Back Pain

What kind of surface is he on during the day? standing? walking?

Has he been to a chiropodist or a gait specialist?




(oh yeah, make sure he stays out of the sun with that amount of Motrin)

Walking, standing, sitting, bending...he has a pretty active job. Not a lot of lifting.

He has not seen a chiro yet. Do you suppose that's the ticket?

None of the regular docs seem to give a crap one way or another.

Not chiropractor - chiropodist (just making sure).

Get his feet/shoes/stance/gait checked. I'm not a fan of fancy orthotics (imagine huge rant here), but good shoes and being aware of how you're walking and standing can make a big difference.



http://www.orthophysio.com/newsletter_04.shtml

I've been working in/around voc rehabilitation for mmm 25+ years now It's amazing how often feet cause back problems - and get ignored for too long.

I know Beth is very wary of chiropractors, but me and some of my family members have had a lot of good luck with them.

Does he stretch or exercise? Can he keep a basic record of his activities, the incidence of back pain, how long it lasts and how much motrin he's needing to take?

Sounds like possible back spasms. They can be debilitating or simply nagging, constant or intermittent. I've had good luck with chiropractric treatments but my guy doesn't do manual manipulations -- I had that once and said never again.

He uses a combination of massage, acupressure, and spinal adjustments using a tool that pulses sound waves onto and through the vertebrae rather than forcing them by manual manipulation.

Physiotherapy assessment added to the list would seem like a good idea.


Maybe you call them something different up there.....physical therapists?


Sounds as though he has an ongoing problem, and, as well as treating the pain, there may be exercises he can do to assist himself.


My lower back used to be so bad, I couldn't lift a kettle at one point!


A combination of physio, chiro, exercises and learning lots of little tricks has helped enormously.


Hot water bottle heat when the pain is bad has helped a lot, too.

Did the X-ray show anything? Why won't they do an MRI?

Many different things can cause back pain, so it's important to try to diagnose the source of the problem.

You said that your husband is in pretty constant pain, but you also mentioned that

He must speak up and impress upon the doctor just how much pain he is in, and how often he has pain.

Medication isn't really the answer--they need to find the cause of the pain first, so they know what medication might be appropriate. An MRI is really needed for a proper diagnosis.

I have a very bad back and I am in constant pain, so I can empathize with your husband.

If lifting and bending seems to trigger his pain, tell him to keep his back straight and bend his knees slightly before he lifts something, and to use the strength in his legs, rather than his back, to lift the object (or your daughter). Never bend over to lift anything--instead, bend your knees and use the muscles in your calves and thighs, while keeping your back as straight as possible. I find that doing that really helps me to avoid aggravating my back problems.

How tall is he? It's well-known that really tall people often suffer from back pain. I know at least three people over 6'4" who have this problem.

And I don't think much of his doctor. A script isn't the answer. He needs to get this sorted. If it were me, I'd be trying everybody and I'd be demanding an MRI. They cost $800 - $1000 here if they're not referred and my tall boss was in such pain (and he's a geological engineer, out tramping about all the time) that he just forked over the money.

The doctor he saw was not his regular doc.


He's going to see a chiropractor.

And I agree that it might be spasms. I hurt my back this past winter and the pain was caused by spasms. I'm mention that to him.

I found a description of the adjustment tool my c-doc uses
here.

No pain, no jarring, no nothing... I've crawled in with spasms and literally danced out.

In a very gross description, basically there are two kinds of back pains. There are those where someone "throws his back out" which is acute, and usually resolves itself in a few weeks. Usually an anti-inflammatory medication, chiropractic or special exercises will take care of the problem.

Then there is the chronic type, which has numerous subcategories. Back pain may be caused by disc problems, by scoliosis of the spine, spinal stenosis, arthritis in the area, as well as others too numerous to mention. Many of these conditions, such as scoliosis, begins in childhood. Pain can manifest itself at any time, as the body's muscles, ligaments and tendons are compensating for the spine's curvature.

If it were me, I would get an MRI to rule out a chronic problem. IMO, it is dangerous to use chiropractic if the problem is skeletal. Thing is, there are realtively few really good chiropractors, and there are many whose self evaluation of their abilities far exceed reality.

Once a skeletal cause of the problem is ruled out by an MRI, there are numerous ways to handle the situation. One effective method of dealing with an acute (and sometimes even a chronic) back problem is with an epidural block. In this situation, an anaesthesiologist injects (while the patient is under light sedation) an anti-inflammatory medication directly into the spinal area. Often a couple of deep tissue massages will relieve back pain caused by aching muscles.

The important thing is to determine what is causing the pain, BEFORE one proceeds with treatment.