Back problems thread (Chiropractors, Osteopaths, Surgery etc)

[SnakePlisskin]

A physio can help and they can also give you the right exercises .
Personnel experience , I had back problems for my whole working life until last October when my sciatic nerve really gave out ,when to a physio who immediately relieved pressure and gave me exercises , took a couple of weeks to come good .
Pain free now.

 

[Groupie_]

Am going to see an osteo in Fitzroy (thanks nicky)

I have sciatica symptoms... Pain on both sides of lower back and unable to sit/walk for long periods and intense pain in both legs. I tried some sciatic nerve pain relief exercises off YouTube and they made me worse. Maybe I need a microdiscectomy.

Praying to god he fixes me.

 

[nicky]

let us know how you go.

 

[Drewpac]

Am going to see an osteo in Fitzroy (thanks nicky)

I have sciatica symptoms... Pain on both sides of lower back and unable to sit/walk for long periods and intense pain in both legs. I tried some sciatic nerve pain relief exercises off YouTube and they made me worse. Maybe I need a microdiscectomy.

Praying to god he fixes me.

before i had my cortizone epidural injection in my L5/S1, followed by my laminectomy surgery, I was prescribed the drug Lycira, which i found was the only thing that i took over this whole 4-6 month period that actaually calmed the sciatic nerve pain down! made me super groggy though, so only took it at night.

 

[Groupie_]

before i had my cortizone epidural injection in my L5/S1, followed by my laminectomy surgery, I was prescribed the drug Lycira, which i found was the only thing that i took over this whole 4-6 month period that actaually calmed the sciatic nerve pain down! made me super groggy though, so only took it at night.

That's some strong shit

I currently take 1 Zydol (tramadol hydrochloride) when it gets too painfull to handle

 

[Drewpac]

That's some strong shit

I currently take 1 Zydol (tramadol hydrochloride) when it gets too painfull to handle

yaeh after i had the bulging disc for a few months, its somehow bulged out further and i was in such agony that i had 3 cortizone pills, 2 lyrica and about 4 nurofen within half an hour and it did nothing, then walked around my house all night as when i lay down to sleep it was agony to stay still (hope this doesnt scare you)
you'll be right!

 

[Groupie_]

yaeh after i had the bulging disc for a few months, its somehow bulged out further and i was in such agony that i had 3 cortizone pills, 2 lyrica and about 4 nurofen within half an hour and it did nothing, then walked around my house all night as when i lay down to sleep it was agony to stay still (hope this doesnt scare you)
you'll be right!

It scares me very much! Hoping this osteo can fix me if not I'm going to see a specialist. Who did your surgery and how have you pulled up?

 

[Drewpac]

It scares me very much! Hoping this osteo can fix me if not I'm going to see a specialist. Who did your surgery and how have you pulled up?

surgery was done at The Avenue hospital in Phahran by a spinal surgeon named Gary Speck. was very very good. Had the surgery exactly 1 year ago last Saturday, and I can now run, swim, bike, play golf and lift stuff freely. Have shelved footy/indoor soccer as I see it as too much of a risk. Couldnt sit down for 5 weeks directly after the surgery which literally sucked but after that did a 14 week physio pilates course which was really goood and since then ive been almost free to do whatever I want. Still get some strange feelings sometimes in my leg, as the nerve was compressed for so long it can take year for it to fully recover, but they arent painful and dont impact me in any way

 

[Groupie_]

surgery was done at The Avenue hospital in Phahran by a spinal surgeon named Gary Speck. was very very good. Had the surgery exactly 1 year ago last Saturday, and I can now run, swim, bike, play golf and lift stuff freely. Have shelved footy/indoor soccer as I see it as too much of a risk. Couldnt sit down for 5 weeks directly after the surgery which literally sucked but after that did a 14 week physio pilates course which was really goood and since then ive been almost free to do whatever I want. Still get some strange feelings sometimes in my leg, as the nerve was compressed for so long it can take year for it to fully recover, but they arent painful and dont impact me in any way

Did you have the same symptoms as me? (can't sit, can't sleep on sides, trouble walking, constantly getting pinched nerve and body slanting to one side for a week, pain on both sides of lower back, down into legs and heels, knees)

 

[Drewpac]

Did you have the same symptoms as me? (can't sit, can't sleep on sides, trouble walking, constantly getting pinched nerve and body slanting to one side for a week, pain on both sides of lower back, down into legs and heels, knees)

i never had any trouble sitting or walking which was good. when i first had trouble i thought i had done my hammy (never done one before) as I was getting sharp shooting pain through it whenever i stood up and took a few steps. the pain progressed all the way down my leg and by the time i had the epidural i had pain in my hamstring, back of knee, calf, achillies and then foot. was pretty full on. don't get worried about all this though as there is probably a simple way of fixing your issues! i know nothing about osteos, so have no idea what they will say but i had an MRI done originally which was then sent to the spinal specialist to see what the go was.

try and sleep with a pillow under your legs when you're on your back, or between your legs when you're on your side as it eases the pressure off the lower back

 

[Groupie_]

i never had any trouble sitting or walking which was good. when i first had trouble i thought i had done my hammy (never done one before) as I was getting sharp shooting pain through it whenever i stood up and took a few steps. the pain progressed all the way down my leg and by the time i had the epidural i had pain in my hamstring, back of knee, calf, achillies and then foot. was pretty full on. don't get worried about all this though as there is probably a simple way of fixing your issues! i know nothing about osteos, so have no idea what they will say but i had an MRI done originally which was then sent to the spinal specialist to see what the go was.

try and sleep with a pillow under your legs when you're on your back, or between your legs when you're on your side as it eases the pressure off the lower back

Ta mate. Hope you're doing well now.

