achy breaky back....OW!

mudcow007

Hey all

went to Llandegla (North Wales) bike track on Saturday, had been there about 20 mins, climbed to the first of the big 'orrible climbs, went to over take my mate (we were playing silly buggers) and my back kind of clunked/ clicked with a sharp pain.

After stopping my back was in a kind of spasm, were if I moved into one position I was ok, but the next minute I would get a painful jolt from the bottom of my back

I was stuck in the middle of the woods so had to ride back, worryingly when I got home I was getting pain shooting down my right leg. This has stopped now though

It’s eased off a bit now but still painful moving....any ideas what I have done?

Mr Plum

Not a clue what might have happened but it's something you need to get looked at. Back issues will only get worse if you don't sort them when you first notice that something isn't right.

TLDNMCL

If you are lucky, muscle spasm / trapped nerve.

Either way, get to the doc sooner rather than later, and good luck!

mudcow007

cheers guys

its not as bad im still riding every day, it doesnt seem to hurt on my bike, but its when i doing every day things

i will see if i can get an appointment at my docs, i will keep you up dated

cheers!

jamesco

From my painful experience it sounds like sciatica from an impinged nerve. Definitely get to a doctor soon, and if it was the bike wot triggered it, consider staying off it for a bit. Aggravating the injury can turn it from something minor to a real problem that takes a long time to heal properly (if it ever does) very quickly.

Babber Goo

^ sound advice

i suffer with chronic back pain and sciatica and it's nothing to ignore, i can tell you from solid experience

get it checked out asap

greg66_tri_v2.0

A clunk/click sounds like a mechanical displacement. I'd point the finger at a facet joint or your SI joint - more likely the latter. Either has ligament damage as the ultimate cause. Once you have displacement, the soft tissue surrounding the displacement goes into lockdown to protect the damage and prevent further damage - hence spasms and soft tissue pain.

Have a look on Amazon for SIJ belts. If it is your SI joint, putting this one should provide almost instant relief.

mudcow007

thanks for the advice guys, i have phoned my local docs an have arranged an appointment for monday.

i keep thinking the pain has gone but then i move an its back, when the pain comes back its more of a dull ache now so im thinking its muscular?

the pain is just in the small of my back, im worried in that once you have a back issue it will re-occur!

gbsahne001

sounds identical to my backpain last year; thankfully it all resolved itself with out medical intervention.

Hoopdriver

Forget the doctor - they rarely know anything useful about back pain; get to a sports physio or osteopath. They see these thing a lot and will be able to tell you what it is. It could be sciatica or it could be the start of a prolapsed disc. Both can be fairly readily treated if looked at early in the game.

Good luck

Initialised

Possibly a herniated or prolapsed disc. My wife hand similar symptoms from running.

beverick

jamesco wrote:

From my painful experience it sounds like sciatica from an impinged nerve. Definitely get to a doctor soon, and if it was the bike wot triggered it, consider staying off it for a bit. Aggravating the injury can turn it from something minor to a real problem that takes a long time to heal properly (if it ever does) very quickly.

As a sufferer from a long term sciatica inducing cycling injury I'd agree with that diagnosis, especially with the referred pain down the leg.

I'm currently off the road having aggrevated the injury last Thursday. I was pulling away from a junction in a slightly higher gear than was good for me and, as I pulled up the left pedal, I felt a deep 'ping' deep in the left hand side of my lower back. The feeling was followed by a deep burning pain which, by the time I'd got the remaining 10 miles home, had radiated down my left leg. I could hardly walk by Saturday.

As this happens every year or so (this year's is especially bad though) I've got used to the rehabilitation. A weeks' worth of anti-inflamatories (Ibuprofen 'long lasting' in my case) to get the injury to settle down. Gentle manipulation of the affected area to stop surrounding muscles going into spasm (I get the wife to massage the affected area). nb according to various physio's I've visited much of the pain with a back injury is 'referred' pain as surrounding muscles go into spasm.

Also, sitting in one place for an extended time isn't a good idea so keep moving about. I'd google a few lower back pain relief exercises.

I go swimming as soon as I think my back will take it just to get things moving; not far initially (just 500m on Tuesday and Wednesday in single lengths this week using which ever stroke causes the least pain).

Yesterday, 7 days after the initial injury I had a 3-4 mile ride on the bike. I kept in the middle range gears and eased off if I felt the pain increase in the affected area. I've had a slight reaction overnight and the injury area feels tight this morning so it'll be another 500m swim this lunch time, a couple of light gym (weights) sessions this weekend before trying the bike again on Monday.

My injury ususally takes 2-6 weeks to settle down depending on how badly I've aggrevated it.

I hope this helps.

Bob

jamesco

Hoopdriver wrote:

Forget the doctor - they rarely know anything useful about back pain; get to a sports physio or osteopath. They see these thing a lot and will be able to tell you what it is. It could be sciatica or it could be the start of a prolapsed disc. Both can be fairly readily treated if looked at early in the game.

