[Closed] Done my back in

When my lower back went in 2008, Dichlophenac got me through months of agony, on a gp prescription. Might be worth grabbing Voltarol today before the Xmas shutdown.

My advice would be fight the agony, keep active, I did far too little in the three weeks I was signed off work and it made recovery so much harder. My lower back has been a mess since, but it got a lot better this year, perhaps the fitness cycling... But it seemed to suddenly ease after randomly trying the two minute plank challenge!

Lie down or stand, and walk when you can (as above, keeping mobile is really important). Avoid sitting (apart from the toilet) at all costs for a few days (I've suffered a lot of back pain and been told this by a few physios) and I really find it helps the severe pain after a few days. I find the best pain relief is nuproxen. You cant get that over the counter, however Feminax Ultra (ie period pain tablets) contains it and can be bought at a chemists (has to be the Ultra). Might be worth a box until you can see a doctor after the shut down but you must drop the ibuprofen if you take it.

Short-term: ride it out with drugs as they said, and keep as active as you can. Long-term, work on posture and core strength. There's usually some activity/posture that acts as a trigger that you may be able to eliminate or work on.

Thanks for the advice. I'll see if I can get my wife to get something from the pharmacy today.
Really bad timing with it being a Sunday and Xmas Eve.
Is there any other way of getting better pain relief when the doctors is closed?

I get neck spasms which make me immobile for best part of a week. Physio always helps me but ymmv

Is there any other way of getting better pain relief when the doctors is closed?

If you are in that much pain.. call the doctor or go to A&E.
Co-codamol over the counter in the Pharmacy is strongest you'll get without seeing a doctor.

A couple of years ago during a spell with a prolapsed disc in my back, the back muscles went into spasm and I was reduced to crawling around on the floor. Couldn't stand or even get up onto my knees. Phoned up the local GP and he arranged for a cocktail of three different drugs to be delivered, one of them was Diazepam, can't remember the others. I had to wait all day for the delivery but within 45 mins of taking the first dose I could stand up again.

Really bad timing for you, I hope the pharmacy can do something although as above ^^^ I wouldn't expect them to dispense heavy duty drugs over the counter.

Take care if you go down the cocodamol route, they mess up your digestive system a treat.

Had a back issue myself this week. First time I've ever had it. Ok when still but agony when i moved. Couldn't put socks on forafew days. Diagnosed myself via Google! Decided must be sciatica. Lots of stretching & it seems to be working a treat. Immediate relief and general improvement.

Ive had a couple of similar back issues down to bulging discs or whatever the latest phrase is. Couldn't even move around on all fours.

Lying face down and relaxing helped lots in the first few days.

Then plenty of rest but easy mobility. Then after a few weeks once it's healed you will need to do some core strengthening exercises....and keep doing them regularly.

Looks like a difficult few days ahead!

Currently at the urgent care centre waiting to see if I can get better pain relief.
Getting here was not easy.

I hope all you fellow back pain sufferers are on the mend. I have found that I can cycle for a mile or two without discomfort, but the real revelation is large the pilates ball that I sit on at my desk instead of a chair, it has completely revolutionised my life.

Just an update. Got seen pretty quickly at the hospital urgent care place. Very helpful female doctor who told me it is a unspecified lower back pain, prescribed double the strength of codeine I had taken earlier that day and some diazepam. To be honest, it's helped a bit but not a lot.
I'm hoping it will ease of over the next couple of days.

Good luck Peter. Never fun, but especially not at this time of year. Seriously if you can take my advice to avoid sitting as much as possible over the next few days (lying on the floor gets sympathy and people will bring you drinks!) I'm sure it will help.

All the best.

Every now and again my back goes, I'm sure it's related to sitting at my desk for too long. As above the best thing to do is not to sit if you can and to walk and keep moving at any time you don't need to be sitting.

Healing vibes. I know your pain.

Bit surprised you're on codeine rather than diclofenac or something else anti inflammatory. I find it does an ok job with the pain but bungs me up and then I get the old bum grapes. But I'm not a doctor.

Diazepam was the top of the shop stuff for me, hope that's doing it for you.

