Hello Pinkish,

I would highly recommend that you seek the advice of a neurologist/spinal surgeon. You really need to have a medical doctor who specializes in the spine help you.

Chiropractors may be okay for some things, but in my opinion you need to see the very best neurologist/spinal surgeon that you can find. Talk to those you know and find out which spinal doctor they had high regard for and which ones they did not like. Call your local hosplital for their recommendations. Then make an appointment with the spinal doctor who is at the top of your list. Next make an appointment with the doctor who is second on your list. Pinkish, a 2nd (and 3rd) opinion is always good to have.

Doctors in ER are very special people. They are there to try and save lives of the very seriously ill and injuried. You do need a specialist who can take the time to really take care of you.

As a side note, may I ask what kind of mattress you have and how old it is? Mattresses CAN cause back pain if they are not proper for your spine. For the past year I can no longer sleep on a "regular" mattress. The only mattress where I can get some rest is on an air mattress.

I wish you the best. Do stay in touch.

RichT

Thank You ohh so much for your input! I will get to doing that ASAP.

I've slept on a dorm mattress for 2 years. My fiance and I recently moved in our own apt about 6 months ago and the mattress is new. I'm not sure what kind it is tho. I never had this problem sleeping on the dorm mattress or my mattress from my mom's home.

It seems like it started around the time I started working @ Macy's. I left the job for about a month and my back got a little better. Then I started working @ Toys R Us and it got much worse. I'm not sure if that has anything to do with it but that's allI can think of. I know when I first started @ Toys R Us I got into carrying ladders with really made it worse. I told my managers it had to stop and it did but my back hasn't gotten any better.

Hello Pinkish,

Thanks much for the added info and your very prompt reply. I like your ASAP. You are my kind of person. I like a person of action!!!

Most likely you did a LOT of standing at Macy's and Toys R Us. Right?

Want to put me into severe pain - Then just make me stand in on place for about 2 minutes. And sitting on a hard or uncomfortable chair is almost as bad.

From what you have shared, in my opinion (no I am not a doctor) you really do need to seek the advice of a neurologist/spinal surgeon. I hope they recommend that you have an MRI. They can "see" so much more with an MRI than with just an x-ray. Each one is a valuable tool, and together they help greatly to show the condition of ones spine.

Is your new mattress a pillowtop, a very hard firm mattress, or?

May I send you a PM regarding my experiences with mattresses and my back?

RichT

Our mattress is kinda of both (i guess). It could be standing up all day for 9 hours at a time.

Yes u can pm me about your experiences.

My recommendation is to try osteopathy. It is safe if there is nothing wrong in your spine. There is a reason for those spasms and usually they can be corrected manually.

Most athletes use manual therapy regularly. They are form Tiger Woods to football players, basket ball player, ice hockey players, etc. Their most important tool is their body and they need it to function well.

Hi,

Try not to use a back brace too much. When I went to physio she told me it makes the muscles lazy. A tens machine is good too. It blocks the pain signals from the brain. It helps you cut down on the number of pain killers that you take. I read in a book from an orthopedic surgeon that if you wrap a towel around your middle then it can make you feel more comftable. I tend to roll over on mine and it makes you feel really stiff. I use a cold spray in the morning and it helps a bit with the stiffness. Push for the medical support. They try and fob you off at first but don't have any of it.

Good luck.

Hello Pinkish,

How are you doing finding a nurologist/spinal surgeon. Have you made an appointment? Hope so.

Shania has given you some good words of advice. Pinkish do remember NOT to play doctor yourself. Okay.

RichT

RichT

Hey RichT,

I'm still in the process of looking for one. No luck yet. I may just check out a few from my hometown.

Hello Pinkish,

I wish you well on your search for a well respected spinal doctor. Hope you can find one in your hometown.

Oh, and how is the mattress issue these days? Something tells me I forget to tell you which model of air mattress I have. I'll check out the BB&B web site and get back to you.