Good luck

You can get physio and rehabilitation treatment on the NHS, but will need to see a GP first. For a geek like me it's quite interesting being assessed for sciatica - depending on where the pain/numbness is located on the leg, they can determine where in the spine the nerve is being impinged.

Recovering from nerve damage can be a long, slow process with no guarantee of 100% success. My two cents is to get help & advice from your doctor, it's what they're there for

mudcow007

im all booked in for a doc appointment on monday.

its weird as its quite painful to turn over in bed? first thing in the morning is more painful than during the day too?

im sure it will be reet, thanks for the advice everyone

i feel really old now (i was 28 last week) complaining about back ache

davis

Back pain is quite often worse after you've been lying still. Movement frees it up.

I'd recommend a physio over a GP as well.

mudcow007

right, went to the docs last night an she took a look at my back....proded and poked it an said

"yes your back is in spasm but will settle down soon, here is a perscription to help with the pain"

she gave me; ibuprofen and Diazepam!? which i thought was Valium, which i always thought was a "happy happy pill" but can make you depressed....

i dont generally take tablets etc so i think i will carry on an see how i get on

walkingbootweather

Glad you have a diagnosis and treatment. Have had back problems myself and GP frankly not much use. Managed to get refered to a specialist back care professional (physio with bells on) through work and she was brilliant. In my case I needed to keep exercising and the pills helped to manage the pain in the short term. For other types of injury, rest is a better course of action.

If you don't see an improvement, I would definately recommend seeking out a back specialist even if you have to pay privately for it.

greg66_tri_v2.0

You've learned lesson #1: GPs don't generally have much insight into lower back pain.

Do take the ibuprofen. It is an anti-inflam, and will help reduce the swelling around the damaged area.

Go to a physio. Now.

davis

Greg66 wrote:

Go to a physio. Now.

This.

*looks around at the Orthopedic ward where I've spent the last two weeks* Huge amounts of the restorative work is done or decided by the physios, and I heard one of the doctos sary that (in many cases) even the doctors/ortho surgeons defer to them (once they've done their knifey-knifey bit, that is).

Go to a physio. Go. Go now.

jamesco

mudcow007 wrote:

"yes your back is in spasm but will settle down soon, here is a perscription to help with the pain"

she gave me; ibuprofen and Diazepam!? which i thought was Valium, which i always thought was a "happy happy pill" but can make you depressed....

i dont generally take tablets etc so i think i will carry on an see how i get on

Diazepam is also a muscle-relaxant, so it's effective at treating muscle-spasms. It won't make you depressed, but it may make you very chilled out, just don't combine it with alcohol if you want to stay awake

jamesco

Greg66 wrote:

You've learned lesson #1: GPs don't generally have much insight into lower back pain.

Do take the ibuprofen. It is an anti-inflam, and will help reduce the swelling around the damaged area.

Go to a physio. Now.

No-one has an easy 100% guaranteed fix for lower-back pain. Even a lot of the operations that are performed have been found to be ineffective. That said, a GP has had at least seven years of medical training plus consultations with thousands of patients and can refer patients for physio if they think it's appropriate, as well as give advice on exercises and injury-prevention. I'd trust the guys in white coats more than random people on the internet, but it's your back to do what you want with

Headhuunter

jamesco wrote:

Greg66 wrote:

You've learned lesson #1: GPs don't generally have much insight into lower back pain.

Do take the ibuprofen. It is an anti-inflam, and will help reduce the swelling around the damaged area.

Go to a physio. Now.

No-one has an easy 100% guaranteed fix for lower-back pain. Even a lot of the operations that are performed have been found to be ineffective. That said, a GP has had at least seven years of medical training plus consultations with thousands of patients and can refer patients for physio if they think it's appropriate, as well as give advice on exercises and injury-prevention. I'd trust the guys in white coats more than random people on the internet, but it's your back to do what you want with

I agree, there isn't much doctors or physios can do. I get back spasms sometimes. The 1st time I remember was back in late 1998 when I was 26 years old.... I remember lying down for a while and it got better within an hour. Then I remember in 2005 I was bending down putting some washing to dry on a clothes rack and my back went. I could barely walk for a few days. It was like being an old man! I remember a mate of mine who's a nurse said that I should stay as active as possible as sitting around is not good for bad backs as they simply seize up and the muscles get tighter. Since then it's happened a couple of times. possibly the worst was in early 2010, I was just sitting down at my desk at work! the last time I was accelerating away from lights in a high gear, really mashing on the pedals of the bike when it went again. This was a few weeks ago but it got better within a few days.

