Back pain misery

[Pompompurin1]

What can I do to help myself? I’ve been to the doctor and was referred to Physio and I’m now on a giant waiting list. I have tried Co-Codamol but it made me itch all over. I’m now on naproxen but it makes me feel sick even with the stomach lining thing… In desperation I’m going to see a chiropractor tomorrow, I figure they can’t do any harm. I’m an absolute agony. It’s my lower back on the right hand side. This is an ongoing problem but has flareups. I started doing Pilates… What else can I do to myself immediately at home please ?! I don’t know the root cause but I don’t fancy my chances of getting proper investigation through the NHS anytime soon. I do have my private medical insurance but I’m not sure what the threshold is for a referral or who I could ask to be referred to!

Any advice welcomed as it’s absolutely bloody miserable at the moment and I’m trying to look after two small kids. Thank you!!!

Worth mentioning possibly that my mother had arthritis in her back….

You can take paracetamol at the same time as naproxen - 1g 4 times a day, in fact they work very well together.
Voltarol is a gel that contains a painkiller and BioFreeze contains menthol but is also an effective painkiller (you can use both but space them out to avoid a sticky mess).

Sorry OP. Back pain sucks 😫 You could request an MRI privately to see what is going on? Have you just started pilates? Gentle movement while it's flared up, try ice if you haven't already? It's so hard when you have little ones.

Why not private physio rather than chiropractor? I was in agony unable to walk properly or climb stairs. I went private physio completely bi passing my GP. Taken a while but I'm now in a place where I can do pilates to reduce any soreness. It's not 100% healed but I can actually function now. I noticed a massive difference after just a couple of sessions.

To be honest I thought a chiro would be more helpful for a back - is that wrong?! Thank you for the tips I have some volterol . The pain has cleared my thinking to the point where I actually forgot that this was an option!

Don't take Naproxen at the same time as using Voltarol gel - they're both NSAIDS.

I don't want to alarm you as the likelihood is that it isn't anything sinister, but please insist on scans: my excruciating back pain, diagnosed as a "pulled muscle", turned out to be cancer.

You need to get a diagnosis of what’s causing the pain so you can get the right treatment. My Dr said I’d pulled a muscle and referred be for physio, physio treated me for a pulled muscle and made things worse as I actually had a herniated disc - confirmed by chiropractor and MRI. Everything they were suggesting for a pulled muscle was making my disc worse.

chiropractor was excellent and got me back up and running (not literally) with exercises to do for life.

I had terrible back pain for decades. Things that solved it for me…
losing weight to get in a healthy BMi
pilates
Tuina - every two weeks
brubg very aware of how I felt at all times (not sitting in chairs that made it worse for example)

Sorry to hear that. Can I ask how you eventually found that out? I have no idea who to be referred to for general further investigations. I can go back to my GP but to be honest they seem hopeless so I will have to have a specific suggested plan in mind.

Thank you-how did you eventually get the MRI? Was this ordered by your GP or were you referred to a specialist first?

That’s reassuring to know that the chiropractor was useful and diagnosed to the herniated disc-did they do this just by feeling?

Oh right, I won’t then. Thank you! Sorry, I’m not thinking straight at the moment.

MRI - I got a referral from my GP and used our BUPA insurance

Yes I’ve only just started Pilates :-(

Yes he seemed to know from the way I was holding myself and what I could/ couldn’t move or do. He also had a good feel around. I was a bit 🤔 but the MRI confirmed it.

Okay I’ll try for the same. Thank you.

How it works depends where you are, but there are musculoskeletal services which are the best route as they have a range of specialists. In my area you can self-refer, but elsewhere the GP can refer. My experience is that waiting times are relatively short (based on my own and also friends experiences). They can refer for further investigations (so MRI etc) if required. They also offer a range of services directly which can include steroid injections.

Regrettably my experience is that there is no "one-size fits all" fix (assuming there's a fix!) - my first two steroid injections worked wonders, the next two didn't work at all. Some drugs we tried were as effective as sucking ice cubes, other weren't.

Got to say, like you I thought chiropractor and it turned out their diagnosis was incorrect and the treatment they used could have paralysed me. I was lucky it didn't. I have nothing against chiropractice, but try and get a diagnosis before people start mucking about with you!

I'd recommend an MRI, however you can access one. It was the only way I got a diagnosis. You need to find out exactly what's wrong.

OP my brother is struggling with his back at the mo and couldn't face a wait for an NHS one so booked one with Vista Health. He got a scan and the results really quickly.

I've dived paracetamol is the best thing actually, for me. I usually don't rate it! But it's helped the most with sciatica flare up this week.

Thanks all. I have WPA insurance so I will go back to the GP and focus my request on being referred for an MRI. I’m keeping my chiropractic appointment appointment as it’s tmrw lunchtime and was too late to cancel. She practices a gentle technique and it’s an initial assessment appt so hopefully she can’t make matters any worse! It will be interesting to see what she says

Lying down and standing up straight isn’t so bad … but bending is horrendous.

what type is Pilates are you doing? Mat or Reformer? Is it a physio or class based?
I had years and years of lower back pain on my right too. Had an mri scan, consultant said nothing wrong skeleton wise and I could try Pilates or have steroid injections. I opted for Pilates but initially did them with a physio on a one to one basis then moved to a small class again with a physio. This helped reduce the pain significantly. What has eliminated it completely tho was working with a very knowledgeable and experienced PT who had me doing progressively heavy deadlifts. He saved my back. I have not had back issues for years. So my advice would be get an mri to rule out anything structural then if that comes back clear go see a sports physio. Hope you feel better soon.