RichT

Hi Pinkish,
I really think you should see neurologist/spinal surgeon who specializes in the spine. Really soon, also a MRI, before you injure yourself anymore. I lived with back pain for over four years to long. I've had a spinal fusion a year ago. Good Luck with everything.

So, rich t, I'm very curious about your experience with mattresses and your back, I have been having back pains for the past 8 months, Ive been to chiropractor, ER, PT, a spine specialist, and take pain pills all the time. I have been told I have degenerative disc disease, but the spine specialist cannot tell me if that is what is causing pain, I didn't have any accident, my pain just started one day and has kept getting worse. My pain started a month or two after I got a "new" mattress, my mother got it at a mattress place, I knew it was used, but I didn't think it mattered very much, 4 or 5 months into the pain, I got a memory foam topper, but it didn't help at all, I just checked my bed today and found out it was made in 1996! Obviously it is way past time to get a brand new one, but my question is: Can my mattresses really cause back pain for the past 8 months, constant pain that now controls my life?

there is a sciatic nerve that runs from your lower back all the way to your foot and it sometimes becomes pinched due to weakness in the lower back. The nerve will send signals ranging from numbness to electric to sharp all making the leg quite uncomfortable.

Try to stretch your muscles in your buttocks and behind your legs this will sometimes take the pressure off the back and in turn take the pressure off the nerve.

Jedd.

well i've notice i have pain from my leg to my ankle when I try to bend down using my legs instead of bending my back it hurts like hell!!! sometimes I jsut can't get up or it takes me a while to get up. Idk if maybe that had something to do with my back or not.

try this exercise - sit on a chair, the front of a firm chair. Feet facing forward, thighs parallel to the ground. Place your right ankle on top of your left thigh just above your left knee. Is this difficult? also try the other leg (swap legs) same process. Is that difficult? Note (where the bent leg on top is facing) - is the knee relaxed to the side or is it pointing to the sky with tension along the thigh thats bent?

Jedd

it's slightly point upward. the right more than left...that's odd.

Hello Dragon,

My apology for not seeing and reading your post earlier.

Yes, mattresses can cause back pain. But do remember, that as we get older our bodies ability to "adjust" to a mattress decreases.

I would highly recommend that you try an air mattress. If interested in the details send me a PM. I am no doctor, and I don't have stock in the company. I only know what has worked for me.

RichT

ok, this indicates your back problem is most likely on that side. Even if you feel pain on the other side the right side is where the tension is. Do the exercise again but this time bend slightly forward until it feels uncomfortable. Once at that point hold it and breathe in and out through your nose with your mind fixed on the painful area. it may take a little time (5 minutes) but stick with it. hold the position until the pain subsides. when it does bend further forward until it grabs and repeat the process. Until eventually you can comfortably bend forward. Do both legs and take your time. The breath is the most important, dont forget.

Let me know how you do.

Jedd.

is the pain suppose to come from my leg or my back? i'm feeling the pain more in my leg than my back. the pain is in my leg as far as my joints to my hips.

The tension you have in your leg is due to 1 of 2 things. 1 is that there are some things in your life other than your back that are bothering you and the body is in response, usually called stress. Check out an acupuncture chart and look to see where the gall bladder and Urinary Bladder channels run. Gall bladder channel runs up the side of the body and when we have stress everything along that channel contracts. you will see on the head its the same place we get headaches

GB 30 has tension in your case so have someone stick their elbow in it until the pain subsides also consider GB 21 this will help tension move out of the body.
Then afterwards try the stretch again, see if it has helped.

There is a point called weizhong Urinary Bladder 40. have your girl stick her thumbs in that point for about 2 timed minutes, longer is better. this will help the pressure on the lower back.

My teacher has just written a book that explains why you get back pain and what to do about it, I will let you know when its ready if you like.

But for now these 2 things will help your pain. Your leg sticks up because of the tension in the hip pulling on the muscle, relax it and you will find your back will also relax. It has either stemmed from a weakness in the back or just plain old stress but now stretch and things will get better. Hamstrings and Glutes and breathe with both.

good luck!

Jedd