Upper back fractures

[Summerson]

I have fractures to the upper back after having radiotherapy for oesphgeal cancer. The pain when walking is awful I.ve been told the fractures have healed but not in the right place hence the pain. I find I.m suffering from breathlessness when walking etc and don't know if it's connected to the fractures does anyone else have breathlessness from back fractures.

[Sunseaandsand]

I’m really sorry to hear of the pain you are in and of how and why your fractures have occurred.

Yes if the fractures are higher in the thoracic they can cause difficulty with breathing, walking , and many other things.

When I have had mine I have not been able to speak, sniff, cry, the list is endless.

I am presuming you are under hospital consultants for your treatments, and raising the issue you are having regarding your breathing difficulties should get you the help you need. I found the Pain management clinic are really good for helping with this problem.

Everything you try do after having fractures takes a tremendous amount of effort and on top of this you are having to deal with the cancer and much more.

This will all drain the energy from your body and walking will take even more of your energy.

The harder our bodies have to work effects our breathing.

Be kind to yourself and listen to what your body is telling you.

I wish you a full and very speedy recovery xx

[Summerson in reply to Sunseaandsand]

Hi thanks for replying my consultant said that nothing more could be done for my back. I have a morphine patch and I.m waiting for a nerve ablation injection which I.ve had before but it only lasted a few weeks . I go swimming which helps at the time but then the pain is always there.

[Missus835 in reply to Summerson]

Does the morphine patch help? I cannot get my GP to prescribe, even though an osteo specialist has recommended.

[Lilbil in reply to Missus835]

Hi Missus835 I have been on morphine patches for the last year. They are 10mgs which gives you 10 micrograms an hour over 7 days . I have found them amazing I am now pain free and can do a lot more walking and some light housework. I can’t understand why your GP is happy to leave you in pain, I would question this

[Summerson in reply to Missus835]

The GP has recently increased the dose and even though I.m still in pain I.m not sure if it would be even worse if I wasn't on the patch. I can't take oral painkillers due to having surgery for esophageal cancer.

[fraid in reply to Summerson]

Morphine patches didn't help me atall just made me chuck as does Oramorph so got onto Fentanyl patches, went up to 50 mcg but too much nausea so weaned meself down to 12 which worked for years. Then did more vertebral fractures so back up to 25 plus Gabapentin and Tramadol- not a wimp just could not bear such pain any more. Last two meds I reduced from 6 a day to 2 daily and am now pretty stable and fractures healed I presume. The worst was refractured between my shoulder blades 😱which affected my whole upper body hence loadsa meds. There are a million drugs out there in various strengths, you need to find what works for you so nag your gp into finding that. 🤞

[CinnamonRose in reply to Summerson]

That's really interesting that the nerve ablation only lasted a few weeks, did it get you right out of pain? I take it that it was the Radiofrequency Ablation?

I'm waiting for one as well and couldn't find anyone else who had it, I was wanting to know if it was successful, if you're having it again, I take it that you'd recommend it?

I've a couple of vertebrae that haven't healed and am in constant pain even with the morphine, finding life a struggle as I can't seem to get beyond the pain.

[Summerson in reply to CinnamonRose]

Hi cinnamon Rose yes the radio frequency ablation worked but only lasted a few weeks I.ve spoken to the consultant who suggested I try it again but I think maybe he didn't know what else to suggest and he's run out of ideas ☹️

[CinnamonRose in reply to Summerson]

If I could get out of pain just for 2 or 3 weeks it'd be worth it to be honest, although if I've to pay thousands each time🤷🏽. I notice on the London Spine Surgeon website that it says it's a novel treatment, I take it that means fairly new. Wow I've managed to upload it here, not too sure if it's against the rules, no doubt someone can let me know if it is.I also get the impression that the surgeon feels sorry that he can't help me and has suggested this as a last ditch try.

Why oh why can't they come to with a cure 😔!!

Help for spinal pain

[MaggieSylvie in reply to Sunseaandsand]

Gosh, Sunseaandsand! I've never seen anyone else post something like this. It's sort of what I tell myself, but I've never known whether it was true or not. I also never knew there was any help for the lack of breath due to shrinkage of the skeleton. My last fracture happened over a year ago and bent me over; I now attend three exercise classes a week (prescribed), and they are definitely making me stronger- and hopefully enabling me, gradually, to be able to get back to the good posture I was always used to. Thank you for validating me.

[Missus835 in reply to MaggieSylvie]

Thanks for your reply. I'm hoping to get into physio soon. I have yet another spine xray this Thursday as the pain at this time and the "bent right over" thing is possibly due to another fracture or even a refracture. Fingers crossed 🤞. The ablation thing I may look into as lack of breathing is getting to me.

