You wrote:
"Current medical status: I have chronic
back pain. The bottom right side of my
back must have got injured somehow (???)
during or right after my pregnancy b/c I
began having terrible pain there, esp. At
night. It has now been two and a half
years & the pain has only gotten worse. I
went to lots of doctors & specialists, got
an MRI, went to a chiropractor for months,
went to physical therapy, got massage
therapy, cortisone shots, took suggested
supplements, bought a tread mill and
walked, did home exercises to strengthen
my core, tried to lift correctly and
stopped picking up my little girl so much,
but still I am in awful pain. Also, I am
not overweight, eat a healthy diet, and
only wear good tennis shoes everyday for
my back. Over the years the doctors' have
told me that I do not have any spinal
problems and the problem is muscular. My
last MRI was 1 1/2 ago. So, right now I
just try to cope with the pain. I take
tramadol daily and vicodin. I also take
the maximum recommended doses of tylenol
and ibuprofen daily. I don't want to take
any more drugs, esp. more addictive ones.
The worst part of it all is that I am
getting very little sleep and it's
affecting my daytime functioning. I get up
several times a nite when my back "seizes"
and spasms and do my muscle rub, back
stretching, heaing pad routine until I can
fall asleep again. I have recently ordered
an expensive TENS unit online b/c I heard
it can help. Overall, I'm desperate at
this point since nothing else has worked.
Current medical treatment: Home treatment:
Ultram ER 300 mg, Vicodin 1 pill 2x day,
Soma 750 mg 1xday, Tylenol 2000 mg day,
ibuprofen 2400 mg a day, Tiger Balm muscle
rub several times a day No current
treatment as I have tried the above
mentioned treatments and did not
respond."
The back muscles help the body keep
balance.You and your doctor should first
distinguish if the pain is neural or
muscular. Neural pain usually occurs when
something causes pressure on spinal
nerves. Disk hernias and osteophytes
usually create pressure on the roots of
the spinal nerve and cause neural pain in
the back or extremities depending upon the
location. Muscular pain is usually due to
muscle spasms. Muscle spasms can be due to
injury, overworking, etc. If there a
static spine disorder is present
(scoliosis, lordosis or kifosis), the back
muscles become overactive and painful.
Static spine disorders can be identified
with an X-ray image.
You can consult an orthopedist for advice,
diagnosis, and treatment options.
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