Lower back problem

,mnb

CT scan from 4 years ago showed prolapsed disk L2/L3 and L3/L4.
I'm into sports and fitness. Because of how it aggravates my back I had to give up tennis, then badminton. Now I'm doing crossfit and after 1 month looks like it is just going to cause too much pain in lower back.
After crossfit it gets progressively more sore till I go to chiropractor who provides great relief and the pattern repeats. Crossfit guys are good and know about the back problem and make sure the weights are light. I felt by doing it I would strengthen me up all over.
I'm following the osteopaths and chiropractors advice of stretching out hamstrings, glutes. It hasn't solved the problem so far.
For people who understand this problem and had it before what worked best for you. Osteopath, chiropractor, physical therapist, physio, accupuncture, doctor, consultant, an operation?
Id like to see a future where I can choose the sports and fitness I do.
Im not looking for a diagnosis. Im trying to decide which treatment option provided long term success for you.

chatjunkie

Hi.
I feel your pain and then some. Just shy of a year now since I injured my back. Have had mris, physio, spinal epidurals and all to no success. Bulging discs at l4/l 5 and l5/s1, both discs with tears. Waiting on a discogram and most likely a spinal fusion as can't go on like this for much longer. Life totally on hold. My aunt told me i'm like a 90 year old woman, planning where I'll park or sit before I decide to go anywhere. It's no fun, believe me as can't walk further than the car most days. My advice is to try everything and if all else fails chance an operation if that is an option. Would love to get back to my running days myself. Fingers crossed. Best of luck to you!

shaka

Hi on roadtorcovery after having epidural a couple of months ago for L5S1 tear and a number of other bulges . I had done months of physio previous to epidural but as physio therapist said there is not a lot a physio could do for my injury other than excercises which only helped a little bit. I insisted on pursuing physio prior to any invasive work on back.

I'm into my sport too having played a nice bit of football,soccer,handball and rugby prior to some serious knee injuries and while I will use a physical therapist for soft tissue treatment and massages I would no way let one near my back while I have disc issue. I have friends who have qualified as physical therapists over last few years and knowing their abilities well and what they went through in 'college' there is no way I'd go to a physical therapist over a fully qualified physio therapist.

Haven't used a chiro and am hesitant about going to someone who works in an un regulated profession like that, I've heard bad stories like everyone else but sure there may be good people out there. Does chiro provide initial relief and does pain return itself or once you aggravate injury?

Was due to start crossfit prior to injury but personally can't see myself ever getting into that now. My aim is to get back cycling.

,mnb

After the chiropractor I feel my body just feels right again. Pain goes away. But I feel the crossfit sends it all out of line again.
I quit the crossfit today for the moment. Its a real pity. A real chance to get my body in the kind of shape I wanted missed. Going to give swimming a go for a few weeks and take it from there but its not what I wanted.

Spook_ie

4 years is a long time since your scan - imo get a mri done first before you embark on physio/consultant/chirop or whatever route you choose.

jimmy180sx

7yrs ago i put a disk out in my back while moving furniture at home. The pain was immense. After living with the pain for almost 3yrs and the numbness in my foot (and terrible sciatica) i bit the bullet and went for a consulatation with a specialist who advised surgery. Ocer the years i i had been for every treatment, acupuncture, deep tissue massage, chiro, you name it. 3 days After the consulation i was being prepped for surgery (microlumbardiseconomy, google it) was off my feet for a week and back to work. 4yrs later now and no problems whatsoever.

RubyGirl

Suffer from degenerative disc disease on L4&5 aswell now for the best part of 7 years. Specialist wont operate so it's just pain management. I'v spent more money on most of the above aswell with no better outcome from any.

I find my only one saving grace is hot yoga, doing it now over 2 years and I swear by it, do it twice a week.

fitzcoff

RubyGirl wrote: »

Suffer from degenerative disc disease on L4&5 aswell now for the best part of 7 years. Specialist wont operate so it's just pain management. I'v spent more money on most of the above aswell with no better outcome from any.

I find my only one saving grace is hot yoga, doing it now over 2 years and I swear by it, do it twice a week.

What's Hot Yoga? I've DDD as well and have just had a second set of facet injections to rule that out with the pain specialist before looking at the next set of steps

RubyGirl

It's doing yoga but in a heated room (30 degrees), the heat help's your body to open more quickly so you can get into the postures deeper and safer.

I have done all the injections, edidurial but with no help.

cltt97

Pilates. You need to get the front really strong. I do that, yoga (iyengar) and go to the chiropractor. I've also just started going to a physio that specialises in biomechanics as want to stop having to go to the chiropractor, so hoping I'll figure out what causes the instabilities I'm battling with.

chatjunkie

cltt97 wrote: »

Pilates. You need to get the front really strong. I do that, yoga (iyengar) and go to the chiropractor. I've also just started going to a physio that specialises in biomechanics as want to stop having to go to the chiropractor, so hoping I'll figure out what causes the instabilities I'm battling with.

