Bad back

[cyberknight]

I am struggling to get up and walking is hard , painful to sit up
I have been doing heat pack, pain killers and mobility exercises and its a bit better , itcame on suddenly when i stopped and tried to get off the bike .
On late shift tomorrow so im hoping a good nights sleep will let it settle down enough to go to work but as i have a physical job im not holding out much hope .
NHS 111 says self care is ok so i have been following the advice .

 

[Slick]

This has been discussed lots of times on here, and not many people tend to agree with how I chose to deal with back pain, but as pain killers have never worked for me, I pay for chiropractors, osteopaths or physiotherapists to throw me round the room until it stops hurting. You could sit in pain following nhs advice or go and see someone who will more than likely have you back on your feet in 1 session. I reckon movement is the real key, so now I try and stretch as much as I can and swim at least once a week. Works for me.

 

[bikingdad90]

With back pain there a couple of things to check first;

Do you have full bowel and bladder control?

When you’re sitting does the pain radiate down into the bum and legs?

If you don’t have full control and there is pain then it’s not just back pain and needs to be seen by a GP as it could be a slipped disc that needs treatment and/or sciatic nerve getting pinched.

A typical muscle pain goes away when you move around but something more serious tends to stay all day.

 

[cougie uk]

Get yourself a good pilates teacher.
They would want to see you one to one to understand your problem but then they'll suggest exercises to make your core stronger to support the back.

 

[cyberknight]

This is a one off wtf moment and i do plenty of core work and mobility exercises anyway
following nhs 111 and its easing although i needed help to get dressed this morning , as someone else said not here maybe the cold didnt help yesterday ?( although i did have bib tights and a windproof on ) .
On late shift this week but i am going to take at least tonight off as i still need to hold stuff to get up and down slowly and not exactly walking very fast or upright yet .
Work has on site physio if it needs looking at i can raise through them .

 

[numbnuts]

The pain is there for a reason
It could be a prolapse disc
The best pain killers I find are co-codamol 500mg on perscription

 

[Moodyman]

Most people, most of the time, have misaligned /slipped discs and go about their business as normal without pain. The problem manifests when one of the discs moves outside it’s natural range of motion and impinges on the sciatic nerve which runs alongside it.

Back pain is good. That is, if the pain stays in the back that’s good and should heal in days. If it heads south into your glutes and hamstrings, that’s bad. It can then take weeks to heal.

Keep moving and doing the recommended exercises.

You can try a chiropractor, osteopath or physiotherapist. They will do no harm, but it’s questionable whether they justify their fees. I’ve been to two, paid for by work and at the upper end of the fees scale.
They were forthright and said they would not heal me. My body would heal me and their role was to align the body to allow it to heal itself quicker.

If I remember correctly,
you’re well into fitness. Once you’re better, think about back strengthening resistance workouts. Deadlifts, barbell rows, lats pulldowns, etc. particularly target your erector spinae muscles. This will help avoid future injury.

PS - for now, avoid prolonged sitting.
And if you have something like monkey bars (kids playground), let your body hang off them like a dead weight. It will decompress your spine and allow micro movements in your disc so that it falls into its natural place.

 

[sleuthey]

This has been discussed lots of times on here, and not many people tend to agree with how I chose to deal with back pain, but as pain killers have never worked for me, I pay for chiropractors, osteopaths or physiotherapists to throw me round the room until it stops hurting. You could sit in pain following nhs advice or go and see someone who will more than likely have you back on your feet in 1 session. I reckon movement is the real key, so now I try and stretch as much as I can and swim at least once a week. Works for me.

+1. It cost less than a boiler service and if it's something they can't treat like a herniated disc then you can get straight onto the NHS orthopaedics referral rather than delaying by waiting for it to get better on its own.

 

[vickster]

Muscle spasm? Physio or massage should help as well as heat, gentle stretching, gentle movement. Avoid sitting!

 

[cyberknight]

Muscle spasm? Physio or massage should help as well as heat, gentle stretching, gentle movement. Avoid sitting!

pretty much what im doing

 

[cyberknight]

Another night and still bad, i had to do about 20 mins of stretches just to get dressed so i am going to see if i can get to the docs

 

[cyberknight]

prescribed naproxen and referral to physio

 

[fossyant]

Good luck with the docs. Or any NHS physio treatment. Absolutely useless once I left hospital after a broken spine.

Not knocking the NHS physio, but they are restricted as to what they are allowed to do. Private physio way forward if bad. NHS physio waiting lists are months and months.

 

[vickster]

Good luck with the docs. Or any NHS physio treatment. Absolutely useless once I left hospital after a broken spine.

Not knocking the NHS physio, but they are restricted as to what they are allowed to do. Private physio way forward if bad. NHS physio waiting lists are months and months.

@cyberknight has private HC, assume he’ll go that route.

wasn’t your broken back years ago? Maybe things have changed, although NHS tends to be less hands on. If it’s a muscle spasm, massage needed to loosen off (acupuncture can help too).

 

[fossyant]

@cyberknight has private HC, assume he’ll go that route.

wasn’t your broken back years ago? Maybe things have changed, although NHS tends to be less hands on. If it’s a muscle spasm, massage needed to loosen off (acupuncture can help too).

NHS physio hasn't changed - daughter had sciatica and NHS referral took about a year - this is within last 6 months. If OP has private HC, get on that phone and down to a physio.