I have been waiting a month since my scan to have my MRI Scan review. My GP kindly wrote a letter to the local BAN's team to try and speed up my getting the results. The Physio in charge of my case phoned me tonight. There are no abnormalities to be seen on my scan. Initially I was so relieved but on further consideration, I am now just as concerned as to what on earth is wrong with me? I still have such extreme symptoms, my life has been changed out of all proportions.
I know that no one can tell me out there in Pain Concern Land, but I just wanted to write this out!
Hi wayside7, i understand how you are feeling. All we want to hear is a diagnosis so that it can hopefully be treated but when yet another test or exray comes back negative its not only a releif but damn frustrating. Hang in there and keep trying until they find out whats wrong, because they will eventually. X
Thank you lowlife, I can tell that you understand how I am feeling.
I had hoped that with an obvious diagnosis a tailored program of physio could be worked out, and I would be on my way to recovery. I don't want to take any strong drugs, and have been managing with taking Vit D, Floradix, acupuncture, homeopathy, osteopathy,exercises.I have been using ice packs and Arnica gel for months now. When the senior physio rang with the results, she admitted that she hadn't got a clue what was wrong. As you say another bank of tests looms!!
I read with interest you are having Acupuncture and I'm presuming this is Symptomatic Acupuncture, because if you were having Traditional Chinese Acupuncture with an experienced and advanced Qualified Practitioner, he or she would be able help your symptoms of the heavy legs. I have had this and other symptoms and have been treated for it by Traditional Chinese Acupuncture.
Just out of interest, An MRI does not show up nerves. An MRN might but I guess could be very pricey.
Yes you are quite correct he is an advanced and experienced practitioner of traditional Chinese Acupuncture. He was recommended to me. I have had 3 sessions with him so far and there have been changes in my symptoms.
Can I ask you if you found that your symptoms improved with your treatments?
I haven't heard of an MRN Scan. I had my MRI Scan done on the NHS. Is this other type of scan only available privately? Thank you for your reply.
Hi, thank you for replying. I would say, stick with this treatment. It does take time, but it's so well worth it. and top ups will be needed even when you feel you are improved. You and I are fortunate in having treatment from this category of Practitioner. I tried at least 3 before I found one with the expertise and qualifications to treat my problems. I was in a dire state when I found the one I am with now.
Any symptoms I have had, ( and there are and have been many ) always improve. I would be totally lost without this treatment. I dread to think how I would manage without it.
From what little research I have done, the MRN scan for myself would have to be private. There are 2 hospitals in London that do MRN . One is NHS and I think private as well ( but not sure) and the other is I think American and definitely private.
i live a long way from London so that's another thing that puts me off.
I was with a Acupuncturist for weeks who didn't help me much at all, infact it seemed to make me worse!!
I had a break and asked my osteopath who they would recommend and now I am with this one. I have only had 3 sessions so far, the first one didn't do anything but the second session certainly did. Whilst I didn't feel 'all better now', I felt a change!
I was permanently damaged by the 2nd Acupuncturist I tried. 3rd one hadn't got a clue, 4th one made me feel temporaly worse.
I've been with 5 th one for some years. One lives and learns along the pain route.
It sounds as though the Acupuncure is working well for you, your energy levels are improving and you are being treated as a whole person.
Hello All,
Has anyone had remedial therapy? What did you think? Was it helpful?
I have got nerve pain and odd sensations in both my legs. Which makes my legs feel weird and very heavy. Just like you have just got out of a swimming pool, take your body weight back, the heavy feeling comes for a step or two and goes. That feeling is with me all the time, until I sit or lie down.
The recent MRI Scan of my lower back showed no abnormalities. I am certainly not presenting classically for anything you could put your finger on! I am managing without any drugs at all, using ice packs, arnica gel, Vit D spray, as a blood test showed that I was low in Vit D. I am having osteopathy treatment, acupuncture, homeopathy and taking Floradix tonic with Iron.
I have heard about using tumeric but I haven't tried that yet, I have done some research into it eg Golden Paste. If anyone got any suggestions I would be very grateful.
The good news is that nothing has been found. This means that it is likely that over tense muscle could be driving the problem.
You next step is to try various complementary medical therapies and see what makes a difference. A massage to loosen tight muscle is worth exploring. It may make a difference it may not.
Yoga to work on loosening tight muscle is another path to explore.
Thank you for being so positive. I have come to the understanding that your posts are very much taken notice of by the Pain Concern Community.
My niece's husband who lost the use of his arm in a bike accident and broke his back when really young; is helping me through the maze of tests, results, and treatment options.. He has finally found that a very experienced Remedial Massage therapist and exercises have helped him with his leg nerve pains. The person he uses is hundreds of miles away from us, and so I need to find a recommendation for someone good nearer to me.
