Lower back pain?

For the last few weeks I have had some annoying lower back pain. At first I thought it was cramps because I was due for my cycle, but I'm now late (not preggo, I'm fixed) and I'm still having pain. I've tried sleeping on my back, adjusting my back support at work, etc. It just doesn't seem to go away. Any one else experience pain like this? It still sorta feels like menstrual cramps, and sometimes even wakes me up from sleep.

[MaryF Administrator]

Hello there, I hope I can help, I am plagued by lower back pain that whole area inflames, however I do also have psoriatic arthorpathy which does cause pain in that area.. whichever condition... sympathy, it drives me nuts and is worse with any form of hormonal influence, sometimes it progresses up the whole spine and leaves me unable to feel my feet! I hope it gets better soon. I find my physio helps as does swimming, when well enough to have a routine, (currently not), and back ache far worse! Mary F

[Storky]

I just wrote a big reply here and it got lost when I pressed the button!! Looks like I will have to do it all over again....oh well!

What I was saying was the pain you are having could be Trigger Points. I get these a lot! These can be treated with massage as Mary says or with a gentler kind of massage called Myofascial Release. This is particularly kind and I have had some good results. If none of that works and they are proved to be Trigger Points you can have Trigger Point Injections from your local Pain Clinic.

One way of dealing with them is to put a tennis ball in a sock and hold the end of the sock with one hand and allow it to dangle against a wall while you press the part of your body with the pain up against the ball. Put as much or as little pressure on the central point as you want but the more you can bare the better. Its good for backs, shoulders, hips and thighs in particular. It will hurt but its a good hurt and will feel better afterwards. Then apply ice and heat alternatively and take your usual pain killers. If you catch it quickly enough when the pain first starts you can stop a full flare of one of these pesky little things!

There are a couple of good books you can get that show where all the trigger points are and how to release them.

[Hidden]

Well I may have an answer, I just started my cycle. I was fixed about a year ago after a miscarriage and my cycles aren't regular anymore. I'll see how I feel after my cycle and if it doesn't go away I'll try and get in with the doctor.

[TheKid]

I am assuming you have APS. I do too, and I can tell you that when I am having a "coagulation crisis" or even just a flare, my back is the proverbial canary in the coal mine. I had a catastrophic DVT in 2003, and my back hurt so badly that I could not get up off the floor after having collapsed in excruciating pain. And just last month my doc found that my INR was somehow 1.1. And during this crisis of having such a low INR, my back was screaming!

Now that I have readjusted my coumadin dosage, the back is getting better. Even pain in my rib cage had subsided.

To me, it seems that the flare is essentially a major incident of systemic inflammation that impacts various parts of the body differently. My back seems to be the thing that hurts the most during flares.

The thing I do worry about is osteo-necrosis (bone death), since there are some aches and pains that now never seem to leave me. And others on this forum have mentioned that they have osteo-necrosis of the back, which leads to awful pain. Don't know if I actually have it yet, clinically speaking, but I am eager to have an MRI to get it checked out.

[Hidden]

I have APS and take both Coumadin and Lovinox along thi many others. I was reading the side effects of the Lovinox and I found osteoporosis to be a side effect. After complaining of lower back pain for over a year, guess what I was diagnosed with? Osteoporosis. I have recently fallen and broken the Sacrum bone in my lower back. No skiiing this year. What a pain this is getting to be. Open heart surgery, 4 strokes, severe memory loss, temporary vision loss. I have to say I am tired and done.

[Hidden]

Ok, now I'm more confused than ever. My "cycle" lasted about a day and was more just spotting. Back pain is still there. It feels more muscular. If I lean over and stretch it makes it feel better but it doesn't help it go away. I know I need to get into my GYN, but I haven't made an appt yet. I am getting to the point though that I hate going into the doctor cause I always walk out with bad news, a big bill, or worse.