaranteed and can be a bit "hit and miss" but you could always ask a consultatnt anaesthetist who specialises in pain control to try an extradural infusion in to the affected disc. Probably best to get that referral from the ortho/neuro treating you surgically.

LegacyUser

try neuromuscular therapy, really help me

cazmcco

Mr Magnolia wrote: »

I had a great experience with a chiro. I tried a couple of phisios, when one didn't sort it I tried another. The phisio's did give me some temporary relief, I was still in trouble though. I actually told the second that he wasn't resolving the problem that I was going to go to a chiro. He asked me to let him know how i got on.

I was with a chiro twice a week for about 5/6weeks and went to him regularly for about a year after that. It takes time to heal. I'm sure there are plenty of chiro's out there that are useless same as any profession. Try and find one that's recommended, maybe try the regional forums here for recommendations.

Mr magnolia, i agree with you about chiros. as iv said in another post on back pain, you really to have to give them a chance.

Iv also referred to knowing someone who had an injured ankle, but the pain was in his back. This was my brother. He also went to a very good phisio in our area and the only thing that she could find wrong with him was falling arches (i think). She got him to wear in-sloes in his shoes, which only made it worse for him. Mam then got him to go to her chiro and after a number of visits he was sound. The same chiro was able to fix my brothers ankle recently with out medication and only a light strap after he dislocated two bones and tore the three ligaments in the ankle.

Ihaveanopinion

The 'art' of Chiropractic is nonsense. Has no basis in science. Is as effective as the 'laying of hands'.
Have a little read on the origins - entertaining stuff. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiropractic

But - whatever works for you - its your money

tbh

if it works for people, that's fine. I don't want this thread to end up in a debate about whether chiropractise is an art, a science or a myth. You're very welcome to the forum, IHAO, but please use less confrontational language in future posts.

TargetWidow

My husband has been through almost every conceivable method for treatment of back pain. We started with Chiropractor, then after six months moved onto Physio and prescription pain relief in combination with Pilates. Some relief on a temporary basis but the pain relief had horrible side effects. Then we changed consultants twice and went down the pain management route. Then an epidural, a facet joint procedure and finally last week a nerve root block. The needle seems to have hit the nerve itself and he is in bits since. His pain meds have had to be quadrupled and the guy that did the procedure is being a bit of an a-hole and saying theres no problem. He's been off work for a week and is afraid of losing his job. I'm now looking into the Beacon Back Clinic in Dublin. The previous posters are right though. The back is a tricky thing. I would be slow to let someone without serious qualifications anywhere near a back injury. We saw a documentary on the BBC showing a link between the incidence of chiropractic neck manipulations and the incidence of stroke within 24 hours of treatment! (For the record being left sitting at the basin in a hair salon can have the same effect!). That was the end of Chiropractic in my hubby's treatment. I am hopeful that the Beacon might be able to offer us some answers. Its awful that there are so many people out there with severe back trouble who aren't getting the help they need. I keep asking that if he was a top olympic athlete what would be done? Who would he be seeing for treatment and what would they be recommending? He certainly would be a bit closer to a solution after 3 agonising years than he is now. Good luck OP.

Macha

A friend of mine suffers from chronic back pain as a result of a car accident. She attends a pain specialist in Loughlinstown Hospital (privately, I think), called Dr. Gallagher.

She goes 2/3 times a year and finds him very good.

I too have heard a few negative things about chiropractors.

Caoimhin, your situation sounds difficult, I hope you find something that helps

Caoimhín

Thanks taconnol.

Im back with the surgeon next week so i can only wait and see what happens there.
My only fear of going to a pain specialist is that he/she will tell me something i already know and then send me off with a big bag of painkillers. Its not much of a life going around doped out of ones head on pain meds so i want to avoid that.

squeky

consider a Spinal Cord Stimulator!!!!

michaelaen

hi, it might be neuropathy, check out the website of biomag, they offer a treatment using pemf, which could help you with the pain

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2055503083/back-pain