Lower back pain

liamblue

Hi everyone, I have just joined the site as I have been having lower back pain for 3 or 4 years now.
I would like to share what my problems are, hopefully someone may have had the same and could put me on to the correct treatment.
I am 57 years of age, and was quite active until this problem. I still go walking, but cant overdo it, like walk up hills. 
At first my back used to hurt when I was bending or lifting, 
I was referred to a physio who gave me exercises to do, but these didn't help at all.
Then I started to get a different kind of pain whilst out walking, feeling like Sciatica down both sides.
Just before Covid started, I was referred to a surgeon, had MRI scans and X Rays, he thought the pain was coming from my sacroiliac joint so arranged for me to have steroid injections.
These didn't make much difference. He referred me to a pain clinic, where I have had injections in left and right side facet joints and denervation in my right lower back. I thought it pointless to have the left side done, as the right side still felt as bad. After having these injections, I could walk pain free for a few months, but still got the pain in my lower back when doing any physical work.
When I go for a walk now, I have to rub Ibuprofen Gel into my back, this helps a little. 
I am waiting for him now to refer me for more physio, as my symptoms now are a whole lot worse than before.
I am unable to do the simplest things now without getting chronic lower back pain. It is really affecting my work and my mental health.
When I am doing something that really hurts my back I can sit down for 10 minutes and the pain relieves but I will get pain when I get back up and start walking.
My back feels really stiff when I get out of my bed, this normally lasts for about 20 minutes.
I am quite lucky with work, as I can pass on most of the physical stuff, but not sure for how long.
I feel there is a lot more to tell you but not so good with this kind of stuff.
Thanks for reading.
Liam 

Sandy_123

Hi @liamblue welcome to the forum. There are lots of topics on here associated with back pain. Me included. But join in with all the topics, coffee lounge is a good place to check out under categories.

Danielle_2022

Hiya,
I have Scoliosis, so my experiences of back pain are different and I unfortunately don’t have too much advice around next steps etc., but I do want to say that I hear you. It can be exhausting to continually fight for the right care, especially throughout the pandemic & I’m sorry that you’re going through so much. Still, please know that you deserve better and it’s important to keep openly communicating with your medical team about all of this. Write emails, make phone calls, whatever feels most comfortable. In the meantime, there’s a whole community of people here to offer support, if you ever need to talk anything through.

Keep us updated, when you can!

liamblue

Thank you for your support, it really means a lot to me. I will be chasing them up this week, will let you know of any developments.

Danielle_2022

It’s good to hear from you this morning, @liamblue. 

You’re definitely not alone and I hope that you get some answers soon. We’ll be here every step of the way, though!