Your Neck, Your Back: A Pain Thread

i have a herniated disc that acts up at really inconvenient times (like today, when i was supposed to go to a catering gig that would have me on my feet for six hours). but now my neck is giving me trouble too. i was carrying a heavy bag yesterday; i think that set me off.

how's your pain? how are you managing it?

ever since this weekend, I've had a twinging pain in my left heel that feels like a really stiff muscle that refuses to relax; I desperately want it to go away soon because the idea of a walking vacation where walking is painful is basically torture

Before: slept poorly at night, tossed and turned like Linda Blair, in agony in the mornings. Straightened my neck with a 2nd pillow under my head, and straightened my back with a pillow between my legs. After: sleep great, no pain.

It's one of those things I don't like to talk about very much because it feels like whining or a plea for attention. I definitely haven't been feeling that great.

I have to set myself up with pillows under head and under feet or between knees every night, because I don't move around so whatever position I'm in is how I'll be until 7am. On the occasion that I've shifted to some awkward position while asleep, in the morning I could just KILL something with the way my lower back feels. Luckily not today!

nicole, feel free to talk about it whenever you need to -- i promise it doesn't sound like whining.

i think the process of getting old is the process of locating where the pain has migrated to today

well said.

One of the first things I noticed when I stopped eating carbs was that the joint pain went away - ankles, knees, back, shoulder. I was traveling the past few weeks, eating carbs galore, and am paying for it now. Also, currently have a twingy lat muscle, but it's responding okay to heat.

getting old is the process of locating where the pain has migrated to today - this is so true.

yes it is - that soreness in my right arm/elbow (lasted for MONTHS) relocated to my left shoulder/back

iirc, my chiropractor (who I trust quite a bit to be very sensible and not stranded out in la-la land) told me that if you took MRIs of every adult over 50 that the majority of them would show worrisome spinal abnormalities, even if most of them had no pain or other symptoms associated with them.

my back pain/injury showed up in my late twenties.

Due to completely screwed up legs I've had knee and foot pain for much of my life sadly. Recently my right knee's become really unmanageably bad, I need to get an MRI to get to the bottom of it, but basically I can no longer squat down AT ALL, and if I end up on the floor, I need help getting back up, which is icredibly embarrasing :/

Going to gigs = immense pain for me, after about an hour I just cant stand anymore, but gig venues dont have seating, so .. well, I stopped going to gigs :(

i threw my back out last week and went to the dr and had an x-ray and i apparently have scoliosis in my mid back. this is in addition to 2 partially herniated discs in my neck.

i haven't tried going to a chiropractor - just physical therapy and acupuncture. i feel like i should try that, and also pilates, but it's all $$.

Two of my favorite males have chronic back pain, and both of them have had flareups lately--Lloyd my husband slipped on the blanket that covers up the entrance to the living room/bedroom and was pretty much flat on his back for a few days, and Bucky the hound dog gets a flareup about one day out of every three. (We give him an aspirin, and he goes back to normal.)

haven't tried going to a chiropractor

Good. Dont. They are shysters.

They are shysters.

Not all of them. The original theory of chiropratic medicine was that every disease, without exception, was caused by misalignment of the spine, which is, of course, complete quackery and any chiropractor who starts to sell you on that theory should be ditched asap.

I've got a chiroprator who is mainly into sports medicine and operates more as an extremely well-informed and perceptive physical therapist, who can also do spinal adjustments. I trust her assistance on any obvious skeleto-muscular disorder. When she gives me homework, in the form of exercises to do, they always do the trick.

Yeah if they strictly stick to spinal/muscular work thats ok, as long as you're not being subjected to ocnstant xrays, and quackery.

A friend of mine went to one a while ago. He BLED her like a 16th century medic. Like, fucking pricked her finger with a blood-pinprick test thingy "to let the stress out" or let the something out. He also put a slice of banana under her toungue. She was all "is this... weird, guys?" and everyone was yelling at her to stop going , haha.