My back has went twice in my life and I now know exactly what the cause is.

1 until you know the cause, do not stretch . You are likely going to make matters worse (as your muscles are spasmed, a stretch will only make your nervous system spasm them more!/
2 don't walk around a lot or assume "keeping active" is good. Yes blood flow can be good but considering how much your back, hips, muscles move when waking again you can make matters worse.

My right leg was 1.5cm shorter which caused/was because of a crazily tight inner thigh muscle causing pelvic and leg issues and in the end crazy back pain. So waking actually kind made things worse.

Get a heat lack, 2xice.pack and alternate around the pain area. Then use paracetamol and ibuprofen . Let your muscles resume normal duties and find a good physio.

I know that it was bending forward in the gym that triggered it for me. Walking uneven ground can/could also make me feel a twinge in my lower back. I now keep on top of it with Pilates and daily trigger point release and stetch
. A good physio will assess where your body I weak and figure out why you get back pain..it's a long journey to.fix tho.

Tldr: rest with heat and ice pack and find a good physio (likely not an NHS one!)

In your position I'd have a bit of diazepam if I could get it.

The OP got the diazepam ! It's good stuff and the only thing that stopped my back spasming when I badly broke it 2 years ago. The slightest movement would set the tissue around the 4 broken ribs into spasm, which then sent my whole back into spasm. My word that was painful even with bucket loads of morphine. Remained on it for a good week, although was in hospital 6.5 weeks

I got diazepam but just 2mg tabs, 6 of them, so 1 3 times a day. To be honest, it doesn't seem to be having much effect. I was expecting to have decent relief.
The solpadol is better but only really lasts for about 3 or 4 hours before pain kicks back in pretty bad. I'm really hoping this doesn't last much longer!

@peter, probably not much to console you but here's [url= https://cks.nice.org.uk/back-pain-low-without-radiculopathy#!scenario ]some stuff from the NHS on the subject[/url]
A lot of folk suggest that [url= http://www.annemergmed.com/article/S0196-0644(16)31214-8/fulltext ]diazepam's not actually very effective, maybe at all[/url], though we probably all know somebody who thought it was fantastic when they had a problem (and those drugs do have a measurable effect on muscles)

Hope it improves soon

Your kids small? Do you lift and carry them a lot? Are you always bending down to do stuff with them or pick stuff up?

My lower back grumbles fairly regularly and occasionally goes. Though a lot less now that the kids are a bit older, don’t need carrying, and can get into their own car seats!

Physio and regular lower back exercises are really good for me.

Physio or Osteopath when they are next open, self refer if your local NHS trusts allows it. If you have a Chinese style acupuncture place close by that can give some relief. (My osteopath did both trad and modern needle work on my back, it's good for getting the spasm to die for a day while you get some exercise done and a good nights sleep). Depending on the injury a cold pack will be of more use to relieve the inflammation, 10 minutes on 50 minutes off (wrap it in a tea towel to avoid frostbite on your bare skin).

Get hold of the mcenzie book
Treat your own back
Helped me a lot.

Try a tens machine, they are cheap and worked for me. I just set it going for few minutes before I needed to move, it still hurt but I could move and hence could be active

Ignore all the women who regard them as jokes after pregnancy

Updates -

After saying the diazepam wasn't really working I found it to be a good help Christmas day and by the afternoon felt good enough to try a couple of the stretches recommended by the NHS. Only slightly because the pain prevented any full movement. Decided to accompany my wife to her sisters in London yesterday requiring a 2 and a half hour drive each way. Was in quite a bit of pain all day yesterday, presumably due to the inactivity whilst sat in the car.

Last night I used the last diazepam and took co codemol before bed (10pm). Woke at 3am and had been sleep on my side without realising. I couldn't move, felt locked into position. Took more cocodemol but it had no effect after and hour, I was bent over the bed in agony. Took ibruprofen but by 4.30 I was feeling like nothing was working.
My wife called 111 again as she was worried about me and a doctor called back. He's prescribed more diazepam and tramadol instead of codeine with some voltarol suppository (to my wife's amusement). She's off to collect it now in the snow from out of hours doctors.

