Lower Back Pain

outlaw777

Hey I've had a bad lower back for years now, spent on a fortune on a Chiropractor but its not really helping me. I'm thinking of trying acupuncture or osteopath now, anyone with any advice for me?

ellay864

Lower back pain could be caused by a number of things. Your best bet is to see your GP, if need be asking for a referral to get it properly checked out, so you can get the cause treated, not just try to attack symptoms.
Don't try to take advice from people on here - I've had lower back pain for years and at different times it's been caused by different things; other people will have their own stories, all of which will be different from yours.
You need medical advice and you won't find that on here

CurlyTop

I agree with Ellay864. Everyone is different with their back pain as to where it is and how long it lasts but I've had pain on and off over 30 years now.

My own experience is that my lower two verterbrae right hand side are out of place and I couldn't handle the physio even putting his hands on me, the pain was that bad. A friend recommended a TENS machine. Small, portable, battery operated, can wear under your clothes. Mine had two pads to which two connectors attached and they fed back to a small unit. When you turn it on, it gives like a gentle throb (is probably the best way I can describe it). The worse the pain was, the higher I would put the machine. It was a programme of about 30-45 mins. I won't lie some days the pain was so bad, I had to do it a couple of times but it was better than anything else I'd tried. I got mine from Boots for about £40 about 15 years ago. It broke about 3 years ago but as I've not experienced bad pain that a few days of ibruprofen won't cure, I've never bought another one. The price has come down on them over the years. Asda and Lloyds Chemist do them reasonably priced.

I couldn't recommend TENS highly enough but as I say, when it comes to back pain, we all find our own groove to ease it.

Hope this helps. Best of luck.

Racheldevon

Go to your GP and seek a referral - physiotherapy with someone who has a good reputation and expertise in the area is worthwhile - it's not the same as chiropractors/osteopaths. Most trusts have extended scope physiotherapists - some of whom will specialise in spinal conditions - seek a referral, or do some research and find a clinic privately that has expertise - if they need to refer you, you'll soon have a letter to your GP seeking hospital referral/MRI etc

atrixblue.-MFR-.

bad backs are person specific to treatment you need to seek out your GP and not him her brush it off as some minor ailment.

my GP is terrible when you metion back pain, he'll say "ive have a bad back i go through pain but i keep myself active and it eases it etc etc"

so the only advice i could give is to tell your GP what youve done to try and remedy the pain yourself through private avenues and NHS avenues, what it means for you when you have a bout of back pain, how it affects your abilities and work so a GP can gauge the scope of the severity of the pain.

JoolzS

Stop spending money on quacks. Chiropractic and acupuncture have been proven to be either placebos or actually dangerous. I haven't read enough about osteopathy but I would be sceptical,.

My DH suffered from low level back pain for years and a prescription for anti-inflammatories pretty much cured it.

paidinchickens

I've had a bad back for years then last year it went big time. Long story short I was on that many pain killers I gained three stone :eek:


I have spent the last three months slowly coming off them and I am using Pilates as my pain killer as nothing really works on nerve damage.

I have found Pilates eases it plus I walk as far as I can every day even if it is broken up into several small chunks. It really does make a difference on what you eat as well as my pain is worse when I have ANY processed foods ....... damn you B&J fudge brownie

heartbreak_star

Go to your doctor and stop wasting your money on self-diagnosis and alternative therapy?

HBS x

devildog

JoolzS wrote: »

Stop spending money on quacks. Chiropractic and acupuncture have been proven to be either placebos or actually dangerous. I haven't read enough about osteopathy but I would be sceptical,.

My DH suffered from low level back pain for years and a prescription for anti-inflammatories pretty much cured it.

Chiropractors are actually highly trained in their chosen area.

My DH also has chronic lower back problems and he too was prescribed anti-inflammatories which he wouldn't take simply because it kills the pain and does not alleviate the problem only masks it! GP's tend to hand out tablets and do no more.

As and when problems kick in, he has been treated both buy a chiropractor, and by an osteopath(ex physio) who also uses acupuncture. These treatments have proved to be hugely beneficial (to him).

OP-It is also good to go by personal recc. The one DH uses is an ex football club physio and is extremely good. He has walked (and I use the term very loosely) in with one hip sitting 3 " higher than the other (where 3 discs have slippedand walked out with everything back in place after one session(albeit a bit tender)

Dunroamin

I've had great success with osteopathy for lower back pain so I think that this would be worth trying. If you want to give acupuncture a try I'd search out a physio who offers this as an additional skill, which is what happened to me when I was being treated for RSI.

outtawork

I was told my back pain was because of my weight, so I have lost 4 stone now & it is worse. I have had acupuncture & physio which consisted of exercises & nothing has helped with the pain. I now use a hot water bottle & I have scorched my back, so I'm not sure what the doctor will do next.