CONSTANT xrays, dear god I have bad typing.

I basically have lower limb pain all the time. hooray for running.

Was suffering from a sharp pain in my shoulder blade that was radiating down my arm. Did some physical therapy which sort of helped but sort of didn't. Wasn't convinced the therapists knew what they were doing. The pain didn't fully clear up until I stopped therapy due to diminished returns. I've been feeling ok, but fear that a little too much physical activity will bring it back again.

Just got a new fancy mattress and pillow and am hoping that will be the key to fewer aches and pains.

Moodles I had the same thing in my right shoulder/arm and my physio completely fixed it. It took a few visits and about 2 months of exercises and her doing some v specific massagey/pressure release manipulation stuff, but whatever it was, it worked, and the pain hasnt come back. I had to be pretty dedicated with the exercises tho. A proper ortho pillow also helped, as did immediately ceasing carrying ANY heavy bags/satchels on that arm.

He also put a slice of banana under her toungue. She was all "is this... weird, guys?" and everyone was yelling at her to stop going , haha.

She should have asked him to put some ice cream, whipped cream, syrup, and a cherry in her mouth along with the banana.

My neck and back don't hurt today, but if you'll permit me to sing a song about two other places that are sore...

i haven't tried going to a chiropractor - just physical therapy and acupuncture. i feel like i should try that, and also pilates, but it's all $$.

pilates >>> chiro. pilates works wonders for me both in terms of specific pain/soreness and general posture/flexibility etc. worth $$ imo

yeah at this point i feel like i can't afford NOT to spend $$ trying to fix this since i basically am in pain all the time.

i also have a really weird, huge muscle knot in my left shoulder that neverrrrr goes away (over the course of years) and i had a bunch of therapy for it yesterday - my physical therapist tried to do trigger point release, then did heat and electro stim, and then i went and had acupuncture, then massage, and it hasn't budged at all and i am in more pain this morning :( so frustrating, i don't know what to do about that.

Degenerative disk! Acting up like a bitch lately! On steroids (local and systemic)! MRI on Monday! Sucks!

I just feel awful overall, all of my joints ache and today is one of those days where even walking is a bit difficult/painful. I would love just to be normal again, or at least moderately okay.

I used to get really horrible lower back pain until a PT friend figured out that it was my SI joint getting out of whack. She showed me a maneuver to pop everything in my pelvis back into place and it's not been a problem since.

Being warm enough at night counts for so much. It's weird to suddenly have that realization smack me, but it's like a big truth bomb. My back was killing me as the weather got colder, but then I added an extra blanket to my side of the bed and quit having to curl up in a fetal position for warmth -- problem partially solved. Then we changed to a new set of flannel sheets a few days ago, and my back hasn't felt this good in years. I can arrange myself for comfort, not to try to hoard body heat.

Whoa, this thread title

OMG I went to the osteopath yesterday and she clicked my neck and wow, for at least an hour afterwards I was walking on air!

I need some tips on playing musical instruments without fucking my back up. Half my back problems started when I begun playing the bass.

it seems counterintuitive but some people swear by dead lifts

what's that?

bending down and picking up something heavy, essentially

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadlift

My roommate is currently in bed w severe back spasm and essentially can't walk or stand or take the subway or work his job or get paid or meet any of his deadlines, and has no medical insurance. Fucking awful.

xpost get thee one (1) corpse

i think i'm finally starting to see the light with my sciatica (or whatever you want to call the muscle spasms in my piriformis and IT band + jangly nerve pain all down my leg). still can't run (or cough or laugh) without pain and i have to limit my walking and standing time, but the spasms seem to be getting less intense and less frequent, and i can walk faster/farther. it's been months, i just can't wait to feel like myself again.

What do you think is the better immediate solution for low back/tailbone pain: a new office chair or a sit/stand desk? Can't afford both.