[fraid]

I would get on to your gp and insist he gets your pain under control, meds can really help even in the short term. Pain is exhausting, and every effort will take more out of you than before. You have been through a lot but I'm sure a little help at least in one area is not too much to ask. Best wishes and good luck. Reading the similar post near to yours may help too. 🤗

[Missus835 in reply to fraid]

Thanks. I couldn't get it through to her yesterday and started to cry and walked out. She is referring me to a new Rheumatologist.

[fraid in reply to Missus835]

Only hope that helps! 🤞

[Missus835]

Hi. I'm so sorry you're going through all of this. I definitely empathize with the fractures AND the breathing difficulties. I have 10 fractures, most of them thoracic. I've lost about 3 inches in height since they began and quite bent over. I think it's difficult to breathe 1) because everything is now crammed together tightly, especially the diaphragam 2) the muscles in my back are always spasmed and pulling tightly around the diaphragam and stomach. Pain is excrutiating. I also have PMR which adds to this delicious recipe. NOT. I also have gastro intestinal issues and I actually think it's from the same thing. Everything is scrunched together. Can't be good over a long period of time, although when I asked my pretty much useless GP, she just looked at me. Hugs to you. I know exactly what you mean.

[josephinius1]

First, I also am so sorry for your situation, seems very unfair. I hope that whatever is happening, it's something that will ease.

What vertebrae are fractured for you? I have fractured T6,7 and 8. They definitely can be painful if I put pressure on them but they don't seem to affect my breathing. Just wondering if location might make a difference?

I don't know what you're already doing but as I started shrinking in earnest and everything hurt, which I assumed was muscles being scrunched and having to work differently than they were used to, I would do anything to get some relief. My husband is a body builder so we have a pull-up bar at home. I started just hanging from that bar, dead hang, they call it. It was incredibly painful at first, and when I'd let go of the bar, it was...let's just say I had to hold on to something. But over time, I've nearly become addicted to it. If my vertebrae are particularly scrunched and causing nerve impingement, it will straighten them back out at least for long enough to relieve the nerve pain. I think, though, it's also good for lengthening and strengthening those muscles, encouraging them to be more wherr they belong.

I know a bar you can hang from (it's way easier/I get a better stretch if the bar is high enough so I don't have to bend my knees,) isn't that easy to come by, but I can still get a good stretch at the elementary school playground. If your fractures are stable, it might be something to look into.

The other thing I do is just to lie on my back with my feet up on a couch or coffee table (you want it to be about as high as the distance between your knees and hips,) knees bent at 90 degrees, legs as squared as possible. It releases tension, as you allow those muscles to relax, from the base of your head to tailbone. It also still always hurts (for me,) but it makes you realize just how hard those muscles are working. Only time will tell if it will help prevent a full on hump, but it feels really good short-term.

Good luck!

[MaggieSylvie]

Yes. I have seven compression fractures, the first of which was upper back but the rest are lower thorax to lumbar. I can't stand for long but I walk with at least one stick first thing and while out. I do all my own housework, etc, and I get out of breath after any exertion. However, I do also have MDS, which robs my haemaglobin of the cells that make oxygen and take it round the body. I don't know how much that effects me. I've always thought I breathe heavily to rid myself of the pain. People don't understand and ask if I'm ok - which I am, sort of, if having pain is normal.

[CinnamonRose in reply to MaggieSylvie]

I do that sometimes Maggie, slow deep breathing then the shallow breathing they used to teach in anti natal classes, I don't know whether it's because I'm concentrating on the breathing, I do find it helps especially at night

[HeronNS]

Whether this helps anyone in this thread or not I don't know, and this is only my observation not personal experience. I had an older acquaintance who developed severe osteoporosis such that she was completely bent over. Then some time later I saw her at an event (sadly, her husband's funeral) and she was standing completely upright, and I noted that she was using Nordic poles. At some point when I took up Nordic walking myself the instructor actually mentioned, without name, a person who had been bent over double and with the aid of the poles had regained her upright stature. He used this as an example to show that even if one was in a condition which meant the poles couldn't be used strictly correctly they could still really help.

[Summerson in reply to HeronNS]

That's certainly worth trying I might give it a go. My posture is bad so anything is worth trying . Thanks for that.

[HeronNS in reply to Summerson]

The instructor said that this person (and I have no way of knowing if it was my acquaintance or someone else) was his star pupil! Worth a try, hope it helps.

Note, I corrected my reply to say osteoporosis, I'd incorrectly written osteoarthritis. There is info online about the use of Nordic poles and activator poles for osteoporosis.