Backpain help needed

dbs

Had backpain for several years got plenty of movement in my spine been to physio,chiroprator,osteopath,accuputure,got relaxation CDs,inversion table,heat lamp, do 30 mins of exercises everyday but still no good.

Take cod liver oil,devils claw, glucosimine.

Only thing not tried is massage would this help?

Any other ideas welcome.

Ted_Hutchinson

dbs wrote: »

Take cod liver oil,

You don't say how much CLO you take. If you were taking 2 tsps daily that would provided about 800iu of Vitamin D at which level you can start to see an effect. Any lower amount would provide so little Vitamin D it would be insignificant

Much of the Vitamin D Chronic Pain Research is here and the links page of that site has sources of Cheap High Strength Vitamin D3 Cholecalciferol.

Most people in the UK remain vitamin d insufficient the whole year. Raising your vit D3 status to optimal (125nmol/L) requires around three weeks regular sunbathing at tropical latitudes, if you cannot organise a 3 weeks holiday on a tropical beach then you should consider taking an effective amount that is totally safe together with regular limited, full body, midday sun exposure whenever possible.

With regards the massage a choice of complementary and alternative medicine therapies (including massage) for acute LBP did not result in clinically significant improvements in symptom relief or functional restoration. This model was associated with greater patient satisfaction but increased total costs. Future evaluations of this choice model should focus on patients with chronic conditions (including chronic back pain) for which conventional medical care is often costly and of limited benefit.

Tam_Lin

Depends what the underlying problem is, but I've found that a machine called Backlife really helps; when my discs play up, my muscles lock to protect my back and I stiffen up to the point where I can't sit down or get dressed sometimes. I bought a Backlife machine a couple of years back and it's fantastic; just gently rotates your pelvis to ease everything up. I use it twice a day and it's kept me mobile, whereas before I wouldn't have been able to crawl out of bed and go to work. My doctor is trying to push me into having my spine operated on, but if I can avoid it through this machine I will.

Ted_Hutchinson

Tam_Lin wrote: »

Depends what the underlying problem is, but I've found that a machine called Backlife really helps.

Backlife researc the above example from their website, not surprisingly shows it is an effective treatment for many. Some (20%) dropped out of the trial because it made them worse or they felt it wasn't worth the effort. So it may be worth trying to borrow or hire one for a bit or find a supplier offering a money back guarantee if not satisfied.
But the conclusion was

Our findings show the [FONT=TimesNewRoman,Italic]Backlife [/FONT]TM continuous passive movement apparatus to be a useful tool in alleviating low back pain.[/url] so it may be worth giving it a trial.

There is one on Ebay at the moment used twice clearly from someone who didn't find it helpful. I suppose that is a cynical observation. I suppose one could assume the owner found it totally cured the condition and therefore did not need to keep it.

There are other new ones on Ebay for £179 +£8 p&p. otherwise they are about £235.

belfastgirl23

I'd say it's worth trying massage if you can find a properly trained masseur. never had any need myself but talking frome experience of friends, a qualified sports masseur for example can tell if you are doing exercises wrong or can suggest alternative exercises and stretches from the condition of your muscles, where they are tense etc. Apparently it can be quite painful at the time tho so be aware of that.

dbs

Been told my backpain is down to wear and tear through out my spine.

Got no numbness, pins or needles,etc

Cod liver oil per capsule 570mg of which EPA is 50MG,DHA is 70mg.Vitamin A is 390iu,VitaminD is 50iu so will look to improve my Vitamin D to 800iu.

Will take a look at the backlife machine.

nappentass

FWIW - I suggest you might try Bowen or NST.
My practitioner sorted my back/neck shoulder problems out with Bowen (from car accidents & later assault), he's since gone into NST (apparently derived from Bowen's later work) and helped me through another car accident and problems as well as 'top-up' sessions i have chosen to have to stay pain-free.

With both Bowen & NST if its going to work for you it will do so without having loads of session, so IMHO is worth the investment. Links for info
https://www.thebowentechnique.com
https://www.nsthealth.com

HTH
Jill

Justie

if chiro etc haven't worked for you then it's unlikely that a massage will - you may feel more relaxed afterwards but it won't be a long term way to control your pain. Have you had xrays done if it's wear and tear on the spine? If you have fusing etc then no manipulation will help and your best bet is to get a referral from your GP to a pain management clinic. If you've tried all the main treatments with no success than I'm afraid it's your only option left as far as I can see and far better than spending more money...

Fen_2

As you have tried all tactile therapies, my only suggestion can be is have you looked at your diet? There are well publicised links between diet and chronic pain conditions. Arthritic pain can be aggravated by acidic foods such as citrus fruits, and a particular culprit, tomatoes.

I hope you have gone to your GP to be tested for a range of conditions, such as arthritis ( also euphamistically known as 'wear and tear'), either to find out specifically what the problem is, or at least rule things out.