Hi again,
Did any of you try or have any success with an osteopath or bowen therapy? Am torn between trying them and just accepting the inevitable and going ahead with the surgery. Met a woman today whose husband had a spinal fusion years ago and it was a major success.
Has anyone on here had a fusion and if so how is it now? So many questions and so many people with different opinions and answers

Spook_ie

chatjunkie - I've had a microdiskectomy & cyst removal at l4/5 and it was a great success, the best person on here to ask about a fusion is 'apache',he /she had one a number of months ago....maybe search his/her userid and look for previous posts.

chatjunkie

Spook_ie wrote: »

chatjunkie - I've had a microdiskectomy & cyst removal at l4/5 and it was a great success, the best person on here to ask about a fusion is 'apache',he /she had one a number of months ago....maybe search his/her userid and look for previous posts.

Thanks spook! Got a date for discogram for mid August. Did anyone ever have one? Also went to see an osteopath yesterday. Awful pain today but he said it would be bad so will have to wait and see how it turns out. Back to him again next week.

byhookorbycrook

Just out of hospital following an epidural for herniated discs. It seems to have helped, but I may need another if it doesn't fully kill the pain though.

shaka

I had epidural couple months back and it helped somewhat but need another. Supposed to have it last Monday but work wouldn't let me take time off

Taltos

OP - won't say how much I have spent on physios for my back but it was way too much.

In the end I have found the following really helped me after following the advised treatments.

1. Foam roller - daily on my IT band and on my calves - going to splash out soon for the ridged version.
2. Stretches - good few of them, again on my calves and IT band.

In terms of exercise - of all I've tried, pilates, spinning, cycling, running etc - (not yoga yet) - I have found TRX to be really helpful, again I need to stretch out after it as depending on the instructor some can end up focussing too much on exercises that I know cause me grief.

Foam roller - when I first started was agony, but to me that was a sign that it was working, it does get easier but if I don't use it every few days I know without doubt that the next time will be agony again. As above going to get the ridged one soon, also thinking of using a hand roller on the back of my calves, tennis ball did not do that much but again I guess it depends on where you need to stretch out.

Best of luck with this - know its not nice.

ulinbac

Hey OP,

FWIW I was born with a fusion C3/4, lack of cartilaage between C2/3, C4/5 and in parts of lumber spine.

I found Epidurals and cortisone injections very temporary. Last few year since the rugby did it in (I'm 26 in 3 weeks) I have been getting 2 Rhisotomy and 2 Rhysiolysis (think thats how they are spelt) each year. They work wonders.

That said, I will spend 2/3 months going to physio each year. Its all about the core!! Paying for a PT now and working with consultant back in Ireland. The stronger your core and the rest of your body is (conditioning strength not bulk) the better but it needs to be all about technique. Its never about what you lift, its about how you do it!!!

Hope that helps

cassid

Have you tried swimming?

Doing front crawl, back stroke, kick board and flippers can really help build up your tummy muscles and help with pain relief. I started off with a width at a time and now can do 100/200 lengths. I had a disc removed years ago and now have denegration in the lower spine and swimming has made a big difference, I still hobble around sometimes but I get the fitness level I need from swimming.

kerry4sam

Could I just ask people where you all find the patience for prolonged lower back pain?
Some nights I wake up and it's not long until I'm frightened as my leg is just gone numb; more days it's just toes that go numb along with sporadic pins n needles; all combined with lower back pain that brings me to my knees in tears some days.
I'm on pain relief but if I take 1pain-killer some days it's just not strong enough and if I take 2, then they knock me out cold for minimum of 4-hours!

I'm trying to live my daily life going here n there; meeting people etc etc, but the pain killer some days is just not strong enough and I know I'm better off postponing meetings due to the pain.

I've another scan this coming week to hopefully find the full extent of my spinal disc issues/sciatica. It's been narrowed down to disc now so that's good news It all stems back to being thrown off my bike on Nov 4th lastyear, never any issues before then, and very little relief since then.

Patience is wearing thin and pain is not easing to the extent that I'd appreciate.

I have my own water aerobics-plan from after I was thrown off my bike; walking some days more than enough before pain takes hold...

@,mnb : What are you finding works or you these days? It's been awhile since you updated and I hope you're finding some relief

Thanks,
kerry4sam

flutered

i have had back problems for many years, the hospital and the consultant said that there was nothing wrong with me, i had quite a few scans, many x rays, at the start i had an mri which showed regenerative wear and tear on the bottom five discs, l4. l5 were bulging, two years ago i got a new gp, he sent me to the local pain management clinic, reading the reeports they weree of the opinion that there was nothing wrong with me, that i did not need the sticck, theey sent me for an mri of my lower back, amonst other ddamage it showed i had broken bones in two places on either side of my lower back, that i needed the services of a ortipedic surgeon who i have never met, an x ray tthen confirmed that i had ostioarthritis in my neck, this was the cause of my migraies, the pain guy sent me home to live away as best i could, enough said i could fill this page with the rest.

