Got Osteoarthritis of the lower back?
 

Looking for people who share what I have to talk about experiences and the future. Please share your story with me....I'll check back later :)

Thanks

Yes, I have osteoarthritis (OA) in my lower back ....... Pelvic and Lumbar spine (Sorry, I probably spelled Lumbar wrong)

As well as haveing OA in the entire rest of my spine and neck.
Also in both knees and both feet.

I also developed osteoporosis in my spine and combined with the OA it has resulted in a 15% bend convexly to the left. That bend pulled the muscles too tight over my hip and resulted in reoccurring hip bursitis.

OA is a long story since it progresses over the course of many years.
So I'll try to just mention things about OA in the lower back.

But you asked what to expect?
I think you can expect it to get worse. (Sorry)

Since you are in the stage of OA in the lower back only, I'd like to say DON'T let your backache rule.
Do your very best to stand straight even if your back complains.
Don't let it develope into a permanent slump or slouch position.
One thing about the spine, once bent you cannot unbend it.
You can, however slow down the bending by keeping your skeleton as properly lined up as possible.

I recommend useing a knee contour pillow between your legs while you sleep each night to get rid of morning back ache (This simple idea works wonderfully after just a few nights). This keeps the skeleton properly lined up and results in less strain all night long on the muscles and nerves surrounding the spine. Mornings become a lot better.

A Physical Therapist can guide you in the proper excercises to help with OA in the lower back. These are very helpful. As a non-medical professional I also recommend stretching straight up reaching for the ceiling as much as possible.

Wheels are your friend.
Consider getting things like a wheeled grocery cart, wheeled yard carts, all the handy things on wheels so you can avoid lifting and carrying heavy objects. Non-impact excercise to maintain muscles is excellant, but picking up and carrying 20 pounds is not..so think about wheels.

I go to a chiropractor on a regular basis and he has worked wonders with my arthritic spine.

Hi,
I am sorry you are going through this. I was just dxed with OA .
I don't know much about it yet.I have A Rummy appt. on Tue I hope he can tell me what to do to stop the pain.I hope you are not in a lot of pain
I have a few of other problems too.
I have RSD and Fibromialgia,Osteoprosis and now Osteoathritis.
AND LOTS of back shoulder neck & muscle and joint pain all over,stomach problems,fatigue and short term memory loss oh no I was going to keep this short because I don't have any answers for you but I forgot..... LOL
Anyway.....
I am thinking that for me maybe they are all related.
Do you have any other conditions?
I can't offer you any advice but will tell you what my Rummy says maybe you can tell me more about your Drs. experience?
I don't know about you..... but I could sure use a friend that understands!
Have A Pain free night the pillow advice by Snowmelts is something I will try starting tonight.
I usually wake up feeling like a TIN WOMAN run over by a train.LOL
Denise :hug:

I have it also and all over; worst of it in cervical spine but lumbar too. And as Snowmelts mentioned in feet and also in my knees. Snowmelts gave some excellent suggestions. :) I have the knee pillow and a cervical pillow as well; they really do help. As for meds, I take my usual dose but have recently added Limbrel (a botanical medical food) and THAT in particular has helped a great deal. Other than that aqua therapy has also been greatly beneficial.

Hi Kathi,:)
Where do you get Limbrel? Sounds worth a try.Do you or did you need a trainer for the aqua therapy?Where can the pillows be bought?Where did your pain start ?Sorry for all the questions :confused:
Thanks:hug:
Denise:)

Hi Denise,

The Limbrel was prescribed (and it is a prescription) by my spinal pain management doctor. It comes in 250mg and 500mg and if you want to know more about its mechanism you can read about it on Limbrel.com. :) Anyway, she had me to try samples she had first and I took the 500mg. I noticed a difference overnight although it DOES say it can take a few weeks. And it CAN cause GI upset. Lately I have been taking the 250mg once a day although it was prescribed for twice a day. Ugh, just haven't been consistent because I keep forgetting to take it. But it did and does work...for me anyway. Some say they haven't a noticed difference but others have said they were right back to golfing. :) Oh, and I don't know what insurance you have but my own covered it.

The aqua therapy was prescribed also by my PM and my Neurologist both. And yes, I had one on one training until I learned all the exercises. It helps a great deal although you do have to be consistent with it. I was going twice a week sometimes three times a week.

The pillow was a Tempurpedic; I have used the imitation ones over the years and they flatten out in no time. The Tempurpedic and I have had two of them (only because I lost one of them) have lasted for a long time now. I bought mine at Relax the Back but I have seen them in mattress stores or maybe you can get it online. The knee pillow can be found anywhere I think but the last time I saw them was in CVS and in another compounding pharmacy.

