Back pain: need translation from doctorese

[widebody911]

My lower back has been screwed up for years. I've tried chiropractors and massage, and it seemed to actually make it worse. This weekend is was really bad, so I finally went to the doctor.

Here is the report

No significant findings are noted on your recent low back x-ray. You do have multiple level arthritis. Please work with physical therapy as planned.

No compression fracture noted.
[...]
Impression
Mild discogenic degenerative changes.
[...]
** FINDINGS **:
Technique: AP, lateral, views of the lumbar spine were obtained.

There is preservation of the normal lumbar lordosis. The vertebral body heights as well as the disc space heights are preserved throughout. Spurring about the disc spaces can be seen at multiple levels

[Cajundaddy]

Double up on PT. Strengthen your core stomach muscles and take the pressure off your spine. This will ease your pain. You are not a good candidate for corrective surgery and a lifetime on opioids will be your undoing.

[widebody911]

Originally Posted by Cajundaddy

Double up on PT. Strengthen your core stomach muscles and take the pressure off your spine. This will ease your pain. You are not a good candidate for corrective surgery and a lifetime on opioids will be your undoing.

Thanks.

My wife is a director at an opioid rehab clinic

[HardDrive]

As Above.

I have terribly ruptured discs in my back. I'm 49.

I have went through 20+ years of back issues, bad skiing accident when I was a younger man. Chiro is not worthy of mention, massage can help in some situations. But keeping some level of core strength helps, and thinking ahead about not lifting things in a foolish position. I still do yard work, but I THINK before just yankings things from the bed of my pickup. .

[Tobra]

The intervetebral disc, which is like an engineered piece of gristle, is shorter than you expect,but there is still space in there. You have spurs, like everyone else.

Anyone who knows what they are doing looked to see if your legs are even? I would check it on Sunday morning for you, but the striped dog would trample us both to death if I tried to kneel down and measure. I guess I could go back over there after I walk the dogs. Where else have you had problems, aside from the back? Hips, knees, heel pain? Your Achilles are tight AF, I have seen you walk. Tight Achilles and hamstrings will F with you in a variety of ways.

Get one of those exercise ball and do all the exercises on the little poster in there. Do yoga or pilates with your wife before you go to work in the morning. Tell her you need to have sex more as therapy for your back. No seriously, it could work. You can totally tell her a doctor suggested it.

[Bill Douglas]

Not a doctor but I have a theory about everything...

The strengthening up of core muscles is the main thing. But also try stretching. I've been doing it for a year and my daily mild headaches have disappeared. Gradually build up, don't try too hard, touch your toes sort of goal.

And good luck.

[wdfifteen]

You might try a stretching kind of yoga routine in the morning. I have been doing it for 20 years, it wakes me up better than a cup of coffee and loosens the muscles in my back and hips. There are a million youtube videos with morning yoga routines you can look up. I haven't found the one I started using 20 years ago, but this is a decent one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4C-gxOE0j7s

cat-cow and child's pose are great for your back. Three poses I use that I haven't found on line and don't know the names of help the lower back and hips.
Hold each position for 30 seconds. Lay on your back, pull your right knee up to your chest, lay it out to the right, back to center, out to the left. Do the same with the other leg.
Do the same thing, with both legs together.
You need a belt or something for the last one. Extend your right leg straight up, toss the belt over your foot and use it to keep your foot cocked toward your knee. Keeping your knee locked, lay your leg out to the right, back to center, lay it to the left. This is the first three I do every morning.
From there I do cat-cow, bridge, cobra, child's pose, and some others I don't know the names of.
I have had back and hip pain for a year. Went to the doc last week. X-rays show, "significant arthritis of the hips and lumbar region". Going back Monday to talk about treatment.

