To think once you develop back pain it never goes away?

[FairTurtle]

I've had this now for 6 weeks, out of NOWHERE. It's constant. I've seen a chiro and an osteo and it's still no better. GP isn't concerned. NO HISTORY of back problems whatsoever. I'm 28 and healthy besides this. Wtf??????? Yoga poses and core strength exercises aren't helping.

When you say the pain is constant, does it change with movement, position you are in? So you always have a bit, but it's worse when you do certain things? Or it's exactly the same whatever you do?
If its the 2nd, as a physio, i advise straight back to your GP

@Bushmillsbabe yeah I'd say there's always a base level of pain but it's worse bending down and worse when in bed or sitting.

I'm in the middle of an absolute nightmare with back pain at the moment. I'll come back to this later. I've to get a train tomorrow to go to a friends on holiday and I'm worried sick my back is going to go. There's part of the journey to change trains and go over a platform and I've just found out the lift is broken so I'm going to pray someone can come lift my case as I am simply unable to. I'll just be stuck. I'm going to ask the conductor as I've a concession travel pass as I'm disabled. 🙏. I getting all teary thinking about it.

My friend knows I'm unwell, I've no one I can ring for a lift. A taxi would be in the hundreds. I was due to go last year but fell down the stairs and broke my ankle the night before. I need this bloody holiday.

Sorry but don’t agree. Nor did a very well known spinal surgeon who I ended up seeing. I had severe nerve irritation and the physio wasn’t helping. Just blanket saying scans don’t help is rubbish. I had nerve rhisolysis privately and it fixed the issue. Everyone is too busy dismissing pain with generic sentiments to consider there may be a due cause.

Is this thread sponsored but the nhs mantra ‘pain isn’t damage’. How sad.

That's been my experience. I damaged my back 30 yrs ago and have had problems ever since . I see a physio every month to keep the muscles from spasming which is a pain I cannot describe .

@FairTurtle I went to the massage centre on turnham green terrace in Chiswick. If you Google them it will give you details. Otherwise Google medical massage and it explains the difference between that and a spa massage. Good luck. Pm if you want any more details.

Wow that nhs guidance is terrible!

https://www.shaktimat.co.uk/?msclkid=8b075704748b1bef378d314899379cf1&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=UK%20-%20Brand&utm_term=shakti%20mat&utm_content=Shakti%20Mat

get one of these OP, cures back pain IMO and if you do it before bedtime will help you sleep.

also yoga and strengthening your stomach and back muscles. Start small. But you need to realise that now you have to exercise every day. Kassandra 10 mins flexibility flow is a great start on you tube

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KsVwAs9LriQ

My doctor told me unless I've fallen from a great height or been in a car crash the NHS won't treat back problems . He said mine was ' mechanical back pain ' and I would need to manage it myself .

I've bought a new mattress
Walk regularly
Keep to a healthy weight and pay for monthly physio .

God knows how people without funds can manage .

@Xhakalaka
Thank you! I just googled them and here's their "menu" of massages. Guessing it would be the "sports massage"?

Bad back for many years it gets better and then worse again (sometimes agonising). I'm not convinced anything really helps it's just wear and tear. I did have a really bad car accident which added neck pain!

@FairTurtle I booked the remedial one as i wasn't sure the first time. But first they talk through with you your symptoms and then work on the areas causing the pain. Mine was upper and mid back and their diagnosis and treatment was spot on!

Can I ask did you manage to get tests and surgery through the NHS? I just can't get anywhere when I call my GP. It's usually a nurse who calls me back and prescribes pain killers...

@Cityandmakeup no, I was just saying what I've been told by doctors. I don't know anything.

I could have written this. Ten years for me, consultant orthopaedic surgeon, osteos, physios. chiropractors, nothing helped. But I do now manage on occasional Tramadol, Codeine and Diazepam along with Naproxen for the spasms, or reoccurring pain. Pilates/stretching really does help but I needed to go to my osteopath’s classes at first (she only held them for her clients) as I was so scared I would spasm during the class and not be able to get up, and knew she could help me.
I can still work (I have my own business - quite physical) and at one point thought I would have to give it up. I'm the same as you, can't do anything for too long, ie sit, stand, use computer, etc.. It's like my suspension went and since then the right side of my body has just seized up.
Thankfully I can still walk my dog daily and only have an odd spasm now. They don't frighten me like they used to as I know I have the medication to deal with the pain, but by God that pain is on another level.
Wishing you all the best, OP. Everyone is different and you may be ok.
This is a link for a fantastic family run company in Bristol and they have such knowledge about backs and their equipment for bad backs is amazing. They even hire some of the expensive things. I could not drive without one of their cushions-I’ve for two and take them everywhere.

https://www.backinaction.co.uk/?msclkid=2d1eba8afb7f13a7adc4dcc6075ea038&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=General%20-%20BIA%20-%20Brand%20Name&utm_term=back%20in%20action&utm_content=Back%20In%20Action

I went to yoga to get out of the house for one evening a week! It wasn't because of my back.

