Constant Backpain

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I am just wondering if anyone has had any similar experiences.

Since I can remember I have had back pain, some days worse than others. Also some days I find it almost impossible to get out of bed. This isn't due to laziness, I physically can't.

I have had trouble explaining this but I will try my best. I tell my body to get up, but it doesn't, I can move my arms, but the muscles required for getting up do nothing, as if I was paralyzed. I cannot sit up, and usually end up rolling to the floor, then pull myself up from there, once I am standing up I am ok.

I don't remember the last time I wasn't in pain, most of the time it is just bearable, but other days I can find it hard to walk or move.

As weird as it may sound, it feels as if the pain would be relieved by drilling a hole in the base of my spine (obviously I am not going to do this) or put on a medieval torture device...

I have seen many doctors which all believe I am making it up, after tests, x-rays and CAT scans. Even yelling at me for "resisting" when attempting to put my legs in certain positions.

Yes I've had similar problems. It started with a back injury I had at work about 13 years ago. I pulled something in my lower back and for weeks I was hobbled over and couldn't stand up straight. Several times since then I've had episodes where the injury would flare up and I'd get hobbled over again.

Did you do something to injure your back? Or did this start up without any specific cause? It doesn't take much to have an injury, like if you just stepped off of a ladder or a curb wrong it could do it. If you have a pinched nerve, it can set off all kinds of things like a domino effect.

What used to happen to me is when that old injury got sore, I would start having muscle spasms all the way up my back, and they would eventually contract so hard that it actually pulled my upper body down so I couldn't stand up straight.

It's better now. I still have pain sometimes, but I've learned how to avoid getting in bad shape like that. I don't push myself physically to do things the way I used to. And probably the biggest thing that helped is I put 7 layers of padding on top of my mattress (a thick fiberbed plus 5 mattress pads). If I sleep in a different bed, I wake up in a lot more pain.

Sometimes it is hard to get out of bed in the morning. I know what you mean about having to just roll out. After I get up and move around some, I feel better.

Have you tried seeing a chiropractor? I suggest that with some hesitations, but it might help.

Has been this way ever since I can remember, although as a child I had no fear and would often climb things and either jump or fall off. (eg. fell 12ft when I was about 2yrs old, landed on carpet)



I also have muscle spasms occasionally, and they can lead to an electric like shock that runs from the base of my spine to top of my neck, these leave me paralysed / unable to move for about a minute. I don't fall over if I am standing up, the pain is just so severe, I'm almost in shock.



I am reluctant as scans / x-rays have showed nothing, and doctors seem to think I am making it up.

Yes, I get a lot of joint problems and severe back pain, the joint problems have been lifelong but the back problems started about a decade ago. Some days I feel flexible and strong (can touch toes etc) and others I'm physically weak and so stiff I can barley touch my knees. I also experience lots of shooting pains and numbness in my back and legs.

I saw a private physio in the end (the NHS would not but kept prescribing me strong pain killers instead ) and he was able to identify the problem in 1 session (I have a twisted and tilted pelvis and very tight leg muscles from sitting too much). I've been doing the stretches he recommended and a little yoga too and things have been improving ever since.

Now that the worst symptoms are over (the pack pain was actually caused by tight muscles pressing onto nerves around my spine and sacrum) I'm planning to go back for another session or two to see if he can help me with some problems I have with my walk.

Edit; It's only cost me £30 so far so money well spent. If you are unwilling to pay someone then perhaps try looking into stretches that improve posture (hip flexors, hamstrings, calves, neck, pecs and lats all get really tight from slouching).

Mine is nothing like that bad, but I've had many bouts of severe lower back pain which rendered me temporarily unable to stand, and it's a rare day when I don't feel at least a twinge of back pain. I get the feeling there's some weakness there, though I've not sought medical help because I doubt the NHS here would do a damned thing except tell me there was nothing wrong.

It's highly unlikely that a chiropractor would treat you that way. If anything, they would be more likely to err on the side of overstating what the problem is. But they're not going to turn you away or be dismissive of you. They might also tell you something very different about your x-rays.

If you decide to try a chiropractor, see if you can get your previous x-rays sent over to their office, that way you won't need to have them done again.

