To take/send DH to local walk-in?

The last thing I'd do with a bad back is go and sit in A&E or minor injuries.

He can get an appointment with his GP in the morning if it's that bad.

I would leave him to it.

He needs to take very regular painkillers he can take 2 paracetamol four times a day plus 2 ibruprofen four times a day (unless there are any restrictions for any reason) so pretty much alternating every 2 hours up to the maximum which will take the edge off the pain and allow better movement (I’m not a HCP)

If he’s been seeing an osteopath I would assume he has some techniques and exercises that help and if he’s in extreme pain then pain killers plus heat/cold application plus rest/gentle movement will all help him.

I have one like this; shuffles around moaning ignoring all advice, when he eventually sees a HCP who gives exactly the same advice says “oh yes Trotula said the same” they respond well why didn’t you listen to her then! I’m not a medic but it’s generally common sense stuff that’s been known for the last century or I know from personal experience.
Drives me nuts, I now say it once and if he repeats it I say I’ve already told you what I think and leave it there.

I have 2 prolapsed discs, 2 bulging discs and my back goes into spasm a lot. The GP says diazepam is no longer the go to med for spasms so prescribes baclofen which works just as well without the spaced out feeling. They also prescribe me dicofanac (sp). I already take zapain, Gabapentin and amitriptline daily. I find the more I move around the better it is, but it's trying to get over the spasm and pain that's the hardest part which is where the meds come in. I don't see the point in being in pain when there's something that will help. DP has done something to his back, and he'll text me in the morning to say his back is really bad, it's taken him ages to get to the bathroom and to go down to the kitchen to make a coffee. Yet when I say when did you take codeine he says 'I haven't yet' 🤨. Yet he openly admits that once he starts moving around the pain decreases. So why not take something that will help that process? Men!

He needs to go to the osteopath! And keep moving and get his muscle tone up to hello’s back! Exercise is the key to sorting this

Has the underlying cause been diagnosed

An osteopath is not a qualified doctor and cannot prescribe anything

He should go to the nearest urgent treatment centre, not a minor injuries unit as the UTCs have doctors

He'll be a whining nuisance if untreated

Could you go to the pharmacy? Then docs tomorrow?

I've had this. Please share with your grumpy DH

Painkillers will take edge off but if muscle is genuinely in spasm the only thing that will help is either TIME & REST or an antispasmodic which is what Diazepam (valium) was originally invented for. It's prescribed because very safe actually.

Ibuprofen then Voltarol (which is Diclofenac) will help especially as both anti-inflammatory, but can annoy your stomach
The higher order opiate painkillers such a Tramadol can make you feel a bit crappy all by themselves. Tramadol can make you very useless and unsafe like 'leave the gas on' unsafe.

Heat pad/hot water bottle/ice pack in structured periods with rest can be surprisingly effective.
So here was my own observation: when an area of your back is in spasm, while it is annoying and v.painful but every time it 'catches' it may feel like it is sort of protecting you from further 'proper damage to your spine', so your DH may have strange not quite consciously-formed concern that if he turns off the pain with a pill he may do accidently do himself 'some real damage'. I certainly had that thought during episodes.

A few Diazepam 5mg would definitely help but will make him dozy and also a liability around the house, but would fast forward the recovery.
Medics would only give you a small amount so I wouldn't worry at all about any addiction.

Final unsolicited advice: I went to lots of physio and practitioners and a good Osteo is probably the best place for back issues - they are holistic and sensible- but if YOU wanna fix your back you must do some work with time and effort and a bit of sweat. Any practitioner who just does stuff to your back but doesn't give you any work to do on your own can also become a bit of a crutch, if you have to visit too regularly (chiros being best example, I wld avoid them). Some better osteos will get you do do exercises
A lot of physios will give you Pilates-style exercises but if you have a 'bad back' you probably cannot execute these in the way they are supposed to be done (your core timings may be totally shot, I know someone who did a PhD on this), so they don't actually help. I had to do pre Pilates first, then pilates then yoga. Like 30mins a day of work if you genuinely want to fix yourself. It can be done.

Bad back is miserable existence and it will 'go' again and again if you do not address.
He may be giving himself a hard enough time..frustrating as he is being please do rem give him a (gentle) hug

I've got ongoing issues with my back - sciatica, lumbar spondylosis and possibly stenosis

GP has given me amitriptyline to take regularly and co-dydramol where necessary. I've had two sciatica attacks recently which were horrible. The amitriptyline helped a bit and I started on the co-dydramol but I don't find the side effects much fun so only take them over a shorter period

In all honesty the last thing I'd have wanted to do was go and sit in A and E or a minor injuries unit for any length of time. I'd rather work through it - stay mobile and hop on a bus to town for a coffee. I'm lucky enough to have a bus stop near me and - at the other end - a really good independent cafe.

I realise that - unlike your husband - I have painkillers available to me but I do think you have to allow the person affected to deal with it in their own way.

Let him be an idiot and suffer. HIs choice. As long as it doesn't mean you have to do something you don't want to do

He'll still sit there for a long time. I was at minor injuries for 7 hours with a dislocated finger.

Only a couple of days in I wouldn't be keen to take strong painkillers either. He needs to keep mobile and see what it's like in a few days.

That’s the limit of your sympathy?! Thats not sympathy at all. 🤔

Maybe he doesn’t want to pop a pill and instead just wants the time and space to feel better. If he’s not causing you any issues I don’t see why you’d not trust him to know his own body well enough to decide for himself if he wants to suffer through the side effects of various pills or just put up with the back pain. I hate this modern mentality that you must see a doctor for every issue because doctors are magic fixers with magic pills when sometimes just taking time out and getting better is what we need. No wonder the NHS is collapsing and pharmaceutical companies are laughing all the way to the bank.

The point she was making was the "sitting around for 8 hours" point. Not what the technical term for the place is.

He's an adult. One behaving stupidly, but still an adult.

Point out that by refusing codeine he's doing more damage to his back because he's holding it awkwardly which only compounds the problem.
The correct way to handle back pain is ice packs and heating pads, anti inflammatories to reduce swelling and appropriate painkillers.

Refusing to take anything isn't being stoic, it's being stupid and self-sabotaging .

It's extremely unlikely he'd be prescribed them for a 'gone' back that he's seeing an osteo for. I have arthritis and attend a pain clinic - they wouldn't prescribe the strong stuff (not that I asked...).

OP, maybe check out the NICE guidelines on managing back pain... lots of evidence based answers there.

This.

A walk in centre won’t prescribe anything stronger than co-codamol so you’ll be wasting your (and his) time. Mine even has a sign up saying they won’t prescribe benzos. He would be better off seeing the GP and asking for a short course of diazepam to relieve the spasms (and other painkillers if you think he’ll take them if they’re prescribed as opposed to your codeine which he’s rejecting). My sympathies to him - back pain and spasms are awful. It will pass though. Once he’s through this he should look at taking up something like Pilates to strengthen his back and core.

I got morphine and diazepam from my GP after a back spasm rendered me bed bound for 3 weeks, it’s what enabled me to get up and move about. So it maybe worth getting something stronger so he can move his way out of this. Also he has my sympathy it’s horrid.

They would prescribe them. I’ve been there and been prescribed tramadol and diazepam.

I have a rule in my house. Take proper medication or see a dr, if you want then you get no sympathy from me. It drives me mad. Im not saying pop a pill at every ache but when you are ill
or in real pain take the right pills. My dhs favourite was to take one paracetamol and then say “no point they don’t work for me”