[gchappel]

I read these everyday. Not sure of your age, but the minimal spurring described is very common over 50, in fact I can find spurs in essentially everyone over 35. They mean little, and may not correlate with symptoms.
You can have significant disc disease, including acute large disc herniations, with a normal xray.
MRI and CT much more sensitive, if needed. This would be based on symptoms and physical exam. Increasing core muscle strength, stretching, losing weight, etc can all help. But with appropriate symptoms such as strength loss, reflex changes, pain, etc further evaluation may be needed.
Good luck
Gary

[KFC911]

Have you tried an inversion table? Works for some, not for others....when I tweak my lower back on occasion (haven't in years), I break it out....for mebbe two decades now. Just a few days for 5 minutes works for me. Dad used to hang several times a week....for years.

Good luck...back pain and bad wheels suck...knock on wood....it's been a while.

[rockfan4]

Timely thread, I was going to start the exact same thing this morning.
I had x-rays yesterday, the report reads the same as yours.

The vertebral alignment is normal. Disc space heights are well maintained. There is mild spurring about the endplates in the mid lumbar spine. Mild facet arthropathy from L4 through L5-S1. CONCLUSION: Mild degenerative change.

I know I need to work on core strength, but I also think my chair at work is slowly killing me. I was fine this morning until I sat down at the office. Any recommendations for an office chair that supports your back?

[Vipergrün]

Inversion, yoga, strong core... Thus say I after 2 surgeries at L4/L5...

[quicksix]

"Where else have you had problems, aside from the back? Hips, knees, heel pain? Your Achilles are tight AF, I have seen you walk. Tight Achilles and hamstrings will F with you in a variety of ways."
This^

I was able to rid myself of chronic low back pain by performing ITb(iliotibial band) strengthening
exercise. Ask your pt.

[widebody911]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

You might try a stretching kind of yoga routine in the morning.

My yoga-instructor wife has been telling me the same thing.

[gatotom]

As a Chiropractor, Tobra hit it on the mark, I would say the same.

I am sorry your experience with Chiropractors have not been your cup of tea, nothing is absolute.

Have you tried acupuncture?

The older you get, the harder you have to work at staying in shape, use it or loose it.

I wish you luck.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by rockfan4

Timely thread, I was going to start the exact same thing this morning.
I had x-rays yesterday, the report reads the same as yours.

I know I need to work on core strength, but I also think my chair at work is slowly killing me. I was fine this morning until I sat down at the office. Any recommendations for an office chair that supports your back?

Most chairs that I've run into can support your back if they are adjusted correctly, and then if you sit in them correctly.

Herman Miller Aeron is fairly popular.

I see lots of folks that sit like this (I find myself tending towards this at times). Your rear is slid forward on the seat like you're sliding out of it so that your lower back is not touching the seat back. It's a crap way to sit.
Bad


It's important to keep your rear-end back against the seat back and have the seat back or lumbar touching/supporting your lower back.

Good


Also, I don't think you want to be leaning back a lot, but you need a good angle between the seat bottom and seat back.

[stealthn]

It says you are old...

[svandamme]

+1

[john70t]

I've used a towel twisted in a loop to keep the boys high and dry.
Also used a foam cushion.
Both have helped.

There are also backrests made from everything from beads to various custom materials engineered to support the spine.
If you need it every single day.....it is important enough.

Stay hydrated to a fault, wiggle around and regain sensation before standing, and adapt to a new routine.

[rockfan4]

Originally Posted by masraum

Most chairs that I've run into can support your back if they are adjusted correctly, and then if you sit in them correctly.

Herman Miller Aeron is fairly popular.

I see lots of folks that sit like this (I find myself tending towards this at times). Your rear is slid forward on the seat like you're sliding out of it so that your lower back is not touching the seat back. It's a crap way to sit.
Bad

I'll admit to sitting like that when my back is bothering me. My back was mostly fine all weekend, sitting in a chair, sitting on the couch, etc. Came back to work and sat down, lots of pain in about 5 minutes.

I swapped chairs, there's been an area of our building that's been vacant for a while, the department that was there moved to another building and they haven't back filled because they want to replace the carpet.

So I'll try this mesh backed chair, it's a Haworth, the old one was a Steelcase, I've had that chair for 20 years, maybe this one is better, I don't know. Pretty sure I had it adjusted right.

[Chocaholic]

More sex.

There is your prescription. Tell your wife.