Lower back pain

[AlanD]

I suddenly got some crippling back pain where the lower back just stiffened up and could not walk. Then had sensastions in my left hip and leg and if i turned funny or any other odd movement it would stiffen up.

 

Went for a few chiro sessions and no more sensastions BUT still have this annoying pain in the lower back but only when i move in an odd or shart way or pick something up without usong legs.

 

Worth getting an xray?

[Thor Buttox]

I suddenly got some crippling back pain where the lower back just stiffened up and could not walk. Then had sensastions in my left hip and leg and if i turned funny or any other odd movement it would stiffen up.

 

Went for a few chiro sessions and no more sensastions BUT still have this annoying pain in the lower back but only when i move in an odd or shart way or pick something up without usong legs.

 

Worth getting an xray?

That is almost exactly what happened to me. I had a gene test done when I was 20 which showed I had a predisposition to ankylosing spondylitis, so from a young age I was very aware of pain. Thank goodness, it has never materialised. I had treatment from chiro's from about 1998 for lower back pain and all that time it was my SI joints and a 'rotating hip' that was always said to be the problem. It always took away the pain though - symptom treatment!

 

In 2002ish I has a total seizure. I woke up at 1am and could not move. I could not lift a toilet seat, and had to slide downstairs one step at a time on my butt to get to the phone. It was incredible agony,like nothing I have experienced since.

 

Went to an extremely good sports physio who did a few tests, like a reverse bridge where you lie on your back, raise your pelvis off the floor and try use core to keep your hips level while you extend one leg at a time. On one side I could not do it at all. My one gluteus was incredibly weak. So did tones of core work and got it sorted out - painfully boring work, but it seemed to help.

 

But still had pain regularly where my chiro helped. My one leg would regularly get an inch longer than the other one and I could feel it even on a spin bike when my left leg would net extend to the cleat.

 

But then as I said I broke my pelvis in 3 places and had a stress fracture in a vertebra. 2 CT scans and an x ray showed damage of the one disk that had narrowed, and two different birth defects right at the base of my spine that prevents flexion. Also bad damage in my neck probably from a serious car crash when I was young.

 

Treating this has had proper results. I am much stronger - I still wake up stiff and sometimes battle to tie my shoes, but I have now become hyper aware of what everything feels like and can treat it myself often. Am not exactly looking forward to the future but atleast I have had nothing resembling the total seizure again.

 

If there are referred pains/heafaches/numbness, treat them seriously.

[V12man]

I suddenly got some crippling back pain where the lower back just stiffened up and could not walk. Then had sensastions in my left hip and leg and if i turned funny or any other odd movement it would stiffen up.

 

Went for a few chiro sessions and no more sensastions BUT still have this annoying pain in the lower back but only when i move in an odd or shart way or pick something up without usong legs.

 

Worth getting an xray?

absolutely - your symptoms sound like a nerve impingement- possibly related to a disk rupture - make an appointment today

[AlanD]

That is almost exactly what happened to me. I had a gene test done when I was 20 which showed I had a predisposition to ankylosing spondylitis, so from a young age I was very aware of pain. Thank goodness, it has never materialised. I had treatment from chiro's from about 1998 for lower back pain and all that time it was my SI joints and a 'rotating hip' that was always said to be the problem. It always took away the pain though - symptom treatment!

 

In 2002ish I has a total seizure. I woke up at 1am and could not move. I could not lift a toilet seat, and had to slide downstairs one step at a time on my butt to get to the phone. It was incredible agony,like nothing I have experienced since.

 

Went to an extremely good sports physio who did a few tests, like a reverse bridge where you lie on your back, raise your pelvis off the floor and try use core to keep your hips level while you extend one leg at a time. On one side I could not do it at all. My one gluteus was incredibly weak. So did tones of core work and got it sorted out - painfully boring work, but it seemed to help.

 

But still had pain regularly where my chiro helped. My one leg would regularly get an inch longer than the other one and I could feel it even on a spin bike when my left leg would net extend to the cleat.

 

But then as I said I broke my pelvis in 3 places and had a stress fracture in a vertebra. 2 CT scans and an x ray showed damage of the one disk that had narrowed, and two different birth defects right at the base of my spine that prevents flexion. Also bad damage in my neck probably from a serious car crash when I was young.

 

Treating this has had proper results. I am much stronger - I still wake up stiff and sometimes battle to tie my shoes, but I have now become hyper aware of what everything feels like and can treat it myself often. Am not exactly looking forward to the future but atleast I have had nothing resembling the total seizure again.

 

If there are referred pains/heafaches/numbness, treat them seriously.

Geez, suddenly my back pain doesn't seem as bad. Glad you managing it though.

