Lower back Pain, lumps ?

[?? Kitty ??]

I am new to this forum, and wish to share my problem, and to seek advice from fellow back pain sufferers.

I recently suffered from a back pain problem in the lumbar region, which gave me numbness down one side of the back of my leg. It was excrutiatingly painful! and very annoying. I have suffered with back pain in the past, but that was due to a poor lift or heavy shopping bags etc. This one was different.

I had to go to a Hospital initially who advised me to see a Physiotherapist, which i did after being able to walk again. It took a few weeks of exercise to ensure my back problem dissapeared entirely, until this week when it came back!!

The pain is centralised in the lower back in T1-T3, which causes distress when walking and climbing stairs mostly. The pain can be controlled, or seems to be, when taking a mixture of ibuprofen and diclofenac tablets, and of course the regular exercises and cold and warm bag lying on the stomach procedure.

It seems that, i have encountered large red lumps between my legs as a result of correcting my posture because of these back pains. Is this normal? or do i really need to see a specialist regarding these? They are painful in themselves, as any pressure on them can cause more pain aswell as pain on the back itself.

If anyone can advise, i would be much appreciated. As I'm only 30-35, and have decreased my daily exercise regime because of the recent London Bombings.

Many Thanks,

Richard.

 

[Suck my Lollipop]

The T1-T3 area is not the lower back. It is the first 3 joints of the Thoracic area below the cervical & upper cervical (C1-7) - ie it's the upper back. Perhaps you mean L1-L3?

Back problems tend to get better on their own as the body heals. This happens whether you see some on or not. They also often come back on their own - whether you see someone or not! That makes it hard to know whether a treatment is working or failing.

Sometimes you can do all the right things but you suffer another incident. It can be a little muscle that is weakened, or a joint range of movement that is limited and causing others to take the strain, or a facet joint that is inflamed etc etc. It is common for one never to really find out for sure.

The key is to get these incidents further apart. The longer you can do without one the more time you get to develop strength and flexibility in between and the more the joints & muscle calm down. You then have a chance of keeping the problem at bay for ages at a time.

So don't be too down. The chances are that, if you keep doing the exercises (in a progressive manner - ie more and more challenging) and your physio can proclaim that your flex and range of movement is normal, that the problem will lessen or go away. If you stop doing the exercises when you feel better or fail to increase their difficulty you are asking for trouble.

I went from not being able to walk, to doing tiny exercises to a point where I now do 5 sets of Stiff Legged Deadlifts with 60KGs (look them up - they look like the worlds most dangerous exercise for the lower back!). With that vastly improved back strength, combined with abs strength and loads of stretching I can keep the problem at bay and even sleep on couches etc and walk away from it. What is left now is postural problems which the complementary scene might be able to help with.

The NSAID tablets you take will control pain and inflammation but obviously won't cure you as such. You should watch your stomach taking diclofenac - tell the doctor immediately if you are getting stomach ache or indigestion since 1000's of people die from taking NSAIDS every year from stomach ulcers and bleeding. He can give you other drugs to protect the gut if required. I took NSAIDS for some years for my back and my gut is ruined - they also gave me tinnitus. They also tend to mask the problem and one's awareness of what needs to be done and what is irritating the problem. My back only really started getting better when I threw them out. They are not a long term solution - do not rely on them.

I always recommend these two books - The Back Bible by S.Keys and the Backsmart Plan. Also, "Backpain: What Exercises Really Work". Keys' book offers a convincing hypothesis for chronic back pain and exercises. The other two give a good plan of exercise that I have found superior to many physio plans. However nothing beats having an expert tell you how to do exercises properly so get back to that physio if you can.

Good luck with it. With consistent effort you can probably beat it.

 

[Phil f]

is it sciatica ? what is your diagnosis ?

if it is , chinese tuina and acupuncture can help you .

afeter 1 time treatment ,you will find whats different.

 

[Smoking Gun]

I'm a bit concerned about these lumps - I'd definitely have them looked at.
I'm a Pilates instructor - I'd advise you to attend to your core stability - keep doing the physio exercises if you don't go to Pilates.

You may have twisted your hips which has led to the recurrence of the pain. Do you ever habitually sit twisted? Feet on floor, turning your upper body?

Bowen is also great for adjusting posture, and releasing problem areas.

Sharon.