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Can a physiotherapist feel a compression?

Posted , 3 users are following.

kelly_01680
kelly_01680

As the titles says 😀 She said she can feel a compression in my lower spine as well as tenderness. Is this possible on only a physical examination?

0 likes, 11 replies

11 Replies

  • buggsy1000
    buggsy1000 kelly_01680

    Posted

    Hi Kelly

    Sorry to hear you are having pain and there are many people on here that know what you are going through

    In my experience the only way for this to be diagnosed is via a MRI scan, which will look at the section of spine you are having issues with. I think your physio might suspect you have something but would not be able to say 100 % without a form of a scan. I would suggest if you are in a lot of pain then a trip to a hospital would give you reassurance going forward.

    I am based in the uk and the dr here seem to like to try many things before surgery is an option unless it is possible it will damage the spinal cord.

    Not sure this helps but keep in touch

    George

    • kelly_01680
      kelly_01680 buggsy1000

      Posted

      Thanks for your reply George. I'm not in so much pain that it requires a hospital visit. It's always there but the worst of it comes and goes depending on my day. I have to wait for an appointment for blood tests and other exams so I'm hoping this will include scans of some sort. To be honest, I struggled to understand the lady so left feeling a bit baffled!
    • buggsy1000
      buggsy1000 kelly_01680

      Posted

      No problem Kelly, where do you live??

      It's good to here the pain isn't that bad, And it sounds like with time and some anti inflammatory meds and pain killers it may correct its self. If you develope any form of leg/feet pain then that's a sign of bulging disc ect. It's a mind field and there are many of us on here that even after surgery regret ever having it. I had a 3 level spinal fusion in 2014 which sadly failed and the surgeons won't operate further other than pain management.

      Listen to what your body tells you, only you can say what the pain is like for you. I hope it heels on its own accord for you and things done get worse

      Here to chat if you want too.

      George :-)

    • kelly_01680
      kelly_01680 buggsy1000

      Posted

      I'm in England. Don't get me wrong, when the pains bad is bad 😩 So much so that I struggle to walk. I've had pins and needles in both legs for 3 weeks non stop now and the lady said I have slight numbing in my right leg, all the way down the outside of it. When she moved her hands down each leg at the same time, I felt it on the left more than the right. The pain in my right leg is worse but I have worse sciatica on the left side, sometimes so bad that I can't stand on my left leg. I also have joint hypermobility syndrome. Oh and fatigue 😴 As a mum of 4, this isn't to great! Lol. I've been off work for 3 weeks and daren't go back till I know what's going on. It's all well and good masking it with painkillers but I'm worried that I'll do more damage by working
    • buggsy1000
      buggsy1000 kelly_01680

      Posted

      Hi kelly

      I am from the uk too, the process for this on the NHS is normally fairly long winded. But to me from what you say sounds like you probably have a bulge in l5/s1 as this will fit with 90 % of your symptoms. When I did mine I left it for weeks still going to work and hunched over, I ended up needing a discectomy and then spinal fusion my sadly these failed for me. Please don't leave it to chance and it's better to sit in A&E for a few hours and get a scan done there then wait 16 weeks which was the original time given for me to see a consultant.

      I do hope things get better for you and like I said any questions let me know

      G x

    • kelly_01680
      kelly_01680 buggsy1000

      Posted

      I'm so sorry to hear it hasn't helped you! The doctors answers do seem to be drugs! I've had problems for about a year now but the pins and needles for 3 weeks. I'm convinced something is wrong. It's not so easy for me to sit at the hospital as I'm on my own with the children the majority of the time as my husband works a lot. I managed to get an early appointment with the physiotherapist...it was meant to be March! So as soon as I get my next appointment I'll keep calling till there's a cancellation I can pinch
    • buggsy1000
      buggsy1000 kelly_01680

      Posted

      Hi Kelly

      I know what you mean re time, I have 2 kids as well. as I said I left it a long time and I believe this is what caused things to fail as i damaged my spine more, I am 37 and now struggle to play with my 3 and 6 yr old, all due to pain and not being able to run and bend. Makes me sad a lot as I know miss out on so much with them as I am restricted in what I can do and how far I can go. It's a really hard decision for you but I am sure your kids would rather have a mummy that plays ect than seeing you in massive amounts of pain. Hope that makes sense :-)

      I would be shocked with your symptoms if physio would actually benefit you a massive amount, it's all classic signs of prolapsed / bulging disc, I hope I am wrong and it isn't for your sake. When I had the original discectomy ( key hole surgery to shave the disc) I had it done the day after I decided to attended A&E as it was compressing the spinal cord, the recovery time wasn't to bad I was home 48 hrs after the operation ( but uk hospitals bad at discharging on a weekend) and spent 3 weeks at home before rtn to work.

      It's scary to think you might need any form of surgery but anything with your spine I can't recommend how quickly you need to have the answer.

      George x

    • kelly_01680
      kelly_01680 buggsy1000

      Posted

      Yea it sucks not being able to do stuff. I'm the sort of person who is at her happiest rushed off her feet but for the last 3 weeks I love hardly got my butt of the sofa in fear of aggregating things. After I got pulled about by the lady yesterday I was in pain. I kept trying to tell her that I have a delayed reaction to it and tend to suffer in the evening or the following day
    • buggsy1000
      buggsy1000 kelly_01680

      Posted

      Physio, chrio and osteopath all have a vested interest to get you back 4-6 times so I never use them. I also didn't find physio that helpful after the operation.

      I know I am not medically but I am sure you have some form of l5/s1 bulge, what size I couldn't say but if you have I can only speak from my experience that surgery is the only option long term. All I can say is I know it's hard to move about but if you can keep a little active and move little and often this will help with some of the mechanical pain.

      Fingers crossed for you

      G x

    • kelly_01680
      kelly_01680 buggsy1000

      Posted

      Thanks again for your advice. I looked it up and it does seem to fit the bill. Hopefully I'll get answers soon!
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