Severe lower back pain but only whilst standing.

[Darkin]

After being hospitalised for diabetic foot ulcer and after 4 operations I returned home to recover. After many months and wearing a diabetic boot minimising standing and walking, my foot healed. Boot removed and I attempted to walk with the aid of a stick. After about 5 to10 minutes started to experience lower backache which quickly got so bad it was impossible to walk any more and I had to rest after about 50 to 100 meters.I quickly experienced the exact same pain simply by standing, after about 7 minutes. As soon as I sit down, pain switched off immediately.This was over 2 years ago and symptoms still exactly the same. X-Ray and mri scans revealed nothing to account for this. Anybody experienced same symptoms.? Also I think that my affected leg does not respond during intense pain although I cannot be sure. I am in limbo.

[misstopaz]

I get that due to my sciatic nerve being damaged. It could be a nerve that is pinched when standing up

[Darkin in reply to misstopaz]

How was this confirmed and any resolution ?

Thank.

[misstopaz in reply to Darkin]

Hi I had MRI scan then surgery .unfortunately due to the length of time i had these symptoms 30 months the damage was done and the sciatic nerve is permanently damaged. I suffer pain every day.

My leg and thigh burns when standing and walking. I end up limping or trailing my leg. The pain in my back is excruciating and no pain killer or medication helps

[Darkin in reply to misstopaz]

I had an MRI scan plus x-ray and nothing untoward seen. I get no pain whatsoever unless I stand for about 7 minutes. The pain then becomes unbearable over the next few minutes. I don't take painkillers as these will be useless and I have learned to accept the fact I will never walk or even stand for even a short length of time. I can drive to certain shops for in and out shopping with the aid of a trolley which takes the weight off to a degree. Please God you

do not suffer this pain unless standing or walking ?

[misstopaz in reply to Darkin]

I suffer it when walking and standing

[Darkin in reply to misstopaz]

Is the onset of the pain immediate?

[misstopaz in reply to Darkin]

Hi.

No it is not immediate the time differs

[Darkin in reply to misstopaz]

Thank you ,this is the closest to my symptoms and I will question my GP and see what he thinks. The only difference is that nothing showed up in the scans. Hope something can be done for you, at least I can accurately gauge the onset of pain.

[misstopaz in reply to Darkin]

Nothing showed up on my 1st mri scan that's the reason I was left for 30 months .... push them for answers

[Darkin in reply to misstopaz]

Good God, I will pursue this raising this as an example. As an ex engineer, I feel that the medical profession are the wrong people to investigate the science behind pain and that more physicists and chemists should be investigating pain in general.

[misstopaz in reply to Darkin]

Ask to be referred to a neurologist

[Darkin in reply to misstopaz]

Thanks for this advice , never thought of this but you would think the GP would have mentioned it. In fact he never even followed up on the

Scan results. Have you ever thought of the TENS machine ?

[misstopaz in reply to Darkin]

I bought a sports tens machine in Vegas. It cost me 300 quid and its ok

I've also got a hand held machine called Tappimed 2

FeaturesEasy-to-use hand held tool.Massages sore, stiff & tense muscles.Used for massaging all parts of the body.Comes with 4 attachment heads.Each head provides different types of massage.Can be used with or without heat.Adjustable speed for effective massage experience

It's very good but I got it from Ebay as it was used for 40 quid well worth it

[Darkin in reply to misstopaz]

I did buy a tens machine but I fancy it simply offers a 'distraction' from mild to moderate pain. I don't fall into this catagory unfortunately.

[Rosepetal60]

Is there any chance the shoes you wear could be too tight without you realising it ? They may feel comfortable but could be squeezing your foot. Bit of a long shot but Perhaps worth checking. And for the future perhaps think about Alternative therapies

[Darkin in reply to Rosepetal60]

Thanks but I wear diabetic footwear and as I am high risk diabetic I see the podiatrist every few weeks. I do have a limp however due to a calcconectomy on my left foot. The consultant released m e from hospital only after I was a assessed by the occupational therapist for walking. The problem only became apparent after my foot wound healed months after discharge. What is p uzz ling is that you can almost count to the minute after standing when the ache starts. After sitting down the pain completely disappears.. Also I w ear different types of footwear whilst in the house anyway and cannot even dream of walking for more than a few minutes before sitting down. The pain is that intense and I would not even contemplate further treatment without a positive diagnosis for fear of exacerbating the problem.

[PainConcernHelpline Moderator Community Champion Pain Concern]

Hi there,

It sounds like you're having a very difficult time with pain and that it is affecting your daily living activities.

What sort of pain management strategies have you already tried to help manage the lower back pain? Here is a link providing some information on living with pain, with topics ranging from drug treatments, to psychological treatments and pain management programmes:

painconcern.org.uk/resource...

Maybe have a read of some of the information, and perhaps you could discuss some treatment options with a healthcare professional?

I hope this information was useful.

Moderator 4, on behalf of Pain Concern

[Darkin in reply to PainConcernHelpline]

My only strategy is to accept I will never walk or even stand for more than a few minutes ,about 10. The Scans show nothing untoward to account for the pain which is clearly due to the upper body mass affecting something in the lumber area.

I have taken codeine painkillers pending the result of PMR test another burden I developed recently. Thankfully the steroids did the trick. However the codeine had absolutely no affect on my back pain. What I need is access to an upright MRI scanner if such a thing existed ,lying down does not show up the pressure area as there is no pain whilst lying or sitting down. Is such a machine available do you know ? I noticed on the link there is a mention of tens machines I I have already bought one but waiting for access to my GP until after the current crisis. The only response I have had after the scan apparently showed nothing untoward, was the usual fallback when the professionals don't have a clue -physiotherapy. This is not satisfactory and such 'advice' could prove catastrophic without an educated diagnosis. As alluded to before,without experiencing the symptoms then there is nothing that the scans can see. This is the my quandary, a catch 22......