All I can say is I don't know how I would be coping without her,she's been an angel and I feel so bad I've been no help these past few days Hopefully this pain relief will help otherwise I don't know what to do.

Am going to call some chiropractors later on.

Thanks for all the suggestions so far.

Decided to accompany my wife to her sisters in London yesterday requiring a 2 and a half hour drive each way

An interesting move.

requiring a 2 and a half hour drive each way.

So a good illustration of why sitting is really bad! Oh well, we've all done daft things. Sorry to hear you are so bad again. Try and lie on the floor and watch TV today, and gently potter about.

Am going to call some chiropractors later on.

Ok, you are going to get various views on this from people here. My 2ps worth...this may be worth a try as your pain is acute, and I did find chiropractors got the pain under control to a point I could function. However after 8 months of very regular treatment and my pain becoming chronic, it became apparent they were masking it to be a point but never getting to the bottom of the root cause. It could well be that yours can be sorted (stw forum diagnosis aren't ever great). However please do seriously also consider a very good physio (maybe after some initial chiropractic treatment) and they can look at your body as a whole, as well as your lifestyle. Also as mentioned above, good core strength is key to long term back care (it's why I can function these days will very few issues) and a physio can instruct you in appropriate treatment for your specific case (no chiropractor i've come accross does that, they just go some way to treat the immediate pain). My previous physio (I've moved cities) used to occasionally go to my chiropractor - they clearly have a place, but treatment needs to be holistic - especially if you want to avoid another episode.

Good luck.

Thanks for the reply Ahsat. Presumably you are using a private physio?
That's some really interesting thoughts on physio v chiropractor. To be honest I'll try anything right now, but am aware that right at this moment I'm barely able to move. I really don't like people touching me and the thought of either approach is a bit daunting.

Jamie, I felt guilty that my wife had already done all the Christmas day stuff on her own with the kids and then had to go to London and back with the kids on her own all day, and as I was feeling like I was getting better I thought I'd go along and just offer some support where I could. Bad idea. Plus my wife is a nervous driver and the journey home was not nice!

Someone earlier mentioned the Mackenzie book. You can get it it on Amazon. I bought it 10 yrs ago during a period similar to your current one. It helped me more in the medium and long term than drugs

[url= https://www.amazon.co.uk/Treat-Your-Robin-Mckenzie-seventh/dp/B00CB5YM1K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1514361806&sr=8-1&keywords=Treat+your+own+back ]here[/url]

Presumably you are using a private physio?

Yes, I have had a little bit of NHS physio, but they are so pushed for time they could never actually do any treatment or fully discuss the issues. Initially I went to private physio quite regularly (accepted it ment one less weekend away, but ment many more adventures in the long run) to get the chronic pain sorted. It is now at a point I go once a year for a massage after a small flare up (this has only really happened where I have had other issues causing me to be inactive, such as hospital stay in March). For context I have prolapsed a disc twice. I do Pilates type activities at home 5-7 times a week and have switched to a stand up desk at work, and break up long car journeys - all things a physio advised me. And I am pain free 99% of the time, 4.5 years on.

I can recommend a chiropractor and physio in the Durham area and a physio in Leeds if either are local to you.

I really don't like people touching me

In my experience a chiropractor gets a lot more close and personal (depends on how they treat you). A physio will probably ask you to lie on your front and touch you by directly working on your back. Other things will be done by illustration rather than hands on.

+1 for the McKenzie book, but if your in that much pain atm, you need to be a little careful when stretching.

you're not Egyptian are you?

I had an extremely bad lower back a couple of weeks ago. Never happened before and I consider myself quite fit so took me by surprise. Couldn't stand up from sitting and couldn't pick up my 2 year old.

Pphysio says my lower muscles are less well developed than the top 3rd so work harder.

Here is my ultimate cure, I swear by it!

Lower back pain yoga by adriene on YouTube! There's 2 videos specifically for lower back. 15min and 32 min. Alternate them on a daily basis.