Under your doctor's guidance, I would at least try an elimination diet to see if you are sensitive to a food group, or even a specific ingredient. At this point, what do you have to lose?

superpacman1972

Didn't work for my sciatica, but have you tried McKenzie extension excercises. Basically they are yoga based, spine extension and flexion based excercises. The Treat Your Own Back book is good and gives good care and advice tips. If you don't want to fork out on the book, google is your friend.

Also I would recommend trying swimming or other near zero impact excercise that gets you heart rate up a bit but doesn't apply pressure to your spine.

Would take the wear and tear diagnosis with a pinch of salt - although I'm not a doc, don't know your specific case, medical history etc. I do know the body is very good at self repair (even disc repair), it is just it that it is very slow, and movement and excercise are the key to strengthening ligaments and muscles in the back and abs to help support the spine and prevent future flair ups. This explains largely why back pain is a modern phenomena and is virtually non-existant in the 3rd world, because we here in the West spend too much time sat down.

I would also recommend taking a look at Dr Sarno's book - "Back Pain - the Mind/Body Connection". Wikipedia sums up his thoughts pretty well, so maybe no need for the book, but back pain is often part psychological, part physical, and this is what most pain clinics will tell you.

Also keep taking the Glucosamine (1500mg ideally), takes about 3 months to kick in. If it hasn't by then maybe this isn't for you. I'm about a month in taking them and feel some improvement. Billion dollar question though is it the Glucosamine or something else?

Also took Devils claw but this didn't work for me. Still take cod liver oil, but jury's out on this one too, but it has other benefits so happy to keep taking.

Good luck.

Ted_Hutchinson

dbs wrote: »

VitaminD is 50iu so will look to improve my Vitamin D to 800iu.

Sorry I didn't make my post clearer. While 800iu is the amount of Vit d3 that is likely to show some improvement, it is not the amount that is most likely to raise your status to optimal.
The amount of vitamin D3 your body ideally needs each day is between 3000 and 5000iu so if we say 4000iu is an average daily amount, we have to consider where that is coming from.
It is reasonable to take two tsps of Cod Liver Oil (800iu vit d3) but more than that would throw your Vitamin A intake above the reasonable.
You may have a wild salmon steak 360 IU or some sardines 250 IU perhaps some tuna 200 IU but I doubt you are going to eat oily fish every day of the week nor will you probaly eat more than two portions a week, hopefully you are not as bad as the average UK resident who only eats one portion of fish every 3 weeks but if you add together your fish intake plus your cod liver oil it will be far short of the 4000iu average daily need.
Sunlight is the source of Vitamin D3 we evolved to use. Laying naked at midday for 20mins should generate 12000iu sufficient for 3 days but how many people actually strip off at noon and lay naked in their summer house, by the patio windows or upstairs with the bedroom window open? The only evidence I can find is that the average USA citizens acquires around 350iu/d from sunlight. Well if you only go from house to car wearing clothes, maybe a cap, so only part of your face and maybe hands get any sunlight at all it's not surprising.
From now until October it really is important for you to try to correct you vitamin D insufficiency status.
If your skin is currently very sensitive to sunlight then read the information at message 5 and you will find that after applying those suggestions your skin will become better adapted to it's natural enviroment. But after gradually increasing the time you spend naked in full midday sun your vitamin d status will rise and your feelings of well being will improve as will your physical muscular strength.
Until such time as your skin is physically adapted to survive in the latitude it evolved to cope with, you will need an effective level of Vitamin D supplementation.This shows that up to 10,000iu daily is a safe amount (not surprising as your 20 minutes laying naked produces 12000iu) bio‑tech Pharmacal Inc. sell 250 X 5000iu +£13.75ish (depends on $<>£ exchange rate. One of these daily through the Summer would probably bring you up to strength 125nmol/L in a couple of months depending on how much sunbathing your are able to get in.

The point of writing this is to clarify the point that although 800iu is the minimum amount that has been shown to raise status (there have been loads of research projects showing if you use a totally insignificant amount it's impossible to notice the difference) you really need to use an EFFECTIVE amount if you really want to see a real significant improvement in your physical strength, your feelings of well being and your ability to cope with pain.
So the problem is that the while most of the UK population have vitamin d3 levels below the level known to be ideal to change that situation requires more than raising your daily vitamin d intake to only 800iu/d. Common sense should tell us to use around 20 minutes laying naked at midday from now till October (at least 3 days a week) and then use 5000iu/d until the end of March. If the regular limited sunbathing for 20 mins doesn't appeal then exposing half your body for twice as long or in two sessions separated by an hour or so may achieve an equivalent total.

Bruce Hollis, one of the World's Leading Vitamin D scientists uses between 2,000-8,000 IU/day depending on the season, and he lives at latitude 32°N while we live at 52°N if we want to follow his example then this is the absolute minumum we should be considering.