I may have posted this before. I don’t even remember because the pain in my lower back gets worse as time goes on and today is no exception. To begin with it seemed my Rytary helped but not anymore. I barely sleep because of it waking me. As I sit here waiting for my second dose of Rytary, it just feels worse. Usually it gets some better after I ride my stationary bike, which I have already done. I just want a definite diagnosis. Is that too much to ask for.? I have had a mri, been to a sorry excuse of a neurosurgeon, had an injection for possible periformis ,Been to a Ob/gyn for dropped bladder. My movement disorder specialist says it’s an unusual effect of Parkinson’s. NO Diagnosis, so No relief.
What can I do now? Appreciate suggestions!
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Ep0522
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MB: I woke like usual last night with back pain. I did some stretches without getting out of bed (doesn’t bother my husband. He sleeps through anything) and actually went back to sleep. Hope I can keep seeing positive results. Thanks for the suggestion.
Low back troubles are common in Parkinson's because the tendency to lean forward puts strain on the low back. There are many possible things that can go wrong:
Lumbar disc problems - a typical symptom is referred pain in the leg due to impingement on the sciatic nerve
Lumbar facet joints - symptom is pain and stiffness upon transitioning from sit to stand position
Dystonia - pain from tight muscles
Subluxation - misalignment of lumbar vertebrae. Chiropractor or doctor of osteopathic medicine can diagnose and remedy
I’m finding that my pain is nearly gone about one hour after my second Rytary dose and doesn’t come back until I take less rytary in the evening. It will come back if I accidentally get busy and take my Rytary late.
Yes. If I eat anything and I mean anything, my Rytary wasn’t working, so my neurologist told me to increase it, so I got in that habit and based it on if it was helping my pain and if my walking was better. Last week I began to have trouble keeping my right leg still when reclining or at bedtime, so I had to reduce it.
Also these exercises have really helped and they are easy to do. Go to Youtube, there are many examples, pick and choose the ones you like and the ones that seem to target your specific problem areas and create your own 20 minute routine. I personally like floor exercises to work with gravity rather than against it. I try to do them everyday. They helped my lower back pain.
From PB ," ...Low back troubles are common in Parkinson's because the tendency to lean forward pts strain on the low back. There are many possible things that can go wrong..."
Which is cause and which is effect? I've had back trouble since high school 50 years ago. 20 years ago a horse kicked me in my face and shattered my jaw. Too many fragments for surgical repair so my jaw was wired shut for 3 months. I lost about 60 pounds from living on liquids. And had no back pain at that lower body weight. (I went from 220 to 160 lbs) Once the jaw was un-wired I knew the weight would return so I started jogging. Jogging daily kept my weight under control; I stabilized at 170lbs. Whenever injured and unable to jog daily my weight would go up to 180lbs or more. And drop once I was back to jogging.
Diagnosed with PD 5 or 6 years ago, my weight 1ballooned to 220lbs.. I don't jog daily but use a treadmill off-and-on. I believe the big unrecognized symptom in PD is depression. I should exercise every day but I just don't wanna. I tell myself, What's the point?
I have a forward lean same as drawings of people with PD have. Is that straining the lumbar muscles or is weak abdominal muscles the cause? In the past I'd use the type of back brace favored by furniture movers. This forced my abdominals to bolster my back while standing or walking. The obvious remedy is to wear the back brace but it no longer fits me. And I can't stand the idea of shopping for a much bigger brace.
I get severe back pain immediately when my zinc level gets out of balance while loading up on copper to improve ceruloplasmin activity, although I try to keep the ratio at 8:1 (see my first post). The pain goes away as soon as I take some zinc. Get your zinc level tested and see if supplementation helps to rule out zinc deficiency, but if you end up supplementing be careful to balance with copper to be sure you don’t end up copper deficient- it’s a fine balancing act.
Yes. 8:1 Zinc:Copper. I would start with no more than 2-3mg copper in the am for a few months to build the enzyme activity, which means 16-24mg zinc in the pm. Don't forget the cod liver oil for preformed natural retinol to take with copper - I recommend Rositas or NutraPro.
ideally you should be able to get enough zinc through diet but most elders end up zinc deficient because of the lack of ability to absorb enough minerals from food, especially as the body gets saturated with toxic iron level that affects proper mineral balancing. The next time you have trouble sleeping because of back pain, try some zinc and see what happens, but be sure you also look into the copper equation, ideally also supplementing cold pressed cod liver oil for the needed retinol. I can pretty much cause my back pain at will at this point…
Does this help with dystonia in general, or just back pain? What kind of test is most useful — my naturopath uses hair testing but I know functional medicine docs use blood testing…
I assume this question was directed at me. It's not just for back pain but it's a symptom (along with insomnia) I've definitely noticed when running zinc deficient. Zinc affects all six classes of enzymes with over 300+ vital activities while modulating gene transcription, so it's not just about one mineral but it happens to regulate many important trace minerals synergistically and affect critical metabolic paths. A serum test is a good start to rule out severe deficiency but that level can fluctuate quickly so HTMA would be a good test to correlate for relevant trace mineral ratios since it's all about the minerals balancing act.