I had severe back pain a few years ago. Ultimately, I needed surgery, which fixed the *immediate* problem. (At that time, I had a calcified disc that landed on my sciatic nerve when I moved the wrong way, and I also had a cyst growing that was also pressing on my nerve.) It was a long process getting the doctor to finally agree to the surgery. The MRI did not show that the disc had calcified (she thought it was a regular ruptured disc), and the MRI also did not show the cyst. So, sometimes the tests do NOT SHOW the problem!! !

However, my back problems started LONG BEFORE I moved the wrong way in 2011 and ended up in such pain. I had pain in my legs, hips, and lower back ever since high school. I do not know WHEN I injured my back, and the disc became calcified. It could have been childhood!

In high school, I had an x-ray done, due to back pain. It showed that my lower two vertebrae were fused, but nothing was really thought about that. I was given no treatment to ease my back pain. The source "could not be found." For years, I thought the pain down the back of my legs was normal.

I also have not been able to touch my toes nor sit cross-legged ALL MY LIFE. I have tight hamstrings. My thigh bones come out from the hip socket a little crooked, so I'm a bit knee-knocked. When I was going to physical therapy related to my back pain in 2011, the therapist discovered that I also have a loose sacroileatic joint. This means that my pelvis can get twisted so one side is higher than the other. This can cause quite a bit of pain!

I did go to a chiropractor at one point, and it did help a little. However, I had the best success (outside of the necessary surgery) going to a PHYSICAL THERAPIST. The PT found the particular problems in movement that *my body* has, gave me exercises to strengthen those muscles to help prevent problems, and gave me movements to do that would fix them when I got "out of joint." Now, if my SI joint goes out of whack, I can do some knee resistance thing that causes it to bounce back where it should be. I also now know that lunges are off-limits for me. They should not be part of my exercise routine, and I shouldn't do things like go bowling. This movement sends my SI joint out of whack, and if weights are added (like a bowling ball), it is even worse and I end up in a LOT of pain. By going to physical therapy, I also learned how to stretch my hamstrings and hips in ways that I would never be able to do just by doing normal exercises.

I highly, highly, highly recommend physical therapy.

The surgery helped my very specific problem with the disc and cyst. PT helped my underlying problems with the SI joint, the crooked hips, and the tight hamstrings, etc. I have not had any back or leg pain in years. Occasionally, if I make a wrong step, my SI joint can go out, but now it is easily fixed so the pain doesn't last for more than a few minutes (basically, only until I can get some help doing the knee resistance movement.)

As aspies can have low muscle tone, so I've read, could back pain be caused by weak tummy or buttocks or thighs?
I have back pain but with height, plus flat feet, I ended up with a tilted pelvis. Thanks to my enjoyment of self-analysing, i learnt to turn my feet out just a smidge, lean back as if doing the limbo, and engage some new muscles. Previous strengthenjng exercises never helped, because the issue was my pelvis tilting. Oh, yes, 8 or so chiro appointments helped me stand straighter, probably then helping me realise that my pelvis slouched.
Is this irrelevant? I'm sorry.

Please do not be sorry for attempting to help, and what you say is relevant.

I am an odd shaped person... I'm 5'8, but I have shortish legs and a long body.

I think what I can take away from most of these posts is to see a proper chiropractor.

Current medicine is s**t for understanding chronic pain. Especially back pain. Diagnostic imaging for back pain is rarely diagnostic.
Chiropractor is a good place to try.

If that fails I would go to a pain clinic, ones which deal with chronic pain because even if they don't know why, they at least acknowledge that not properly explained pain exists and is actually very common in a lot of people. They may suggest specific stretches, try accupuncture, other injection therapies, etc, to manage the pain and increase movement.

I have a hernia which one of the symptoms is back pain. Has any doctor imaged your stomach? I got an ultrasound and they could see it from that. I have a lot of not-intense lower back pain, but they only imaged for a hernia from what I felt was like something out of place in my leg. I cannot sit cross-legged, but at the same time, I feel like if I could just snap my leg downwards fast enough, something would get put back into place. The intensity of the pain of putting my leg down seems more similar to the pain you experience. Granted, this is a hernia where the intestine is quite low on my abdomen, hernia pain varies wildly depending on where the hernia is.

I went through a period where it was real bad with my back. It acts up again now and then.

