back pain

[AlwaysTexas]

I've had chronic back pain for the last several weeks now. It used to be mostly in the afternoons, after sitting at my desk all day, and in the evenings. I'm now over 24 hours of chronic, relentless pain, excluding the three hours or so of sleep I got last night. I thought maybe it was my workout, so I eased off. Actually, I haven't worked out in 2 weeks now. What throws me is that sometimes it's my lower back, sometimes it's between my shoulder blades, sometimes it's in my neck. Heating pads help some. I finally took four motrin yesterday, and that helped for a little bit.

I have a doctor's appointment on Friday, and yes I realize it's foolish to look for a diagnosis here. I'm mostly wanting to vent and am seeking tips on how to get through the week until Friday. I'm not leaving my doctor's office until he diagnoses me.

 

[beckenham]

I have no suggestion on what to do until Friday other than grin and bear it, or maybe you can find the local youth who sells Oxycontin.

If things do turn out to be something crazy like a slipped disc, etc, I recommend never letting them operate on you. There are two things where doctors fail miserably: brain and back. I never met anybody that has actually benefited from having discs fused. I think the aggregate success rate is something less than 50%.

I have met people who swear by acupuncture (something you might want to look at before going on a prescribed painkiller). In fact, you might want to try that to help you make it through until Friday.

There have been some interesting studies done regarding back pain. One clinic, profiled in the New Yorker a few years ago, basically had people do everything that you would think somebody with chronic back pain should not do. They were squatting, doing Roman Chair extensions, etc. Basically, the doctors found that areas that were damaged or had minor damage around them suffered a nerve memory of sorts. You were physically fine, but the nerves would still produce the pain situation. By doing exercises to put stress on the muscles and the nerve sensations around the area they found pain to be greatly reduced.

 

[WooHorn]

Run, don't walk, and get a non-therapeutic massage. In fact, I am going to have to get one myself right now just for reading about your pain.

 

[sessamoid]

I'm puzzled by the use of the term "non-therapeutic massage". If it relieves the pain, it sounds therapeutic to me.

Muscular back pain usually takes quite some time to resolve. Most quoted studies state one can expect anywhere between 6 weeks to 6 months. Only after that period is it considered "chronic" pain.

A couple good studies showed that most common treatment modalities (motrin & stretches vs. physical therapy vs. chiropractic) are equivalent in their time to resolution of pain.

I had severe back spasms during a fencing tournament so bad I just curled up on the ground in a contorted position whimpering. Rx muscle relaxants didn't do squat, and I rarely prescribe them. A professional massage therapist was an absolute godsend.

That said, make sure you see your doctor to ensure that your pain is indeed muscular. There are some life-threatening conditions that can initially present with just back pain.

Excuse any typos, as it's hard to post from a cell phone keyboard.

 

[longhrnfan]

I'm 23, nearly 24 and I have had back problems since I was 15. One of my lower lumbar vertabre never fused all the way around so the muscle on the left side of my back that runs with the spine has to work extra hard to make up for the lack of support. At least I dont have scoliosis. I'll have this problem for life, and when I'm old, it will probably suck, but then I'll probably have to fuse bone to it so that I'll be able to still use my deteriorating muscles. Or get an exo skeleton.

 

[AlwaysTexas]

Thanks for the input. I do have scoliosis, so I have used a massage therapist in the past, in conjunction with a chiropractor. This pain is different. I actually had been experiencing minimal pain for the last few years since rehab with the chiropractor. I'm not sure it's muscular, because it moves around quite a bit. Sometimes in my lower back, sometimes in my shoulders, and sometimes in my neck. My appointment is now set for tomorrow, so one more day of this....

 

[Smurfette]

I bought this stuff at the old pecan street festival called "PK4" that's basically an all purpose pain killer, (homeopathic I guess.) I bought it b/c this carnival barker guy told me it would get rid of migraines. Anyhow, I said ********. He said he'd prove it to me if I had a mirgraine, and as I have them almost every day I gave him a shot. He sprayed it on my kidneys, neck and shoulds, and on my hands so I could inhale it. In 5 minutes my migraine was almost gone. I was so shocked that I shelled out the 30 bucks. The thing is, the stuff smells like hell. -- ben gay on steriods. But, when you're in pain you may not give a ****. I've used it on muscle pain and it does help. Mostly for me it helps me relax.

Anyhow, it may be totally psychosematic, but here's the site:The Link

 

[sessamoid]

In reply to:

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[Smurfette]

Weird. I'm sure it's not stong enough to be toxic-- topical only too. I don't have any kids thank god

I honestly don't use it all that often b/c it smells so strong-- I kept it my my desk and would spray it in a kleenex and inhale if I got to feeling stressed and it would help.

Intersting though-- It didn't come with any kinds of warnings. Thanks for the head's up

Maybe I can drink the bottle and get rich