Initially I struggled and couldn't even lay flat on the floor. I had to have a folded blanket in the small of my back.

I just remember feeling better about myself before I realised it was helping my back..

I remember the physio/osteopath talking about 'inner core muscles' without actually understanding what they meant, and it was only doing yoga that made me actually 'feel' I was using/strengthening them..
When you are doing a yoga pose, I used to lean on my hands/putting all my weight on them..it was only when the yoga teacher explained about using my inner core muscles to hold myself up that I got it..

It was a gradual process..
Eventually I realised I wasn't in so much pain.

I would recommend going to an actual class as the teacher can physically move you into poses as tweeking your limbs/angle of your feet etc even slightly can make a difference. It's hard I think to learn from online initially..

I know if you have a mechanical problem yoga can't help but I think because I hurt my back so young I protected it and stopped using it which made it weaker.
Good luck..

Reading some of the posts has made me even more thankful I can put my knickers on in the morning without pain! And even more thankful every day to be pain free...
I'm sorry for everyone who hasn't found relief..

The poster you replied to is correct. There is no correlation between pain and scan findings. There was a study done where 50 people had moderate to severe back pain, 50 didn't. They MRI'd all 100 of them, and then asked several spinal surgeons and radiographers to identify which 50 had back pain and which didn't just from looking at their scans. They got about half right and half wrong. So about 25 with scan abnormalities had nothing wrong. And about 25 with pain had normal scans.
I had an MRI for a medical issue which also included my lower spine, showed significant issues with 2 of my discs, but I have no pain.

Your case was a bit different, I presume that if you had nerve involvement, you had pins and needles, or referred pain or altered sensation? But for most back pain without any neurological symptoms, a scan doesn't help guide treatment. And it can lead to surgeons operating and making no difference to a person's pain, and sometimes making it worse - from my several years experience working on an spinal surgery ward.

Those with worsening neuro symptoms may find a scan helpful And should ideally get one sooner rather than later. Those with mechanical back pain usually won't be helped by having a scan.

I believe it can be related to mind health rather than physical. That's not to say the pain isn't actually there, it 100% is, but I've seen my partner recover from over a decade of debilitating back pain helped only by tramadol and opiates by learning about TMS. I'd high recommend watching this: and getting the book the Divided Mind.

My partner has suffered for 11 years, would lose control of his legs and fall down, couldn't do anything outside of a very basic daily living routine (not working) without paying for it for day after. He's had scans that would show old injuries but nothing that would explain the pain, physio, chiro, years of medications. The other day he was carrying me around on his shoulders so I could get into the loft, redecorated a room with ease, shifted heavy furniture about, has started working out. No pain and absolutely no pain medication, it's actually amazing

I started with my GP, I was prescribed all sorts which didn’t work, after 4 months my GP referred me for an MRI. From the results I was transferred to the spinal unit at hospital and the consultant took charge.

i had a spinal block which worked for a couple of years, so from first symptoms to surgery it took 3.5 years.

the key is the MRI scan. My symptoms were sciatica 24/7, absolute agony, I tried everything, but nothing worked, ice packs, heat packs, tens machine, various drugs, osteopath the works. I was prescribed Pregabalin which worked till I got the spinal block, but I had to ask for it.

Insist on an MRI scan.

I feel like I should clarify as I don't think I did in my initial post - I don't have any tingling feelings or loss of sensation or any pain pain my legs or glutes or anything. The GP and physio and osteo all said it sounds like mechanical back pain. So just based on this and my symptoms I am assuming no nerve involvement and that I wouldn't be hugely helped by an MRI?

I also just want to thank everyone who's commented and given suggestions and shared their experiences. I'm having a pretty rough time of it all at the moment and feel like I have a bit of a hope now. To everyone suffering, I'm sorry and here's hoping there is some relief to be found soon. Unlikely that I'll uncover anything anybody doesn't already know but I'll post updates in case it's helpful. Currently in bed with a hot water bottle. Keep the comments/suggestions coming. Intrigued about the acupressure mat...

I've had back pain ever since 2011 when I got a slipped disc from moving heavy furniture, it used to be kept at bay by keeping active and exercising, but got the worst it ever has been over COVID from all the inactivity and WFH. In the end I discovered strong lifts and I've never had a healthier back, now and then I get niggles but doing strong lifts twice a week, without fail, keeps my lower back, glutes, core and hamstrings strong and my back pain free. Find out what works for you, I found for me it was having weak muscles that destabilised my spine, and having stronger ones has revolutionised my life in more than one way. Being able to lift heavy furniture without fear - me and OH moved an entire inbuilt wardrobe a few weeks ago from one floor to another, a decade ago it would have provoked a terrible bad back but now I can do it without fear and knowing I am stronger 💪

Oh @FairTurtle during an acute phase I find the wrap around heat pads (cura heat?) really helpful. Better than painkillers. For some reason pharmacies and supermarkets keep them on the bottom shelf