I've seen doctors and physios and they have diagnosed sciatic pain and problems, however I never get referred pain down the leg which is normal... Basically there is nothing they can really do about it. It is possible to operate in extreme circumstances but it's not guaranteed to succeed. I just do back strengthening exercises at the gym and stretch my back muscles regularly which is quite relieving...

mudcow007

seems like a really common thing then, this old back issues.

im only 28 (just) an i felt like an old man when it went last saturday i was hobbling around like Yoda.

i think i will leave it alone an im sure it will sort its self out, i dont particulary like taking medication/ tablets so i wont get the perscription unless it gets sore

have noticed though it hurts in the morning an subsides through the day....

Hoopdriver

Sure, no one can wave a magic wand and make the whole thing cure by itself but very few GPs have any serious expertise in lower back pain - physios invariably do. Yes, yes, yes, I know that GPs studied for seven years but they were studying everything in the book and in the body, from TB to athlete's foot to influenza to kidney stones. The G in GP stands for GENERAL.

the most they can do is refer you to someone else, typically a physio. Go there first, even if you have to pay. trust me, it will be worth it. I did the GP thing and was told I had a sore back (gee, thanks) and that it would probably clear up. In fact, it was far more serious than that. I went to a physio who ordered me straight to A&E, and followed it up himself to see that I got there and was looked after properly.

At the hospital - there were genuine spinal specialists, not GPs - who informed me that I had an extremely severe ruptured disc and after an MRI was straight into surgery. Thanks to their brilliant work, and clear thinking and diagnosis by the physio, I've had no back troubles since and it's been 7 years. I was damn lucky.

I do not like to think what might have happened if I had simply followed the GPs advice to go lie down and take some iboprufen and hope for the best.

Go to a physio ASAP

walkingbootweather

I went to the doctor and told him I had a bad back. He examined me closely and concluded by front wasn't too clever either.....

I'll get my coat.

greg66_tri_v2.0

mudcow007 wrote:

seems like a really common thing then, this old back issues.

im only 28 (just) an i felt like an old man when it went last saturday i was hobbling around like Yoda.

i think i will leave it alone an im sure it will sort its self out, i dont particulary like taking medication/ tablets so i wont get the perscription unless it gets sore

have noticed though it hurts in the morning an subsides through the day....

I sympathise with your back pain, and if you're bored enough to read back far enough, you'll know I've had very bad spells of it myself.

But since you're not taking any notice of what's been suggested in this thread by those who have "been there, done that (or something like it)", and you're not going to take the medication your GP has prescribed, what exactly is the point of this thread?

Kaise

my lady has lower back pain and after seeing a chiropractor it was worse than previous, after three trips to a recommended osteopath she is feeling better than ever.

If you go and see someone, make sure you get a recommendation as some people, no matter thier qualification, can do more bad than good.

where as some are awesome and just one touch and you're done

mudcow007

i am taking notice of whats been put in this thread and what people are suggesting, i have just found out today by our company secretary we have medical insurance....winner!!

so i think i will be given them a ring.

what worries me is it will keep on re-occuring

the reason why im not taking the medication the doc perscribed is that i already have ibuprofen which didnt do anything (that i could tell) an im not taking pills that make me go "do lally"

i will let you all know what the insurance says

Kaise

what worries me is it will keep on re-occuring

back problems can be helped by strengthening your core muscle structure, stuff like The Plank, Side Plak and The Bridge are good, and also you can get an inflatable disc called a stablility disc that goes on your office chair.

I have used one for a few years now and i helps keep you mobile on the chair and strengthen core muscles, you just have to ease yourself in to using on as it can tire you out.

If the med insurances pays for osteo,

Headhuunter

As you get older the discs between you vertebrae dessicate which can cause back aches and pains. I had an MRI scan which showed the discs in the lower part of my back were thinner than those further up. Apparently in your 30s and 40s as these discs get drier you're more likely to suffer from back problems. Then, once you're over 50 odd when they have dried out completely you're less likely to get pain, but your back may become less flexible.... It's the start of the descent into old age my man...

stephenite

Hello Mudcow

Sorry to hear the old mans disease, the dreaded 'bad back', has struck. I know what you are going through, i suffered an attack of sciatica about 18 months ago. My back completely seized up, and it was bloody murder, i tell you. At one point trying to get ready for a hos. appt I passed out from the pain (and i'm not a fairy honest!).

You should take this seriously as you could be in for a long haul. And you are going to have to learn to speak up when you are talking to your doctor. If you don't want Diazepam why did you walk away with a prescription for Diazepam? In the recurrences i've had i take 2x 500mg paracetemol plus 1x 600mg ibuprofen. This works for me as I don't normally take any medication. If I need anything stronger i'll have a glass or two of wine on top of this. Painkillers, anti-inflammatories and muscle-relaxants = nice.

You shouldn't diss your GP as s/he is probably smarter and more knowledgeable than you are, and just wants to help you. I'm not sure of the rules in the UK anymore, but if you are to utilise the health insurance you have through your job, you will need your GP to refer you for further treatment.

Anyway, take care...