[AlanD]

absolutely - your symptoms sound like a nerve impingement- possibly related to a disk rupture - make an appointment today

May seem like a hard question to answer without knowing the exact cause but are most back issues curable by non-surgical procedures? I've heard heard stories of people having back ops and make things worse and walk like a crippled person. 

[Thor Buttox]

Geez, suddenly my back pain doesn't seem as bad. Glad you managing it though.

LOL, wasn't meant to come across as a moan. More as a 'don't be a hero, itvs not worth it'! I laugh at it now... Staying erect is my biggest concern.

[Thor Buttox]

May seem like a hard question to answer without knowing the exact cause but are most back issues curable by non-surgical procedures? I've heard heard stories of people having back ops and make things worse and walk like a crippled person.

Same here... No surgeries! Especially fusions

 

Edit: the disk surgeries appear OK, as Dr Victor Twelve said. But my investigations pointed to fusion misery,so I went the other path.

[V12man]

May seem like a hard question to answer without knowing the exact cause but are most back issues curable by non-surgical procedures? I've heard heard stories of people having back ops and make things worse and walk like a crippled person.

Surgical technique has moved forward a lot on the last 15 years - especially related to keyhole surgery for disc issues, as well as imaging techniques for diagnosis - so conservative treatment without surgery is often a first point of call these days with an accurate diagnosis, and the results are good from modern surgery

[AlanD]

Surgical technique has moved forward a lot on the last 15 years - especially related to keyhole surgery for disc issues, as well as imaging techniques for diagnosis - so conservative treatment without surgery is often a first point of call these days with an accurate diagnosis, and the results are good from modern surgery

Ok cool. Will go get an X-ray done once my medical aid replenishes, just had a new born with some complications so Medical aid savings are at ziltch. Do you have to be referred by a Doctor to get an X-ray or can I just go get one and then take it to my chiro for diagnosis?

[AlanD]

LOL, wasn't meant to come across as a moan. More as a 'don't be a hero, itvs not worth it'! I laugh at it now... Staying erect is my biggest concern.

There's a little blue pill for that....lol

[GrahamS2]

Did you find this helpful?

 

Recently started suffering from rather severe lower back pain while riding and am basically getting pretty despondent.

 

Think I need to see an expert on this...do you suggest a physio or chiropractor?

 

Had a professional bike set up done exactly one year ago and haven't changed anything as far as the bike goes.

 

Any advice is welcome, thanks in advance.

I've been down this road for the past 3 months, and can share my experiences. What started out as a sore lower back ended up in a herniated disc at L5, and as I found out afterwards my core was rock solid, but my lower back muscles were virtually non-existent. Cycling leads to a weak lower back, simply because of the position we ride in. Muscles that are extended (stretched) for long periods end up being over-elastic and weaker, which is what happens to the lower back if we don't cross train adequately.

 

Core exercises are sadly not the only fix, as most mtb riders have pretty strong cores (dirt roadies excluded).  I've been following a program of specific lower back exercises (while still maintaining the core), and I can now actually feel my lower back muscles. It's still early days for my disc injury, but I think I'm on the right track for the longer term.

[AlanD]

I've been down this road for the past 3 months, and can share my experiences. What started out as a sore lower back ended up in a herniated disc at L5, and as I found out afterwards my core was rock solid, but my lower back muscles were virtually non-existent. Cycling leads to a weak lower back, simply because of the position we ride in. Muscles that are extended (stretched) for long periods end up being over-elastic and weaker, which is what happens to the lower back if we don't cross train adequately.

 

Core exercises are sadly not the only fix, as most mtb riders have pretty strong cores (dirt roadies excluded).  I've been following a program of specific lower back exercises (while still maintaining the core), and I can now actually feel my lower back muscles. It's still early days for my disc injury, but I think I'm on the right track for the longer term.

Please share that lower back program.

[V12man]

Ok cool. Will go get an X-ray done once my medical aid replenishes, just had a new born with some complications so Medical aid savings are at ziltch. Do you have to be referred by a Doctor to get an X-ray or can I just go get one and then take it to my chiro for diagnosis?

You will need to get a referral to most x-ray practices - and your chiro is NOT the right person to do diagnosis - leave that to the radiologist.

 

You should probably consider a consult with a good Neurosurgeon that specialises in back issues = Dr Schalk Burger at Wilgeheuwel is a good start.

[Thor Buttox]

There's a little blue pill for that....lol

But I have to use it as a suppository to keep my lower back straight!

[V12man]

Staying erect is my biggest concern.

The same concern most over 40's have....  :clap:

[Thor Buttox]

You will need to get a referral to most x-ray practices - and your chiro is NOT the right person to do diagnosis - leave that to the radiologist.

 

You should probably consider a consult with a good Neurosurgeon that specialises in back issues = Dr Schalk Burger at Wilgeheuwel is a good start.

In CT, Dr Szabo seems to be the go-to doc