Recovery and rehab

[Jimbo92]

Hello everyone.

Recently I had an MRI in the past month to diagnose constant back problems I’ve had and it turns out I’ve got a large disk bulge. It’s been a nightmare for months, affects my everyday life and the mornings are a nightmare feels like I’ve been shot in the back every morning. It eases during the day and with light exercise in the gym.

I’ve been attending physio since January and it’s done sweet FA. I’m trying everything, yoga, the physio exercises, YouTube. It’s a real pain and depressing since I’m normally a physical person, I box, ju-jitsu, regular gym goer. However this has stopped me in my tracks and I’m running out of ideas bar surgery which I hope to avoid!

Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated

Thanks!

[Wannaberunner20]

Hi

I have no real advice as such but I am struggling with back pain too.

Have you tried an osteopath?

First time I went I literally skipped out this last time has not been so good.

Also nhs Pilates video on YouTube has been helpful.

Wishing you all the best

[Jimbo92 in reply to Wannaberunner20]

I’ve not tried an osteopath. I’ve been doing the physio and now onto a spine specialist since the diagnosis. I’ve been doing the new exercises and continuing light exercise for a month since the diagnosis but it’s still not doing anything. Still waking up every morning stiff as a board and in pain

[CBDB Administrator Graduate Gold]

Oh gosh. It sounds you’re going through an awful injury couch phase.

I don’t have any advice. It’s such a specific condition, but I do wonder if it might be worth trying seeing a different sports physiotherapist, just to see there are different ideas to try in how to move forward.

Really hope you find a great way forward.

[GoogleMe Graduate]

What is the physio saying about the lack of progress? (You have my sympathies. MrGM has been compromised most of this year too)

[Jimbo92 in reply to GoogleMe]

The main problem was that I wasn’t given an MRI till about 5-6 months into the physio, so I’ve just been given exercises and movements that possibly made the condition worse or didn’t help. They were basically just guesstimating as to what it could be by the looks of it. Now I’m with the spine specialist and he’s given me specific exercises to the condition. It’s been a month nearly since the diagnosis, I’ve stopped all sports and vigorous exercise and going off his advice and continuing light exercise but to no avail. I’m still waking up every morning in agony

[Jimbo92 in reply to Jimbo92]

Felt like it was getting better last week through the stretching and exercise but soon as the weekend came and I was a bit more relaxed and not working, the stiffness and pain just came back

[GoogleMe Graduate]

Aaarrrggghhh. As I understand it NICE actively discourage investigations for back pain. As a former HP, I am a big fan of 'tincture of time' but it is not a cureall.

It can be worth taking regular basic painkillers (ie paracetamol, and ibuprofen if you've no contraindications) - from the sound of it taken last thing at night might be worth trying.

The most effective thing we found is a TENS machine (the four electrode type)