back pain

[skirtedbrit]

How many members have lower back pain and how do they cope? Mine is a low level ache that worsens substantially with jobs that require leaning forward and painkillers such as Naproxen have limited effectiveness. As an active outdoor person I have found that a bum bag or rucsac braces the lumbar area and helps to control the pain. Overall, my pain levels do not warrant specialist back supports either NHS or private and I do not like the look of these medical devices as they appear to be uncomfortable.
I have found that girdles are helpful as they help to brace the lower back but only if they are one or two sizes smaller than a standard fit. The first one I bought was my size (uk 20, 40"waist) but was not supportive so I bought 3 at 36"waist, one on, one in the wash and one ready to wear. Also if it is cool and you need to wear stockings the clips are there.

[Seb]

I just recently got the diagnosis for my hip and back pain - I have ankylosing spondylitis (Or Bechterew's as it used to be know). I wake up with a very stiff and sore back and it takes 2-3 hours for it to warm up and start functioning "normally"(which is still very stiff, can't touch my toes or ground with straight knees even when its at its best).

NSAID's (Diclofenac when its bad and Ibuprofen to a lesser extent) dull the pain and I have COX-2 inhibitor meds I take 2 times a day which seems to do a good job at preventing the days where I can hardly walk due to pain.

Physio set me up with some exercises using a long foam log to roll on and I got to test a hip-belt (not got one of those as the meds do an good enough job thus far), its the same type of belt pregnant women wear to keep the SI joints pressed together.

My back pain is worsened by sitting or lying still prolonged time(like sleeping...), so just keeping on my feet helps a lot and the primary way to mitigate it is supposedly to exercise, but I'm not very good at that, I try to get out hiking and cross country skiing when I can though.

[6ft3Aussie]

Lower back pain is something I've dealt with since 2009, off and on, thankfully not all the time. seems to be aggravated by sitting in certain positions for too long, of on certain seats and couches and picking up my 16 month old son.
Sleeping can be more difficult because of having reduced ROM in my right knee from a nasty type 6 tibial plateau fracture 13 years ago and if I sleep on my right side my shoulder becomes very achy as I broke that collarbone mountain biking back in 1997.

Most of my problems are the result of injuries sustained doing crazy things or sports, not sure what caused the back problems.
When the back gets bad I use voltaren, and then sometimes deep heat before I sleep, but my wife hates that.
I also sleep lengthways on a very firm latex pillow to support my back and reduce the load on my shoulder, and have a pillow at the bottom of the bed to support my lower leg and keep my knee slightly bent.

Enough of that, or I'll sound like one of the old guys chatting about their ailments on the 80m amateur radio band of an afternoon...

[Kirbstone]

Most tall people get lumbar pain sooner or later. I can precis my personal journey there and back:

Young blood, mid 20 training for serious competitive rowing. Time: the 60s and no rail-guided weights in gyms then, just free weights, barbells, dumbbells &c. In club competition got to standing under 220lbs following pyramidal clean-and-jerk progression many times. Personal body weight: 180-odd lbs.
Fast forward 30 years. Sciatica hit hard and pain radiating down legs very severe. Scans &c and osteophyte growths revealed on lumbar vertebrae affecting emerging sciatic nerve roots. Complication: collapsed inter-vertebral disc with extrusion of gelatine into lumbar area. .Moral: Do heavy weight training with extreme caution or not at all.

June 14th 1996, age 54: Appointment with the knife-man in hospital. Op. success .He shaved down the osteophytes, cleaned up the gelatine extrusion and fused two vertebrae. Al done with keyhole snorkel surgery, no gash. Loss of stature one half-inch, but well worth it and post-op pain episodes short and with decreasing frequency. Soon gone altogether.

Back in the boat amazingly quickly and competed at FISA World Masters' Rowing in Budapest that same September 1996. Now into my 80s and no recurrence.

Tom

[crfriend]

Most tall people get lumbar pain sooner or later. I can precis my personal journey there and back:

Tell me about it. My initial lower back injury was in 1998 when I was moving out of my ever-increasingly-expensive apartment and in with my now-late ex- and was hoisting a large television from a tight corner of a bedroom and turning to put it temporarily on the bed. It didn't work out all that well. About 15 degrees into the turn I heard a "pop!" and my back caught fire. I dropped the television right quick onto the bed and collapsed to the ground. I wasn't even close to "right" for over a month.

Wind the clock forward by several years; in 2022 (or thereabouts) I tripped over one of our several cats who insisted on being underfoot all the time and went over semi-controlled and caught myself on the kitchen island. Bad plan. The resultant torque on my spine reinjured the old one, and I suffered for months afterwards, finally opting to seek medical attention once I detected I was having foot-fall problems with my right foot. An MRI exposed the reason: "normal age-related deterioration (expected), plus two entirely blown out lumbar discs". Bad news indeed, and my doctor at the time one reading the interpretation was actually astounded I could even walk. Discussions were had, mostly regarding surgery, which I was hesitant about at the time, and I opted for physical-therapy as a prelute to going under the knife. That worked the trick; the therapists managed to work the kinks out of my back via massage and also taught me how to carry myself properly. Occasionally I have spasms, but they pass and are gone for weeks/months at a time.

Needless to say, I'm quite proper about posture now.

[Jim]

I deal with occasional back pain also. Stretches usually help quite a bit. Massage and chiropractic are often good.

[john62]

From a professional view point, keeping active very important, exercises to strengthen the core muscles and hamstrings, also important are the feet, there are three arches in the feet which help strengthen certain muscles in the hip and lumbar spine, these need to be supported and finally trying to keep good posture. Chiro/Osteo/Pyhsio can also be helpful.

John

[Stu]

I tend to find heavy work in my garden plus having two walks a day keeps my back pain at bay - aided by a codeine med to take the edge off it.