And the pain started in my cervical spine. But, according to the NS the arthritis was there for a long time (evidence to that affect); having a hysterectomy (actually the intubation process) they think triggered all the pain. Anyway, you just never know will it crop up next which is why I had total bone scan; not to be confused with bone DENSITY scan. So, yep, it is everywhere. The only place I didn't see it were my hands and arms. I also had a bone density scan last year and that was fine. So, no osteoporosis anywhere...just OA.

The other thing is you can take fish oil. I take Lovaza which is also a prescription. The thing is you could take OTC but you would have to take a LOT to make up for the amount that is in the Lovaza. Just saying though that fish oil can help with inflammation. My thing is that I am just not into taking a ton of supplements simply because I think it can be dangerous or have a potential reaction with my regular medications. But these two were fine and recommended again by PM; the Lovaza by the Cardiologist. Others have a different take on it; but I prefer to go by what is recommended by the docs since they know my history.

I hope this helps a little. :)

...thanks
 

:hug:...gently to all of you here...I see the posts are slow to come. Perhaps, we can build it a little. I have spinal, joint, and muscle issues. I sleep on a Tempurpedic, costs a lot, but worth it. I could not use the Tempurpedic pillow though, I use a feather pillow. I have a cervical fusion. I think the OA in the spine can lead to disc problems...OUCH!!! I also use a body pillow, instead of the small pillow between the knees. This works better for me since I have shoulder, and lower back problems as well. You know what really gripes me is that DH is 20+ years older than me and despite OA he can sleep better than me. But, then, he does not have fibro. That can complicate things. Some other things that I have found that help me are Noni juice, and diet. I only use the best grade Noni and buy it online. It helps me to control the pain as there are so many meds I cannot take.

I have used..
 

SAMe for almost a decade now. It has been very helpful for my severe OA. I use 600mg once a day in the morning, NatureMade brand.

I started in 1999 and have avoided a knee replacement.
Prices have come down quite a bit, and when you get it
during the buy one get one free sales, it is much more affordable. It also improves liver functions and mood.
So you get 3 bangs for your buck! It was very helpful during my menopause to enable me to do my job better and handle the multiple computer systems I had to learn being a contingent and traveling around. I wouldn't have been able to do that without it.

(((Mrsd))) that is so Awesome!!! Thank you for sharing that. Perhaps it can help me to avoid a shoulder replacement. I will check it out.

I'm new here, so hi everyone!

Yes, I have been diagnosed with OA in my lumbar spine, and joing inflammation in my hands and hip(s). I see a a rheumatologist tomorrow. Physical therapy is helping slowly, and the Medrol blister pack that i'm finishing up now (first time on it) made me feel great for a few days. Not sure if I have RA at this point - my PCP thinks so.

Thanks for this thread. :)

Hi (((JustJen)))...nice to meet you. I am sorry, though, that you are having to deal with this, but it can be done. I am wondering how your appointment went??? Medrol definately helps with pain, and inflammation. It is a really powerful drug that one has to be careful with. I remember the first time I took it as well. It got rid of the pain for a while, but I ended up with a bad case of gastritis. I have had a lot of cortisone injections over the years, and have learned the hard way that one has to be careful with it. You are on a long journey of finding what will work best for you in dealing with these issues. And there is a lot of information here at NT that can help you along the way. Let us know how it is going. :) :hug:

Wow. I'm way late!
 

I know these posts are really old. But maybe someone is still out there. I am 20 years old and have degenerative arthritis in my lumbar spine. I see a chiropractor 3 times a week and so far I've done 2 prolotherapy injections and 2 steroid injections. Will be having my 3rd steroid injection next week. Nothing seems to be helping at all. Especially when it comes to sleep. The moment I lay my head down, my back feels like I've been beaten with a bat. I feel like I've tried everything yet nothing is helping. Unfortunately I'm not working anymore due to my back restricting me so much lately which makes matters worse. Any helpful tips from anyone? On how to deal with this?

Hi Sarahstar, Welcome to NT....

Assuming you've been to a rheumy (rheumatologist) you may be looking at pain management. If you've got a lot of muscle spasms, myofascial trigger point therapy may be of some benefit.

I have to sleep on a foam wedge (elevating the top half half of me) because I can't afford a hospital bed, and like yourself, I can't sleep completely flat anymore either.

Doc

Back pain
 

I know what you mean. Back pain has been a lifelong friend!
I now get a constant low level ache around my SI joints, just enough to stop me getting any good sleep.

