What's your cure for pain?

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#729845 10-Dec-2012 15:53

For lower back pain, maybe you should look into pilates. I know when I had a lower back injury it helped no end. By strengthening up your core and learning to use it, you basically support your back so much better and it reduces the stress on your spine.

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nakedmolerat

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#729955 10-Dec-2012 20:20

BlueShift: So, I've been having ongoing poblems with a dodgy disc in my lower back. I initially tried babying it - no particular treatment, just being gentle and trying not to anger it. After a month or two, I gave up on that plan and signed on with a Physio who proceeded with various manipulations. After another 6 weeks or so it had improved, but not a whole lot, so the physio passed me to her colleague who did acupuncture. Again, things improved, but not cured. During a gap in ACC coverage, i went back to babying it, and it got markedly worse, so, on the advice of various folks, I went to an Osteopath. He manipulated things a bit, with no noticeable improvement and then it got wayyy worse. So I went to my doctor who prescribed me morphine and referred me to a specialist for an MRI, and to another physio.

After a week on the morphine, I have improved back to about the point I was when I first decided to go see a physio. And it all started back in early August or so.

So my question, how may others have had the bad back with the nerve pinching and the shooting pains down the back of the leg? And if so (or if you have your own pain issues) what sort of treatment has done the trick for you? Physio? Osteo? Chiro? Homeo? Drugs and modern medicine, or herbs and new age quackery?

I highly recommend getting appointment at The Back Institute.

The most important part to ease back pain is to keep moving!

gehenna

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#729959 10-Dec-2012 20:26

I can vouch for TBI Health, they're great. They have clinics all over the place too.

dickytim

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#730104 11-Dec-2012 07:38

I had fairly constant back pain for about 2 years, I went to the chiropractor for 6 months and I think after 2-3 visits a week it actually got worse, then I went to physio and it started to get better, however the best therapy was actually riding a horse, the gentle movement and being forced to use your postural muscles soothed my back as well as building up my core slowly and gently.

It is not for everyone as getting on a horse can be very difficult with sever back pain!

Asmodeus

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#730173 11-Dec-2012 09:25

Cannabis. Plain and simple. It doesn't even need to be intoxicating amounts. I can't really recommend people go out there and buy it as it is illegal but it does work very well. Amounts that produce no intoxication whatsoever have been shown time and time again to significantly reduce pain from MS, fibromylagia, migraine, physical injuries, etc, etc. If you plan on trying it for this and want to avoid intoxication then I would avoid smoking of it and encourage the preparation of an alcoholic tincture which can then be taken drop-wise. But like I said, silly laws and all......

Forget homeopathy, herbal medicine, faith healers and acupuncture, etc. Most of these things have no advantage over placebo (no surprises there) and some are just plain shams. Also avoid chiros and osteopaths and anything/anyone recommending subluxation. This is not real medicine despite it desperately wanting you to think it is (and fooling most people).

See a physio first then a pain specialist if necessary. True pain specialists are few and far between in NZ but they are out there. Avoid any regular use of opioid or benzodiazepine drugs as these are addictive and can be dangerous. They should only be used as rescue medication when required. Amitriptyline can help with neuropathic pain. Other marketed drugs include lornoxicam, duloxetine, gabapentin and pregabalin.

Very few docs will recommend cannabis to someone who isn't crippled with pain due to its illegality but they all know it works too. I know because I have a neuropathic pain of unknown origin that presents itself as either nasty abdominal pain or stabbing testicular pain. After all the scans and standard drugs I took, nothing works as well by a long shot...

BigMal

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#730188 11-Dec-2012 09:32

Years ago I used to get lower back pain. A chiropractor (yeah I know may as well see a which doctor) suggested I do regular hamstring and glute stretches. They were right, I'm now cured. I now stretch regulalry.

TheUngeek

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#730236 11-Dec-2012 10:14

After years of back issues and various specialists I finally found a cure. The trick is to find the cause of the injury. Sounds like you are being treated for the symptoms and not the cause. Physios and oesteopaths kept cracking my back. The cause was in my neck and pelvis. No cracking was needed. If they want to crack your back and or neck, leave immediately and demand a refund

gehenna

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#730241 11-Dec-2012 10:18

Truth be told you'll never know the cause of an issue without the appropriate scans. I was told for years that my back pain was caused by bone damage because that's what the Xrays showed. Yes I have crushed vertebrae but the treatment for that wasn't helping the pain.

I had an MRI and a Nuclear Bone Scan and it was the latter that proved it was muscular pain not bone pain that was causing my issue....even though doctors would be forgiven for thinking otherwise based on the evidence.

Proves my point that you have to keep pushing back on the professionals if you're not having success. Eventually they will find the root cause.

idle

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#730290 11-Dec-2012 11:28

I would agree with the last two posts. Get CT scans and/or MRI to get a full and proper diagnosis. There are many processes that can cause back pain, ranging from cancer (primary or secondary), to disc prolapse, to simple muscle strain. Diagnosis leads to appropriate treatment, which will vary, depending on the cause of the pain.

SepticSceptic

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#730383 11-Dec-2012 13:07

There certainly seems to be a wide variety of methods to alleviate back pain, but generally once you have had a back problem, it really never goes away completely. Sometimes it takes a wrong twist getting out of car to bring it back again ..

Had sciatica last year - pinched nerve from lower spine from inflamed torso muscles - Pilates and walking helped, together with voltaren - though voltaren doesn't agree with the lower intestines so to speak ..

A bungy jump worked wonders to stretch things out :-)

My partner swears by anti-histamines, though they need to be taken regularly - these do help settling the inflammation of the muscles.

I guess chronic back pain is a result of our more sedentary life-styles - we are no longer the hunter-gather species, and have generally insufficient torso strength to maintain accurate posture.

ajobbins

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#730455 11-Dec-2012 13:52

After a few days of riding my brand new motorbike I am finding it is doing good things for my back.

It's quite a sporty riding position and it forces me to use some muscles to hold myself right, which seems to be strengthening them.

I often sit really badly at my desk at work, but I find the motorbike makes me sit with my back straight and it has been feeling better every day.

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BlueShift

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#730460 11-Dec-2012 14:04

ajobbins: After a few days of riding my brand new motorbike I am finding it is doing good things for my back.

It's quite a sporty riding position and it forces me to use some muscles to hold myself right, which seems to be strengthening them.

I often sit really badly at my desk at work, but I find the motorbike makes me sit with my back straight and it has been feeling better every day.

I wonder if that will fly with my Mrs - "No, really honey, I need the motorbike to fix my back"

nzkiwiman

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#730620 11-Dec-2012 16:39

I was told that getting on the wait list for an MRI was impossible and since I didn't have insurance I would never get there ..

Stu

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#730629 11-Dec-2012 16:50

The wait list for an MRI in the public system is horrendously long. In saying that, they have acknowledged this and are using private hospital facilities to help get through the list faster. Wife still had to wait four months after seeing the specialist at Akl City Hospital before getting an MRI done at a private facility yesterday.

People often mistake me for an adult because of my age.

Keep calm, and carry on posting.

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BlueShift

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#731147 12-Dec-2012 09:51

BigHammer: The wait list for an MRI in the public system is horrendously long. In saying that, they have acknowledged this and are using private hospital facilities to help get through the list faster. Wife still had to wait four months after seeing the specialist at Akl City Hospital before getting an MRI done at a private facility yesterday.

Hopefully the list in Hamilton is a bit shorter. Fingers crossed anyway. OTOH, if its still hurting in 4 months, I'll definitely need it. OTGH, I'm off on a overseas trip in May, if my back isn't better by then, I'm in trouble!

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