My husband has this back issue that first manifested itself about 6 weeks ago, we seem to remember that it started right after his soccer game.
It’s on one side (left) in the mid-back section and it’s really weird - he can play soccer, walk and run for miles, doesn’t bother him when he lies down or sleeps but he can’t sit without experiencing pretty bad pain.
He’s tried so far: urgent care, ER, PCP, MRI of his lumbar back, orthopedic surgeon, PT, acupuncture and a chiropractor - nothing helps. Also tried a muscle relaxant when the problem first start, that didn’t do anything either. He is going to see another orthopedic specialist at Penn but we are just at our wits end and not sure what else to try.
Amazing how all these highly educated, highly compensated people have no clue what’s going on. Yes, he has age related arthritis and some narrowing, some bulging disks etc. but nothing that anyone can link directly to his problem. “Sounds like something muscular”, “try some PT”, “nothing to operate here” - that’s what he’s been getting and he still can’t sit down without pain.
What would you do? We are not even sure which other specialist to go to…
6 weeks doesn’t sound like a long time to me. I was in PT for well over three months before I started to feel any relief from my back issues (displaced lumbar disc that was compressing a nerve). Took close to a year to get back to normal and things still flare up now and again. I continue to need to do PT exercises regularly.
Only meds were steroids at the initial flare up and OTC meds.
Has he been recommended to stop some of his other physical activity which might be (non-obviously) contributing to the pain or progress of healing? (like the running or walking for miles).
Can he twist, move, wiggle, etc. in any way to create the pain, to exacerbate it? To find positions that may increase the pain might help find the cause, think weird yoga stretches to find the catalyst.
This won’t cure it or tell you the cause, but I suggest a sauna if you have one available. Among other things…I can move muscles further with less pain after a few minutes in the sauna. If it’s a muscle, the heat will relax it.
I don’t know when he started acupuncture, but for something like that I imagine he would have to go about 7 times, and they keep spacing it apart, so it would take close to 3 months. Did he see a licensed acupuncturist? I think there are a lot of folks out there who don’t know what they are doing.
@abasket No, he was told he can continue with his normal physical activities…
@somemom, yes, he can definitely twist in a certain way that aggravates it but they still haven’t been able to pinpoint the cause…
That’s interesting that many of you are saying it took a really long time for you to feel better… His big concern is that he’ll have to live with this pain from now on…
Actually, he seems to feel better when he puts ice on the spot and generally, changing from a sitting position seems to alleviate the pain but what does this indicate? Why is it so difficult for medical professionals to give us the diagnosis?
Well, you don’t want to be treated wrongly or be given invasive treatment without cause - and medicine IS a science - not everything is cut and dry. Not everything has a “quick fix” or a immediate solution!
No steroid injection was recommended, that’s possibly something to ask the second orthopedic doctor.
He only went to an acupuncturist a few times, felt no relief and stopped going.
She is a licensed practitioner but didn’t know the cause either so in his mind, if she doesn’t know what it is, how can she be treating it…
Not every kind of pain has a “if it’s this it must be that” kind of diagnosis. Acute lower back pain that comes on suddenly- yes, make sure it’s not his appendix, make sure it’s not a kidney stone, etc. But after ruling those kinds of things out, you’re going to be left with a long laundry list of things that get aggravated by a fall, too much muscle stress, lifting an unfamiliar load (like a case of seltzer from a high shelf at the grocery store where you don’t bend your knees so the stress is unevenly distributed) or whatnot. And those take forever to heal. Hugs.
“Will a steroid injection cure the problem or just mask the pain like an injection of cortisone ?”
Cortisone is a steroid. Steroid injections can help in two ways: (a) locate the source of the pain (if a targeted to a specific joint injection alleviated the pain, that joint could be the source of it) and (b) alleviate inflammation and allow the whatever area is affected to heal.
Not a medical professional but I have had many encounters with MDs to realize that medicine is a long way from being a “science”. That being said, I would actually suggest going to see a generalist, not a specialist, esp not an orthopedic doc. (who are now specialized into Hand, shoulder, hip, ankle etc. and whose vision might be even smaller than the parts of your body they are specialized in). Rule out other issues first, and the pain might be just coincidental with soccer playing.
Also agree that six weeks might not be long enough time for muscle/joint pains to get better/go away. Lots of water, hot sauna, rest never will hurt.
Feel your frustrations and good luck!
My brother has been experiencing back pain for years - no medical solutions. He just recently began using CBD oil and he has absolutely no pain whatsoever (he has knee issues as well but the oil isn’t working on those). Worth a shot while you’re exploring other avenues.