severe back pain (trying not to panic!)

[kaylasmum]

hi, i've had problems with back pain for the last 20 odd years with bouts of pain periodically. I also suffer from health anxiety, although i have had cbt and have greatly improved. This recent bout of backpain has been going on for weeks. Not too bad until a couple of days ago when it seems to have got worse.

I work as a checkout operator and the seats we have are terrible, i always feel worse after a shift. I'm about 5 stone overweight and wonder if this is contributing to my back problems.

last night was awful, every time i turned over in bed the pain was excrutiating. My hips and the tops of my buttocks feel sore also. I've googled back pain and spinal tumours have come up and so now i'm trying to keep everything in perspective.

Has anyone experienced this kind of pain?

I can't comment on what this pain might be, but can suggest you see someone for it immediately. Back pain is often referred pain - ie as a result of bad posture, damage elsewhere etc. If you can, you should see a chiropractor (my preferred choice) or at the very least an osteopath or physiotherapist.

If you are sitting in a bad chair all day, and are overweight, it is very likely that your joints are being stressed in a way that is not bad and you are compressing them. This would cause bad pain which would build up.

Good luck.

hi blingloving, thanks for your reply.

I'll go to my gp and hopefully he'll refer me to someone who can help. When i had my first bout of backpain 20 years ago i was sent for an x-ray which showed that i had a 'bony abnormality' at the base of my spine which they reckoned was something i was born with. I sometimes wonder if this could be the cause of my problems.

It sounds like the chair, the amount of time you are sat on it and your weight are considerably more likely to be the cause than any sort of tumour. The hips and buttock pain do suggest a muscular-skeletal, slouching kind of problem, not a systemic disease. You should see someone, but also organise an occupational health visit to re-arrange your seating position, think about weight loss, some sort of core muscle training and keep an eye on your posture. It is likely that the GP will want to rule these things out first, as well, so if you can't face going to the doctor very often, you can make a start ruling them out yourself. Good luck, hope you feel better soon.

Sorry, cross posts, I assumed the anxiety had put you off going to the doctor, but as it isn't a problem and he already knows something about it, it does seem the best course of action.

hi runnerhasbeen,
Thanks for your reply. I'm sure my posture is'nt good and definately think my weight and chair at work are'factors. Also i've had 5 kids and i know pregnancy puts a strain on the back.

I'm going to leave seeing the gp for a while longer as it seems to be easing a little, although i'm working tonight so i'm sure i'll suffer later.

Thanks for your advice.