Discs and ‘spinal canal stenosis’

[MsPrue]

Hi everyone,

So I’m in year 3 of back issues and finally got an MRI but I’m now left in limbo again by dismissive doctors.

I developed back pain along my left side and lower back after starting a new job with lots of standing, so got in to a physio. She felt like it was a tight quadratus lumborum, gave some stretches and advised spiky massage balls to loosen it up. All went ok, but after 3 months, I started getting lower back pain and tightness and felt like I was tipping backwards. She felt like it was due to the unused muscles being active again, and said to keep going with the exercises and signed me out.

The pain got worse over the next 2 months. I ended up on sick leave. About 6months after physio, I tried to go back to the exercises, and ended up unable to stand or even sit for nearly two months. My lower back felt tight, on fire, was causing nerve pain in my sciatic nerve both legs and up my spine. Lying on my stomach gave some relief. I’m normally very active and flexible, hiking, cycling, yoga, can bend and put palms flat to the ground no issues, but this left me unable to touch my kneecaps. I could lift anything heavier than a cup and pushing/pulling wasn’t possible. I couldn’t go out, or do anything around the house.

GP advised ibuprofen, then co-codamol, then diazepam. Nothing put a dent in it and they gave nothing else. This happened two other occasions, both times I tried to do the exercises from the physio, went out walking or tried stretching. I was certain it was a disc from the symptoms.

I finally ended up getting insurance for an MRI because I was getting nowhere. I got the results but I’ve now had a very dismissive specialist telling me ‘you don’t need to be able to touch your toes’ when I mention my usual range of motion, and ‘just take an ibuprofen’ when I said the pain was a 9/10, whilst laughing at me.

I got a picture of the MRI screen and read through the notes, which says I have 3 discs bulging, with one causing and mild spinal canal stenosis. It also mentions I have a minor lumbar spine curvature, and cysts on my ovaries. This charming doctor only mentioned two of the discs and omitted the rest. My fiancé was with me and agreed that he laughed off the issue, and didn’t seem interested.

I’m lost now, unsure how to proceed. I‘m going to ask to see a different specialist but worried about being fobbed off again. I’ve no idea if this is fixable or if I’m stuck like this. He didn’t advise any treatment. It’s acting up again now after bringing a box of trainers to the postie. I’ve been in a real low with more than a few crying sessions since seeing the doctor. I had to leave work because of this and I’m stunned at the lack of help or resolution 3 years later.

I totally understand this. I am 6 months into back issues. I had an MRI which should mild degeneration and bulging discs, very similar to you. No spinal cord emergencies. Dealing with this constant pain has been horrific and is really affecting my mental health too, so I feel you on this one.

can you describe the pain? Is it burning? Shooting? Aching? Tense/Spasm?

one thing that really helped me was lidocaine patches over the area along with the medication. I was put on oramorph, pregabalin, tramadol but became dysfunctional on them all as was too strong. I am now on prescription cannabis (it’s legal now in the UK with private prescription) and it works much better for me, no sickness and no grogginess next day. I get the oil.

another thing you may be able to get is injections to the area, they can rid the inflammation and numb the pain, that can sort it out permanently. Or you might need to go back every 6-12 months.

keep going back to your GP, tell them you are still in pain, tell them you are still affected. Keep up with the physio though, it’s important to strengthen your back to prevent this getting worse but let them know if it’s making you worse.

hope you get to the bottom of it, it’s so hard when you don’t have clear diagnosis but having significant issues.

big hugs!!

What a knob he was!
I had a herniated disc and was drugged to the eyeballs and still crying in pain. I developed cauda equina and had surgery, the numbness was a relief from the pain

The neurosurgeon came in and said "I'm so sorry, I don't know how you are still walking let alone not screaming in pain, you poor woman" and was so sympathetic he made me cry

Couple of things that vaguely helped
Thermacare lower hip and back wraps (they're heated ones)
Don't bend. Squat if you need to pick something up
Hot shower on my back, I spent ages in there
Sleep with a pillow between your knees or under your knees if you lie on your back
Not too many pillows under your head
Avoid sitting as it's the worst thing for spine stuff, stand up or lie down
Avoid twisting as well
Paramol and ibuprofen if you're on OTC stuff only is probably the strongest
Keep moving really really gently

Are you in the Uk MsPrue?

I had something like this, buy not as bad as you are describing. I found that a few sessions of acupuncture were very helpful.

Complete sympathies. I had an emergency MRI and a large disc extrusion with moderate canal stenonsis and also foot drop which is still not resolved. They can be quite dismissive about bulging discs (rather than herniations) as they say most people once 30-40 yrs have them, not recognising the agony they can cause if they touch a nerve. In my first couple of weeks post herniation I did absolutely no bending, lifting, the most minimal sitting. Diazepam so I could sleep and do gentle movement - only really pottering around the house. Just my opinion but I would stop any stretching, absolutely anything like bending to touch toes. Thankfully the nerve pain subsided after a couple of weeks but I still have the foot drop.

Interestingly I think we’re in the same boat - I had my disc go three years ago (which I recovered from at the time but unfortunately re herniated) Prior to that I had dreadful sciatica and stuff sore back. The physio I saw at the time said it was weak hamstrings - I even specifically asked him did he not thing it could
be a disc. The exercises he gave me would’ve been making it much worse! Two months later my disc completely went. Total negligence surely that is basic for a physio to be able to identify a disc issue (when I could from Google)

Yes, in the UK!

Thanks so much for the replies.

@starwise, a mixture. At times it aches/throbs and is very intense. I’ve had back spasms a few times. If it’s very aggravated it’ll hit the nerve, but this hasn’t been the case since August thankfully. Mostly it’ll burn, feel very tight and stiff, like intense pressure in the area, and like I need to stretch it out. But if I do stretch even gently I feel like it aggravates it further. Though gently to me might be more flexing than on average as I’m used to being hypermobile 🤔it’s difficult to know how to strengthen the back safely as the physio I’d seen wasn’t aware of the disc problem at the time. It’s definitely affecting my mental health too, it’s an awful thing to deal with so I understand completely what you mean.

@Paw2024 I think you’re right about sitting and twisting, I can’t handle being in the car sitting fully upright. We did a quick run out today and coming home I was in agony after less than a minute. I’m finding the heat makes it worse so I’m icing it instead, numbs the pain a bit too. Been lying on my stomach more today or reclined on my side, breathing deep on my stomach seems to gently stretch it.

@Itsnotgettingeasier sounds like you’ve been through hell with the rest of us! I agree completely, If it’s common then it’s dismissed, but common doesn’t mean normal, right? I had similar issues with sciatica before this happened as well. It’s really frustrating to have a physio or GP ignore suggestions about the diagnosis. It’s not about undermining them but it feels like it’s taken personally if you question them.

I’ve put in a request for physio again, and asked my GP for pain meds; they upped the co-codamol but I’ll be asking for something like diazepam instead, I think it’s better as I keep tensing with the pain which is probably not helping. It’s worse today again, I’ve been trying to keep moving by walking slowly but I think I pushed it a bit yesterday. Think resting on my stomach mostly for a few days is the best thing for now.

Just adding: has anyone experienced swelling in the area? I’ve noticed that mine gets puffy and swollen to one side especially in the affected area.