Does it seem to be worse with stress? My muscles tend to tense up and it gets worse the more stressed I am.

There is a common psychological issue. When you feel like you cannot - mental/emotional - interact with the outside world, your body makes you too sick to leave your room. It is something the body does to protect us. I used to get this A LOT and it was years before figured it out.

A few other things to try.

Google good posture. Compare the pictures to your own posture. If they do not match, try to improve your posture. Pay attention to your posture during the day. Are you often bent over or slouching?

Yoga and stretching. Google yoga and/or stretches for bad backs. Move very slowly and gently.

Massage. You can do self massage. Look up "the tennis ball method." All you need is a tennis ball and the book. Or maybe just the tennis ball if you can get the info on line. You can also search Amazon for something called "the miracle ball." It is two balls and a booklet. Similar to the tennis ball method.

You can also get professional massages if you have the money. And you are okay with a stranger touching you. Personally the thought or a stranger massaging me creeps me out, but lots of people like it.

It could be your chair. If you sit in the same chair almost every day, try switching to a different chair and see if it makes a difference. Experiment with putting a pillow behind your back.

It could be your bed. If your mattress is old and lumpy or sags it could be making your back worse. I consider this one of the last things to try because it is expensive to replace. Also experiment with laying in different positions. And experiment with extra pillow, e.g. pillow under your arm, pillow between your knees, body pillow.

Yes, me too.

I had to learn to just go to bed and rest and be a hermit BEFORE my back starts acting up.



I have similar proportions. I think having a long torso puts more strain on the lower back.



Before replacing the mattress, I would try adding more padding on top. A fiberbed or featherbed topper might help. Or you might feel better sleeping in a recliner.

Forget doctors when it comes to back pain. No one ever gets rehabilitated because they saw a western medical doctor. You will just be given pain meds with no exit strategy and certainly no hope of ever getting better or back surgery and end up permanently losing mobility.

Try strength training and fixing muscular imbalances and postural issues, as this will actually lead to long term results. Pain meds will inevitably result in failure.

from personal experience I can tell you that strong core muscles and proper posture are your best buddies when trying to ward off back pain. I was born with congenital leg length discrepancy [20+ mm longer on right than left] which set in motion a 15 degree scoliosis between 8-14th vertebra, which pinched nerves in my neck now and then, then a severe bike accident in 2012 wrecked my lumbar region [popped disc @ L1, spondylolisthesis of L4-5/S1, generalized stenosis/facet defects] which came to a climax last summer and left me bed-ridden. the doc wanted to do a laminectomy/fusion of my lumbar region but cheapo insurance refused to pay for it or even for my PT, they said I wasn't disabled enough in that I could still move at all. so I had to go online and research how I could be my own nurse/doctor/physical therapist, and found out that a combo of core strengthening exercise -
[stationary abdominal crunches],
lumbar spine stabilizing exercises -
[don't know what they're called but I'm on my stomach twisting my legs back and forth, then on my back with legs bent doing a "bridge" several times a day, plus moving my thighs shoulder-width left and right, one side then the other],
then using a "spinal stretch" lumbar traction device I got for $40 off of amazon, to apply gentle traction to my lumbar spine, I wrap the belt around my hips, tie the traction cable to the door jamb, lie down and ratchet up the traction force until about a hundred pounds are pulling my lumbar vertebrae apart, this reliefs pressure on my long-suffering lumbar branch nerves/sciatic nerve and also sucks in the ruptured material in my popped disc and takes pressure off my spinal cord. in addition, I do a postural exercise I learned, where I stand against the wall and "melt" my body into the wall behind me, to where everything is touching the wall- then I tilt my head down as far as I can. this stretches my upper spine and straightens my posture.
since i started doing this regimen last fall, medicated by Tylenol and advil, I can now get up out of bed in the morning, whereas before I had to roll out of bed over several agonizing minutes, and bent over like an old man supported by two canes, gimp along.

Thought of this too...it could help to change the type of shoes you are wearing.

UnturnedStone, I hope you find some relief. Keep us posted.

^^^
QFT I wear cushy-soled shoes with two layers of shock-absorptive insoles, one specifically under the heel to reduce heel shock that travels up the spine. also learned to "roll" walk rather than stomp walk.