The spine has two main components, the hard bits and the soft bits. Arthritis affects the hard bits causing changes to the bones.
To compensate and cope with these changes, the soft bits have to constantly reorganise and try to support the spine at all times.
This is very hard work and you will likely get a lot of pain from this area. Arthritis itself is painless, I believe.
So its causing other areas to get sore.

The best things that I have found to ease these back muscle pains are remedial massage and a magnesium supplement.
The massage will give temporary relief, and will show if you are on the right track. You may need several of them a few days apart to get on top of the problem if you are really knotted up.
The magnesium will give long term relief as it allows the muscles to relax and go back to normal.
I take the liquid form greatly diluted in water. You can get good powder forms also.
Should see a benefit in a week or so.
Best thing for sore muscles.

You should also review your mattress and pillow for proper support. If you lie on the floor, on a thin mattress say, do you have the same pain as in bed? Mattresses sag after only 3-4 years, and the back can be very sensitive to mounds and hollows as the spine tries to hold its alignment.
Pillows are notorious for upsetting the spine-too high or too low.
It takes a few days to test a new combination, so don't try for one night only.

I Sure Can Relate
 

:(I too have been told I have arthritis in my lower back. I have a tear in the L4/L5 region. Bulging discs, spinal stenosis and bursitis in my hips as well. My upper back and shoulders are affected as well. I often have pain, stiffness, swelling and spasms that never end.

The arthritis is pretty severe as it really does affect my quality of living. I also have fibro, asthma, and carpal tunnel. My arthritis is also in my hips and shoulders since I have had surgery especially on my shoulder. That really bothers me. Well that's my story and I can safely say that most of my arthritis is pretty much my entire back, especially the lower. There are many of us out here that suffer with the same or similar to the same thing. :hug:Thanks for being here. :p Mary :grouphug:

Dude... you need some new friends. :eek: :D

Doc

just a quick reply
 

I have osteo in my back and neck my knees are going too and have had pain in my feet-bone spurs on my heels and plantar fasciitis if you get osteo bad enough I guess it can eat thru the pars that holds the discs together I have this so a slippage at L3-L4 vertebrae hopefully still at grade I I go into spasm which is very painful several times a yr when this happens my whole body leans to one side and stomach shifts as well once it relaxes I am ok I have done loads and loads of PT when get into pain I cant get out of but have not kept up with the exercises....

I did use SAM E choncrotin/glucosomine sp? and some anti inflammatories when my one knee was really painful I did PT as well and now ok so far I still get pain but not like before when it was almost impossible to walk My sister had her knee replaced a few days ago I am hoping mine don't wear out I have enough pain dealing with my back and neck all the time I sure wish I knew why some get osteo and others don't I know I hurt my back a few times but everyone does...everyone is a bit overwt too... I envy people my age that seem arthritis free when I am a broken down

I too have had these extremely painful spasms, and have been unable to move for some time immediately afterwards.
Got stuck in the shower once and couldn't even turn it off initially.
My big breakthrough on these spasms and general muscle pain and tightness came from taking high doses of magnesium chloride. You may well be deficient in this mineral and muscle spasms are a sign of it.
You can get tablets, powder and liquid versions. Do some research first as some aren't that good, and there are several different chemical types on sale.
I have found chloride works well for me. Took effect in about a week.

I used to do all that wishing and wondering and envying... didn't do me a dang bit of good—only made me more miserable, and then I wondered why I was so miserable all the time.

Is it working for anyone else?

Doc

OA
 

I thought I posted to this but don't see it.. I did not know I had OA till my back went into horrific pain getting out of the tub about 10 yrs ago. OA can eat at the pars and cause your vertebrae to slip -this is what happened to me at L3/L4 so my back is unstable. I go into spasms -painful all the time. My body leans to the left when in spasm. I have it in my neck too. I have done PT many many times for pain relief for my back and neck. It is a good idea to keep up with back exercises which I don't but there are reasons for that now. I developed neuropathy as well which I think is from the constant spasms I have had. I am not diabetic.

I just wish our bodies were built better so we do not get these conditions that cause so much pain. OA tends to affect woman more than men. When I was younger, I sure wish dr would have said don't lift things and hurt yourself which we all do. Watch this and do that to at least try and prevent this...but no dr tells you about any of this till you have it. Until then you are not even aware these things exist. I envy people that don't end up with all these conditions.

I have fascit arthritis and was looking for people who have it also. :)

Hi, I have osteo in my fascit. Im sure I have it in other places to. I have a lot of neck and back pain. Also in my fingers.

Hi Renee, welcome.

Yes, I have severe OA throughout my spine, and mild-moderate in some other joints. Hands aren't too bad yet, but there are days...

Doc