This is for the home office. I'm assuming that I won't be able to talk my employer into a sit/stand workstation, although I can hopefully wrangle up a better chair (I've already scavenged one out of a vacant office because my old chair hurt my low back so badly. The new one is better for my low back, but makes my tailbone hurt).

man sitting is the worst. so is standing.

I'm not in as bad of shape as you (sciatica is awful and I'm sorry!) but I worry that it will get much worse if I don't address it early.

thanks & good for you, i wish i had done that. now i know better for next time.

actually i'm continuing to see improvement - walking is better than it has been in two months and the pain has pretty much centralized to my hip/butt, instead of all down my leg. trying not to overextend myself now that i feel a little better, but i'm hopeful that i can knock this out in a few more weeks.

HI DERE, not really back and neck, but any tips to help plantar fasciitis? It's been going on for about a year now and it's very uncomfortable-to-painful when I walk.

Yes: put arched insoles in all your shoes, and sleep in those booties that pull your toes back and hold your foot flexed.

cool - i have some of those insoles - i'll try and remember to use them.

Things I have done for plantar fasciitis: weeks of physical therapy full of strengthening and balancing exercises, massage, orthotics, night splint, and EPAT treatment. The EPAT treatment seemed to work the best, but hard to tell with everything else I did. It still bothers me though. YMMV.

plantar fasciitis: freeze a full plastic water bottle. Once frozen, roll foot over bottle on floor.

Does the pain radiate down either of your legs? Do you feel numbness and tingling in either of your legs? When you lifted the hutch, did you hear/feel a "pop" in your back? Are you having any issues with incontinence?

no to all four!

which is what leads me to think that i just need to wait it out, because i know that leg pains and incontinence are warning signs for something worse.

If it's a sprain/strain, a doctor will probably prescribe you some pain meds and send you for a course of physical therapy, which can include stretching, strengthening, massage, and treatment with a TENS unit. Low back strains/sprains can take forever to heal and some PT will probably help speed the process. So I would go to the doctor anyway. However I say this as someone with good health insurance.

I'd go to the doctor, even though they probably won't do much. Mainly because I like using my health insurance as much as humanly possible.

go to the doctor NOW
if you leave shit like this alone for a length of time and it turns out to be serious it can be with you for a long long time
if it's not serious you have the peace of mind
go

i have health insurance, but i have one of those plans that requires me to designate a primary care physician (PCP!) and go to the PCP first whenever anything happens for a referral. this means that i never go to the doctor because 1) anything i ever need requires a referral which means at least two separate trips (one to the PCP, one to the specialist) and 2) i've tried three different PCPs out and all three were monumental assholes

There are probably more than three PCPs in DC. Also you probably don't need a specialist at this point. A PCP can do an X-ray and send your for PT.

particular highlights of my last 2 PCPs were:

1) pleading with my doctor that i was depressed and that i really truly needed a referral to see a therapist. explaining that i was not just "sad", and that even though i was in decent shape that day and was being polite to him and trying not to want to die, that i actually needed to see a therapist and GOD THIS CONVERSATION WENT ON AND ON AND ON

2) got stitches in hospital A, which was near my house. tried to make an appointment to get the stitches out at hospital A, but was told that first i would have to get a referral from my PCP, which was at another hospital across town and could not fit me in for an appointment for the next week and a half, long past the time the stitches needed to come out. ended up having my gf take the stitches out for me, which was actually just fine.

anyways, i'll go to the doctor and at least get an x-ray. thanks for the advice!

