A&e, doctors or wait it out?

Well my heat pad arrived today. It's giving me some relief 👍

@autienotnoughty how are you doing?

This thread is a few months old we've been through the hospital stay @Pussycat22

Have you tried a tens machine?

There is a condition called Cauda Equina that can be very serious and debilitating. Please go to a and E.

OP have you looked at the chronic pain threads re backs? There's a thread there where the OP has recently updated what they've done in the year following their back injury and how they've recovered.

You can't/shouldn't take ibuprofen and aspirin together, severe risk of bleeding/ulceration.

the issue with NHS physio over the years is they don't assess me, never have, they've just asked me what the problem is, (lower back pain) then focused on that, given me a load of exercises and sent me on my way. they did it right from the start aged 17.

The one physio 10 years ago did check my back by pressing and found my lumbar pain, which triggered the MRI i had that found the DDD. but did no further assessment of my movement. however, back then i had been complaining of hip pain, but they always said it was referred pain from my back.

I've tried over the years since to get the hip addressed because it hurts to lie on, locks, causes me sharp pain, refuses to weight bear after sitting for certain lengths of time in dining chairs, and they've followed the same routine as they did my back for 20 years.. x-ray showed nothing, so nothing wrong.

This guy is the first physio who spent time getting my full medical history, did a complete top to toe assessment of my joints and mobility range.. and spotted immediately that my 'nothing wrong with it' hip doesn't move like the rest, and i had to keep stopping him as it felt like it was going to lock/sub lux or something.. like if i don't move out of that position right now the pain will be unbearable.
He picked up that ALL my movement on that side is impinged.

@WinterBones this sounds similar to what I'm dealing with. I hope you can find some relief soon.

@UncertainWife

i've been told when you have degen disk disease because the disks thin, the facet joints contact more, so you lose a certain amount of flexibility. Normally your body compensates by sharing the movement load when you walk to your hips

However, my hip has lost about 30% of its movement, so can't compensate for the rotational movement lost in my lower back, so instead its putting stress on my knee/ankle/foot down that side, but also pushing up into my mid/upper back.

So while my pain in my lower back and hip is from injury/degeneration..etc, the pain in my knee/ankle/foot and mid/upper back is compensation pain/movement stress.

@WinterBones what a great outcome! He sounds an amazing physio. I've had so many physios / osteos / msk folk / NHS folk etc look at me over the years and never had this experience.

Do you mind me asking, what was the problem they found? I try to stay aware of all the various things that could cause problems in the body as I've been struggling for a few years. I now think all my back issues are caused by the joint space in my hip narrowing and making the leg on that side shorter, but I won't know til after a hip replacement whether it fixes the back stuff. So I keep my list of things I've seen on forums so I can ask physios to explore them in future if I can't find the cause of my problem/s.

i think if you're going for general problems, and nothing different flags up its still only physio.

this guy found something everyone else has missed/overlooked, or dismissed as not a factor in my pain, but that i have been bringing up for the past 15 years as a problem... he confirmed there IS a problem and it will be having a massive impact on my current pain.

Please, whatever you do, don't see an osteopath or chiropractor. The risk is too great. I'm sure they have helped many people with muscular injuries but something this fragile is not worth risking. Don't get sports massages right now, it might help further down the line but not now.

What medication are you on now? They should have you on NSAIDs and potentially something like amitriptyline or notriptyline to ease the nerve pain.

i gave up this last week, paid for a private physio appointment with a specialist sports physio.. in the space of an hour he worked out more of what is causing my chronic pain and mobility issues than the nhs have in 26 years.

I don't have much money, but i'm giving him chance to try and help me while i'm waiting on NHS referral to MSK.

Glad there's been some improvement but sorry to hear you're still struggling.

I relate to how you feel. I've been suffering various msk issues for a few years but it's all got worse in the last four months. The last month has been particularly bad, but I can now only walk for 20 mins max, drive for 10 mins max, can barely do any housework or anything normal. In my case I'm 80% sure it's because my hip needs to be replaced and is now causing my body to go wonky which is giving me lower and upper back issues.

The mental side is tough. I want my old life back so much. It's hard going into 2025 unable to make plans.

Some days (or hours!) I feel hopeful and some days less so. Today I'm feeling hopeful that I won't be like this forever, and I don't think you will be either.

I've found a lot of resources (books, online courses, practitioners etc) on improving back problems. When you're out of the more acute stage @ me on this thread and I can list the things I've heard of. Most are not relevant to me yet as my hip needs dealing with.

A private consultation with a pain specialist is not that expensive and massively speeds up the process. I was seen in under a week after 6 months waiting for the NHS. I think it was about £200 -look on BUPA for one near you. It’s worth bearing in mind that as horrible as the pain is right now, it is helpful in reminding you not to do too much too soon - it’s still very early days… patience in the face of frustration!