My mum (nurse 35years), wife (yoga ninja) and the physio all recommended it.

As someone who's never tried yoga it was a complete eye opener.

Once the back pain has subsided I've to concentrate on core work instead of leg and CV!

PHYSIO NOT A CHIROPRACTOR

[quote=swedishmatt said]PHYSIO NOT A CHIROPRACTOR

This IMO.

peter1979- I did my back in last winter carrying too heavy a rucksack while riding my bike. My back muscles went into spasm and although not serious was extremely painful. Diazepam didn't work and (for a separate reason) I am very restricted as to how many painkillers I can take (almost none). I went to a physiotherapist and he gave me some stretches to do several times a day. The stretches really helped, along with a warm wheat bag, but it was still 3 weeks until the pain went. It was bloody exhausting! Funnily enough, although sitting, walking, and lying down were painful, I was reasonably comfortable on my road bike as long as I didn't do steep hills.
If you can afford to see a physio, I would consider it. Hope it's bettter soon.

PHYSIO NOT A CHIROPRACTOR

This.

The physio will give you exercises to do. Do them.

Did my back in a few years ago and it was agony,screaming when moving about. Doctor gave me tramadol and told me to keep moving. I did some research on exercises and did them, only taking the tramadol fora week as it's strong stuff and I didn't want it to be habit-forming.

What most people above say - physio and keep moving!

TENS machine, the £20 off the shelf in the chemist will be repaid in prescription charges you won't have

A friend of mine had lower back pain, by the time they finally discovered what it was it was too late. 😥

Update - seems to be getting better, I have been doing the lower back exercises found on NHS website and this has helped.
I have stopped taking pain relief as I've basically been a zombie for the past week.

Saw a chiropractor today who has told me the source of my problem was a sprained hip joint and this has put extra stress on bottom two vertebrae and caused them to go in to spasm. He said it is common and can be sorted. He has said it will take 5-8 sessions and I paid for 3 there and then. Snake oil? Maybe, but I'm willing to try as it's not too much of an expense and if it helps then why not.
Back does feel a lot more free since seeing g him although he literally only did 2 cracks and I was out of there.

I’m not a doctor, but are you sure that the chiropractor said your vertebrae went into spasm? If that’s what he said I would be suspicious- a spasm is a muscular contraction. Muscles can go into spasm, not bones. I’m not convinced that cracking your vertebrae would help with muscle spasms.
I would spend my money on a decent physiotherapist rather than a chiropractor.

Plus, I’ve seen physiotherapists for various injuries over the years and they’ve never needed more than about 4 or 5 sessions at most.

No I'm not sure he said vertebrae. He showed me a spine and pelvis and pointed to the bottom two vertebrae and said that with my hip being sprained something something something.... I switched off and came back on when he started talking about treatments. I'm not great at listening.
Thanks for fueling my scepticism though.

diazepam In this case is used as a muscle relaxant.
Do you have any sidwards defection when standing which may be a sign of a prolapsed disc.
A physiotherapist would be a first call who can start to diagnose any muscle issues with maybe a scan required.

If you can lie on the floor try upto 10 press-ups but leaving your hips on the floor, these help move the lower back discs into place and help with flexibility, but ensure you don’t do this if it starts to cause pain rather than discomfort.

Sleep with a rolled up towel at the base of back to it supports the back if lying on your side and maintains your lordosis if on your back.

These 5 stretches keep me on the straight and narrow, I just need to keep doing them more often than I do.

Thanks for fueling my scepticism though

Sorry, I think my comment was probably a bit strongly biased against chiropracters. I’m also quite sceptical about osteopaths. Since you’ve got a few sessions booked in I shall try and keep an open mind 🙂
Hope it’s feeling better soon.

This is quite good. I've also found Naproxine helps.
https://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/nhs-fitness-studio/Pages/chronic-back-pain-pilates-exercise-video.aspx

Or,,, get a hold of a TENS machine and enjoy drug free pain relief. Those wee electric pulses are fabulous at sorting out back pain (if it’s strong enough to get my wife through childbirth twice without drugs then it’s good enough for my back when it spasms).

G