I posted this in the back pain forum instead!


http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread53232.html

Oh ok..... here it is so you don't have to look for it!

Ok, so I just need to whine about my lower back really bothering me.

Off and on for the last couple of months my lower back (think area where you place fist at a spot even with the iliac crest in the lumbar region) has been bothering me. I thought it was my mattress and that I needed a new one. Sometimes it would bother me when I slept and other times no. So I would switch and go to the guest bedroom where the mattress is brand new and I wouldn't seem to have the problem.

Got to the point now where it hurts whether or not I'm on the good mattress. I've been to the chiropractor and he's adjusted my back. Said the muscles were really tight. Helped a little but it still hurts. Now, it's all the time--sitting, standing, walking, sleeping. Nothing's helping.

I'm going for a deep tissue massage tomorrow to see if that helps it. If so, great. If not, d'ya think I should give my doc a call? Sounds silly, but this has been really bothering me now for more than a week and this is just not normal for me at all. Nothing else is going on--I don't think I have a UTI because I have no other signs of it. Doesn't help too that I got a huge intensely painful muscle spasm behind my right shoulder blade this morning that's really not helping things. It hurts to breathe in deeper than a shallow breath. And I'm stiff all over now too!

Do you think I'm overreacting to this?

Well I brought it back.

I don't think we are supposed to have "deep tissue massages", are we?

I would only let someone with a TON of experience with MS get near my back.

Cherie

Why yes you did, Cherie!

Wow! I lived on deep tissue massage for 3 years and have had them off and on since 2001 regularly. They're the only thing that address the really bad spasms I get in my trap and neck area as a result of whiplash from a car accident in 1994.

One time I got spasms so badly that I had to go to the ER because I literally could not move without almost passing out. The doc injected me with stuff, said he really should have adjusted me but the muscles were in such bad spasm that they would have pulled my spine right back out of alignment, and put me on Flexeril for a week. I missed an entire week of school and was still in pain. I was going 2-3x a week for an hour+ long deep tissue massage and my therapist would tell me that my knots had knots!

I get massages fairly regularly, and do physiotherapy as well. The places I go to specialize with MS patients (since we have so many here). They never actually go near my spinal column when they massage though.

Most of my pain is in the upper portion though, where there is cord. Perhaps it's not as big of a deal if it's in an area where there is no cord (below the L-level in the spine).

Have you tried physiotherapy?

Cherie

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.