I just want to go for runs again and play footy lol

 

[cammo6556]

Phillip Brown in Burwood cracked me good... recommended.

 

[Groupie_]

Phillip Brown in Burwood cracked me good... recommended.

Chiro??

 

[Papa G]

Ta mate. Hope you're doing well now.

I just want to go for runs again and play footy lol

Discectomy is the way to go. Had one 12 months ago for L5 Bulging disc. 12 months on I'm good. Still feel it a bit in the morning, mainly a little dull lower back pain which goes fairly quickly, but none of the shooting leg pain that was killing me. If you work in a sedentary job, you can be back at work within 3 weeks (if you have a decent income protection policy you can always milk it for a few weeks). All the other stuff, physio etc I found a complete waste of time and the pain tablets started messing with my gut. Discectomy all the way (hopefully you have health insurance).

 

[cammo6556]

Chiro??

yeah he is... just opposite Deakin Uni... Nice guy too except he goes for collingwood.

 

[Off The Couch]

If you have a bulging disc, chiro won't help - you might as well flush your money down the toilet

 

[Groupie_]

If you have a bulging disc, chiro won't help - you might as well flush your money down the toilet

I know I've tried plenty of chiro's but never tried an osteo

 

[Groupie_]

Bit of an update... Went to the Osteopath that nicky sent me to and he was really good but the exercises he gave me actually made me worse.

I've since had an MRI and I have a "sizeable mid line disc protrusion at L5/S1 which could potentially irritate with budding S1 nerve root but particularly the right one."

Also L4/L5 bulging contacting L5 nerves but they aren't displaced or distorted by the disc.

Gonna see a good specialist soon hopefully although the waiting list will probably be huge.

 

[nicky]

Bit of an update... Went to the Osteopath that nicky sent me to and he was really good but the exercises he gave me actually made me worse.
.

Jesus. I'm sorry about that. Also, how could he be really good if he made you worse?

 

[Groupie_]

Jesus. I'm sorry about that. Also, how could he be really good if he made you worse?

Good exercises that would work for some people imo.

Not in my case. This is actually quite common. If I had my time again I wouldn't have hit the gym so hard! Microdiscectomy's are very effective in fixing these sorts of problems and they are a minimally invasive procedure.

I have just got a referral for a really good surgeon at the epworth.

 

[Groupie_]

Get the MRI done and then see about hydrotherapy. Physio used to just stir my back up worse. I found exercising in the warm pool was better than anything else I had done over a number of years.

I did mine while I was in the military. I ended up having surgery, all they did was shaved off the discs that had protruded out and were sitting on the nerves. They told me beforehand that there was no guarantee that more disc wouldn't come out in the future, which it did 6 months later after doing some PE on afternoon.

After that it was rehab and all that would alleviate any of the pain was hydrotherapy. I was told that if I ever went to a chiro or got any other treatment that they didn't approve of then I'd be on my own. Exercising with the water supporting my weight was great although it could be a bit ordinary on walking out of the pool as all the weight dropped again.

They sent me to a pain and injury management clinic where the physios gave me some brilliant new exercises and showed me how to modify a lot of day to day activities. There was also a psych. I found those sessions a complete waste of time.

It ended up taking about 3 years before I was in good enough condition to play any sort of sport again.

10 years down the track I'm fine.

Which discs mate?

Did you have the Microdiscectomy ?

 

[woopedazz]

Good luck for the surgery. You're right they are extremely effective.

 

[Groupie_]

Good luck for the surgery. You're right they are extremely effective.

Have you had it done ?

Not sure if they will recommend surgery yet. Anyone know anything about nerve root injections?

 

[woopedazz]

Have you had it done ?

Not sure if they will recommend surgery yet. Anyone know anything about nerve root injections?

I've scrubbed for a few and seen the patients later. Also wrote a short report for Uni quoting a few studies; the surgery is very efficient and quite low risk considering.

 

[Off The Couch]

I had a bulging disc L1-L2 and had it shaved quite a few years ago and while I still have back pain I do class it a success. Don't know what type of surgeon you are going with but I went with a neurosurgeon rather than an orthopedic one. My only suggestion is should you have the surgery that you do take the recommended time for recovery and do all the recommended exercises - it may feel great but it is very easy for it to occur again if you don't take the care.