discussing pain is NOT whining, Gazelle.

you already tried a heating pad. or ice packs?

sometimes alternating them works for me...

if not, then I haul myself to the chiro.



if *that* doesn't fix things, then... to a GP.

keep pushing until you get some answers...

pain is a signal something's wrong, and stiff-upper-lipping it isn't healthy for your soul, dear.

see a specialist for your back, it could be a disc bulged or irritated or slipped, nerve pinched, even kidney stones can cause nasty back pain

I have an extremely bad back degenerative spine and bad disc from a broken back in 1982, I dont mess with my back

No, I haven't. This constant pain is fairly new and I haven't even talked to the doc yet about it.

Not one doc's ever said anything about not having deep tissue massage done. So I never thought anything of it. Whiplash can have some long-lasting effects on people. I'm apparently one of them given the persistence of the back spasms. But I lived in pain for 7 years after the accident which caused a recurrent shoulder dislocation requiring surgery.

Both are now giving me a headache..... dang......

I'll get out the heating pad and see if that helps. This really sucks. Today's just plain ole bad! I'm not used to having pain like this anymore. I lived with this level of pain daily for 7 years after my accident. It borders on 6-7 on a scale of 1-10.

Ok. I take it I'm not overreacting to this. Thanks 5kiz.

I have a mild generalized disc bulge at C2-3 & C3-4, a diffuse generalized disc bulge with a broad protrusion and some mild central canal stenosis, and disc bulge at C5-6 (with small protrusion) and C6-7. From C7-T1 there's no problem. At T7-8 and T8-9 I have a minor disc bulge too. There's degenerative disc disease involved in there too. But normally, no back pain! It's usually all muscle spasm pain if I get back pain.

hi G,

no you're not whining. and yes it's time to call your pcp.
i've been dealing with back pain and finally had an mri 2 yrs ago. i needed some injections and that did the trick for 2 yrs. i needed a series of 3. but it worked. reduced the disc swelling etc.

now the problem is "back" and i had more injections before my surgery.
my dr thinks some of my left leg pain is still from the disc so i'm looking at more. but, they really do help. better than surgery.

i also have deep tissue massage, wkly. my massage therapist can tell if it's muscles or not. but only the mri told the real story. i even had a small tear in one of the discs.

long story long, please check this out with your dr and decide what to do.
the fact that it's cont'ing and getting worse means it's time to get things checked out.

Addressing the deep tissue massage issue: I have one every week which was recommended by both my neuro and ortho doc due to spasms in my legs and back, as well as some muscle atrophy in my calves. The massage is considered passive exercise and helps keep some tone in my calf muscles.

It also helps with the neuropathy as it's a type of pain management technique that my therapist uses. If I didn't have TriCare, I could have my insurance pay for it but Tricare doesn't cover any type of massage therapy unless it's done at a military hospital or VA clinic.

I do believe there are good therapists and bad ones and ones inbetween. You have to find one that works for you. The one I have now is terrific. The first one I had was terrific, the one in between was so so...they have all been certified and work with MS patients. She does not work at a "spa" and does not do "spa" type massages.

Long legged one, I hope your back pain subsides and your massage tomorrow is helpful. Get thee to the doc...or at the least, see if you can find a UTI self test kit at the drug store tomorrow.

I'm sorry, G.....Gental hugs..

If you can locate some of the trigger points, push in on them to help release. Cecelia has been showing me how to hit them and if you can even release some of them, you'll be better off. How about rolling the area while laying on a tennis ball? That might help?

That being said, when mine gets really bad around the sciatic nerve (and it was really bad after 11 hours in a car and then walking all the next day) valium can be a big help for temporary relief.

Mine is in the area of my left upper glute radiating up into my lower back. I find that when I stretch my hamstrings, it's a major help. Lay on your back with one knee bent and straighten the other leg and pull it towards you. Really helps the lower back for some reason.