Hi, my name is Lion! I have severe back pain. Does anyone have advice on what I can do?

Lion

I need to see if anybody has advice , i have had severe back pain now for over 6 years 4 years ago i was diagnosed with spinal stenosis of the lower lumber L4/L5 and another i cant remember i was given gabapentin and 5 months rest i was ok ,, it has now returned with vengeance i have been off work for over 5 months now it affected my bowels and walking and any form of movement i was given gabapentin with 900mg daily. the consultant surgeon i spoke to said that injections might help but you can only have 3 a year and not guaranteed to work 6mths it could be less ,he said I'm too young to have the operation i laughed as i am 55 he said that the op is not a guarantee and could cause more issues and he would rather wait until I'm in that bad situation again and there's no sign of improvement then i have nothing to lose i am due back to work but walking far hurts not as bad as it was but its very uncomfortable and stops me in my tracks i cant bend and if i mange to it takes ages to get up due to pain that comes with the bend on my back and legs , my job is a NH's manager who runs domestics and porters in 11 health centres and poly clinics that evolves a lot of bending walking standing sitting even that has complications if i sit to long i get pins and needles in my legs back hurts and shoulders burning with pain. does any one have any advise  of what i can do please .
Thank You 
Lion

Sandy_123

Hi @lion welcome to the forum have you had oc health referral at work to see if adjustments may help?
Can you see gp for pain meds review?
I do sympathise with you as I have spine problems too and bending is a big issue for me. I use a helping hand stick to minimise this task. Hopefully u can overcome some of the problems you face at work

Ross_Alumni

Hello @Lion and welcome to the community, good to see you join us. 

I'm sorry to hear of how you've been struggling lately. Have you explored all kinds of pain management with your GP or specialist?

It might be a good idea to speak with your employer about how you feel, they might be able to put some reasonable adjustments in place for you.

chiarieds

Hi @Lion - & welcome to the community. I'm sorry you're suffering from lumbar stenosis. May I ask, were you ever offered physiotherapy in the past, or more recently as this could possibly help? Perhaps worth asking your GP for a referral. In the meantime (& speaking as a long-retired physio), perhaps these exercises may have been ones you were taught in the past, or may prove helpful now.

Just to add that (excuse me if you know) that stenosis implies a narrowing of the joint space, & in this video (again ignore it mentions sciatica, as it's about lumbar stenosis), I noticed in the comments that some wondered what this 'gapping' was about; just trying to help an increase in the joint space(s) instead. As the video by a physio mentions, if any of these exercises increase your pain, do stop. I would actually start with the 'buttock clenching/squeezing' one first, as there's minimal movement occurring, but it does help with strengthening muscles. This is the last exercise in the video. Please see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caf-DfGwAgQ