Back pain

Hi I have long term bad back pain,I won't say chronic as that must be unbearable, I take codiene and naproxen,the codiene seems to work with me,taking minimum amounts,recently been upping the dose as pain increase or medication has less effect.

It varies as to how effective pain killers are, but yes they aren't 100% effective I nearly always have some discomfort. Ibuprofen seems to work the best, paracetamol hardly touches it, co-codamol just zonks me out so I rarely take that. 

Yes I had an episode more than a year ago, I think my nerve must have trapped a bit or something.. the pain was excruciating. I ended up at 90 degrees trying to stretch my spine.. so yes trying to relax the muscles was drs answer but then had a terrible time with the meds and still have problems with numbness but not sufficiently to do anything about it just something else to learn to live with. The main thing which relieves the pain is an electric blanket 

I'm very interested that the painkillers have little effect, as that's what I have also found. I also, slightly ironically, didn't realise the shear volume of pain I was in until I went on painkillers and then I found out.

My most recent "pain event" saw me on IV steroids, diclofenac and anaesthetic being used as a muscle relaxant on top of my regular medications and it still didn't fully kill off the pain

How very interesting and the exact reason I started this thread as there does seem to be a loose connection. Do uoufind your pain is never fully reduced by pain killers?

Now it's interesting you should mention EDS, as I do know about it having dated someone with it. Interesting enough she had a brother on the spectrum. I do have some characteristics, such as being able to touch the tip of my nose with my tongue, but despite being hypermobile I don't have enough extra mobility to make EDS likely but I have always wondered about it.

Yes me too. When I was diagnosed with dyspraxia I was told it's common with dcd to not have strong muscle control, so my core is weak and therefore not supporting my spine, with the knock on effect of not supporting my upper body, shoulders, neck head etc. So not only do I have the issues to do with spine, stenosis, bulging , numbness etc I also have painful shoulders and get headaches. So I looked up these issues with Aspergers/autism recently and again there does seem to be a correlation. However I am far from dextrous or ambidextrous , more the reverse , inflexible, rigid etc I remember trying to do somersaults as a child.. I just couldn't bend enough. I have had injections which didn't last very long. Various pain medication where the morphene based ones just keep me awake all night or codeine which seriously blocks my guts so pain relief is tricky. I have taken it to be more lack of muscle control but why that should be .. no idea. I find it very interesting that you have asked this but I don't know what the answer is. 

Hi Andrew,

Interesting question and something I have been pondering too recently.

I have hypermobility which causes me problems in my lower back and right hip. I've had back problems since my early 20s (I'm almost 52 now) but always put this down to carrying TVs for a living from age 16. I've also been playing electric guitar in bands since my mid teens which isn't good for your back either. I have been seeing osteopaths on and off for 15 years but they only manage things and just lately that hasn't been working either so I went through the NHS and got x-rays and MRI scans but all they could find were minor problems that were kind of to be expected at my age. The pain I experience is nearly always present at some level, when its bad it keeps me awake at night and has meant I'm not currently able to function as a guitarist in a band situation.

I'm currently being assessed for ASD... the process is dragging but that's another story... but having read Laura James excellent book Odd Girl Out I am now wondering if I have Ehlers Danlos too albeit at a milder level than Laura describes in her book.

I too bought a new mattress a couple of months ago and that has helped quite a bit... and yes pillow height has always been crucial for me to get right.

Hi, It could be Earlos Danlos Syndrome, as I have back pain too. It's a over flexible soft tissues muscle condition which effects the whole body. People don't often see what's the problem, link here https://www.ehlers-danlos.org/

Often local physios don't know about this condition, so often the exercises don't help, unless its private physio.

Most Gp's have not even heard of it before.

Hi

Thats interesting as I have L5/S1 problems as well as L2/L3. I've been working with the same physio for some time and we've tried various exercises. Basic problem is that the more exercise I do the worse everything gets. Last time I walked 17,000 steps I greyed out with pain. If I bend to my left the my lumbar spine rotates around the spinal cord, which is really weird and no one seems to know what's causing it. I'm on naproxen, paracetamol, dihydrocodeine, and gabapentin, yet I can still feel the pain. A back support greatly reduces the pain, far more than the painkillers do, but obviously I can't use it that much due to the risk of causing muscle weakness. 

Hence im interested in whether there is a link on the nerve side between autism and back issues.

Andrew

I know exactly what you mean as I also find that having the right thickness of pillows to keep my neck and back straight makes a lot of difference

Thanks Andrew 

Hi Andrew,  I'm currently rehabbing from a back injury (L5 bulge). On YouTube search Rowan Ellis Body Synergy Gym and you will find the guy who I see has some videos about body awareness. The big thing about his approach is it teaches you good posture while you do core strength development.

I am currently weaning down off 1600mg brufen on to a 100mg cox2 inhibitor, topped up with paracetamol. I was on Acupan which is like Tramadol for people who can't take Tramadol!

My severe back pain was cured by buying a new mattress.

Just one suggestion.