Slipped disc(s) sciatic nerve damage!

I had a MRI a few years back and was told it's a slipped disc but I'm going back to see someone cos this is a new, more painful....pain?!!!
I need half an hour to get up in the morn due to the pain, I can't work ATM...and I'm moody due to it all! I feel useless limping about

 

Has the GP ruled out a dislocated facet joint,something I have suffered many times, as a quick rule of thumb check have a look in the mirror and see if you are lopsided, this can be clicked back into place by an osteopath/chiropractor, what people used to refer to as having your disk put back in. I also had a bulging disc but painful as it was it was less acute but lasted a lot longer. Good luck with what ever it is, It's hard to be upbeat when you can't even put on your socks.

 

I have trouble bending down to tie my sons shoe laces

 

I had the disconnected arm thing in october ,fell off my bike ,then did it again...

the pain lasted months ,no sleep etc ,but in December I got the cough virus and forgot about my arm...

I had to work no sick pay in France...

 

"Point of order Mr Chairman" ...
Surfari makes a couple of good points.
Those facet joints are certainly more common than disc problems, and often get mistaken for one,
not least because they can be so dramatic and we tend to associate that with discs, but there are LOTS of ways to end up lopsided!
The "click" by the way is the sound of a gas bubble forming inside the joint fluid, as a result of the two sides of the joint being separated slightly which increases the volume, reduces the pressure and allows gases to expand ...
(Bit like opening a bottle of fizzy drink and seeing tiny bubbles forming near the base of the bottle and getting slightly bigger as they make their bid for freedom!)
The point of the technique is to put a tiny bit of fast traction through the short deep muscles that normally deal with fine tuning of the joint's position, but which can over react and pull/hold the joint at the extreme end of its range of movement, hence the lopsidedness.
Surfari has hit the nail on the head though ... "I have suffered many times"
This technique usually only changes the BEHAVIOUR of those muscles, as opposed to changing the way they perceive what they should be doing.
They act differently but "think" the same way and go back to their same old same old ...
(So try talking to a teenager as opposed to shouting at them!)
General point:
No matter how similar symptoms can be between two people, their "back story" (har har) will always be different and their treatment needs will vary accordingly.
Thats all folks!

 

A discectomy is the removal of some of the disc material between the vertebrae that could be causing the problem.
I had one in 1990. What was frustrating was the length of time it took to get to that stage.

 

How long we talking?

 

5 years!
A pet dog would have got treated quicker!

 

That's quite a long time

 

Was you "pushy"?

 

I had a bad back about 5 years ago. Similar symptoms by the sound of it. A numb right leg and had to peel myself out of bed every morning. The doctor gave me some ridiculously strong codine which helped. It came back a year ago and after much badgering from my Mrs I went to a chiropractor. The relief was instant but didn't last. The chiro worked out that the issue was brought on from when I was sat for a long time, ie driving, as I tended to lean on one side. She recommended I take up pilates. Ive been doing pilates for about 8 months and it is definitely helping as my posture feels so much better. One other thing I noticed was when we moved house about 6 months ago the angle of my chair had to go the other way so I could see the TV. It was really uncomfortable and it made me wonder if having the chair not directly in front of the TV caused the issue in the first place.

 

you need to insist on a scan. I put up with my back pain for 10 years. Eventually I ended up in A & E in Stockport as I could not get out of the car, literally. I was referred back to my GP. I sat in the room, insisting on a scan. This showed up a prolapsed disk at L4/L5. The consultant told me not to waste any more money on physio. I had the operation, which was scary but was the best thing I ever did. you need to be really pushy and almost refuse to leave your GP until they refer you to a specialist for a scan. good luck. I really do feel your pain.

 

What some of your experiences highlight is the other side of the coin, ie real disc issues being suffered over a long time because the diagnostics was lazy &/or the appropriate screening (MRI) was delayed.
Part of the problem is that professionals naturally tend to think in terms of their own skill set when it comes to imagining a solution, and even making diagnostic decisions ...
GPs prescribe pain relief and sometimes refer for Physio, Physios tend not to be allowed by the constraints of the system to make the full assessment they've been trained to make, and then "give" a course of treatment based on sometimes not very much, Surgeons are often passionate about the admittedly amazing techniques at their disposal, Chiropractors and to a lesser extent Osteopaths look for hands-on ways to calm things down and cut the patient's system some slack so it can do the repairs it was designed to do, but can't initiate.
The ideal route for anyone with pain IMHO is GP-MRI-Osteo ... Of course I'm biased, but I chose Osteo over Physio, Chiro and surgery as a profession because Osteopathy, properly done, has the most respectful and broadest view when it comes to both assessment and treatment ...
Blimey! Don't half bang on a bit don't I?!
MRI costs hundreds of pounds of course, so it has always played second fiddle to x rays (which are only as good as the person assessing them) and Ultrasound, which is a pretty useful tool, but not so hot for spinal assessment .....
The Dub and Bubber mobile Osteo van will coming to a festival near you soon!!!

 

Well said @Dub and Dubber, personaly, back problems and I'm straight off to the Osteopath, as well as others in my family who have suffered from bad backs.

 

For the first time in my life in April i got back ache so went to the Drs it was not that bad but he did not even look at it just booked me in for a MRI 2 weeks later i had been MRIed and been diagnosed with bulging discs L4/5

Back at the Drs he said best thing i could do is pilates unfortunately theirs none near me at a decent time so i got one of those yoga rolls and use that to roll it out

 

... Yup, forgot to say I rate Pilates, so much so I was suggesting it in 2005 before it got trendy! ... and considered training as an "add on" ...
Trouble is classes don't cater for crocks very well, so one to one is a better bet until you find your feet.
That GP ... where are they!
I want to shake their hand
Hope today's MRI went OK Jason.

 

It's next Friday, got another week of pain to endure yet!

 

Get onto this women's business in Rugley Staffordshire ....Niki Snazell back pain relief .
Loads of my mates have been to her with excellent results .
I had back pain 6 years ago thought i would not be able to do my landscape and forestry business ever again ...after an appointment with there clinic , i amstill doing it now at 59 .

It's not just lower back pain they do ...they cover all sorts of nagging pains muscular or what ever . Several well known sports men and women go to her clinic , some of whom actually fly over from abroad to get sorted .
If you live not to far away from this place all the better .

 

Personal experience was I put my back out lifting heavy manhole covers. Ended up in traction in hospital, and came out worse than when I went in, and wearing a corset. Went to an osteopath who gave me manipulation and exercises to do and told me to bin the corset. This hurt like hell, but he said the best thing was to keep moving. I did a lot of swimming and got back to normal after about 4 months. It occasionally comes back maybe every couple of years if I bend or stretch too far but I can do the exercises and be OK in a week.

I'm sure circumstances differ from person to person however.

 

Sorry! Thought it was this week ...