Back problems

SandraDee123

Hi. First time looking for help on this. I fell off a chair in work Jan 16 and ended up with neck snd back injury. I never suffered with my back before this. I have done 7 months of phiso but pain wasn't going so done 3 months in chiropractors helped for 3 weeks then back the same way. I then had a lower back spasm could not move for 3 weeks. I have been told by my doctor that I have had everything from whiplash, muscle and nerve damage, phycosymatic pain, and possibly fyibrmialga. I have had a neck and back xray plus a brain scan which all shows up nothing.

I am an Specisl needs assistant and at first i went back to work as i needed the money to pay for all these specislists. I would have to go straight to bed each day because of the pain. But have been out of work since October due to another incident in work involving a child which put my back back to where it was after the accicent.

My doctor keeps giving me medication and I'm not getting any closer to being able to get back to work. I don't know where to turn next or what to do. As u can understand this is affecting my whole family and my relationship. It's also affecting my mental health and I've just had enough of it all.

Hope someone can give me some advice x

Pablo_

Hi SandraDee ,

Did you get any relief since? Sounds awful. Sounds you are as frustrated as I am when my back goes into spasm. There is literally no one person to turn to to ask. My workplace just think i'm taking the p*ss but for 5 days now I have been just lying on the floor. It took me 16 minutes last week to get from laying down to standing up!

My options so far (it has been ongoing for years, with bouts of spasm which puts me out of everything for weeks at a time):

GP: took years to get taken seriously, when I finally got MRI he said "oh, i didn't think it was actually that bad" ... referred to Surgeon

Surgeon: Slice and Dice ! No thanks. He referred me to pain specialist.

Pain Specialist: Really good experience. On second epidural injection I got great relief for one year. Went into spasm again after the year.

Physio during the good year: I'm not sure, but went few times. I'm skeptical but some improvements I guess while my back was doing well.

Digital Doctor (During current spasm): Do exercises! I laughed and hung up. I rang from the floor and couldn't move to the side without nearly shouting from pain.

Is there any one Back Specialist or is there too much litigious crap around false back injuries from insurance fraud scammers and workplace lawsuits, that unfortunately real patients with prolapsed discs etc don't get the correct treatment.

anyone else want to share their experience around who they actually go to for treatment [NOT MEDICAL ADVICE ETC]?

Hope it gets betterb SandrDee, sounds like you are putting up with a lot.

Oldtree

I lift a lot of heavy stuff working but the real start of it was I damaged my back badly lifting the child out of their car seat with a twist. I could barely walk and the pain was bad.

I did not go to a chiropractor as family had no long term relief from them and I felt their methods a bit brutal. Physio didn't help much either.

I went to an osteopath in Galway. He did some great work in the first session, they do a more holistic approach that is much less rough than a chiropractor. Stretching and manipulating gently my back back into a correct alignment position.

He gave me specific exercises and stretches to do if things go awry again and I can put myself back into alignment now easily if I do a bad twist.

I went back for a further 2 sessions the first time to make sure things were holding together and I'd say ive been to see him 3 times in the last decade if I overdid it and had difficulty fixing myself.

He will tell you if he can do somthing for you, if not he will point you in the right direction medically speaking. Got to admire that.

He said that if I hurt my back again to wait a day or two if I could till the swelling goes down and it would be better for him them to do his work then.

It is important to do your own follow up exercises he gives you as they strengthen the back, augmenting his work.

I walk out of his office up on high doe and feeling an inch taller. but I would recommend some neurofen and paracetamol for when the euphoria of relief wears off. Don't drive home cause things can still be a bit loose and you don't want to shake things up again, get driven.

If other methods are not working for you, try an osteopath, one session will tell you if it's for you or not.

CastielJ

have you considered alternative ways of treatment? what about massage or acupuncture?

Pablo_

I did get deep tissue massages from my physio last year, and found it helpful alright.

I've decided to try two new options this year:
1) Osteopath, have been recommended by a few people with very high regard for his work.
2) Spinal decompression.

I suppose there is no miracle cure but will keep trying new methods and see which one sticks :-)

beauf

Pilates I found very useful, when nothing else was working. But it wasn't an over night fix. Took a few months.

cbyrd

Strengthen your core. It's the only thing that will support your back. I'm surprised that after so much physio you weren't given exercises to do. I second the Pilates and also yoga and if you're into it weights. All done under supervision with a proper trainer. I have 8 years of bad back and it only flares up if I can't get to the gym for a while.

Guffy

Pilates, swimming, pilates and more swimming. Im like a new man

beauf

I find some Pilates is more core focused than other classes. Some are more general flexibility and some core.