My dad is in surgery today because of injuries he sustained three years ago moving something which he left untreated at the time. He is also going to need another surgery later this month. It's definitely worth having checked out now because you never know what might have happened.

i have a desperate need for a chair massage

i think it's like all i talk about anymore

Oh, the buttpillow totally didn't work. If anything, it made my low back/tailbone hurt worse. Pretty much the only thing that seems to work is sitting forward so that my weight is on the backs of my thighs instead of my tailbone. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

should i just cut my left hand off y/n because it is basically a deformed useless claw now

Rolled my left ankle falling at the climbing gym (about 12 feet, but onto a crash pad). Heard a snap, but didn't break anything. Just a ridiculously debilitating sprain that's still somewhat swollen nearly a week later.

holy fuckin shit I've had some back pain over the past few years from living in vans and airplanes and stuff but fuuuuuuuuckin A the teach-your-son-to-mosh pit in the kitchen earlier this week has FUCKED me up

you go to the doctor yet?

I've had lower back/tailbone pain for about six months now. But I can avoid it if I practice good posture at work (easier said than done). When my lower back locks up I look like such a clown. I have to take a bunch of steps trying to straighten up as I walk until it "snaps" back in to place, then I'm fine.

I have not been to the doctor. Probably call tomorrow.

Goddamn neck. I think I pulled a muscle in it while sleeping last week. One day it'll seem to be doing better; then the next morning it'll be worse. And has anyone else here tried to drive without being able to fully turn your head?

i've hit a decent new plateau where i can stand & walk for awhile without pain, but i'm getting close to a year since my original back injury (2 bulged discs) and i still can't run etc. it's ok though, i'm used to it by now and just happy that things are (slowly) moving in the right direction .

Goddamn neck. I think I pulled a muscle in it while sleeping last week. One day it'll seem to be doing better; then the next morning it'll be worse. And has anyone else here tried to drive without being able to fully turn your head?

― Word Salad Username (j.lu), Monday, May 13, 2013 3:58 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torticollis

Feel like a total pussy for mentioning persistent cramp but dammit ive legs like treetrunks cramp is srs bsnss

Our Shoulders, Ourselves

I've had this painful knot behind/inside my right shoulder blade for about as long as I can remember. Apparently there's not a lot you can do other than massage/stretch/tennis ball. Sometimes when it flares up I find myself stretching or adjusting my posture almost constantly. Sometimes it feels like i'm *this close* to making it go away, like if I just pull the right muscle a little further or pop the right thing it will be gone, but I never get there.

It's also occasionally embarrassing in public since it can make me throw a football or baseball in a really erratic way if it's tight, and can also make my basketball shot go way off.

Oh I hate the "almost...there..." feeling that is never resolved.

levator scapula strain? My right LS flares up sometimes, and it is a real bitch to get calmed down again. Quite painful! Tennis ball/ice/NSAIDS help a little, but time is the real cure. Other side never bothers me, ever.

Time is no real cure, I've had this over 10 years.

Good news: not having an office job/spending more time on my feet moving around has been great for my herniated disk/degenerative disk disease.

Bad news: wtf with my right shoulder and my right big toe joint? Pretty sure the latter is bunion and/or arthritis.

Do I just start eating NSAIDS on a daily basis or?

I recommend against that last idea, strongly.

But ditto--I used to have back problems, now they're gone and I only have foot and ankle problems!

I also do 25 situps and stretches about every other day tho.

Look at chest stretches for your shoulder - I had major pain in my shoulder/deltoid (couldn't push myself up out of bed with that arm). Doorway chest stretches helped immensely.

quincie is it possible you have gout??? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gout

Gout (also known as podagra when it involves the big toe)[1] is a medical condition usually characterized by recurrent attacks of acute inflammatory arthritis—a red, tender, hot, swollen joint. The metatarsal-phalangeal joint at the base of the big toe is the most commonly affected (approximately 50% of cases).

I have another suggestion, a real one, but let me get home first.

Has Reverse Namaste been mentioned on this thread yet? (Be careful of search, one of first images is kind of nsfw)

I don't think it is gout, though I did consider that in my IANAD differential diagnosis. I don't have the red part or the hot part, just the pain in the joint (I guess I would describe it as an arthritis-y type pain).