I haven't tried Yoga what do you think are the advantages?
We have book a 14 week slot in a private swimming pool near quite near to us. As he has recommended my just walking in the water and floating on my back, no swimming yet though.
I tried a session of Pilates with a qualified physio, which actually pushed me over the edge into the problems I have now. I went to see her as I had elected to try and treat the torn meniscus in my right knee conservatively, after a slip whilst out walking the dogs.
I had already got a back problem after an accident 9 years ago. I have had regular osteopathy treatments over the years which kept me ok. I now realise that I should have been doing exercises too!!
I also had my gallbladder removed this March after waiting a year for the operation.It took me ages to recover, my back was screaming at me not to sit anymore, but apart from sitting and lying in bed I could hardly walk. I had lost over 3 stone with the very low fat diet. I did take a vitamin supplement during my diet and consulted a nutritionist.
After a recent blood test it showed that I was low in Vit D. Hardly surprising considering my being on crutches for the summer! I was such an outdoor person up until all of this! I am on a Vit D and Floradix supplements now.
I am also under the care of a Homeopath GP and a Traditional Chinese Acupuncturist. So you could say I am throwing everything at this.
Sorry, I am going on rather a lot. I would really appreciate your thoughts?
Thanks for the reply. You have given me a lot to think about. I cannot give any answers only investigations. It is the nature of things that many different causes for health disability can lead to the same symptoms. It is also the nature of things that a treatment which works for one cause may be counter productive for another cause.
My inquiries have lead me to the conclusion that a therapist that is wonderful for one person may be destructive for another person and vice versa. Thus things are not easy for someone who has a number of different health disabilities which all create problems and have possible treatments which interfere with the overall aim of getting the best quality of life possible.
This is where you need to investigate yourself. You need the tools to do this and need to realise that this process of self investigation can take weeks if not months to get a proper handle on.
The book Meditation_A_Way_of_Awakening by Ajahn_Sucitto
is a free download from the above website and you have a choice of formats. Meditation and mindfulness is a tool to notice yourself. The descriptions in the book give you a process by which you can develop your study of your health disability. This study will enable to make good educated guesses as to what works to improve your quality of life and what hinders quality of life.
A bit of muscle functioning theory.
Muscle is composed a many muscle fibres. When a muscle contracts many muscle fibres contract. Strength is dependant on how many muscle fibres contract together. There is nerves which give the command to contract. There are no nerves which can give the command to un-contract. Thus to lengthen out again a contracted muscle requires the movement of another muscle going in the opposite direction. As we age we begin to find that muscles control is not as good as we like.
A muscle fibre is strongest at its longest length. The more the muscle contracts the weaker it gets. Thus tense muscle is not as strong as untensed muscle.
Through the muscles are capillaries. These capillaries are one blood corpuscle in thickness. Moving muscles act as a muscle pump helping to push the blood though them. When a muscle goes into spasm blood can no longer flow though the capillaries. The capillaries supply the muscle with nutrients and take away waste products. Thus if there is no blood flow there is a build up of waste products and the loss of nutrient supply means that the muscle is starved. A recipe for pain and discomfort.
In the body there are structures which provide proprioception. The proprioceptors provide feedback as to muscle tension, muscle position and other things. A lot of propriceptors register change and feed this registration of change to the spine. Thus is a muscle is in spasm no change occurs and no data is sent to the spine. This can lead to various structures of the body receiving more stress than they should when movement takes place.
Yoga is a discipline which looks at enabling muscle to untense and get to their longest length by means of various yogic poses. Just as these yogic poses can be very beneficial to muscle functioning if done right they can be not so beneficial if done incorrectly. Thus to do yoga and to develop good health from yoga practise you need the help of a good yoga teacher. You also need to be aware of yourself as described in the book "Meditation_A_Way_of_Awakening" mentioned above.
Alexander Technique is a way to become more aware of how you use your body and will hopefully give a better way of moving so that you have less pain and discomfort.
I have learnt that doing one therapy is not helpful as therapies tend to specialise on one area of the body. While doing several therapies enable a number of different systems to worked on at the same time. If the right choice of therapies are chosen then the therapies compliment each other.
Hope this has been helpful.
Dear Johnsmith,
Thank you so much for taking the time to explain all that to me.
I am the kind of person who 'needs to know 'why, how and when? I will certainly have a look for the book you recommend. There are people that I know who might be able to recommend a Yoga or Alexander Technique teacher?
As you say it's finding a gifted teacher in all these therapies which is of paramount importance.
This is going to be my own private mountain to climb isn't it? I have fought many health and happiness battles on behalf of my large and extended family. It has taken quite a toll. They are being as supportive as they can be, it's not easy as the days roll into weeks then months, and there usually fit, able mother is still ailing.
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