Severe pain..

Hi all.. I m 46 years old male, suffering from severe back pain and knee..Sorry for this long story..

These all started on June 2022 and got severe on September 2022..I went to dr a d he took an mri and told me I do have L5-S1 Spondylolisthesis and sciatica issue..I took complete bedrest for 2 months, nov and dec 2022 and my back pain gone away..

I started to do treadmill exercise on January of 2023 and did vigorous treadmill walking for 3 times a day for 20 mins each time.. I am 5 feet and 5 inches tall and was at 92 kg ladt Sep 2022..so to reduce this weight I did this heavy treadmill..

Then all problem staryed.. From mid March 2023, my back starts to hurt again and since that time to till datr I have been almost bed bound only.. Havy pain in my pelvic bone, femur bone thighs and knees.. Again I took an Mri last month and same complaint.. Dr says your issue is not that big and I dont know why you are gettibg this mich pain..

Took all blood test, had low vitamin B12, and my blood counts were lower side of normal..

Please somebody help me to get rid of these joint pains...

[Happyrosie]

No-one can make your pain go away immediately and you’ve been lucky to get a doctor to give you scans and advice. I expect you’ve been prescribed some pain-killers.

A good website to get advice from is the charity Arthritis Action. There you can get good information about how to help yourself. You already know, I expect, that you need to lose some weight. Your extra weight puts extra strain on all your joints.

Have a look at “Couch to 5k” but make sure that this is the NHS version.

other posters might be able to give you other information

[Batty1]

I had the type of pain you described for a couple of years but it was bearable then one day I made a wrong move getting out of my vehicle and suddenly I found myself unable to walk, stand or even sit or lay down the pain was horrendous from my lower back through my backside engulfing my entire upper leg into my knee (both) sides. I was so terrified when I couldn’t move I actually thought to call for the ambulance (Husband was out on a business trip) eventually I got a grip and looked up bob and brad physical therapist on youtube and did every exercise they showed for Sciatic, low back and hips …. Did every video multiple times lying down and within a few days my pains went away and this was 3 months ago still no pains and I started using a small pillow for my lower back when I sit down .. can’t live without this pillow.

I have psoriatic arthritis that attacks my back, hip, knees and pretty much entire body…. This is the stuff Nightmares are made of!

[Bcol]

Hiu, sorry to hear you are in so much pain, things which come to mind are that you are doing far too much heavy exercise. There are other ways to lose weight, cut out carbs/sugar probably being the main one. Light exercise i.e. walking will all help. The only pain medication which works for me is Co-Codamol. Naproxen also worked well but I cannot take it due to other medication contradictions. Having said that, I have found nothing that touches my sciatica pain when I get it. As already suggested have a browse through the Arthritis Action and Arthritis Foundation web sites.

[Runrig01]

you don’t say what meds your currently on, but if it’s nerve painful due to sciatica, then meds like amitriptyline, gabapentin or pregabalin can help. Has your Dr checked your inflammatory markers to rule out an inflammatory arthritis?. I have ankylosing spondylitis, which affects my pelvis, spine, neck, shoulders, knees and feet. It may be worth looking into, I get pain in my thighs as my tendons calcify and cause shortening g the muscles.

I also worked for many years as an orthopaedic nurse, and the worst thing you can do for back pain is bed rest. You need to keep moving and doing gentle stretches, there are many good videos online of stretches suitable for sciatica. Resting causes the muscles to weaken, making recovery twice as hard, and also weakens your core muscles. So I urge you to not take to lung in bed. There are even chair exercises you can do to maintain your core muscles. I should add that normal inflammatory markers don’t rule out things like AS.

The way to distinguish if it’s mechanical or inflammatory is looking at rest and activity. If your pain improves with rest and worsens when active it’s mechanical, meaning there is a structural issue, which could be slipped disc, osteophytes, narrowing of your canal etc. with inflammatory your pain improves with activity, and worsens with rest. When you’re inactive you generally stiffen up quickly, and it can take over an hour for that stiffness to lessen. Here’s a link, which shows what’s needed for a referral to rheumatology if you feel AS is a possibility.

bmj.com/content/bmj/suppl/2...