Years ago I went to a podiatrist for tx of plantar fasciatis and he mentioned that I was developing bunions. "See how your big toes are drifting toward the smaller toes and the joint is poking out?" I'm like wtf why is that happening? "Genetics." Can I do anything about it? "No."

So my guess is that the bunion stuff is causing joint inflammation.

Hurts, man.

Also, "bunion" has got to be one of the ugliest words in the english language.

So my suggestion is that it might be this: http://hjd.med.nyu.edu/harkness/patients/common-dance-injuries/footankle#halluxrigid

xp Or maybe the one above it!

Mid-back has been hurting bad at night since Thursday. Chiropractor is busy til next week, and work is sending me out of town on Monday. This sucks.

IO that came up as a potential dx, but I don't think that's it because it does not feel *worse* when I move the joint? Like, it hurts the same regardless of motion. Also lol at the thought of my having any sort of athletic injury, given that I am a complete non-athlete. I also had to ponder "turf toe" for about thirty seconds!

any of you guys read Sarno? cuz i think i kinda believe in it

^^^ this. i am normally skeptical about the kinds of things he espouses, but i am an absolute believer in him. reading him changed my life.

my chiropractor (who I trust quite a bit to be very sensible and not stranded out in la-la land) told me that if you took MRIs of every adult over 50 that the majority of them would show worrisome spinal abnormalities, even if most of them had no pain or other symptoms associated with them.

this is one of sarno's basic points, except he wouldn't call those abnormalities "worrisome." he would say practically everyone has them and they're part of being human. and he would say that the reason some people feel pain as a result of this, while most people don't, is 100 percent psychological. i still deal with back/neck/shoulder issues, but i am able to manage them in a way i never could before i understood this. i had seen my share of doctors and physical therapists, some of whom i quite liked, and none did as much for me as sarno did.

our bodies are weird. our minds are weirder.

quincie, I had bunions on both feet and surgery to correct them, ask me anything.

Oh oh oh carl I do have questions! I had always thought that bunion problems went something like "bunions deform the feets and therefore shoes don't fit and rub the sticky-outy bone and you get gnarly callouses and that is the cause of the pain." But my shoes are not pushing/rubbing on the sticky-outy part! I have a narrow foot, so there is plenty of room and no shoe interference. But I still have pain in the joint.

Was that the case with your feets?

The bone deformity is what hurt the worst. My shoes didn't fit either, but it wasn't friction against the skin (although with some shoes that was an issue) but the shoe squeezing my already painful foot bones. Walking was a real bitch. Insoles helped some.

i have a mild manageable bunion on one of my feet that only gets inflamed periodically, usually in the cold or when the weather changes dramatically. it stopped being inflamed as much when i stopped wearing heels and/or walking long distances (> 30 min) in cheap shitty (cute) shoes. the skin has nothing to do with it -- the pain comes from inside the toe joint.

Arch support is very key.

i think i'm finally starting to see the light with my sciatica (or whatever you want to call the muscle spasms in my piriformis and IT band + jangly nerve pain all down my leg). still can't run (or cough or laugh) without pain and i have to limit my walking and standing time, but the spasms seem to be getting less intense and less frequent, and i can walk faster/farther. it's been months, i just can't wait to feel like myself again.

― have a sandwich or ice cream sandwich (Jordan), Wednesday, November 28, 2012 12:52 PM (five years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I've been trying to stretch my way out of piriformis syndrome for the past few weeks. It hasn't become so bad that I can't cough or laugh, but yesterday it flared up from about 2 pm through 10 pm and I wasn't able to ease the pain by stretching or anything. It was excruciating!

I've added some more hip exercises and started trying to roll it out with a tennis ball today, so we'll see how that goes.

Man, that was a dark time. It just took time more than anything and was a slow, gradual recovery, but I'm pretty much fine now. I try not to stress it out and still can't, like, run on pavement for very long, but given how bad it was I'm very grateful for the level of function that I have.

Wish I had better advice, but good luck (and try not fixate on it)!