I am 71, diagnosed with PD in 1999, but had symptoms for almost a decade prior. I have lived with severe back pain for all that time, a result of PD. After years on heavy opiates I had a spinal cord stimulator implanted 4 years ago. It has been very helpful. Still have pain daily, but it is much more manageable. Unfortunately, as the PD progresses. So does the pain.
I also had dbs surgery. I founf after the spinal cord stimulator was turned on I had to reduce the level of simulation from the dbs or I was having some dyskinesia.
get someone to take some photos of you from the side standing naturally for you.
What is your posture like? If you are not aligned as per text book spine pictures then work on stretching any tight muscles that are pulling you into the wrong shape. If you stay in the wrong position a long time fascia builds up to cement in an incorrect posture.
This can be broken up with cupping on your upper back if you have a hunch.
Or by stretching with pressing on the muscle for say 10 seconds until you feel the fascia give. Keep doing this every day and try and get your posture more into correct alignment. Not too much at a time.
If you have a sway lower back try exercises that strengthen tummy muscles and ones that stretch lower back muscles like touching toes.
Morning. I agree that it's common in PD. I understand that if levadopa relieves that sort of pain , then it is due to the effects of PD. My chiropractor explained that it's a type of neuroplastic pain......the brain sends pain signals, but there is no structural damage to the area. Migraine is a similar type of pain . My movement specialist confirms this . Don't be afraid to exercise. It's not dangerous. This is what has helped my pain, along with my next dose of Madopar.
Ep0522, I have almost the same symptoms you're having. My MDS prescribed Pregabalin (Lyrica) but I hadn't felt any relief after six months, so I stopped taking it. Recently I started taking some physio treatment. After two sessions I felt noticeable relief from the pain and stiffness and have had more flexibility in the area. My future sessions will include targeted exercises which promise to extend absence of pain and stiffness. Will let you know how that goes. Wishing you speedy relief.
Yes, physical therapy! I can't stress it enough! No matter what is causing it, if your muscles are weak the lack of support will make it worse. My 90yo mom (with crippling back pain tho no PD) has had THREE surgeries, I-can't count-how-many shots in her back and FINALLY, physical therapy three days a week and it's like a miracle.
It wasn't instantaneous and she is diligent about doing her exercises on her non-physio days...but she thought she was "exercising" before (following an online program) and it was not nearly the same as the real thing.
I was diagnosed with pd in 2015. I frequently have low back pain, I usually attribute to bending over too much (play with bunny or vacuuming floor) What has helped me greatly with pain is Salonpas patches, over the counter and not invasive.
I too have back pain especially in the morning when I first try to crawl out of bed. If I spend a few minutes to stretch my hamstring muscles while waiting for my Duopa to kick in, I find that the pain in my lower back is much less. Troughout the day, I stretch my hamsrings after I've been sitting for awhile and the pain is quite manageable . I agree with others who say this is definitely a pd symptom.
I find the pain to nearly be unbearable..thinking of taking hydrocodone, but trying not to. Don’t have but a few and doubt my dr will give me more and don’t want to get addicted. Stretches don’t seem to help that much as they did.
just woke and just began to realize my back pain is probably muscle dystonia around my bladder. Happens after I go to the bathroom especially after my pd medication is off at night and can’t get back to sleep. Any suggestions are appreciated.
I have had lower back pain that remains intermittent in degree. Especially aggravating in the morning when I have to pivot like a snake to get off the bed?? As my day progresses the aching subsides. I have come to a hopeful relief buy realizing that it is a result of stomach muscle atrophy. A loss of stomach muscle that hugely is responsible for holding my spine in place. Simple stomach strengthening exercises seems to help. I’m optimistic. The wife bought a specially designed silk sheet which amazingly provided relief from the required snake maneuver but not a cure I theorize still ( weak stomach muscles)!
I sleep next to the edge of the bed to make it easier to get out which is several times a night for bathroom calls. Not recommended as I have fallen out on the floor before. Those special sheets helped a lot but seemed over the top for me.
It’s not fun to build stomach muscle just like the consistent and challenging recommendation to exercise. However if we can have a simple routine in our PD World of low motivation, I’m trying simple isometrics for stomach muscle strengthening and hopefully it will provide some relief from this forever/nagging lower back pain that is my biggest issue currently . For a demo, sit on a flat stool with a place to hook your feet forward then sit straight up then tilt back a little at a time and hold there you can really feel the weakness and hopefully strengthening if a routine is established I’m still working on that darn routine but I think there’s relief on the horizon!
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Levadopa (Rytary) should I keep trying to cut back?
Low dose Lithium to prevent dementia in Parkinson’s
Looking for people who have phased out Carbidopa/Levodopa in favor of an all-mucuna program