dannyo666

Had L5-S1 operated on in 08 which went so wrong it want even funny-ended up with a spinal cord stim....Private docs are murder to "cut open first ask question later" ive found,on the other hand id never recommend anyone in massive pain to wait on a list to be seen by a specialist-4 year waiting list?James Reilly can stick that waiting list up his a**e IMO.........

jimmy180sx

dannyo666 wrote: »

Had L5-S1 operated on in 08 which went so wrong it want even funny-ended up with a spinal cord stim....Private docs are murder to "cut open first ask question later" ive found,on the other hand id never recommend anyone in massive pain to wait on a list to be seen by a specialist-4 year waiting list?James Reilly can stick that waiting list up his a**e IMO.........

Do you mind me asking who your surgeon was?? From my own experiance my consultant gave great pre & post care/advice, not only for me but, my father-in-law, uncle, and 76yr old grandmother, all of whom had the same procedure (microlumbarbisectomy)

dannyo666

jimmy180sx wrote: »

Do you mind me asking who your surgeon was?? From my own experiance my consultant gave great pre & post care/advice, not only for me but, my father-in-law, uncle, and 76yr old grandmother, all of whom had the same procedure (microlumbarbisectomy)

I do actually to be honest,im not one for "name and shame" especially over the internet,i saw consultant as private patient but was operated on as a public patient and when things went belly up i really saw the filth of the public system,no aftercare at all and when i wanted to see consultant as to the next step he sent one of his cronies instead the coward,ive since had surguries private(as in family paid-i cannot get insured) and wouldnt ya guess doctors were falling all over me with care,love and some TLC

Whats the old saying?Money cant buy you health???ahhh ok

rusty999

Suffering with crippling back pain for 3 years .Had an MRI in Sligo and was told I had facet joint trouble and a bit of arthritis in the spine so went for painful injections in the spine which did not help at all, I have a relation works in a London hospital and as a favour to me he asked them to read my mri scan there to get a second opinion--same scan from Sligo. He came back with a completely different report on the same scan. London says I should be seeing a neorosurgeon as there are 3 discs-L3/L4/L5 touching my spinal chord---Chord Compression he called it- and I should have them removed to allow for bones in my lumbar spine to fuse . How the hell can 2 hospitals give a completely different report on something so serious as this . I dont know what to do now or what to tell my doctor as it will look like I dont trust them.

Spook_ie

rusty999 wrote: »

Suffering with crippling back pain for 3 years .Had an MRI in Sligo and was told I had facet joint trouble and a bit of arthritis in the spine so went for painful injections in the spine which did not help at all, I have a relation works in a London hospital and as a favour to me he asked them to read my mri scan there to get a second opinion--same scan from Sligo. He came back with a completely different report on the same scan. London says I should be seeing a neorosurgeon as there are 3 discs-L3/L4/L5 touching my spinal chord---Chord Compression he called it- and I should have them removed to allow for bones in my lumbar spine to fuse . How the hell can 2 hospitals give a completely different report on something so serious as this . I dont know what to do now or what to tell my doctor as it will look like I dont trust them.

Rusty the expression "doctors differ and patients die" comes to mind. OH has had 2 microdiskectomies/laminectomies done privately in Dublin with great success and with a Neurosurgeon who's bedside manner would not be the best but in his own way was very understanding of the pain. Nobody can give you medical advice but I can see no harm in getting an up to date MRI and asking for a Neurosurgeon referral

RubyGirl

Suffer from degenerative disc disease now for 8years, it's L4 & L5. I have a medical with the social welfare doctor. Has anybody been recently? Worried now I'll get cut off before christmas as doctor told me they are nearly refusing everyone.

dannyo666

RubyGirl wrote: »

Suffer from degenerative disc disease now for 8years, it's L4 & L5. I have a medical with the social welfare doctor. Has anybody been recently? Worried now I'll get cut off before christmas as doctor told me they are nearly refusing everyone.

Get your renewal form in asap...

dannyo666

rusty999 wrote: »

Suffering with crippling back pain for 3 years .Had an MRI in Sligo and was told I had facet joint trouble and a bit of arthritis in the spine so went for painful injections in the spine which did not help at all, I have a relation works in a London hospital and as a favour to me he asked them to read my mri scan there to get a second opinion--same scan from Sligo. He came back with a completely different report on the same scan. London says I should be seeing a neorosurgeon as there are 3 discs-L3/L4/L5 touching my spinal chord---Chord Compression he called it- and I should have them removed to allow for bones in my lumbar spine to fuse . How the hell can 2 hospitals give a completely different report on something so serious as this . I dont know what to do now or what to tell my doctor as it will look like I dont trust them.

Mad isnt it?-Find a good doctor and go with him/her...Id bring the MRIs to a few more consultants in Ireland for more opinions.Its it gonna cost you?yes...but its worth it...Ive seen loads of em but two very good ones stick to mind if you want to PM me i can give you their names