Back pain

[Rogersw]

Hi I have for several months a good deal of back pain also radiating down the top half of both legs. I have prostate Mets in these areas but I am beginning to wonder if this pain which is similar to sciatica could be caused by something other than the mets. Any comment’s appreciated. My consultant hasn’t suggested that might be the case but a relation who is a physio has. At present my chemo is on hold and I am awaiting a CT scan the a blood test and a revaluation.

[Ian99]

I have mets mostly in the pelvic area. I had sciatic pain in 2020, down one side only which is usual. Extremely painful and painkillers did little to alleviate things, I could barely move. In the end there was a cyst pinching the nerve at the L5 exit of the spinal column. A cortisone injection fixed it. This had nothing to do with my PCa. If you have pain down both legs, this suggests a different cause, maybe a herniated disc.

[StayingOptimistic in reply to Ian99]

How did you find out about the cyst? Which scan that found it? Thanks

[Ian99 in reply to StayingOptimistic]

I first tried a CT scan which showed nothing. On a subsequent MRI scan it was visible.

[Kaliber]

I have Mets all over my skeleton, especially at bone joints. Not saying this is your case but : if you have / had Mets at joints you use a lot ( like my hips, knees , right hand etc ) if the Mets ate enough to cause a bone on bone situation , after enough time and motion rubbing the bone on bone areas … pain will eventually ensue. This is one possibility, there are many others.

❤️❤️❤️

[4tunate1]

i'm certainly not a doctor but have had my share of orthopaedic issues prior to mHSPC. I would def have a physical therapist who is familiar with bone mets look. I have back pain from mets that are hopefully moving to remission after radiation and a month of ADT. Each time I start to exercise to relieve pain in that area it flares up and I have to stop. I'm just going to need to be paitent for a few more weeks then I intend to get a PT to look. I have nerve pain from another met in T2. If that nerve doesn't calm down soon, I intend to get a cortisone shot (consulting my MO on it as well). I guess I'm saying it could or could not be related to your mets, but I would chase it down so you are no longer in pain.

[Tinuriel]

It's worth pursuing to find the real cause. My husband couldn't walk for almost a month because of a pinched nerve at L5, and it turned out to not be related to his cancer. He was treated for it and is fine now.

[StayingOptimistic in reply to Tinuriel]

I am in a lot pain. What kind of tests you had done to find out please?

[Tinuriel in reply to StayingOptimistic]

A CT scan. I'm so sorry to hear you're in pain and hope your doctors can pinpoint the cause and deal with it.

[SteveTheJ]

That kind of back pain could be caused by different things. See a spine doctor, tell them about your cancer and they'll order MRIs or other tests that can either rule in/out the prostate cancer as being a contributor. Do it ASAP too because nerves can eventually die.

[Don_1213]

Sometimes it's the result of just getting older (which with PCa is generally considered a good thing since not getting older means you're dead..) So I tend to accept the aches and pains, remembering I had them before PCa, plus I've had x-ray studies and MRI's that show the spinal and pinched nerve issues, combined with some peripheral artery disease (PAD - it's popular on telly and facebook) makes it difficult to walk any sort of distance.

The alternative to the aches and pains didn't look good to me, so...

[j-o-h-n in reply to Don_1213]

Thank you Don,

"Not getting older means you're dead" Good epitaph for my Rock (actually better than the one my wife chose for me, "He was a dickhead") ............

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n

[Don_1213 in reply to j-o-h-n]

Maybe "He was a dickhead, but he finally stopped aging..."??

[j-o-h-n in reply to Don_1213]

Mine died long time ago...........and I'm still aging...

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n

[Nfler]

You may want to try jacuzzi and or sauna as that tends to alleviate pain n possibly kill cancer cells at the same time n one just feels better after a 19 minute or so session. Good luck

[GAdrummer]

Pinched nerve pain radiates downward. The cause may be disintegrating disc or vertebrae or both. if so, don't lift >15 lb. weight.

[tayninhtom]

Hoping the MRI gives you some information. I found that going to Physical Therapy after determining joint pain wasn't related to treatment solved my issues. I now do an hour of stretches and exercises every other day and have no pain. The sciatic pain is gone, along with knee and hip pain as long as I stretch and strengthen according to plan. My PT is with the VA so I don't know what your equivalent would be in UK.