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Causes for constant lower backache

Posted , 3 users are following.

paul75665
paul75665

Hi All

I've been having lower backache for a couple of weeks now and I was wondering if any of you kind people might be able to shed some light on what could be possible causes for this. The ache seems to be a 6 to 8 inch band located in the pit of my back, and will now and again throb to a mild pain. It's not severe, it's just there, and as such I am aware of it and find myself moving more carefully. The ache does change with movement, sometimes getting worse, but also sometimes easing slightly.

So you all know, I have been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, CFS/ME and IBS and currently under investigation for Inflammatory Bowel Disease, all of which have left me pretty much housebound for the last year. I also had a lower back X-Ray a couple of years ago and my spine showed signs of wear and tear, but the doctor said that this was quite normal for someone of my age, and for the type of work I used to do.

Does anyone have any ideas of the possible causes for this constant backache I am getting? Any ideas and comments would be greatly appreciated.

1 like, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • Guest
    Guest paul75665

    Posted

    Hi Paul, sorry to hear that you have back pain. It could be your discs. I normally put ice on the area for ten minutes to calm it down, then rest for short periods of time, normally with a cushion between my legs on my side. Try not to lay around for too long as you seize up.

    if you take anti inflammatory drugs make sure to line your stomach first.

    ive had chronic pain after slipping a disc nineteen yrs ago, I have had operations and now they call my condition failed back surgery syndrome.

    hope that your pain eases soon, take care.

  • amkoffee
    amkoffee paul75665

    Posted

    I'm hoping I'm wrong about this but it looks like you might have just started a journey that I started about 13 years ago with lower back pain. But let's hope you can nip this in the bud and won't go any further. The results of the X-ray that you had a couple of years ago was probably showing some bulging discs possibly. That's not as bad as it sounds. A lot of people have bulging discs and have no pain it just depends on whether it's in impinging on a nerve or it could be a number of things that would cause a bulging disc to make you feel pain. And then there are other things that could be wrong with your back like maybe the beginning of osteoarthritis or you could just have some swollen tissue in that area and the inflammation is causing you some pain. So what do you do about it, first off you want to ice your back because if it is inflammation there that will help reduce the inflammation. You want to do it for 20 minutes at a time about once an hour or at least as much as you can get in a day. I do not recommend that you use Heat at this point . Additionally you can take ibuprofen or Naproxen for the pain and it also reduces inflammation. If you don't get any relief in a week or two then you probably want to go back to your doctor and see if he will order an MRI of your back. An x-ray is fine for the first Image but it doesn't show everything. On the other hand an MRI shows the soft tissue and that's really important in trying to diagnose your problem. You might also want to Google some stretches for people with lower back pain and give those stretches a try. You'll want to ice your back after you do the stretches. And as always I am just a person with lower back pain experience, I am not a doctor. So you will want to consult with your doctor before doing anything that I've suggested.

  • paul75665
    paul75665

    Posted

    Thank you so much for the replies, some very interesting and helpful comments which I will look into further.

    Funny slipped disc was mentioned as just before all my other problems I mentioned I was diagnosed with a popped disc after getting a pain in my back at work, which gradually got worse as the morning progressed. From what I remember the pain was a bit higher up my back though, not the area where my ache is at the moment, but that was 3 years ago now so I could be mistaken.

    I think I'll probably get it checked out just to be on the safe side, but I appreciate the advice on helping to relieve the ache. I won't go near Naproxen again after I was prescribed it for the back pain without any sort of stomach protection, and it ended up making me feel like the top of my stomach was being torn apart, that was a horrendous couple of days that I'd rather not repeat, and I believe has been the cause of my IBS / digestive problems I experience now.

    Thank you again for the advice, it is greatly appreciated.

    • amkoffee
      amkoffee paul75665

      Posted

      The pain you felt 3 years ago but was in a different place then the pain you feel today, it could be that it is the same problem but that this time it is radiating to another location. Or the first one could have been that way and yet both of them are related to the same cause.
    • paul75665
      paul75665 amkoffee

      Posted

      That sounds a fair enough comment, almost like was described to me as referred pain by my doctor when I keep getting sharp chest pains that could be caused by my digestive problems, because the colon and bowels have a very complex nerve system that is linked to other areas of the body.

      Thanks for that comment, much appreciated.

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